Copyright NBC10 Boston
Everyone knows the Olympics are the most exciting time of the year. The Games are so exciting, in fact, that it can be difficult to keep up with all the action, day in and day out. In honor of the Olympics being 100 days away, the team at NBC Olympics came together to compile a list of 100 storylines (in no specific order) that every fan should keep an eye on this year at the Milan Cortina Games. General storylines 1. Can the U.S. win the medal count?: Norway won the most total medals at each of the last two Winter Olympics, but that streak is in doubt thanks to the retirement of several key athletes. Germany, a powerhouse in the sliding sports, remains in the mix, but the U.S., with the help of its rising stars, could challenge for the top spot. Team USA has finished atop the overall medal count just twice in history (1932, 2010). 2. Further strides toward gender parity: After the 2024 Summer Olympics made headlines for becoming the first Olympic Games with full gender parity on the field, Milan Cortina is set to be the most gender equal Winter Games in history, with 47% of athletes being women — a 1.6% increase from Beijing in 2022. Off the field, 50% of the positions on International Olympic Committee commissions are held by women, and 47% of the IOC's Executive Board members are women. 3. Competition across the globe ... and Italy: The 2026 Winter Olympics will make history as the most spread-out Winter Games in history, with competition raging across three different Italian regions: Lombardia (which includes Milan), Trentino and Veneto. The Opening Ceremony also will span the many competition clusters, ensuring every athlete has a chance to partake, along with having two Olympic cauldrons in Milan and Cortina. 4. A homecoming 70 years in the making: It's been 70 years since the Winter Olympics last were hosted in Cortina, and the world has changed a lot since then. However, the competitive drive and dedication of the athletes remains the same, as does the passion of the fans in Northern Italy who have waited for another chance to host the world's biggest competition. 5. A tale of two cities: Two host cities calls for two mascots. Brother and sister stoats Tina and Milo will represent the Winter Games in 2026. Tina, from Cortina, will represent the Olympics, and Milo, born in Milan without one of his paws, will represent the Paralympics. 6. The Fantastic Four: With the Opening Ceremony taking place simultaneously in both Milan and Cortina, the Italian host nation is taking the unprecedented step of having four flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony, ensuring each celebration will have two representatives as the cauldrons are lit. 7. Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN): After Russia and Belarus were suspended by the IOC following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, some athletes will be allowed to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes at Milan Cortina under strict guidelines and at the discretion of each international sports federation. 8. A family dynasty in the making: This winter, three sisters are looking to take over the Olympic skiing world: Lauren Macuga, an Alpine skier; Alli, who competes in moguls; and Sam, a ski jumper. Their younger brother, Daniel, is an up-and-coming competitor in Alpine skiing. 9. Who lights the cauldrons?: The cauldron lighting is one facet of the Opening Ceremony that always brings a ton of speculation. The act of lighting the cauldron is a huge honor, typically reserved for someone significant to the host nation, and is a well-guarded secret right until the moment it happens. With two cauldrons set to be lit simultaneously, the drama is doubled for Milan Cortina. Alpine skiing 10. Vonn seeks Olympic history in return: 2025 witnessed the unretirement of Lindsey Vonn. In 2026, she’ll have the opportunity to make Olympic history. Bode Miller is the oldest Alpine skier to win a medal at 41 years and 30 days, but if Vonn finds her way to the podium at Milan Cortina, she’ll surpass his mark at 41 years and 120ish days. The feat would deepen her already unassailable legacy. 11. Odermatt looks to carry on World Cup dominance: Marco Odermatt arguably has been the best Alpine skier since the 2022 Winter Olympics. In four years, he’s won four consecutive overall World Cup titles and three world championship gold medals, dominating across both speed and technical events. Will the “Swissblade” (new nickname, coined and minted here first) stay sharp on the world’s biggest stage? 12. Redemption for Shiffrin: Mikaela Shiffrin finished 16th overall in the 2024-25 Alpine ski World Cup standings. The last time she ranked outside the top 10? As a 16-year-old rookie in 2012. A puncture wound to her oblique and subsequent bout with PTSD cut Shiffrin’s campaign short, but earning a medal at Milan Cortina would solidify her place back at the top and exorcise a few medal-less demons from the 2022 Beijing Games. 13. The depth of the U.S. women’s Alpine ski team: Should a pair of American Alpine skiers not named Vonn or Shiffrin win medals at Milan Cortina, chances are it will be Breezy Johnson and Lauren Macuga. Johnson flashed her elite speed at the 2025 World Championships, earning gold in the downhill and team combined events, while Macuga won her first World Cup event and world championship medal last season at just 23 years old. Don't sleep on two-time world championship medal winner Paula Moltzan either who placed second in the inaugural World Cup event of the 2025-26 season in Soelden, Austria. 14. Glimmers of hope for the U.S. Alpine men’s team: The men’s team likely will not be an Olympic medal favorite in 2026. That said, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the sole American Alpine skiing medalist at the 2022 Beijing Games, once claimed a World Cup victory in Bormio on the same slopes hosting the men’s ski competitions in 2026. He and Ben Ritchie, who placed 4th together in the team combined event at the 2025 World Championships, will look to carry their momentum into Milan Cortina. 15. Ravenous Radamus: River Radamus came about as close as you can get to winning his first medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. In two separate events, the giant slalom and the mixed team parallel, he placed 4th, which includes missing out on bronze by 27 hundredths of a second in the former. Radamus recalls “watching the podium ceremony and just feeling like such a failure,” causing him to train nonstop since. Will this be Radamus’ breakout Olympics? He’s someone to keep an eye on. 16. Gut-Behrami’s swan song: In June, Lara Gut-Behrami announced the 2026 Winter Olympics would be her final Games. The 34-year-old Swiss speed specialist is considered one of the best Alpine skiers of all time, having claimed three Olympic medals (including gold in the super-G event in 2022), nine world championship medals, two overall World Cup titles and 48 World Cup victories. 17. Time may not be on Brignone’s side: Federica Brignone was skiing her best as the 2024-25 World Cup season wrapped, claiming the overall title and ranking 1st, 1st and 2nd in the downhill, giant slalom and super-G disciplines. A crash at the Italian Championships resulted in a torn ACL and multiple leg fractures for the 35-year-old, potentially sidelining her through the 2026 Winter Games. 18. A potential first for Brazil … and South America: No South American country ever has won a medal in Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is poised to change that. The 25-year-old, who was born in Norway and now represents his mother's home country of Brazil, made five World Cup podiums during the 2024-25 season and is a serious medal contender in the slalom and giant slalom events. 19. Three cheers for Jamaica: Born and raised in Brooklyn, Alpine skiers Helaina, Henniyah and Henri Rivers IV hope to represent Jamaica at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The triplets, whose mom is from the Caribbean island, will need to climb the world rankings to have a chance at qualifying, with Henri the likeliest of the siblings to do so. No Jamaican ever has won a medal in Alpine at the Winter Games. 20. Ledecka's scheduling dilemma: Ester Ledecka won a bronze medal in women’s downhill at the 2025 World Championships, but she won't be competing in that event at the Milan Cortina Games. The dual-sport star had a difficult decision to make, as snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom event takes place on the same day about 150 miles away, and she’s the reigning world and Olympic champion in that one. Ledecka opted to compete in the snowboarding event, but she still plans to race the super-G, which she won gold in at the 2018 Games. Biathlon 21. Team USA aims for first Olympic medal: The U.S. never has earned an Olympic medal in biathlon and rising star Campbell Wright could be the team’s best shot at changing that. Wright earned silver in the men’s 10km sprint and 12.5km pursuit at the 2025 World Championships and also became the first American to earn the U23 globe in the Biathlon World Cup. 22. Biathlon without the Boe brothers: The Norwegian brothers Tarjei Boe and Johannes Thingnes Boe have eight Olympic gold medals between them and both retired at the end of the 2024-25 season. Following their retirement, the men's field is wide open at the top for the next generation. Bobsled 23. A rising star: In under four years, U.S. bobbsledder Kaysha Love went from push athlete to monobob world champion, beating out veteran Laura Nolte from Germany. The former track and field athlete is no stranger to a fast learning curve, having made her Olympic debut in Beijing a mere 18 months after she first started the sport. 24. New meets old: The brand-new sliding center in Cortina, which will host its first competition in November 2025, is located in the same space as the track from the 1956 Olympics. After some concern that the new track would not be completed in time for the 2026 Games, a successful pre-homologation (test run) in March hints that the Lake Placid back-up will not be needed. 25. Medal tally history in the making: Germany’s Francesco Friedrich, largely considered one of the greatest athletes bobsled has seen, currently is tied for the most gold medals — four, total — won in his sport. At the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, he will be hoping to break that tie, and given his near total domination in recent years, the feat seems to be his for the taking. 26. Moms on track for more Olympic hardware: Each with an impressive Olympic medal tally behind them, Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Humphries will be showing that motherhood hasn’t slowed them down in one of the fastest sports on ice. Meyers Taylor gave birth to her second son in 2023, while Humphries had her son in 2024, and both have been outspoken advocates for the rights and abilities of parent athletes. 27. Germany looks to complete the sweep: Claiming seven of a possible 12 medals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Germany made an emphatic bid for dominance, winning the two-man and four-man as well as two-woman events, only losing out in the inaugural mononbob event to Team USA's Kaillie Humphries. Since then, Germany’s Laura Nolte has won the 2023 and 2024 World Championships in monobob, while Kaysha Love of the United States won in 2025, meaning a gold German sweep across all events is not off the table. Cross-country skiing 28. Diggins goes for gold: Jessie Diggins is the most decorated U.S. cross-country skier of all time with an Olympic medal of every color. Diggins is expected to compete for gold in the 10km freestyle. 29. U.S. men look to end 50-year medal drought: Gus Schumacher and Ben Ogden are seen as the best chances for the U.S. men to end the team's 50-year medal drought. Schumacher became the first American man ever to reach the World Cup podium in a 20km freestyle mass start race in February 2025. Ogden took 3rd place in the 10km freestyle in January 2025. 30. Equal distances for men and women: Twelve total Olympic cross-country skiing events will take place at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. The distances for each event are now the same for both men and women for the first time in Olympic competition. 31. Kern helps lead Team USA: Olympian Julia Kern teamed up with Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins in the women’s team sprint classic at the 2025 World Championships and took home silver. The duo is primed for success in Milan. Curling 32. Cory and Korey headline U.S. curling: Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin were the first American curlers to punch their tickets to Milan Cortina. The mixed doubles tandem bested the rest of the U.S. squads in the team trials earlier this year and finished high enough in the 2025 World Championships to qualify for the Olympics. Should they leave the Games with a medal, they’ll be the first American mixed doubles pair to do so. 33. Historic streaks in jeopardy for the U.S.: The United States has sent a men’s and women’s curling team to every Olympic Games since it returned as a medal sport at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Qualifying for the events at Milan Cortina will be an uphill, or rather up-sheet, battle, requiring top-two finishes at the Olympic Qualification Event (OQE) in December. Failing to do so, which is a real possibility for the U.S., would snap the historic Games streaks at six apiece. 34. Shuster searching for more Olympic magic: John Shuster played a significant role in both of the United States’ Olympic podium efforts in curling. He was a member of the bronze-medal-winning squad in Torino in 2006 and as a skip, led Team Shuster to its magical gold medal run in 2018. If Team Shuster emerges victorious during November’s U.S. Team Trials and finds a way to qualify at the curling OQE in December, Shuster will tie the record for most Olympic curling appearances. 35. 'Curl Runnings,' starring the Philippines: The Philippines very well may be this Olympic season’s curling team of destiny. Neither the country, nor any Southeast Asian nation, ever has competed in Winter Olympic curling, but procuring a top-two finish at the OQE in December is the last remaining hurdle left to clear for the Philippines men’s team to realize its Milan Cortina dreams. 36. Sweden, Great Britain, Canada remain elite: Canada (12) and Sweden (11) are neck and neck in curling’s all-time Olympic medal count. As usual, they both will enter the Games as top contenders. Great Britain loudly entered the chat in 2022 at the Beijing Games with Team Mouat earning men's silver and Team Muirhead winning women's gold. If skip Bruce Mouat leads his squad to victory, he’ll be the first openly gay curler to win a gold medal. 