Noa Szőllős

Szőllős was born in Budapest, Hungary, into a skiing family.[1] Her father, Peter Szőllős, was a professional skier who represented Hungary before obtaining Israeli citizenship; her brothers Barnabash, known as Barni, and Benjamin also compete in skiing.[1] Peter introduced his children to skiing when they were very young and managed their careers.[6]

Her childhood and education involved moving between Hungary and Austria for school and training, including attendance at a specialized ski school.[7] She recalled that repeatedly leaving friends behind was stressful, but later felt that the sacrifices had been worthwhile: “Now I can say it was worth it.”[6] While attending a skiing-focused high school, she began to enjoy the sport more as she formed friendships with other skiers and her results improved.[8]

In a 2026 interview, Szőllős said that her father was Jewish and that she felt closely connected to her Jewish roots.[6] She recounted that her great-grandmother had been imprisoned at Auschwitz, and that her father’s grandfather had died on a train while being transported there after imprisonment in a labor camp.[6]

In 2018, Peter Szőllős moved his children to Israel under the Law of Return after disagreements with Hungary’s ski federation led him to conclude that their careers would not advance there.[7] Noa continued to train in Austria and described representing Israel as a way to become closer to the country and learn about a new culture.[7] By 2026, she held both Israeli and Hungarian citizenship, while her family’s home remained in Budapest.[5][6] She estimated that she skied about 120 days each year.[8]

At age 17, Szőllős won two medals at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland.[2] She took bronze in the Super-G on January 10 and silver in the alpine combined on January 11, securing Israel’s first medals in the history of the Winter Youth Olympics.[2] Earlier that month, on January 5, she had placed second in a National Junior Race slalom.[2] After her first Youth Olympic medal, she said: “I couldn’t be any prouder. It’s an amazing feeling, and I can’t describe it. It’s really fantastic.”[2]

Szőllős made her senior Olympic debut at Beijing in 2022 as one of six athletes representing Israel.[9][10] At the opening ceremony, she carried the Israeli flag alongside figure skater Evgeni Krasnopolski, an experience she described as very moving.[3] In the women’s giant slalom, she placed 42nd in the first run with a time of 1:04.90, finishing 7.34 seconds behind the leader.[11] She fell about halfway down the course during the second run and did not finish the event.[11] She completed her other two events in 41st place in the slalom and 34th in the Super-G.[10]

In January 2026, Szőllős finished 28th in a World Cup slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, earning three points—the first World Cup points of her career and the first earned by an Israeli in alpine skiing.[4] She achieved the result after starting with bib number 70.[4] Years earlier, she had agreed with her parents that she could get a cat if she earned World Cup points; after reaching that goal, she remarked that she liked cats although her father did not.[4]

At the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Szőllős finished 35th overall in the women’s giant slalom.[5] She placed 35th in the first run and 38th in the second, recording a combined time of 2:21, 8.23 seconds behind the gold-medal winner.[5] In the women’s slalom at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, she missed a gate during the first run and did not advance to the second, ending her competition at those Games.[12]

Szőllős’s medals in Lausanne made her the first Israeli athlete to win a medal at a winter Olympic event, youth or senior.[7] Her 2026 World Cup result established another national first in alpine skiing.[4] Alongside these competitive milestones, she has described representing Israel as a means of strengthening her connection to the country and to her Jewish roots.[6]