Abbey Willcox will get to realise her Olympic dream at Milano Cortina 2026. Four years ago, after making a strong recovery from a serious injury, she went agonisingly close to getting a start at the Beijing Games, but Australia didn’t qualify enough spots. She would have another four years of hard work. But in that time she has continued to improve and has achieved two World Cup podiums.
At the world championship event in Quebec on Jan 26 Abbey placed 8th and in the Dec 25 event in China she placed 5th, ending the season with a 10th place world ranking.
Raised in Somersby on the New South Wales Central Coast, Abbey attended Somersby Primary School and Henry Kendall High School.
Abbey came to aerial skiing with a foundation in gymnastics and sports acrobatics, skills that would later underpin her take-off power, body control and in-air awareness.
After time on the water ramps in Melbourne and Park City, she stepped onto snow and made her international debut in 2016 on the Europa Cup in Ruka. By 2019 she was on the World Cup tour, with an early personal best of 13th in Minsk that season, narrowly missing the 12-woman final.
Her breakthrough arrived in 2019–20, highlighted by a bronze medal at the Deer Valley World Cup under lights, and a season-ending ranking inside the world’s top 10. The podium confirmed her as a true contender on the world aerial skiing scene.
The following year brought a setback. After a strong qualifying run in Yaroslavl, Abbey crashed in finals training, required surgery and she returned home to rehabilitate, curtailing her 2020–2021 campaign.
Back on tour during the next season, she posted multiple top-15 finishes but, crucially, Australia just missed an additional Olympic quota place in women’s aerials, and Abbey was unable to attend the Beijing Games.
She then opted to step away from on-snow competition in 2023 while maintaining skill work at Brisbane’s Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre. A springboard back to competition followed that September with second place at the Brisbane Water Jump Grand Prix behind teammate Airleigh Frigo.
The 2023–24 season was a real breakout season for Abbey. She returned to the Deer Valley podium with another bronze, sharing the celebrations with silver medallist and teammate Danielle Scott, and then reached the top-six super final on both days in Lac-Beauport, finishing fifth each time.
In January 2025 she helped deliver Australia’s first aerial skiing mixed-team World Cup medal since 2017, combining with Laura Peel and Reilly Flanagan to secure bronze in Lake Placid.
A week later came a moment of team history at Deer Valley. On a night of heavy snow and high pressure, Australians swept the women’s podium for the first time in any FIS Freestyle World Cup event, with Peel winning, Scott second and Abbey taking bronze as Australians filled the top four places. It was Abbey’s third individual World Cup podium and a landmark for the Flying Kangaroos.
Away from competition, Abbey is based in Brisbane and holds a Bachelor of Business, balancing training with work at the Brisbane Broncos. The blend of elite sport and professional life speaks to the persistence behind her late-blooming rise in aerials. With a gymnast’s precision and a jumper’s courage, she continues to build her degree of difficulty and consistency.
How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics: Coverage begins on 4 February with the Let The Games Begin! preview show, before the Opening Ceremony on 7 February (AEDT) signals the start of 16 days of competition. Events are televised on Nine (free-to-air), 9Now and Stan Sport. Check the schedules for broadcast times.
