“A game changer”: Olympic Solidarity scholarship-holders shine at Milano Cortina 2026
Donovan Carrillo, a figure skater from Mexico, and Mialitiana Clerc, an Alpine skier from Madagascar, are among 244 athletes at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games who have been supported by a scholarship from Olympic Solidarity, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s programme to support National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and their athletes. Described as “a game changer” by Carrillo for his Games preparations, the Olympic Solidarity scholarships are helping over 200 athletes compete and win medals at these Games.
Key facts
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Olympic Solidarity scholarship-holders have won seven medals at the halfway point of Milano Cortina 2026: two golds, one silver and four bronze, plus 22 diplomas.
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Olympic scholarship-holder Donovan Carrillo competed at his second Olympic Winter Games, finishing 22nd in the men’s individual event.
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Olympic scholarship-holder and Madagascar’s flag bearer Mialitiana Clerc is set to become the first African woman to compete at three Olympic Winter Games.
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Some 449 athletes from 90 NOCs received Olympic Solidarity scholarships during the Milano Cortina 2026 qualification period.
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Donovan and Mialitiana are among the 244 scholarship-holders from 74 NOCs at Milano Cortina 2026, representing 54 per cent of all scholarship recipients.
Milano Cortina 2026 is Donovan Carrillo’s second Olympic Winter Games. In addition to being a flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony, he was part of a spectacular men’s figure skating competition yesterday in front of a packed crowd at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, eventually finishing 22nd after posting one of his best-ever performances in the free skate.
“I'm just so happy and honoured to be here in Milan,” he said afterwards. “It really means a lot to represent my country on such a big stage like the Winter Olympics. It was a great adventure; I had so much fun [competing] and the audience treated me in the best possible way.
“It was also very special because I had my parents in the audience, watching me at the Olympics for the first time. I felt protected, I felt loved and I felt inspired to do my very best in the competition. It was one of the best performances of my career.”
“I feel I’m here today because of this scholarship”
In the early stages of his journey, after his local rink in Mexico closed, Carrillo started honing his craft at a public rink in a mall in León – where he had to weave his way past beginners and practise his routines to whichever music was playing – and he is grateful for the support he has received to enable him to reach the highest level.
“I'm a holder of the Olympic Solidarity scholarship, and that was just a game changer for me,” he explained.
“For the last two-and-a-half years, I've been training in Toronto, which is one of the best places to skate in the world because there’s a lot of ice and great coaches. In order to access these conditions, this scholarship was needed. I feel I'm here today because of this scholarship.”
A trailblazer for African women in winter sports
In Cortina, Mialitiana Clerc will become the first African woman to compete at three Olympic Winter Games when she lines up in the giant slalom on the Tofane slope on 15 February.
Born in Madagascar, she was adopted by a French couple when she was young and taught to ski in Haute-Savoie, a region of the French Alps which will welcome the next Olympic Winter Games in 2030. Clerc’s scholarship has been essential in her journey to making history at Milano Cortina 2026, and she hopes to use her example to inspire others to chase their dreams.
“I want to show that we all have the chance to do something, something really big in our lives,” she says.
“For me, [the scholarship] really helps me to train. I can travel a lot, and as an Alpine skier, we have to travel to find the best conditions to train, to race, to get more [qualification] points and improve. Thanks to Olympic Solidarity, I'm living the dream of every athlete, and I really want to show my best.”
Raising the level of winter athletes
As of day eight of Milano Cortina 2026, there have already been strong results for Olympic Solidarity scholarship-holders, who collectively have won seven medals, including two golds, one silver, and four bronze, plus 22 diplomas. Among the highlights was biathlete Lora Hristova’s bronze in the women’s 15km individual event, which was Bulgaria’s first Olympic medal in the sport since 2002.
With Olympic Solidarity’s support extending to team support grants in curling and ice hockey, and to scholarships for coaches as well, the programme is playing a fundamental role in supporting athletes to reach the level required to compete at the Olympic Games.
In the build-up to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the IOC offered 449 scholarships to athletes from 90 different NOCs, in six different sports, with 244 scholarship-holders participating at the Games.
Olympic Solidarity is very committed to expanding as much as possible our support for athletes and to coaches, and that's across all sports, whether it's summer or winter sports.
“It's really focusing on athletes’ needs and helping them to get to the Games, and if that helps to increase universality across both the Summer and Winter Games, I think it's a success.”