Boris Stanish says he entered last weekend's Australian Championships just wanting to muck around and have fun.

While that may not be a recipe for success for most athletes, it was the right formula for the 19-year-old who scored back-to-back wins in both Saturday's Sprint and the Mass Start the following day.

"I came into the race thinking I want to have a good time and that's what I did," said Stanish. "So I was pretty happy it turned out how it did. When I'm having a good time I always race well."

After a fractured ankle in 2023 put paid to his best form, Stanish said this year he had something to prove and was ready for redemption.

"I needed a good one - last year I was injured and I had food poisoning during the Champs so that was a double and it wasn't very fun for me," he said. "So coming back and getting the double win was very, very nice because it showed the training I'm doing is pretty solid and it's working.

"I was pretty far ahead on the Sprint and my Mass Start was good. My shooting was the best shooting I've ever done in one weekend so I'm very happy with that."

Stanish's broken ankle last year was sustained in a downhill incident when after landing a big jump, he got caught in the crusty surface which sent him cartwheeling over 100m down the mountain.

Despite the setback, he says he has no plans to change up his training regime to keep it safe.

"That's a big part of my training - just doing dumb stuff!" he says. "You've gotta do stupid stuff to get fast!

"You've got to be able to do things on downhill skis and do things on cross country skis that you probably shouldn't do if you want to be fast."

With the 2024 domestic season providing a better platform to prepare for the European winter, Stanish has the next few months mapped out on a path which may ultimately lead to Milano-Cortina 2026.

"I'll be going away from November to March and I'll be doing the European competitions, IBU Junior Cup, IBU Cup," he said. "If I'm in good form, there might be a point going to World Cup but it just depends on whether or not it's worth going.

"I've represented at all levels except for World Cup and it's just a matter of time. It's a matter of getting good enough to be competitive on the World Cup.

"It's why they have the different levels; it's why they have IBU Cup, it's so they can prepare you for the World Cup because it's a totally different game.

"I think I've got both eyes on Milan. It's looking like a possibility based on what condition I'm in now, it's looking like I will be able to do it. If I'm going to go there, it's worth being good enough to get a solid result."

If Stanish does make it to Milan, he knows it will be a career-defining moment and one he will reflect upon knowing how much support he has received along his journey.

"Becoming part of that group [Olympians] is probably a massive change to your life regardless of how well you do," he said. "The people who got a personal best at the Olympics got a massive step forward in their career and a massive step forward for them mentally.

"Everywhere in Australia you find support when you're in pursuit of a higher purpose like representing your country.

"I've found that it's been like that everywhere you go - someone wants to support you because you're doing something that represents Australia as a whole.

"Australia has a history of creating athletes in the most random and awesome ways."