Darcie Morton’s Olympic Journey

Dear Biathlon Australia family,

Below is a note from BA’s newest Olympian, Darcie Morton OLY, on her successful journey to the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.

Milano Cortina is the culmination of a dream that started at 16 years old, when I got my first taste of that Olympic feeling in the 2016 Youth Olympic Games. Ever since, I have dedicated my life to becoming the best Biathlete I can be. Back then, I never imagined that 10 years later I would have the honour to be the 4^th female Australian and 7^th Australian ever to compete in Biathlon at the Winter Olympics. To be part of such an incredibly successful Olympic team with so many other inspiring athletes was a dream come true and I’m so grateful to have had that opportunity.

Most people think the road to the Olympics is built around a four- year period, from one Olympics to the next. In an endurance sport like Biathlon, the road, at least for me, has been much longer. Behind the Olympic rings is the persistence, hard-work and sacrifice from athletes, coaches, supporters and family, from a much, much earlier age.

For me, it has been a decade of ups and downs, both physically, mentally and emotionally. I have always struggled with self-confidence and the belief that I am not worthy to be racing against the best in the world on the biggest world stages of my sport. So, in the end I’m so proud of myself for not giving up. Even at the lowest of lows, I was always able to reevaluate my races and training, pick myself up and try again, with the support of my friends, family, teammates and of course psychologist.

As a young girl growing up in a tiny coastal town in country Victoria, my only link to this crazy winter sport was family, but hard work and persistence have gotten me here, and I hope that my achievement can inspire other young women around the country to also chase their dreams.

In the last four years, I’ve been home for 8 months, and in the 18 months leading up to the Olympics, I was only able to return home for 1 month. Despite being homesick, this gave me a great opportunity to have a solid base in Norway through the 2025 European summer.

Here I was accepted into Team Intersport, a Norwegian Team in Lillehammer, and spent some of my happiest and most memorable months training. I learnt a lot about the Norwegian training systems, tests, language and culture that I will carry on throughout the rest of my career.In October 2025, I went to Antholz for an altitude camp with the Finnish and Greenlandic World Cup teams. This was a crucial camp to familiarise myself with the Olympic stadium and tracks, and it would not have been possible without the support of my sponsors.

However, the biggest threat to an endurance athlete’s performance is sickness, and this is unfortunately very rarely in our control. Although I struggled with sickness on several occasions throughout the summer and autumn, in November I was feeling strong and achieved a solid 32^nd /99 placing in the Norwegian season-opening sprint race.

Soon after, I competed in the first World Cup race of the season in Östersund and promptly caught a bad cold. What followed was a devastating rollercoaster of a first trimester with recovery, combined with severe dehydration and menstrual problems.

The traditional break over Christmas and New Year allowed me to get my strength back, learn from my mistakes and train hard into the second trimester.In the New Year, I was able to put down some really strong ski performances but unfortunately was just one or two misses from the results that I wanted.

In mid-January, I qualified for the Olympics by less than a point in an extremely high-level field of female athletes. The cherry on top was qualifying alongside some of my closest friends, who also represent the ‘underdog’ nations of Biathlon – Greenland and Great Britain. Coming from Juniors to the Olympic stage with those girls when I was relatively isolated from the main Australian Olympic team in Antholz made the experience truly special.

I was also lucky and grateful to have my brother Damon coaching me and my father Cameron supporting me through every race. They were the ones who encouraged me, stood by my side at every crossroad and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.

The Australian Olympic Committee were also incredibly supportive, open and warm during the Games. Their generosity, kindness and thoughtfulness really made me feel supported and at ease during the stress and nervousness of an Olympic debut.

I would like to also take this opportunity to thank the people and organisations behind the scenes for the lasting impact their support has contributed to my Olympic campaign. To Chase Priestley for letting me use his private property back home since I was 16 years old to run and shoot on. To GunSport Trading, Bairnsdale, for their ammunition donation and support in publicising my campaign from 2024. To all the Australian organisations and businesses that helped fund my pre-Olympic training camps and race expenses:XTM, Mt Hotham Resort management, Hotham Snow Monkey, Home Hardware Orbost, The General, East Gippsland Biathlon Club, Zirky’s Hotham. My overseas sponsors – BEME, Leki, Kinetixx – who supplied me with the incredible equipment that is so essential to my job.

To all the friends, family and fans who donated to my Australian Sport Foundation Project. You all believed in me when at some points I didn’t deem myself worthy of your support; I really couldn’t have accomplished this goal without you. And I was so proud to represent you all on the biggest stage. Thank you.

And finally, to all those who face adversity, no matter what it looks like. I hope that you know that although the haters and disbelievers of the world will inevitably stand in your way, surrounding yourself with people who support, encourage and build you up is one sure way to drown that negativity out. And to know that with dedication and persistent hard work, you can achieve whatever you put your mind to.

Darcie Morton OLY

BA are thrilled that Darcie made it to the Olympics, and we, too, are extremely thankful for all those who supported Darcie and BA over the journey, including:

• Darcie’s Olympic Games ski tech - Jari Sahakangas (on loan from our national federation partner - Finland)
• BA’s national federation partner, Ski Austria, for dedicated wax/ski tech support for Darcie during the season
•  ⁠Darcie’s long-time coach Joe Obererlacher
•  ⁠Our friends in the town of Obertilliach, Austria - who, together with Joe, provided Darcie with years of support
• ⁠BA’s Sport Director, Sandra Paul OLY and Executive Officer, Robyn McEvoy, who’ve worked tirelessly day after day ensuring every ‘i’ was dotted and ’t’ was crossed for Darcie (and the entire National Team),
• ⁠BA’s National Integrity Manager, Brooke Irvine and the BIU, headed by Greg McKenna, for their incredible insights and support behind the scenes
• ⁠the IBU & each organising committee (including the MiCo26 OC) for their amazing promotion of the sport of Biathlon and staging such amazing events - from the Loop One opener in Munich (which Darcie attended) to the games in Antholz
• ⁠Eurovision Sport and Channel 9 for their coverage of biathlon over the season and during the games
• The generous contributions of money and equipment from the IBU and AOC, facilitated by the BA Board
• ⁠The current and prior boards of Biathlon Australia and other key volunteers (you know who you are) that left no stone unturned to enable BA to send a record-breaking team to Milano-Cortina. From securing, managing and dispersing hundreds of thousands of dollars, to shuffling masses of paperwork and countless emails. From taking hundreds of calls and attending scores of meetings, to the endless advocacy and stakeholder engagement that simply goes unseen.

You’ve all played a part in enabling our amazing athletes to reach their goals and represent Australia with honour and distinction.

We couldn’t be happier for Darcie and the elite group of Australian Olympians and Paralympian that have proudly donned the green & gold.You’re an inspiration for all of us.

Ski Fast | Shoot Straight | See you at the French Alps 2030

Dave, Sandy, Brett, Libby, Kat, Kate, Mark & Murray