Anna Trocker has been called up to the Olympic squad.

At 17 years old: South Tyrol's ski newcomer is allowed to go to the Olympics

Many ski fans were quite surprised on Monday evening when Italy's Winter Sports Federation (FISI) announced the squad for the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina: Anna Trocker, a 17-year-old from South Tyrol, has made it into the squad.

27 January 2026

From: dl

Giada D'Antonio and Anna Trocker, Italy's two top talents, are on the roster for Cortina d'Azur 2026. The South Tyrolean skier has competed in five World Cup races so far, but has yet to score any points. On Saturday, in the giant slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn, Trocker finished 31st, missing the second run by just ten hundredths of a second.

But Italy doesn't have an abundance of talent in the slalom in Cortina. With only Lara Della Mea and Martina Peterlini confirmed, the Azzurre need two more for the team combined. This could be where Trocker and D'Antonio get their chance. In the team combined, which was tested at last year's World Championships in Saalbach and is now an Olympic event for the first time, one team member skis the downhill and the other the slalom. Each participating nation can field up to four teams.

A sports-loving family

A quick word about Anna Trocker: As a child, the Völs native was not only a fast skier but also a talented tennis player. She inherited her skiing genes from her mother, Manuela, who competed in World Cup races under her maiden name, Mair. Anna Trocker's uncle, on the other hand, is Martin Mair, a former tennis talent who reached a career-high ranking of 1.025th in the world.

Anna Trocker (left) with her sister Nadine.

Trocker herself made her World Cup debut at the end of December 2025 – at the age of 16. Her sister Nadine, who is a year older, was also always considered a great skiing talent before suffering two cruciate ligament tears in her left (2022) and right knees (2023). Now, somewhat unexpectedly, the younger of the two sisters gets to go to the Olympics in Cortina. Incidentally, Alex Vinatzer also went to the 2018 Games in PyeongChang without a single World Cup point.