Freshwater’s Danielle Scott has returned to Sydney after securing silver in the women’s aerials at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, delivering her first Olympic medal in a career spanning four Games.
Scott arrived at Sydney Airport on Thursday morning, 26 February, alongside gold medallist Cooper Woods and debutant Daisy Thomas. The athletes were met by a crowd in the arrivals area following Australia’s most successful Winter Olympics campaign to date. Australia concluded the Games with three gold, two silver and one bronze medal, finishing 14th on the medal table.
At Milano Cortina 2026, Scott recorded a listed score of 102.172 in the women’s aerials. Her Final 1 Jump 1 score is recorded as 117.191, with her second jump in that phase listed as DNS. Her Qualification 1 score is recorded as 99.592.
From Freshwater To Four Olympic Campaigns
Born in 1990 in St Leonards and raised on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Scott’s hometown is Freshwater Beach. She began her sporting pathway in gymnastics and received an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship at seven. After retiring from gymnastics at 13, she transitioned into aerial skiing.
Scott made her World Cup debut in the 2011–12 season and was recognised as International Ski Federation Rookie of the Year. Her first major international medal came at the 2013 World Championships in Voss, Norway.
She has since competed at Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 before reaching the podium at Milano Cortina 2026.
Sustained Success On The World Stage
Scott’s career includes four World Championship podium finishes: bronze in 2013, silver in 2017, silver in 2023 and bronze in 2025. Across the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons, she claimed back-to-back Aerials Crystal Globes as the top-ranked athlete on the World Cup circuit. In the 2024–25 season, she finished third overall and secured another World Championship bronze in 2025.
At 35, Scott has indicated she is reconsidering retirement and has not ruled out pursuing a fifth Olympic campaign.
For Freshwater, the silver medal marks a milestone moment, placing a Northern Beaches athlete among Australia’s most accomplished Winter Olympians.
Published 28-Feb-2026
