Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Spain will have two flag-bearers: Olivia Smart (born in Sheffield) and Quim Salrich (skier), both of whom are from Sheffield. They will represent Spain at the opening ceremony for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games 2026.
Smart, 28, has become a Spanish citizen since 2017. He previously competed in ice dancing for Great Britain with Joseph Buckland from 2010 to 2015.
Smart announced in December 2015 that she will be skating with Spain’s Adrian Diaz. She was released from her British Skating Association commitment a few months later.
Smart and Diaz, a Barcelona-based duo, represented Spain in the 2022 Winter Olympics at Beijing where they placed eighth.
Adrian Diaz has retired from the sport. This gave Olivia Smart an opportunity to compete on Dancing on Ice in the UK, where she had been a professional skater.
She won the competition in 2023 with British Olympic gymnast Nile Wilson.
Tim Dieck of Germany became her new partner on the ice. The Spanish federation provided better financial backing for him than his native country. He switched allegiances to Spain.
They placed fifth at the 2025 European Championships held in Estonia, while placing sixth at the World Championships held in USA.
This month the partnership placed seventh at the European Championships, held in Smart’s hometown of Sheffield.
Olivia Smart will compete in her second Olympic Games for Spain, and Tim Dieck, who represented Germany in Beijing 2022, will make his first appearance.
The pair will be part a Spanish contingent with 20 competitors, the same as in Sochi 2014.
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