The EOC is delighted to announce the finalists for the 11th Winter Edition of the Piotr Nurowski Prize for the Best Young European Athlete, following an outstanding 2025-2026 season which included the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
The winner will be decided by a vote from Europe’s National Olympic Committees (NOCs) at the 46th EOC Seminar and IOC Olympic Solidarity Forum in Split, Croatia, on 9-10 October 2026, followed by an Award Ceremony.
The Piotr Nurowski Prize was launched in 2011 in memory of the former Polish NOC President, with a standalone Winter edition added in 2016. It is awarded to an athlete aged between 14 and 18 who has excelled in their sport and embodied the Olympic Values both inside and outside of competition over the past year.
The five nominees are:
- Mr Rihards Lozbers (LAT), Biathlon
- Mr Dmytro Luchkin (UKR), Snowboarding
- Ms Hanna Mazur (POL), Speed Skating
- Ms Sky Remans (BEL), Snowboarding
- Ms Anna Trocker (ITA), Alpine Skiing
Rihards Lozbers
Lozbers enjoyed a breakthrough 2025-2026 season that has already written him into the history books of Latvian biathlon. At just 16, he represented Latvia at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, before going on to win two gold and two silver medals at the IBU Youth and Junior World Championships in Arber. He also became the youngest male biathlete in history to score World Cup points and to compete in a World Cup mass start.
Dmytro Luchkin
Ukrainian freestyle snowboarder Luchkin produced his best season to date in 2025-2026, winning three medals across three disciplines – silver in Big Air and bronze in both Slopestyle and Street Style – at the FIS Junior World Championships in Calgary. He also posted a seventh-place finish on his FIS Snowboard World Cup debut in Flachau, Austria.
Hanna Mazur
Polish speed skater Mazur is one of the most versatile young skaters in Europe, competing across both short-track and long-track disciplines. She won gold in the mass start at the 2026 ISU Junior World Speed Skating Championships in Inzell, having previously claimed gold at the Junior World Championships in Collalbo in 2025. She also reached the podium at multiple Junior World Cup events across both disciplines and finished fourth in the mass start at the Senior ISU European Speed Skating Championships in Tomaszów-Mazowiecki earlier this year.
Sky Remans
Belgian snowboarder Remans announced herself as one of Europe’s most exciting young freestyle talents during the 2025-2026 season. At just 15, she became the youngest female freestyle snowboarder to represent Belgium at the Olympic Winter Games, competing in both Big Air and Slopestyle at Milano Cortina 2026 after securing qualification with a fifth-place World Cup finish in Laax. She capped the season by winning gold in Big Air at the FIS Junior World Championships in Calgary, and also won the Big Air European Cup Premium event in Corvatsch.
Anna Trocker
Italian Alpine skier Trocker delivered one of the performances of the junior season in 2025-2026, winning double Junior World Championship gold in Giant Slalom and Slalom in Narvik, as well as silver in the Alpine Combination. She also reached the top ten of the senior FIS World Cup in both disciplines at the World Cup Finals in Lillehammer, finishing eighth in Giant Slalom and ninth in Slalom, and helped Italy to 10th in the Team Combined event at Milano Cortina 2026.
The Piotr Nurowski Prize
The Piotr Nurowski Prize was created by the EOC in 2010 to remember Olympic great Piotr Nurowski, the former President of the Polish Olympic Committee. Through his example and his memory, it encourages young athletes to pursue a career in top-class sport, as well as inspiring future generations to adopt a healthy lifestyle based on Olympic values and principles. It takes into account athletes’ performances at major events, and of equal importance is their conduct during competition and their engagement with Olympic culture, values and friendship.
The winners of the previous Piotr Nurowski Prize editions can be found here.
