Athletes to Watch at the 2026 Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics arrive in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo this February, bringing together the world’s best winter athletes for two weeks of competition. This edition feels different.
NHL stars return to Olympic ice for the first time in 12 years. Figure skating has a new generation pushing technical boundaries.
Alpine skiing brings both comeback stories and fresh faces. If you’re planning to tune in, these are the athletes worth watching.
Mikaela Shiffrin: The Alpine Skiing Record Holder
Shiffrin owns more World Cup wins than any skier in history. She passed Ingemar Stenmark’s record in 2023 with her 86th victory and hasn’t stopped since.
But the Beijing Olympics in 2022 left her empty-handed after six events, a jarring result for someone who’d won gold in Sochi and PyeongChang. This season tells a different story.
After recovering from a serious injury in late 2024, Shiffrin won four straight World Cup races in fall 2025. At 29, she’s competing in her fourth Olympics and hunting for medals that slipped away four years ago.
Her dominance in slalom remains unmatched, and the races in Cortina could define her Olympic legacy.
Lindsey Vonn’s Return at 41
Vonn retired in 2019 after multiple knee injuries made it impossible to keep racing. Then she had a partial knee replacement in 2024.
What seemed like the end turned into something else entirely. She returned to World Cup competition in late 2024, and by January 2026, she’d already won two downhill races, bringing her career total to 84 victories.
At 41, Vonn will compete in her fifth Olympics, racing the speed events in Cortina where she’s always excelled. The downhill and super-G courses there suit her style, and her recent results suggest she’s a genuine medal contender.
This comeback doesn’t follow any script, which makes it more compelling to watch.
Ilia Malinin: The Quad God
Figure skating has never seen anyone like Malinin. The 21-year-old from Virginia became the first skater to land a quadruple axel in international competition in 2022, a jump so difficult that many thought it impossible.
He’s won the last four U.S. Championships, the last three Grand Prix Finals, and back-to-back World Championships in 2024 and 2025. His programs regularly include six or seven quadruple jumps.
At the 2025 Grand Prix Final, he became the first skater to land seven clean quads in a single free skate, setting a world record with 238.24 points. The only thing missing from his collection is Olympic gold, and he’s the overwhelming favorite in Milan.
His recent victories haven’t been close. At the 2026 U.S. Championships, he won by 57 points.
Chloe Kim: Three Olympics, Three Golds?
Kim won Olympic gold in halfpipe at 17 in PyeongChang, then defended her title in Beijing at 21. Now 24, she’s aiming to become the first snowboarder to win three consecutive Olympic golds in the same event.
A torn labrum in January threw her preparation off track. She can’t snowboard until right before the Olympics begin, which means fewer training runs and less time to prepare.
But Kim has dominated her sport for years, and her track record suggests she can handle the challenge. You don’t win two Olympic golds by accident.
Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby Lead Team Canada
NHL players return to Olympic hockey for the first time since 2014, and Canada assembled a roster that reads like an all-star team. McDavid, MacKinnon, and Crosby will center the top three lines, giving Canada a depth at forward that no other country can match.
McDavid has been the NHL’s best player for years, leading the league in scoring and winning multiple MVP awards. Crosby, now 37, won gold in 2010 and 2014 and remains one of hockey’s most decorated players.
The Olympics represent the last thing McDavid hasn’t won, and Canada enters as the gold medal favorite. The men’s tournament begins February 11, and the final is February 22.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo: Cross-Country Skiing’s Dominant Force
Klæbo has won more than 100 World Cup races before turning 30. The Norwegian skier has dominated cross-country skiing for years, winning multiple Olympic golds and world championships.
At the 2025 World Championships, he finished first in all six men’s events he entered. Cross-country skiing rewards endurance and tactical racing sense, and Klæbo possesses both.
He’s a favorite in multiple events at Milan-Cortina, from the sprint races to the longer distance events. Norway typically fields strong teams in these events, but Klæbo stands above the rest.
Kaillie Humphries: The Bobsled Champion
Humphries won Olympic gold for Canada in 2010 and 2014, then again for the United States in 2022. She’s competed in four Olympics across two countries and won three golds and one bronze.
