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Milan Cortina Winter Olympics to Feature New Events, International Athletes, and Return of NHL Players

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The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics: A Preview

The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are scheduled to feature 116 medal events across 16 disciplines, with approximately 3,000 athletes expected to compete. The Games will mark the debut of ski mountaineering as a new sport, alongside seven other new medal events within existing disciplines. Notable international and American athletes are preparing for competition, and NHL players are set to return to Olympic ice hockey for the first time in over a decade. The Paralympic Games, held previously, concluded with Team USA securing second place in the medal count, achieving 24 total medals, including 13 gold.

Overview of the Olympic Games

The Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy, will take place over approximately two and a half weeks in February across various venues in northern Italy. The venues are geographically dispersed, and the Games are designed to accommodate in-person spectators.

New Sports and Events

Eight new medal events will be introduced for the 2026 Games.

Ski Mountaineering Debuts

Ski mountaineering, or "skimo," makes its debut as a new sport, involving athletes hiking up and skiing down mountains. It will include three events: women's sprint, men's sprint, and mixed relay. Ski mountaineering competitions are scheduled for Bormio, Valtellina Valley.

Additional New Events within Existing Disciplines

  • Dual Moguls: Men's and women's freestyle skiing events where two athletes compete side-by-side.
  • Mixed Team Skeleton: Teams consisting of one man and one woman from the same country racing head-first down an ice track.
  • Women's Doubles Luge: This event establishes a specific doubles competition for women, while the existing doubles luge will be officially designated as a men's event.
  • Women's Individual Large Hill Ski Jumping: This adds a large hill individual event for women, complementing the existing normal hill and mixed team events.
  • Men's Super Team Ski Jumping: This new format features pairs of two athletes competing in up to three jumps, replacing the traditional four-person men's team competition. This change aims for a more dynamic competition and allows participation from smaller nations.

Key International Athletes Expected to Compete

Alpine Skiing

  • Federica Brignone (Italy): A three-time Olympic medalist, defending world champion in giant slalom, and multiple World Cup title winner.
  • Marco Odermatt (Switzerland): Defending Olympic gold medalist in giant slalom, three-time world champion, and 53-time World Cup winner.
  • Atle Lie McGrath (Norway): A favored competitor for the gold medal in men's slalom.

Biathlon

  • Quentin Fillon Maillet (France): A five-time Olympic medalist and defending gold medalist in the 20 km individual and 12.5 km pursuit.
  • Julia Simon (France): The 2022 Olympic mixed relay silver medalist, 2022-23 overall World Cup champion, and winner of four golds at the 2025 world championships.

Bobsled

  • Francesco Friedrich and Johannes Lochner (Germany): These two pilots have swept the last seven four-man and two-man world championships and finished 1-2 in both events at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Francesco Friedrich is a four-time Olympic champion.

Curling

  • Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner (Italy): The mixed doubles duo won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022 and captured the 2025 world championship.
  • Bruce Mouat (Great Britain): Led the British team to silver in Beijing and won the 2023 and 2025 world titles with Scotland.

Cross-Country Skiing

  • Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (Norway): A five-time Olympic gold medalist, 15-time world champion, and achieved his 100th World Cup win in December.
  • Jonna Sundling (Sweden): The 2022 Olympic sprint champion and five-time world championship gold medalist.

Figure Skating

  • Yuma Kagiyama (Japan): Silver medalist at the 2022 Olympics and a three-time world championship runner-up.
  • Adeliia Petrosian (Individual Neutral Athlete): The 18-year-old Russian is a three-time Russian champion and is scheduled to compete as a neutral athlete.
  • Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi (Japan): Two-time world champions in pairs figure skating.
  • Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin (Germany): Led the pairs short program in a prior competition.

