Now the 33-year-old is the only athlete in the world competing at international events for Ski Mountaineering and Cross-Country Skiing, aiming to meet the Olympic qualifying standard in both sports.

“In my mind I basically had retired [after Beijing],” Phil said.

“I thought I’d give this Ski Mountaineering a go and see what it’s like and where it takes me. Maybe I could go to the Olympics again with that.”

In Ski Mountaineering competitors pass through a series of transitions between uphill skiing and uphill walking, before descending on skis. Every second will be vital for the three Olympic medal events in Milano Cortina – the men's sprint, women's sprint and a mixed relay – as the fastest finishers usually complete the sprint in about three minutes and the relay in about 15 minutes.

If successful in getting qualified and selected to the Olympic Team for both Cross-Country Skiing and Ski Mountaineering, Phil would become the first Aussie winter athlete to compete in two sports at the same Olympics. Since Australia’s first Olympian Edwin Flack went to the 1896 Games, only Edwin and five other Aussies have competed in two sports at the same Olympics and none since 1968.

Picking up Ski Mountaineering training and events in 2023 was refreshing, but he also saw a benefit in making a Cross-Country Skiing return.

“It’s hard to always train for Ski Mountaineering,” he said.

“Once I was trained and fit, I would do Cross-Country Skiing to train for Ski Mountaineering. So I was kind of doing both anyway and thought I’d see how I’d go to manage this schedule and do some cross-country races.

“It’s working out at the moment and I’m doing everything in my ability to try and qualify for both.”

But Phil knows nothing is guaranteed, with a worst-case scenario being he misses the qualification standard in both sports. He also has a shot at becoming the first Australian to compete in Cross-Country Skiing at four Olympic Games.

“There are a few things that still need to fall into place for me in both sports,” he said. “There’s doubts about whether I’m spreading myself too thin and falling in a heap and not achieving goals.

“In the cross-country I’m no longer in the top one or two (from Australia), just getting older and these younger guys are skiing faster now.”

It was 12 years ago Phil won his first cross-country skiing national title as a 21-year-old, following that up with his first Olympics at Sochi 2014 as a 22-year-old. Next year will be his 35th birthday, two days after the Milano Cortina Olympics Closing Ceremony.

However, he is backing himself in. So much so that after being coached for most of his career by Mattias Nilson, Phil has elected to coach himself.

“If I use a cross-country skiing coach or a ski mountaineering coach, the emphasis would just end up being back on their particular sport. I wouldn't get the understanding of what I need to do to do both.

“Having had good coaches throughout my skiing life and having done a sports science degree, I feel that I can write a pretty decent program myself.

“It's working so far, but sometimes it's good to have an outside perspective on what they think you should do.”

The Victorian is one of five Australian winter athletes receiving funding from the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity Scholarship program, to help with the costs of training and travelling to events. Phil benefits from not having to commit to a full-time job and the funding also helps to get support at races with ski technicians and equipment waxing.

With Italy hosting the Games it’s the first time in Phil’s career that he’s had the chance to compete at a Winter Olympics in Europe.

“I think it’s going to be pretty cool and very different because it’s a winter nation and they really value winter sports.

“Being in Europe where everyone appreciates and lives for winter sport, it’s going to create a pretty amazing atmosphere.”

Olympic qualifying for both Ski Mountaineering and Cross-Country Skiing is happening now at World Cup and World Championship events, which continues through to December 2025 and January 2026 respectively. The competition schedule for both sports during the Games includes a clash on day 15, where the Ski Mountaineering mixed relay and one of the six Cross-Country Skiing events, the men’s 50km classic, are on at the same time.

“If I have to miss the last one (50km classic) then that’s ok. If that’s how it plays out I’d be absolutely stoked.”

Phil has come a long way from the athlete who, at one of his first World Championships appearances a decade ago, became known as a crocodile wrestler; which lives in infamy on his International Ski and Snowboard Federation biography page.

“My coach, he updated [my profile] without me knowing. When the announcers were introducing me at the World Championships they announced over the loudspeaker that I was a crocodile wrestler.

“It was a bit of a stitch up from him, and it’s been there [on my profile] ever since.”

Phil’s next Cross-Country event is a World Cup in Falun, Sweden on the 14th-16th Feb and is followed by a Ski Mountaineering World Cup in Bormio, Italy on the 21st-23rd Feb.