by Abigail Brandwein
Every four years, the long-awaited Winter Olympics debut for viewers worldwide. Previously held in Beijing, China, in 2022, the games are a premier multi-sport event that features competitions held exclusively on ice and snow. The seasonal Olympics continuously allow countries all over the world to showcase their finest, most perseverant athletes, specifically highlighting prolonged endurance in cold-weather environments.
The 2026 games will be held between February 6 and 22, and will feature athletes from more than 90 countries. They will take place in Italy, with events spread throughout Milan and Cortina, as well as much of Northern Italy. Because the games will be split between two cities, 2026 marks the first ever co-hosted Winter Olympics. It is Italy’s fourth time hosting the competition.
“I visited Cortina last year,” said Sophomore Mackenzie Lee. “I saw the construction and the preparation for the Olympics, and I got so excited.”
Each Olympics has four main categories of events, often classified by the nature of the sport. The sections include Ice Sports, which consists of ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating, and curling, and the Alpine/Freestyle/Snowboarding section, which covers alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, and snowboarding. The Nordic Events category has biathlon, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. The Sliding Sports include bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge. This year’s Winter Olympics also includes a new sport, under the Nordic Events category, called ski mountaineering, which involves climbing and skiing down steep, ungroomed terrain.
Established stars like skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn will compete as long-standing athletes, while new talent will also be introduced throughout each sport. Athletes to watch include snowboarder Chloe Kim, speed skater Jordan Stolz, and hockey players Auston Matthews and Kendall Coyne Schofield.
The competition is available for viewers to stream primarily on Peacock, but other channels such as NBC or USA Network will also cover the event.
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