Hugo Sebastian Hinckfuss is a cross country skier who was awarded a Tier 3 Scholarship within the 2023 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
The Queensland-born cross-country skier, who speaks fluent Polish, began skiing at age 10, and really found his feet during the local State Interschool Championships. He now sits firmly amongst the top echelon of cross-country skiers in the country.
As a lover of, and competitor in, a wide range of sports, Hugo was excited to try skiing and add another sport to his already established repertoire and skiing was the sport that grabbed him from his very first race in 2013. He quickly progressed in the sport and secured a NSW State Title in 2015, which ultimately led to the Australian Junior National Title in 2016.
In 2020, Hugo competed at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Winter Olympic Games and the World Junior Nordic Skiing Championships and in 2021 he placed 17th overall at the OPA Junior Cup and competed at the World Cup in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
In 2022, Hugo became the youngest ever Australian to represent the nation at an Olympic Games (Beijing) in Cross Country Skiing – the next youngest was FOUR years older! He then led the Australian Junior National team to their most successful Junior World Championships in history.
Hugo’s ambition outside of sport is to use his degree in Applied Mathematics and Physiology to work with professional sports teams, assisting them in finding marginal gains in their sport to ensure absolute peak performance for athletes.
“To be a successful SAHOF Scholarship recipient is a great honour for me. The support provided by SAHOF fills me with more confidence in my development towards my future goals, especially as there are so many great athletes that have come before me who have taken this development pathway too.” – Hugo Hinckfuss on being selected as a 2023 Tier 3 Scholarship Holder.
Honours & Achievements
- 2020: Lausanne Youth Olympic Games
- 2021: Lenzerheide World Cup
- 2021: OPA Junior Cup, Goms – 10k Classic, 17th
- 2022: World Junior Championships, Lygna – 30k Freestyle Mass Start, 27th
- 2022: World Junior Championships, Lygna – 10k Classic Interval Start, 30th
- 2022: Norwegian Junior Cup, Steinkjer – Classic Sprint, 14th
- 2022: Beijing Olympic Games – Freestyle Spring, 61st
- 2023: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder
