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The 2026 Winter Olympics are coming up!


Cover art by Evie Campbell
Cover art by Evie Campbell


This spring, the 2026 Winter Olympics are starting! Athletes from around the world are coming to Milan and Cortina, Italy to snowboard, ski, ice skate, and much more. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s to come this February 6th for the US team:


Biggest events:

Ice Skating:

Arguably the most popular event at the Winter Olympics, this year’s skaters are a mix of veterans and new-to-the-ice competitors. One superstar, Ilia Malinin, was the, “first skater in history to land the quadruple Axel in competition,” in a 2022 competition. One of the few US partner duos to be in the spotlight is Evan Bates and Madison Chock, who’ve, “won just about every major competition” (The Athletic). Temporary 20-year old retiree Alysa Liu is also competing in this Olympics and is highly anticipated to medal. Another athlete that paused her career is Amber Glenn. She cited mental health as her reason for taking a break from competing, however she returns straight off of a win at, “last year’s Grand Prix final” (The Athletic).


Skiing:

With just eight different events just for downhill skiing, 73 athletes have made the US skiing team and are going to compete this year. In alpine skiing, there’s two events; downhill skiing and Super-G. Downhill and Super-G have stars such as Mikaela Shiffrin (who also competes in slalom), who’s, “widely regarded as the most decorated alpine skier in history,” and veteran star Lindsey Vonn, known as, “history’s winningest speed skier” (The Athletic). For slalom, Paula Moltzan is one of the most highly anticipated skiers after Shiffrin, and she’s finished strong at the world championships and World Cup. Another skiing event sure to bring excitement is freestyle skiing, which is a mix of small jumps and turns. A few big stars “taking a leap” are Alex Ferreira, Alex Hall, and Jaelin Kauf, who are all medalists and champions.


Speed Skating:

Speed skating is (obviously!) one of the fastest events at the Olympics, and has many rising stars on the team this year. On the women’s team, veteran Brittany Bowe joins her final Olympic run. She’s a medalist, bronze and gold, and is competing in the 1000 and 1500m races. On the men’s side, Jordan Stolz, the frontrunner of the team, had a bumpy road in the trials, falling during his 500m race, however remains the top-expected skater with three wins at events at the world championship. 


Bobsled:

For the women’s events, they ride in a one-person and two-people sled, reaching almost 90 miles per hour on tracks at least 1,200 meters long. A few veterans, Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Humphries will be piloting for their fifth Olympics. Humphries has competed with Canada and the US, and won gold for both. The 6th seed globally, Meyers Taylor has five medals under her belt as well. 


Snowboarding:

Arguably skiing’s biggest competitor this Olympics, snowboarding has some big stars this year. 25 athletes will be competing this year for the US, including superstar Chloe Kim and five-time Olympic competitor Nick Baumgartner. Kim has set records as the, “youngest gold medalist in snowboarding history” (The Athletic). Be sure to watch the halfpipe, parallel giant slalom, snowboard cross, Big Air, and slopestyle!


Other events:

There are many other events featured in this Olympics, including luge, curling, Nordic Combined, biathlon, ice hockey, and skeleton.


Controversy:

In years past, athletes from countries such as Russia and Belarus have not been allowed to compete, or they’ve gone without representing their country or flag. This year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (or CAS) has decided to allow them to compete under the name, “Individual Neutral Athletes”. There will be 20 competing, however not as one team, especially after the 2016 steroid scandal, where over 1000 athletes used performance-enhancing drugs during global competitions and the Sochi Olympics. 


This year’s Olympics are broadcasted on NBC, and start February 6th through the 22nd. Don’t miss an Eagle’s Scream recap published after this year’s Olympics!


Sources:


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