MELBOURNE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Australia basked in its most successful Winter Olympics after a six-medal haul at Milano Cortina but team leaders say the breakthrough must be followed by more funding to build sustained success in the French Alps in 2030.
The delegation leaves Italy with three gold, two silver and a bronze — eclipsing the previous benchmark of four medals at Beijing 2022 — while climbing to 14th on the medal table.
"Our dream was to show the world that we are a real winter sports nation," chef de mission Alisa Camplin said in Livigno.
"And when the moments came, we didn't shy away. But what's been happening here in Milano Cortina has in many ways gone beyond our wildest dreams.
"Beyond the results, what I'm most proud of is this team's character - each and every member of this team gave it their all."
Gold medals for mogul skiers Cooper Woods and Jakara Anthony, and snowboard cross rider Josie Baff in a three-day blitz in Livigno underlined Australia's successful investment in non-traditional winter sports.
Anthony claimed the inaugural women's dual moguls title to become the first Australian winter athlete to win two Olympic titles, rebounding from the disappointment of missing out in her individual defence.
The world's driest inhabited continent, Australia has always punched above its weight at Summer Olympics but its investment in all-season infrastructure has also reaped dividends in winter sports.
Elite freestyle skiers and snowboarders have been practising tricks on the ramps at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre in subtropical Brisbane since 2020, with the all-weather National Snowsports Training Centre coming online in the Australian Alps in 2024.
Camplin said the success at Milano Cortina vindicated the infrastructure drive and that athletes were grateful for government support to date.
However, she said winter sport remained "disproportionately funded" to the summer ones.
"There's just a real opportunity to equalise that a little and we can get to the next level and there will just be more Australians that can chase that dream," she said.
"We know what we're capable of now. And I hope that we'll have more investors, more philanthropy, more government support so that we can take this opportunity and really capitalise on it.
"There are literally thousands of kids out there that want to go to the next level and pursue the dream and be like the idols they saw in Milano Cortina."
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
