Overview & Key Dates
Host Cities: Co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo- the first time in Olympic history two cities shared hosting duties.
Dates: February 6 – February 22, 2026( some events such as curing began a few day prior).
Opening Ceremony: February 6 at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, featuring two Olympic cauldrons in each hosting city.
Closing Ceremony: February 22 at the Verona Arena, a historic Roman amphitheater.
Scale: Approximately 2,900 athletes from over 90 nations competed in 116 medal events.
New sports & Historic Debuts
Ski Mountaineering (Skimo): Made its official Olympic debut with three events: Men’s Sprint, Women’ s Sprint, and Mixed Relay.
New Events: Included Women’s Doubles in Luge, Women’s individual Large Hill in Ski Jumping, Mixed Team Skeleton, and Dual Moguls in Freestyling Skiing.
NHL Participation: For the first time since 2014, NHL players returned to the Men’s Ice Hockey tournament.
Major Gold Medalists & Highlights
The 2026 Games saw several historic performances and “first”:
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (Norway): Became the star of the games by winning 6 gold medals, completing a historic sweep across all cross-country skiing events.
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA): Reclaimed her crown by winning gold on the Women’s Slalom, her third career Olympic
gold.
Alysa Liu (USA): Won the Women’s Singles in figure skating, the first American woman to so so since 2002.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (Brazil): Made history by winning the Men’s Giant slalom, securing Brazil’s first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal.
Team USA Hockey: Achieved a “double gold” sweep. The men’s team defeated Canada in a dramatic overtime final (3-2), while the women’s team also took gold against Canada.
Elana Meyers Taylor (USA): At the age of 41, she won her
first career gold medal in the Women’s Monobob.
Franjo von Allmen (Switzerland): Emerged as the new king of speed, winning the Men’s Downhill gold.
Venues & Sustainability
The games emphasized sustainability, with over 90% of venues being existing or temporary structures.
Milan Cluster: Hosted Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, and Short Track Speed Skating.
Cortina Cluster: Hosted Women’s Alpine Skating, Curling, and the sliding sports (Bobsleigh, Luge, Skeleton).
Valtellina ( Bormio/Livigno): Hosted Men’s Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding, and Freestyle Skiing.
Val di Fiemme: Hosted Cross-Country Skiing and Ski Jumping.
The Paralympic Winter Games are scheduled to follow from March 6 to March 15, 2026.
