'A dream come true': RAF's Nicole Burger wraps up Olympic debut in Milano-Cortina
Royal Air Force athlete Flight Lieutenant Nicole Burger has wrapped up her Olympic debut after finishing 25th in the women's skeleton at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
Flt Lt Burger finished with a total time of 3:58.10 after four runs – 9.08 seconds behind the eventual gold medalist, Janine Flock from Austria.
Born in Cape Town, she is the first woman to compete for South Africa in skeleton at a Winter Olympics.
In a post on social media, Flt Lt Burger looked back on her Olympic experience as a "dream come true".
She said: "Just wrapped my Olympic debut in skeleton at Milano-Cortina 2026 – first South African woman ever in this event!
"Couldn't be prouder to represent South Africa and show the world we've got winter athletes too.
"Grateful for every moment, the support back home, and the chance to make history.
"Dreams do come true – keep chasing yours!"
Flt Lt Burger started sliding after she took up the opportunity to attend an RAF novice training session and began competing for South Africa on the international circuit in December 2023.
Before the Games, she told BFBS Sport that her goal in Milano-Cortina was to simply "have fun".
She said: "Being here is the main bit – I'm going to have fun and enjoy the process.
"For me, it's just to be here, show that South Africa is on this larger and wider stage and have fun."
She added that she will use her experience in Milano-Cortina to chase bigger goals, with eyes on the Games in the French Alps in 2030.
She said: "Moving forward, I've got bigger goals with actual rankings and finishing for the 2027 World Championships and then looking further forward into 2030 is where I will be setting some hard, hard goals to be reaching."
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