37. Curling’s hometown hopefuls: The biggest challenge to the United States in mixed doubles curling is Italy. The dynamic duo of Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner are defending world champions (2025) and Olympic gold medalists (2022). Perhaps more impressively, they hold an undefeated streak of 22-0 since the Beijing Winter Olympics in February of 2022. Constantini brings with her some extra hometown cooking as she hails from Cortina. Figure skating 38. Can the U.S. top the women’s podium?: Not since Sarah Hughes won gold in 2002 has a U.S. women’s figure skater won gold at the Olympic Winter Games. Now with reigning world champion Alysa Liu and Grand Prix Final champion Amber Glenn on the ascendance, Olympic hardware is in reach for the first time in over two decades. 39. Malinin remains untouchable: Two-time world champion, Ilia Malinin, 20, has been undefeated in men’s figure skating nearly for two years, and as the only figure skater ever to land the nearly impossible quadruple Axel, he largely is expected to bring home the Olympic gold in February. 40. Stellato-Dudek makes history at age 42: Canadian pairs skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek already has defied the odds. Returning to the ice after a cool 16 years away, she became the 2024 world champion with partner Maxime Deschamps. Now she has her sights set on the Milan Cortina Games, where she will be a record-making 42 years old. 41. After 40 years, Great Britain is closing in: Ice dancers Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson snagged the first world championship medal for Great Britain in over 40 years last season. Ranked first by the International Skating Union after the 2024-25 season, the team, dubbed the “Disco Brits,” stand a good chance of claiming their nation’s first Olympic medal since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1994. 42. New partnerships, fresh starts: France’s Guillaume Cizeron and former partner Gabriella Papadakis became some of the most decorated ice dancers in the sport’s history with five world championship titles and gold and silver Olympic medals to boot. Now, Cizeron steps onto the ice in his first season with Laurence Fournier Beaudry, and fans wonder if this new partnership will have France standing once again on an Olympic podium this winter. 43. Team event rivalry: With athletes from Russia largely still banned (a few athletes will compete as Individual Neutral Athletes), the United State’s main competitor for team event gold is Japan. Japan has strong athletes in the men’s, women’s and pairs divisions, while the U.S. boasts favorites in men’s, women’s and ice dance, making for an exceptionally tight race to rack up enough points to clinch the title. 44. Sakamoto's swan song: There is not much that Kaori Sakamoto has yet to accomplish in figure skating, except for an Olympic gold medal. The first woman to three-peat a world title since Peggy Fleming in the '60s, Sakamoto announced she would retire after the 2026 Winter Games. Will she conquer that final hurdle in her final Games? Freestyle skiing 45. Another historic Olympics for Gu?: Eileen Gu is expected to remain a top contender in all three freeski events (halfpipe, slopestyle, big air). After winning three medals at Beijing 2022, she could continue making history at Milan Cortina. 46. Sharpe returns to competition: Cassie Sharpe, the 2018 gold medalist and 2022 silver medalist in women’s halfpipe, took a two-year hiatus from the sport to start a family. She’s already reestablished herself as a gold-medal contender for Milan Cortina. 47. Will Ferreira capture gold at long last?: In men’s halfpipe, Alex Ferreira didn’t lose a single contest during the 2023-24 season. But a legitimate gold-medal rival has emerged in the form of Nick Goepper, the three-time slopestyle medalist who briefly retired, then switched to halfpipe and announced a comeback. 48. Team USA is still stacked in slopestyle and big air: Led by defending slopestyle gold medalist Alex Hall, the U.S. should have a stacked roster for the men’s slopestyle and big air events. Big air Olympic silver medalist Colby Stevenson, 2023 X Games big air champion Mac Forehand and 2023 big air world champion Troy Podmilsak also could make the team. 49. Tabanelli siblings could deliver medals for Italy: The host nation’s biggest stars could include a pair of young freeskiing siblings. Miro Tabanelli became the first skier to land a 2340 in men’s big air, and Flora Tabanelli is the reigning world champion in women’s big air. 50. A new event joins the program: Dual moguls has been added to the Olympic program for freestyle skiing. The world’s top mogul skiers, such as Mikael Kingsbury, now will have a second medal opportunity at Milan Cortina. 51. A looming showdown on the moguls course: Women’s moguls and dual moguls could feature showdowns between reigning Olympic moguls champion Jakara Anthony, who missed time last season with a broken collarbone, and Jaelin Kauf, who dominated the World Cup circuit in Anthony’s absence. 