With 10 genuine medal chances, Australia has the "breadth and depth" to surpass its previous best Winter Olympics tally in Milan-Cortina, says team chef de mission Alisa Camplin.
Australia will send its strongest-ever team to next month's Winter Games, with 11 athletes winning 26 medals across seven disciplines during the current World Cup season.
That includes 13 gold medals, with defending Olympic moguls champion Jakara Anthony winning three, while bobsleigh world No.2 Bree Walker matched that as well as claiming a silver and bronze.
That puts the 2026 team on track to top the one gold, two silver and one bronze won four years ago in Beijing, with retired skeleton medallist Jackie Narracott the only one of the four medallists not to return.
Veteran moguls ski star Matt Graham and snowboard cross gun Jarryd Hughes, who both medalled in 2018, remain in the team for a fourth Games.
"Sochi was our greatest size of team, but I think the breadth and the depth of our performances over the last quad is a testament to our national sporting organisations and the Olympic Winter Institute," Camplin said at the team announcement at the MCG.
"I think the breadth and depth is really unique, that's why I call this an iconic team.
"We've had 11 different athletes that have picked up those 26 World Cup medals over the last three months and 13 of them have been gold, so we've not gone into a Games with that kind of profile before."
The team of 53 athletes is the second largest Australian Winter selection, and 10 more than at the COVID-impacted Games in Beijing.
Spearheaded by Anthony and five-time Olympic snowboarder Scotty James, there are 33 women and 20 men included for Italy.
It is easily the highest proportion of women on an Australian Summer or Winter Games team, with a 62.3 per cent split eclipsing the 55.9 gender breakdown in Paris 2024, and 51.2 per cent four years ago in China.
With 27 athletes making their Games debut, 15-year-old freeskier Indra Brown is the youngest, while aerials veteran Laura Peel will compete at her third Games aged 36.
Making her maiden appearance at World Cup level this year, Melbourne's Brown won three medals, including gold, in her first three events.
"It's pretty special to be the youngest athlete for Australia at Milano Cortina," said Brown, who turns 16 before the opening ceremony on February 6 (local time).
"I started dreaming about being an Olympian in 2022 after seeing Jakara Anthony win gold in moguls. It was super inspirational and just gave me a lot of passion and desire to do it as well.''
Three alpine skiing spots - two female and one male - are being appealed by athletes who missed selection, as Australians look to compete in 15 disciplines, including ski mountaineering and dual moguls, which are new additions to the Olympic program.
That gives 27-year-old Anthony a double chance to add to her Beijing moguls gold.
"Each Winter Games has been a different experience for me," said the Victorian, who made her debut in PyeongChang in 2018.
"My first one was going in with no real expectations, and the second one was going in as a gold medal favourite, and these ones will be going in as defending champion."
James, 31, is chasing an elusive halfpipe gold medal to go with the silver and bronze he won at the past two Olympics, with teammate Valentino Guseli one of his greatest threats.
"Scotty's the first to say that he's going to these Games to get a gold because he has a bronze and he has a silver and he'd like to complete the set, but he also acknowledges this will be his hardest ever," said Camplin, who won gold in the aerials event in 2002.
"He's going to have some tough competition from the Japanese, as well as Australia's Valentino Guseli, so if we can have two Aussies on the podium, all the better.
"There is such a unique blend of youth and experience in Australia's team. It's iconic to have Scotty James at his fifth Games, balanced by an exciting pipeline of young talent, including five teenagers."
MILAN-CORTINA BY THE NUMBERS:
* Team size 53 - 33 women, 20 men competing in 15 disciplines.
* Scotty James will compete in his fifth Olympics, while seven athletes are at their fourth.
* There are five teenagers, all female, on the team, which is up one on Beijing 2022.
* Biathlete debutant Darcie Morton will follow her dad, 2006 Olympian Cameron Morton, becoming the first father-daughter duo to represent Australia at the Winter Olympics.
* Phil Bellingham will become just the second Australian to compete in two Winter Olympics sports behind Jenny Lyons (nee Owens).