At 38, she returned for her fifth Olympics, piloting the U.S. bobsled in both the two-woman and monobob events. Bobsled demands precision timing, perfect starts, and the ability to navigate turns at high speeds.
Humphries has mastered all of it over a career that spans 16 years of international competition. The sliding events at Cortina will determine if she adds to her already impressive Olympic medal collection.
Eileen Gu: The Freestyle Skiing Star
Gu won three medals in Beijing 2022, becoming the first freestyle skier to medal in three different events at a single Olympics. Born and raised in California but competing for China, she took gold in halfpipe and big air, plus silver in slopestyle.
Injuries kept her off the competition circuit for stretches over the past few years, but when healthy, she remains the skier to beat in freestyle events. At 22, she’s focused primarily on halfpipe this Olympic cycle.
The competition in Livigno will show if she can repeat her Beijing success.
Macklin Celebrini: Hockey’s Rising Teenage Star
At 19, Celebrini is the youngest player on Team Canada’s Olympic hockey roster. The San Jose Sharks forward ranks third in NHL scoring, trailing only McDavid and MacKinnon.
He’s the youngest Canadian player to make an Olympic roster since Connor McDavid was 18. Celebrini skated with Crosby at the 2025 World Championship and impressed enough to earn his Olympic spot.
He brings speed and scoring ability to Canada’s bottom six forwards, and playing on a line with veterans gives him the perfect environment to succeed. This will be his Olympic debut, but his production this season suggests he belongs on this stage.
Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner: Undefeated Curling Duo
The Italian curling pair has never lost in international competition. They went 11-0 to win gold in mixed doubles at Beijing 2022, then repeated that perfect record with another 11-0 performance at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship.
Curling rewards precision, strategy, and consistency. Constantini and Mosaner have demonstrated all three qualities over four years of international competition. Playing at home in Italy adds pressure, but their record suggests they can handle it.
The mixed doubles final is February 11, and they’ll be favorites to win gold again.
Alysa Liu: The Figure Skating Comeback
Liu became the youngest U.S. women’s figure skating champion at 13 in 2019. She was the first American woman to land a quadruple lutz in competition.
Then she finished seventh at the 2022 Olympics, retired at 16, and spent three years living a normal teenage life. She returned to competition in 2024, and in March 2025, won the World Championship.
Her comeback stunned the figure skating world. At the 2026 U.S. Championships, she took silver behind Amber Glenn.
Liu will compete in Milan at 20, carrying momentum from her world title and proving that comebacks can succeed even in a sport that typically favors younger athletes.
Red Gerard and Ollie Martin: Two Generations of Slopestyle
Gerard won Olympic gold in slopestyle at 17 in PyeongChang 2018. Now 25, he returns for his third Olympics.
Joining him on the U.S. team is Ollie Martin, also 17, who became the first snowboarder to land back-to-back 2160-degree spins in opposite directions. Slopestyle combines tricks, jumps, and rail slides into one run down a course filled with features.
Martin represents the next generation pushing the sport’s technical limits, while Gerard brings Olympic experience and the confidence of someone who’s already won gold. Both compete in slopestyle and big air, giving them two chances at medals.
Emily Harrop: Ski Mountaineering’s Debut
Ski mountaineering makes its Olympic debut at Milan-Cortina, and Harrop enters as the dominant athlete in the sport. The French competitor led World Cup rankings in both sprint and mixed relay in 2024-25, winning races consistently across multiple disciplines.
The sport requires athletes to climb uphill on skis with climbing skins attached, then transition to downhill skiing. It combines endurance, speed, and technical skiing ability.
Harrop’s consistency positions her as the favorite for gold in the sport’s inaugural Olympic appearance.
The Ice Keeps Its Secrets
February’s competition in Milan and Cortina will answer questions that have been built for four years. Can Shiffrin rebound from Beijing’s disappointment? Will Vonn’s comeback produce Olympic medals at 41?
Does anyone have a chance against Malinin in figure skating? The Olympics bring together athletes at different stages of their careers.
Some chase redemption. Others hunt for firsts.
A few aim to cement legacies already established. The ice, snow, and mountain courses will determine who succeeds, and the results will shape how you remember these Games years from now.
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