52. Can the U.S. win back-to-back titles in the aerials team event?: The U.S. will seek to defend the mixed team aerials title it won in the event’s Olympic debut. Led by 2022 Olympian Chris Lillis and world medalist Quinn Dehlinger, the American team has won back-to-back world titles. China is expected to be the Americans’ top rival for gold. 53. New names could end the U.S. gold-medal drought in individual aerials: The U.S. hasn’t won an individual aerials Olympic title since 1998, but that could change at Milan Cortina. Kaila Kuhn won the women’s world title in 2025, and Quinn Dehlinger finished 2nd in men’s aerials at the last two world championships. 54. Kingsbury attempts to take back his throne: This could be the fourth and final Olympics for Canada’s Mikael Kingbury, who enters the season just one win shy of a landmark 100th World Cup moguls victory. The winningest mogul skier of all time currently has just one Olympic gold medal, thanks in part to a stunning upset from Sweden’s Walter Wallberg four years ago. 55. Local boy Deromedis hopes to bring home SX medal: Italy’s Simone Deromedis has emerged as one of the top racers in men’s ski cross. Since placing 5th in Beijing, the 25-year-old has won five World Cup races and took gold at the 2023 World Championships. He was born about three hours away from where the ski cross event will take place in Livigno. Hockey 56. NHL players are back at the Olympics: NHL players are participating in the Games for the first time since 2014. So far, Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy have been named to Team USA. Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point and Sam Reinhart were the first-six players named to Canada’s men’s Olympic hockey team. 57. Tkachuk brothers follow in dad’s Olympic footsteps: NHL stars Brady and Matthew Tkachuk are following in their father, Keith’s, footsteps after being among the first six players named to the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey roster back in June. Keith is an NHL Hall of Famer and four-time Olympian. 58. Remembering the late Johnny Gaudreau: In the summer of 2024, Johnny Gaudreau along with his brother, Matthew, was killed by an alleged drunk driver. Gaudreau’s widow, Meredith, said he was bummed he was never able to play in a Games and that he so badly wanted to be a part of this one. 59. Knight’s final Olympics: Team USA captain Hilary Knight announced earlier this year that the Milan Cortina Winter Games would be her fifth and final Olympics. If Knight competes as expected, she will become the first U.S. hockey player to participate in five Olympic Games, and if she earns her fifth medal in any color, she’ll tie the record for the most hockey medals in history. 60. Team USA eyes first gold since 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice’ Olympics: It’s been nearly five decades since the U.S. won a gold medal in Olympic hockey at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games. Now, U.S. men’s hockey head coach Mike Sullivan believes the team is primed and ready for the moment. 61. The U.S. vs. Canada rivalry is hotter than ever: Canada has won gold 14 times and has won 23 medals total, making it the most successful country in men's and women's Olympic ice hockey. The U.S. men’s team finished as the runner-up at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February after losing in overtime to Canada in the championship game. On the women’s side, Canada has dominated the gold-medal count but the U.S. won the 2025 world title with an overtime win over the Canadians. 62. Coyne Schofield continues to inspire: Three-time Olympian and gold-medal-winner Kendall Coyne Schofield is aiming to compete at her fourth Olympic Games in 2026. The veteran women's hockey forward says the expectation for Team USA is “a gold medal and gold medal only." For the ultimate victory celebration, she says she plans to celebrate with her 2-year-old son in Milan. 63. Kane isn't done yet: Two-time Olympian Patrick Kane wants one last dance with USA Hockey and another shot at the elusive Olympic crown. The 36-year-old veteran is an Olympic silver medalist and working hard to prove his experience and expertise would make him a valuable asset for the official Olympic roster for Milan. Luge 64. Resilience wins the day: When U.S. luger Emily Fischnaller (née Sweeney), crashed during one of her runs at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, it seemed unlikely she would ever participate in the sport again. Breaking both her neck and back, she was lucky to walk away from the accident. But in 2022, at the Beijing Games, she was back on the track, and once again will be hoping to race for the United States at the Milan Cortina Olympics. 