Ireland's quartet of Winter Olympians will bask in the glow of a job well done today when they return to Dublin after their feats at the Milano-Cortina Games.
Anabelle Zurbay became the country's youngest ever competitor in an Olympic alpine skiing event; Cormac Comerford acquitted himself really well in four disciplines (the downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, and slalom run); while Thomas Maloney Westgaard further enhanced his reputation with 23rd in the brutally tough 50km cross-country mass classic race.
However it was Ben Lynch who was stole the headlines.
He made history by becoming the first Irish skier to qualify for any final at the Winter Olympics after advancing from the men's halfpipe event, finishing eighth overall.
"My birthday is September 8th and I got eight stitches in my forehead when I was a kid," Lynch, Ireland's flagbearer at Sunday night's closing ceremony, told RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland.
"It always seems to just be my lucky number. I've always had number eight and to get number eight at the Olympics is pretty cool as well.
"I was really, really proud of myself and to do that at the Olympics was the cherry on top, for sure."
It was an anxious wait, but Ben Lynch's second round 75.75 in the men’s halfpipe means he becomes the first Irish skier to qualify for any final in the Winter Olympics pic.twitter.com/6rzUjs9MeA
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 20, 2026
Chef de Mission Nancy Chillingworth was with Lynch in the airport before their flight to Dublin. They're expected to land just before 1.30pm, and will then head to an official homecoming celebration at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
"I think Ben is being rather modest there to be honest," said Chillingworth. "What he did to try to get into that final and then come eighth was really phenomenal. He pulled out a trick he'd never landed before. And to do that at the Olympic Games on the biggest stage in a packed venue is really something very special.
"All the team across the board performed really, really highly. If you look at Cormac, having come from learning originally in Kiltiernan (dry slopes in Co Wicklow), and then he competed in all four events. The downhill at Stelvio is world renowned for being one of the most difficult.
"To follow that up with three more events was amazing.
"Little Annie is only just 17. And you wouldn't have thought that with her standing up in the start gate with all the kind of giants in in alpine skiing. She was composed and calm and performed really well.
"And then Thomas, Thomas is Thomas, a legend of the Games. He's had his third Olympics. He didn't have a great season coming in. Then he pulled out two really, really special performances. You see when you're in the Olympic Village, the respect with which he's held amongst other cross-country big nations like Sweden and Norway.
"I think we don't necessarily always see it at home in Ireland, but you really see just the level that these guys are competing at on the on the world stage. It's super."
The hard work never stops for athletes and administrators alike.
They're already looking towards upcoming competitions, with Chillingworth relishing the chance to take on the 2030 Games in the French Alps.
"The display last night at the closing ceremony that the French Alps organising committee put on certainly bodes well," she said.
"We know the French can do it really well based on what they did in Paris. So I think 2030 will will be equally spectacular for winter."
As for Lynch, he's desperate for another shot on the big stage, adding: "I would love to do so. Obviously it's a really long way away, so I'm not going to say any definite right now.
"I'm just focused on the next competition, the next World Cup. And then as far as I'm looking right now is world champs next year in Crans-Montana."
