Australia is gearing up for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games with expectations higher than ever. Since claiming its first Winter Olympics medal a bronze in Lillehammer in 1994 the nation has never returned home empty‑handed. From that breakthrough podium to the record‑setting four medals in Beijing, Australia has steadily carved out a reputation as a winter‑sports overachiever.
But this rise didn’t happen by accident. It was built through grit on the slopes and ice, and through relentless advocacy in boardrooms around the world. And remarkably, the roots of this success trace back 70 years to Cortina d’Ampezzo the last time the Games were held there when the Australian Olympic Federation delivered a crushing blow to one of its own athletes.
That athlete was Geoff Henke.
Now 98, Henke recalls the fire that moment lit inside him. Speaking to ABC Sport from his Melbourne home, the former ice hockey player describes the sport he loved and the determination it instilled in him.
“It’s an aggressive sport,” he says with a wry laugh. “It seems to have bred a lot of aggressive people. And I was one of them, I suppose.”
Whether or not his on‑ice aggression can be verified, his impact on Australian winter sports is undeniable. It was Henke’s controlled intensity, his persistence, and his unwavering belief that Australia belonged on the world’s winter‑sports stage that helped transform a nation with little snow into a consistent Olympic contender.
As Australia prepares for Milano Cortina 2026, the legacy of that long‑ago snub and the man who refused to let it define him continues to shape the country’s winter‑sporting identity.
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