65. Hope for U.S. success in women’s doubles: Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby were the first U.S. women’s doubles luge team to win a World Cup race, and all eyes will be on the duo as the event makes its Olympic debut. Nordic combined 66. Can Norway fill the void?: Two Norwegian greats hung up their skis in the first half of 2025: Jorgen Graabak, who holds the most Olympic golds in the sport, and Jarl Magnus Riiber, an 11-time world champion who owns a Nordic combined record 76 individual World Cup wins. 67. Make way for Germany: The retirement of Norway’s two giants may make Germany’s goal of extending its dominant streak in two events slightly easier. Germany has won four of the last five Olympic titles in the individual normal hill and has made the podium in the team event every year since 2002. 68. Team USA joins forces with Norway: Looking to end their longstanding medal droughts, the U.S. national Nordic combined and ski jumping programs entered into a partnership with their opponents in Norway shortly following the Beijing Games. Since then, American competitors have skyrocketed in the global ranks. Short track 69. Third time’s the charm: After two 4th-place finishes came in between Kristen Santos-Griswold and an Olympic medal in PyeongChang and Beijing, the skater flew to the top of the global rankings, earning her first Crystal Globe — and just the third all-time for the United States — last season. 70. Stoddard is picking up the pace: Known for her poise and stoicism on the ice, Corinne Stoddard became the top American skater through the first two World Tour events in October, earning a 2nd-overall ranking behind one silver and four bronze finishes. She finished last season as the world No. 3. 71. The new kid on Canada’s block: After narrowly missing Canada’s men’s relay team for Beijing, William Dandjinou has shot to the top of the men’s short track rankings, earning the coveted Crystal Globe during the 2024-25 campaign. 72. There’s no place like home: Arianna Fontana, the most decorated short track Olympian and Italy’s winningest Winter Olympian, is headed for her sixth Olympic appearance since her debut at the 2006 Torino Games — making 2026 her second Olympics at home. 73. Shifting loyalties: Brothers Liu Shaoang and Liu Shaolin Sandor, who both were born in Hungary but whose father is Chinese, singlehandedly put Hungary on the short track map. In November 2022, however, they both decided to change their allegiances to China. Skeleton 74. Olympic firsts: At the 2025 FIL World Championships, the inaugural mixed team event in skeleton took place, and Americans Mystique Ro and Austin Florian won gold. As the event makes its Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games, fans will be watching to see if the U.S. can recreate that golden moment. 75. Next-gen stars are here: In 2024, Canada’s Hallie Clarke became the youngest-ever world champion in the sport’s history. At 19, she beat out reigning Olympic champion Hannah Neise after competing in the sport for just seven years. 76. Technological advancement: Earlier this year, USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS) announced new technology partnerships with Honda/Acura and Carpenter Technology. With the goal of enhancing sled aerodynamics and design through wind tunnel testing and advanced material science, the collaboration may give American athletes a competitive edge. Ski jumping 77. New additions to the Olympic program: Two events will make their Olympic debut in 2026: the women’s large hill, expanding the women’s program from one event to two for the first time, and the men’s super team, a revised version of the traditional men’s team event. 78. The U.S.’ biggest medal contender in years: Last season, at just 19 years old, Tate Frantz earned the most World Cup points of any American jumper in history, thanks in large part to the cooperation between Team USA and Norway. 79. Bickner is back on the bar: Frustrated by his declining results and burnt out, American jumper Kevin Bickner retired after the Beijing Games. Three years later, he’s rediscovered his love for the sport and is posting his best results ever. 80. Slovenia continues to defy underdog label: At the 2022 Games, Slovenia collected three ski jumping medals, including its first two Olympic golds. The country will look to defend its titles behind 20-year-old phenom Nika Prevc and her brother, Domen, both of whom broke world records last season. Ski mountaineering 81. Will the U.S. make SkiMo's Olympic debut?: Ski mountaineering (or SkiMo) still is a relatively new competitive sport in the U.S., and as such, the national team isn’t as strong as some others. Still, the U.S. has an outside chance to overtake Canada in overall points and qualify for the Winter Olympics at a deciding World Cup showdown in December. 