2026 Winter Olympics: Athletes, Trends, and Predictions

The Winter Olympics will be held in Italy this year from February 6 to 22. Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, a ski resort in the Dolomites, are the very different venues for the games. There will also be events outside of the host, and the closing ceremony will take place in Verona.

Which new events will be in the Winter Games?

Eight new events will feature across 16 sports, and there will be 116 gold medals on the line. Ski mountaineering will be included for the first time. New events within existing sports include men’s and women’s freestyle skiing, women’s luge doubles, women’s ski jumping, a skeleton mixed team event, and an alpine skiing combined team.

These additions will modernize the program and increase female participation. Sports betting is now legal in many U.S. states, and gamblers will be looking forward to placing bets on Olympic events.

Athletes to watch

Rising stars and established legends will be taking part in the Winter Olympics.

Mikaela Shiffrin, an American alpine skier, had a challenging run at Beijing and was coming back from an injury in the 2025 season. Her speed and technical skills could bring success in 2026.

In freestyle skiing, Eileen Gu wants to repeat or improve on her success in 2022 when she won two golds and a silver medal. Mikaël Kingsbury will want to reclaim his Olympic title. Jaelin Kauf and Alex Hall are other freestyle skiers to watch. Flora Tabanelli is an Italian freestyle skier and one of the home favorites.

Lindsey Vonn, a former Olympic Alpine skiing champion, has emerged out of retirement after six years and will compete this year. She was once the fastest skier in the world and feels confident heading into the race.

A snowboarding athlete to watch is Chloe Kim, who could win gold for the third time in the women’s halfpipe. Italians Michela Moioli and Omar Visintin are a duo to watch in snowboard cross.

NHL players will participate in the Winter Olympics after years of absence, and Sidney Crosby will return with the Canadian team. She has two gold medals for ice hockey and could win a third.

Jordon Stolz is a young speed skating champion who made his mark in Beijing and is expected to shine this year.

Mixed doubles curling champions Stefania Constantini & Amos Mosaner are home favorites in Italy and have not been defeated in years on the world stage.

Austrian Stefan Kraft is a ski jumper worth watching.

The Winter Olympics are not only about seasoned athletes; they also give young stars the chance to shine. These young athletes make events exciting to watch because their results are difficult to predict. Purchasing business-class tickets to Italy will be worth it to see them perform.

Trends

The rise of freer and more creative disciplines

New events are expanding the relevance of the Winter Olympics, with increased participation from women and younger athletes. As competitive depth continues to grow across different sports, unexpected medal wins are becoming more likely.

Return of the NHL to the global stage

Ice hockey will be one of the marquee attractions in Milan this year as NHL players represent their countries once again on the global stage.

Geographical dispersion

The Winter Games will take place in multiple venues, from the urban centers in Milan to high Alpine ranges and mountain clusters. This adds some logistical issues, but has the benefits of fresh scenery and enthusiasm from locals rarely seen at past events.

Predictions

Making predictions is very difficult when looking at the 2026 Winter Olympics schedule. However, several storylines and informed forecasts give some sense of what’s possible.

Podium surprises could be seen across disciplines as athletes from unconventional winter sport countries find success in the freer, more creative disciplines.

Younger generations could break out and start reshaping the winter sports talent pools. Returning veterans could also inspire with podium moments and stories that transcend sport.

Both men’s and women’s ice hockey events are likely to be more competitive as a result of the return of the NHL. Teams like Finland, Sweden, the U.S., and Canada will be thrilling to watch.