The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be breaking fresh ground, adding seven new events and one new sport
since the Beijing Olympic Games in 2022. These Games are also making history as the most geographically spread-out Winter
Olympics, with a car trip from Milan to Cortina taking just under five hours.
Ski mountaineering, referred to as SkiMo, will make its inaugural Olympic appearance at the Milan-Cortina Games,
being recognized as an Olympic sport for the first time. “I’m interested in seeing what ski mountaineering is like,” Charlie
Kurz ‘27 says. “It looks pretty cool, having to go up the mountain and then doing a timed ski down.” Unlike other skiing events, athletes first have to climb the mountain before skiing down. Skiers climb the mountain in their boots or attach “climbing skins” to their skis to gain traction and prevent backsliding, allowing them to move uphill. They ski down the mountain to race to the finish.
Students are excited to support their favorite Team USA athletes as they compete in Milan. “I want to watch Alex Hall,” Nathaniel Hershey ‘28 says. “He is one of the best freestyle skiers and my personal favorite because of his steezy style.” Alex Hall won Olympic gold at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in Men’s Slopestyle Freestyle Skiing, which will be held in Livigno, a small town about four hours from Milan.
Sky Hopkins ‘27 looks forward to watching another skiing phenomenon, Lindsey Vonn. “It’s increible how she has been able to qualify for the Olympics even after suffering many injuries,” Hopkins says. Vonn initially announced her retirement in 2019 but eventually returned to skiing. However, she faced challenges, including a 2024 knee replacement. Vonn is expected to compete in both of the speedy ski events, downhill and super-G.
Mr. Ordway, an Upper School computer teacher, recommends that students watch one of the biathlon-skiing races. “I find the biathlon fascinating because cross-country skiing and shooting are such a challenging combination,” Mr. Ordway says. In the
individual biathlon races, female and male athletes cross-country ski 15km and 20km, respectively, stopping four times to shoot at five targets each time. Athletes receive one-minute penalties for each target they miss. “I think cross-country skiing is deceivingly
difficult, since it significantly raises one’s heart rate,” Mr. Ordway says. The biathlon is an event of stamina and endurance, as skiers keep a quick yet consistent pace over many miles. “It’s so weird how biathlon athletes have to do, in my opinion, the worst part of
skiing—the flat part, but the whole time,” Mr. Ordway says.
Stepping away from Cortina, figure skating will be held just outside Milan’s city limits in the Milano Ice Skating Arena. “I am hoping I can watch Isabeau Levito, an American figure skater,” Ella Lindsey ‘29, a figure skater herself, says. Isabeau Levito is an incredible young skater set to make her Olympic debut at just eighteen. “Isabeau grew up in the Philadelphia area and trains locally in New Jersey, so it’s pretty cool to watch someone from around here,” Lindsey ‘29 says.
“I plan on watching some of the ice hockey,” Kurz ‘27 says. “I’ve heard some talk about the ice rinks being slightly smaller than an NHL regulation rink, which might put off NHL players from participating.” NHL players will return to the Olympics this year after missing out on both the 2018 and 2022 Games due to conflicts with the IOC (International Olympic Committee). However, the NHL and the NHLPA have voiced concerns about the size of the rinks, yet there has been no clear indication from either organization that NHL players will not participate. Mr. Ordway is also interested in watching mogul skiing. “It’s so cool how the skiers can ski at such a fast pace while navigating the moguls,” he says. Mogul skiing requires athletes to have tremendous body control—points are deducted if their knees are not together. “The skiers have a colored stripe across their uniforms, which allows judges to see if their knees separate during their run,” Mr. Ordway says. Scores in mogul skiing rely heavily on the quality of a skier’s turns, which correlate to the control and position of their knees.
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games were the first to follow the Olympic Agenda 2020, becoming the first “Green Games” that prioritized sustainability. Similarly, in 2026, Milan-Cortina strives to do the same. However, construction projects like the bobsled track, which have raised concerns about deforestation that affects animal habitats and those who rely on mature trees for protection,
have led some to question Milan-Cortina’s pledge to take part in the “Green Games” movement.
As more locations are affected by global warming, it is becoming increasingly difficult for cities to host the Winter Olympics due to inconsistent cold temperatures and snowfall. The Olympic Agenda 2020+5, a plan for maintaining sustainability, emphasizes using existing venues, building temporary structures, and ensuring that any permanent structures can be used by athletes for training after the Olympic Games. With almost 90 percent of the venues being either existing or temporary facilities, Milan-Cortina is supporting the Games’ sustainability. Some notable structures from the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Games have been renovated for reuse this time around: the Cortina Curling Olympic stadium, the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, and the Cortina Sliding Arena have all been modernized to accommodate this year’s Games.
The Milan-Cortina Olympic Games are set to be an exciting few weeks of incredible competition, where athletes showcase their skills and years of dedication and hard work. Friends students will watch with anticipation, hoping that Team USA will capture a few gold medals!
