Wenona Olympian

Tonight, when ski mountaineering makes its Olympic debut in Bormio, our Alumna Lara Hamilton (2015) will be on the start line as one of the first Australians to contest the sport at a Winter Games.  

It is a long way from the corridors of Walker Street in North Sydney to the slopes above Bormio, but Lara Hamilton has always been comfortable covering distance. She began making her mark as a runner while a student at Wenona and by 2017, had claimed the Australian Under20 cross country title. A scholarship to Boise State University in Idaho followed, where she raced the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships, continuing to build a reputation as one of Australia’s promising young endurance athletes.  

While on a scholarship to Boise State University in Idaho, she raced the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships, continuing to build a reputation as one of Australia’s promising young endurance athletes. 

Then came a curveball. In late 2021, Lara was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory condition that can cause persistent pain and stiffness through the pelvis and spine. For an athlete whose livelihood depends on her body, it was confronting. But she found a way through, discovering that trail running often eased her symptoms. When a move to Colorado made year-round running impractical, she decided to turn to the mountains in a different way, by exploring the sport of ski mountaineering.

Her first race gear was basic and secondhand, and she taught herself the sport by heading out in the evenings around the local resort, gradually learning the craft through racing and mentorship. The approach was resourceful and entirely in keeping with the determination that has defined her career.  

If you have not heard of it before, ski mountaineering or ‘skimo’ as it is affectionately called, is essentially what skiing was before chairlifts. In the sprint format, athletes climb on skis with adhesive skins that grip the snow, shoulder their skis for a boot pack section, then ski back down through gates in a sharp dash. Races are run in elimination rounds and each heat lasts about three and a half minutes. “My legs are shaking, I’m feeling delirious, and I’m expected to do these precise movements as quickly as possible,” Lara says.

Away from competition, her life is as multifaceted as any Wenona Renaissance Woman. She trained in opera and now performs as DJ Solara, attracting the attention of music media outlets such as Electronic Groove and Dubiks (You can enjoy her mix track list here). 

After a period based in Colorado, Lara relocated to France to immerse herself in the European circuit. She speaks openly about navigating chronic illness alongside elite sport: managing flares, building consistency, and keeping a long-range perspective, without losing the joy that drew her to the mountains in the first place. 

Her achievement as a member of Australia’s 53-strong team is a testament to her perseverance and talent for reinvention.  

You can watch the women’s sprint heats tonight at 6:50 to 8:00pm AEDT, with finals at 9:55pm to 11:35pm AEDT. The mixed relay follows on Saturday 21 February at 10:30 to 11:30pm AEDT.