82. The SkiMo powerhouses: Since the sport’s inaugural World Cup in 2004, France has ruled the SkiMo kingdom with Emily Harrop serving as its queen. The 28-year-old dominates the sprint event, one of the two disciplines debuting at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Her mixed relay partner, Thibault Anselmet, is himself among the world’s top sprint racers, meaning that a French sweep at Milan Cortina is in play. Italy, Spain and Switzerland also will be top contenders. Snowboarding 83. Kim keeps improving: Can anything keep Chloe Kim from winning a third straight Olympic title in women’s halfpipe? The U.S. star, who has added a 1260 and a double cork to her bag of tricks, is a heavy favorite for gold once again. 84. Snowboarding's first three-peat?: Ester Ledecka (women’s parallel giant slalom), Anna Gasser (women’s big air) and Chloe Kim (women’s halfpipe) — in that order — all have a chance to become the first snowboarder to win gold in the same event at three straight Winter Olympics. 85. A showdown in the halfpipe: Ayumu Hirano won gold in men’s halfpipe at Beijing 2022 largely thanks to his ability to land the triple cork. Defending his title won’t be easy — Scotty James, Ruka Hirano and Yuto Totsuka all have landed triple corks in contest runs since then, and several others have landed one in training sessions this winter. 86. Will Sadowski-Synnott defend her slopestyle title?: Reigning Olympic champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott recently became the first woman to land a triple cork during a slopestyle contest. Will she bring the trick to Milan Cortina, and can anyone challenge her for gold? 87. Anderson returns to competition: Two-time Olympic slopestyle champion Jamie Anderson, who hasn’t competed since the last Olympics, gave birth to two kids during this Olympic cycle. In September, she announced a comeback bid for Milan Cortina. 88. Team USA looks to the next generation: No American other than Shaun White has won a medal in men’s halfpipe since 2010. With White now retired, the U.S. is looking toward the future with riders like Alessandro Barbieri and Joey Okesson, both of whom have landed triple corks in training. 89. Can McMorris finally get gold?: Mark McMorris, one of snowboarding’s most accomplished riders, has been the bronze medalist in men’s slopestyle at three straight Olympics. He once again is returning from significant injury for his latest Olympic bid. 90. U.S. hopes to take back slopestyle gold: For the first time since men’s slopestyle debuted on the Olympic program in 2014, the U.S. does not enter as the defending champion in that event. Can 2018 gold medalist Red Gerard or rising star Ollie Martin put Team USA back on top? 91. Spin to win: In big air, Hiroto Ogiwara recently became the first rider to land a 2340. Will anyone try to match that feat during the Olympic competition? 92. The first Olympics without Jacobellis?: The U.S. has won a snowboard cross medal at four of five Winter Olympics, but how will the team fare in Livigno without Lindsey Jacobellis if she sits out these Games after giving birth? 93. High hopes for Italy in Alpine snowboarding: Men’s parallel giant slalom presents a good medal opportunity for the Olympic host nation. Roland Fischnaller is the reigning world champion, while Maurizio Bormolini is coming off the first World Cup season title of his career. Fischnaller, 45, is looking to win his first Olympic medal in what would be his seventh appearance. Entering these Games, only six athletes have competed at seven or more Winter Olympics. Speed skating 94. Stolz leads Team USA: As the world’s fastest speed skater, Jordan Stolz could become the first American since Bonnie Blair in 1994 to win multiple speed skating gold medals at a single Winter Games. 95. Jackson’s battle to stay on the oval: Despite facing a slew of health issues in recent years, Erin Jackson is eyeing her third Olympics — and a second Olympic gold — less than a decade after stepping onto the ice. 96. Can Team USA stay on top in men’s team pursuit?: The trio of Ethan Cepuran, Casey Dawson and Emery Lehman, who hold the world record in team pursuit and stand as the reigning world champions, will look to capture the country’s first Olympic gold in the discipline. 97. Bow down to Bowe: As she vies for a spot on her fourth Olympic team, Brittany Bowe — already one of the United States’ most decorated speed skaters — has one more goal to achieve: her first Olympic gold. 98. The Dutch Dynasty continues: Despite the retirement of Dutch speed skating greats Ireen Wust, Irene Schouten, and Sven Kramer, the Lions — who own a world-leading 133 Olympic medals and five Olympic records — have secured at least two top-10 spots in both the men’s and women’s 500m, 1000m, and 1500m competitions on last year’s World Cup circuit, while the women topped the team pursuit field (the men finished 4th). 99. Familiar faces, uncharted disciplines: For years, Italy’s Arianna Fontana has conquered the women’s short track landscape. But at the 2026 Games, she plans to take on a new challenge: competing in both short track and speed skating. Wild card
