Anabelle battles tough slalom course to round off Olympic debut
Anabelle Zurbay - the Team Ireland athlete with links to Rosemount and Moate - capped her Winter Olympics debut with a determined performance in the women’s slalom today (Wednesday). She finished 48th with a combined time of 1:58.50 at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
The overall competition was won in style by USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin in 1:39.10, who added a third Olympic gold medal to her collection. Silver went to Camille Ras from Switzerland, and bronze went to Anna Swenn Larsson, in a dramatic finish, as several of the top seeds in the second run did not finish.
On a demanding, turn-heavy course that saw almost half the field fail to finish, Anabelle (17), the youngest member of Team Ireland, once again showed resilience and maturity, safely navigating both runs to complete all four races she started at these Games.
Speaking after the race, Zurbay reflected on the challenge of the day and the satisfaction of seeing the finish line.
“I feel really good. It definitely wasn’t exactly the last one was what I was hoping for, but I’m honestly really happy to just make it down to the finish line and say that I finished all of my runs, which I feel like that’s a bit difficult in slalom for sure,” said Anabelle, whose grandmother Rosaleen McCarthy hailed from Rosemount.
The technical nature of the course tested even the most experienced skiers, with deep ruts forming quickly, and required quick thinking from the young athlete,
“This one was super turny and it was a bit more of a divot for sure, so it’s hard. I started off strong and then I don’t know what happened, but I caught my ski and almost face planted, but I saved it and pulled it together.
“At the end I just got thrown, I think in a hole or something, and it almost went out, but I just tried to stick with it. I knew if I made it to the finish, that was my ultimate goal,” said Zurbay, who grew up in Colarado.
Following the second clip, Zurbay’s quick reaction kept her in contention. “I was like, ‘oh, I’m not going to be able to make it.’ And then I was like, I’m going to try. There’s no point in giving up now. I’m almost here.”
Despite the intensity of Olympic competition, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive for the teenager.
“It’s been pretty overwhelming, but it’s a really great experience just to be here and to be able to ski.
“I think just the whole thing has been a highlight, honestly. The village, really great training into Bormio and then pushing out of the start here, it’s all been insanely amazing.”
With her Olympic debut now complete, Zurbay’s schedule shows no sign of slowing.
“I’m going back to school. I go back for a single day and then I come right back over to go to the World Juniors in Norway, then I’ll be home for a week, and then we have US Nationals at my home hill.”
And even amid the pressure, she managed to enjoy the moment, engaging with the spectators with a dab following her second run.
“Just looking out at the crowd, it’s super insane that you’re the one on the hill and not the one in the stands. It’s mind blowing. At the start one of the guys was filming me and we were dancing and I started to dab, and then I was like, ‘wait, I need a dab in the finish.’ If I made it, I was dabbing in the finish.”
This concludes Zurbay’s action in Milano Cortina 2026 as the focus now switches to freestyle skiing, with Ben Lynch making his Olympic debut in Livigno on the halfpipe tomorrow (Thursday).
*See separate article here about the excitement in the Moate area about Anabelle's Winter Olympics adventure.