Five rising winter sports stars shortlisted for Piotr Nurowski Prize

Five young athletes from Latvia, Ukraine, Poland, Belgium and Italy are in contention for the 11th Winter Edition of the Piotr Nurowski Prize for the Best Young European Athlete. The shortlist brings together talents from biathlon, snowboarding, speed skating and Alpine skiing following a 2025–2026 season that featured Olympic appearances, junior world titles and breakthroughs on the senior circuit.

Europe’s National Olympic Committees will select the winner through a vote at the 46th EOC Seminar and IOC Olympic Solidarity Forum in Split, Croatia, on 9–10 October 2026. An award ceremony will follow the vote.

Latvian biathlete Rihards Lozbers made history during a season in which he represented his country at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 aged just 16. He subsequently collected two gold and two silver medals at the IBU Youth and Junior World Championships in Arber. His achievements also extended to the senior circuit, where he became the youngest male biathlete to score World Cup points and to compete in a World Cup mass start.

For Ukrainian snowboarder Dmytro Luchkin, the FIS Junior World Championships in Calgary brought success in three different disciplines. He earned silver in big air alongside bronze medals in slopestyle and street style, marking his strongest season so far. Luchkin also made an immediate impression at senior level, finishing seventh on his FIS Snowboard World Cup debut in Flachau, Austria.

Poland’s Hanna Mazur demonstrated her versatility through podium finishes in both short-track and long-track Junior World Cup competition. She won mass start gold at the 2026 ISU Junior World Speed Skating Championships in Inzell, adding to her junior world championship success in Collalbo in 2025. Against senior opposition, she finished fourth in the mass start at the European Speed Skating Championships in Tomaszów-Mazowiecki.

Italy’s Anna Trocker earned three medals at the Alpine Junior World Championships in Narvik, winning gold in giant slalom and slalom and silver in the Alpine combination. She also recorded top-ten finishes in both individual disciplines at the senior World Cup Finals in Lillehammer, placing eighth in giant slalom and ninth in slalom. At Milano Cortina 2026, she helped Italy finish tenth in the team combined event.

Belgian snowboarder Sky Remans combined an Olympic debut with junior world championship gold. A fifth-place World Cup finish in Laax secured her qualification for Milano Cortina 2026, where, aged 15, she became the youngest female freestyle snowboarder to represent Belgium at the Winter Olympics, competing in big air and slopestyle. She went on to win the junior world big air title in Calgary and also took victory in the Big Air European Cup Premium event in Corvatsch.

The prize honours the memory of Piotr Nurowski, the former President of the Polish Olympic Committee, and recognises athletes aged 14 to 18. Its assessment extends beyond sporting results to include competitors’ conduct and their commitment to Olympic values, culture and friendship, both within and outside competition.