Freestyle Skiing

  • Eileen Gu (China): Won two gold medals and one silver for China at the Beijing Olympics in 2022. She is scheduled to compete in multiple freestyle events, including big air.
  • Mikaël Kingsbury (Canada): A moguls athlete with 18 Olympic and world championship medals, including gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
  • Megan Oldham (Canada): Led big air qualifying in a previous Olympic cycle.
  • Zoe Atkin (Great Britain): Expected to compete in women’s freeski halfpipe.
  • Finley Melville Ives (New Zealand): Expected to compete in the men’s halfpipe final.

Luge

  • Max Langenhan and Felix Loch (Germany): Langenhan has secured the last two World Cup titles and six world championships and will be challenged by teammate Loch, the current World Cup leader and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
  • Julia Taubitz (Germany): Winner of the last three World Cup season titles and three golds at last year’s world championships.

Nordic Combined

  • Johannes Lamparter (Austria): Has emerged as a top performer on the World Cup circuit this season, with five wins.

Short Track Speedskating

  • William Dandjinou (Canada): A two-time defending World Tour champion, with seven wins this season and four medals at the 2025 world championships.
  • Courtney Sarault (Canada): World Tour winner across three distances, overall season title holder, and 11-time world championship medalist.

Ski Jumping

  • Domen and Nika Prevc (Slovenia): Siblings who are leading their respective World Cup tours this season, with Domen having 10 wins and Nika 13. Both won two golds and a silver at last year’s world championships.

Ski Mountaineering

  • Emily Harrop (France): Current defending World Cup champion, with two wins in the sprint discipline this season.

Skeleton

  • Matt Weston (Great Britain): Captured world titles in both 2023 and 2025, and secured his third consecutive overall World Cup crown this season.

Snowboarding

  • Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (New Zealand): Won slopestyle gold and big air silver in Beijing in 2022 and has claimed four X Games golds since then.

Speedskating

  • Femke Kok (Netherlands): Top World Cup performer this season at 500 and 1,000 meters and three-time world champion in the 500m.
  • Miho Takagi (Japan): With seven Olympic and 16 world championship medals, currently leading the World Cup standings in the 1,500m.
  • Damian Źurek (Poland): Recently edged American competitor Jordan Stolz in two 500m World Cup races in Germany, setting track records.
  • Ellia Smeding (Great Britain): Scheduled to compete in the women’s 1500m.

Ice Hockey

  • Canadian Men's Team: Featuring NHL players such as Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid, the team is expected to contend for gold.
  • Canadian Women's Team: Led by captain Marie-Philip Poulin, the team has won five of seven Olympic golds since the event’s debut.

Key U.S. Athletes and Storylines

Alpine Skiing

  • Lindsey Vonn and Breezy Johnson: Athletes returning to competition following injuries.
  • Mikaela Shiffrin: Seeking Olympic success after previous results in 2022 and a 2024 injury, particularly in slalom.

Biathlon

  • Deedra Irwin and Campbell Wright: Contenders for the first-ever U.S. biathlon medal.

Bobsled

  • Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers-Taylor: Both mothers, returning to bobsledding for their fifth Olympic Games. Meyers Taylor earned silver in women's monobob in 2022, and Humphries is the defending Olympic champion in the event.

Curling

  • New Generation of U.S. Curlers: The U.S. team will feature new faces, including Team Peterson and mixed doubles world champions Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse. The U.S. women’s team holds a 3-1 record in round-robin play in prior competitions.

Cross-Country Skiing

  • Gus Schumacher and Ben Ogden: Leading the U.S. men's team in pursuit of a medal. The men’s team secured two silver medals in a previous competition.
  • Jessie Diggins: Earned her third Olympic medal in previous Games.

Figure Skating

  • Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito, Ilia Malinin: Malinin is recognized for the quadruple axel.
  • Madison Chock and Evan Bates: Ice dancers aiming for multiple podium finishes. Alysa Liu is returning to competition after a break.

