Milano-Cortina 2026: Which UK Armed Forces athletes should you follow at the Winter Olympics?
Five UK Armed Forces personnel representing four different nations are set to step onto the world's biggest sporting stage when they compete at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina.
The majority are returning Olympians from previous games, whereas one is preparing to experience the weight and pressure of competing at the Olympic Games for the very first time.
Two athletes were already established Olympians before they even began their military careers, and another is travelling to Italy as a reserve athlete – waiting and preparing just in case he gets the call-up.
Lance Corporal Taylor Lawrence & Corporal Alex Cartagena
Royal Marine Commando Taylor Lawrence will be competing in his second Olympic Games as part of Team GB's top bobsleigh team, led by their world-renowned bobsleigh pilot Brad Hall; they are among Team GB's brightest medal hopes in Milano-Cortina.
LCpl Lawrence plays the crucial role of being the team's brakeman in both the two-man and the four-man bobsleigh events – and after a short time off the ice due to a leg injury in the early half of the season, he proved his value once again when he pushed Brad Hall to European bronze in the two-man bobsleigh event in St Moritz.
Team Hall have come on leaps and bounds since their sixth-place finish in Beijing 2022, winning multiple medals across world championships, European championships and on the IBSF World Cup circuit.
LCpl Lawrence will have two medal opportunities in Milano-Cortina in the two-man event, along with Brad Hall, and again in the four-man where he'll be joined by Hall, Greg Cackett and Leon Greenwood.
Also travelling to Italy as part of Team Hall is RAF Mechanical Aircraft Engineer Corporal Alex Cartagena, who is the travelling reserve athlete for this year's Olympic Games.
Cpl Cartagena will be playing the difficult, but important, role of being prepared and ready in case he needs to replace an injured or sick athlete inside the Team Hall camp – but his presence in Milano-Cortina will be a valuable experience as he also sets his sights on the Games in 2030.
He was brought into the Team Hall set-up for 2025/26 and has completed some World Cup runs with the team earlier in the season.
Competition Schedule
- 16 February – two-man bobsleigh – heat 1&2
- 17 February – two-man bobsleigh – heat 3&4
- 21 February – four-man bobsleigh – heat 1&2
- 22 February – four-man bobsleigh – heat 3&4
Private Mica Moore
Private Mica Moore, from 157 Regiment RLC, only joined the Army Reserves in 2025, but was already a well-established bobsleigh athlete long before she began her military career.
Pte Moore is a former sprinter for Wales, where she competed in the women's 4 x 100m relay at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
She soon took to bobsleigh, and her first success came when she, along with Mica McNeil, won the 2017 junior world championships in the two-woman event.
She was selected along with McNeil to compete for Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, where they achieved an 8th-place finish in two-woman, the best-ever placement for a British women's bobsleigh team.
Pte Moore did not compete at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and soon switched to competing for Jamaica after she achieved full citizenship in December 2024.
She will compete in the women's Monobob event in Milano-Cortina, whilst also on standby to compete in the two-woman, where Jamaica is the first reserve team, should a qualified team withdraw.
Competition Schedule
- 15 February – Women's monobob – heat 1&2
- 16 February – Women's monobob – heat 3&4
Able Rate Shakeel John
Able Rate Shakeel John, or "Shak", as he's also known, joined the Royal Navy in February 2024.
He finished Phase 1 Training and then a Phase 2 Logistics course, and was then stationed to Yeovil.
The Navy then put him on the elite athlete sports billet at HMS Temeraire in Portsmouth due to his successful history in bobsleigh.
AB John competed for Trinidad & Tobago at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, marking the country's first appearance at the Winter Olympics in 20 years.
He was originally a reserve athlete in the Beijing Olympics, but after the selected athletes got injured on the first day, he was called up to race the second two-man day, and earned the title of Olympian.
He and his team continue to prove that despite coming from one of the hottest climates in the world, Trinidad & Tobago are still able to compete amongst the best countries in the world.
The Trinidad & Tobago team are also coached by former Royal Marine Commando and three-time Olympian, Lee Johnston.
Competition Schedule
- 16 February – two-man bobsleigh – heat 1&2 (TBC)
- 17 February – two-man bobsleigh – heat 3&4 (TBC)
- 21 February – four-man bobsleigh – heat 1&2
- 22 February – four-man bobsleigh – heat 3&4
Flight Lieutenant Nicole Burger
Flight Lieutenant Nicole Burger was born in Bellville, Cape Town, in South Africa, and moved to the UK with her family as a child.
She comes from a very sporty background where she competed in athletics (specialising in heptathlon), horse riding and rugby sevens, where she played at a high level.
After joining the RAF six years ago, she played for the RAF rugby union squad and at UKAF level.
She was then introduced to skeleton just three years ago after being invited to a novice camp, which soon led to her competing at the Inter Services. She became the first South African woman to compete on the international circuit in December 2023.
More than two years later, Flt Lt Burger became the first South African woman to qualify for the Winter Olympics in skeleton and will make history when she throws herself down the Cortina Ice Track at the Winter Olympics.
Competition Schedule
- 13 February – women's skeleton – heat 1&2
- 14 February – women's skeleton – heat 3&4
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