Snowboarding

  • Chloe Kim (halfpipe), Ester Ledecka (parallel giant slalom), and Anna Gasser (big air): Aiming to win their third consecutive Olympic gold medals.
  • Maddy Schaffrick: Returning to competition.

Speedskating

  • Jordan Stolz (Long Track): Achieved ten world championship medals, including three while recovering from pneumonia, and holds the current world record in the men's 1000 meters. He is scheduled to compete in the men's 1000m, 500m, 1500m, and Mass Start events.
  • Kristen Santos-Griswold (Short Track): World champion and Crystal Globe award recipient. She is scheduled to compete in the Short Track Mixed Team Relay, Women's 500m, and Women's 3000m Relay.
  • Erin Jackson (Long Track): Became the first American woman since 1980 to win gold in the women's 500 meters and the first Black woman to win an individual speed skating event at the Olympics. She is scheduled for the Women's 1000m and 500m.
  • Brittany Bowe (Long Track): World record holder for the women's 1000m and a two-time bronze medalist, competing in her fourth Olympics. She is scheduled for the Women's 1000m, 500m, and 1500m.

Ice Hockey

  • U.S. Men's Team: Featuring NHL stars like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Nathan MacKinnon, the team is expected to contend for gold.
  • U.S. Women's Team: Held a 5-0 record with a 26-1 goal differential in prior preliminary play, led by Caroline Harvey, Alex Carpenter, Laila Edwards, and Megan Keller. Goalkeeper Aerin Frankel allowed one goal and recorded 44 saves.

Logistical and Organisational Aspects

The return of NHL players to Olympic ice hockey for the first time in over a decade marks a significant development.

Russia's national team will not participate in the NHL-featured men's ice hockey tournament. Journalistic observations regarding previous Olympic Games have highlighted both the logistical challenges of widely distributed venues and the successful execution of events across varied terrain. Athlete mentalities have shown a shift towards focusing on resilience and personal bests, alongside the importance of mental and physical well-being. American success in hockey has been attributed to investments in youth development, diverse talent, the return of NHL players, and the impact of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

Paralympic Games Summary

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons declared the Paralympic Games concluded, marking the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympics. A record 611 athletes from 55 countries competed in 79 medal events across six sports. China topped the medal count with 44 total medals, including 15 gold. Russia participated under its own flag.

Team USA Medalists

A total of 28 American Paralympians and two guides reached the podium, with six winning medals for the first time and six earning multiple medals.

  • Ice Events: The U.S. sled hockey team secured its fifth consecutive gold medal by defeating Canada. Captain Josh Pauls achieved his fifth gold medal in the sport. Declan Farmer became the all-time leading scorer in Paralympic sled hockey history with 15 goals and 26 points. The U.S. became the first country to sweep all three Olympic and Paralympic hockey tournaments in one year. In wheelchair curling, the U.S. mixed doubles team of Steve Emt and Laura Dwyer finished fourth, marking the nation's best-ever Paralympic finish in the sport.
  • Para Nordic Skiing: Oksana Masters concluded with four gold medals and one bronze in biathlon and cross-country skiing, bringing her career total to 24 medals. Jake Adicoff, with guides Reid Goble and Peter Wolter, won four gold medals in visually impaired skiing events. Sydney Peterson, in her second Paralympics, won four medals, three of which were gold. Kendall Gretsch won four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze), bringing her total medal count to 11 across Summer and Winter Games.
  • Alpine Skiing: Andrew Kurka earned a bronze medal in the men's super-G sitting. Patrick Halgren won silver in the men's super-G standing event.
  • Snowboarding: Brenna Huckaby earned a bronze in the women's banked slalom, bringing her career total to five medals. First-time Paralympian Kate Delson won gold in banked slalom and silver in snowboard cross. On the men's side, Noah Elliott won gold in banked slalom and silver in snowboard cross. Mike Schultz earned his fourth career medal, a bronze in banked slalom.

The next Winter Paralympics are scheduled for the French Alps in 2030.