During this year’s 25th Winter Olympics, over 3,000 athletes will thrill a worldwide audience in Milan-Cortina, Italy. Snowy sports will take center stage for the first time in four years after fans last enjoyed the Games in Beijing, China.
This time around, the Winter Olympics will boast a breathtaking Italian backdrop as they are being jointly hosted by the city of Milan and the renowned mountain resort town of Cortina. The 116 events across 16 sports in the two Italian cities include skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, bobsledding, ski jumping, and hockey.
While the United States is sending a stellar team, other nations’ sports stars are going to give Americans competition for the coveted gold, silver and bronze medals.
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Read on to find out more about 17 top athletes to watch at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics!
1. Mikaela Shiffrin—U.S.
Considered the greatest Alpine skier of all time, Colorado native Shiffrin, now 30, is going to her fourth Olympics. Shiffrin has been dominant internationally with 107 total World Cup wins, but her Olympic career has been spotty with three medals. She won gold in her Olympic debut at the 2014 Sochi Games in the slalom event, becoming the youngest woman to do so. Shiffrin took home two medals in PyeongChang in 2018, winning gold in the women’s giant slalom and silver in the women’s super-combined. However, she left Beijing 2022 without a medal and will be hungry for one in Milan.
Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO on Getty Images
2. Eileen Gu—China
Gu, 22, who was born in San Francisco but controversially competes for China, became a star in freestyle skiing at the 2022 Olympics. The high-flying skier secured gold medals in big air and halfpipe and a silver medal in slopestyle and fans can’t wait to watch her in Milan.
Photo by Angel Martinez on Getty Images
She told Vogue Hong Kong, “I have always said that my goal with skiing has been to use the sport as a means to spread the spirit of athletics. And it means resilience, it means sportsmanship. It means passion and joy and discipline—particularly for young women, and particularly in extreme sports where young women are underrepresented.”
3. Stefan Kraft—Austria
The ski jumper, 32, is one of the most acclaimed of all time. The Austrian became the all-time leading points scorer in FIS Ski Jumping World Cup history, breaking the record in Falun, Sweden, in November 2025. Kraft won a team gold medal in Beijing, but he has not yet won an individual Olympic medal. He’s described his ski-jumping style as “modern and easy”—even though it looks scary and hard!
Photo by FREDRIK SANDBERG on Getty Images
4. Chloe Kim—U.S.
Will America’s snowboarding queen reign supreme in Milan? After suffering a labrum tear in her shoulder during a training run, it was questionable if she’d even be able to compete. But on Jan. 22, 2026, Kim has officially qualified—and as of right now—she will be able to represent Team USA at the 2026 Winter Games. At age 17, Kim was the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Kim also grabbed the gold medal in halfpipe at the 2022 Beijing Games.
As Women’s Health reported, Kim faced burnout and almost quit the sport. But as she told the website, therapy helped her with mental health and snowboarding. “The goal right now is just to love every step of the way,” she said.
If Kim is able to compete and she wins another gold medal in Milan, she will become the first woman ever to “three-peat” in the women’s snowboard halfpipe event.
Related: Olympic Hopeful Chloe Kim Suffers Injury That Could Keep Her From Making History
5. Marco Odermatt—Switzerland
Odermatt, 28, has been dominant in World Cup alpine skiing and is going for the gold in Milan. Odermatt began skiing when he was just two years old, accompanied by his father on the slopes. Both of his parents were talented skiers, and Odermatt thanks them after every race, as nbcolympics.com reported.
Photo by NurPhoto on Getty Images
He won giant slalom at the 2022 Olympics. “I’m an athlete who goes all in. For me this is the best tactic,” the Swiss star told RedBull.com.
6. Ilia Malinin—U.S.
America’s men’s singles figure skating “Quad God” Malinin, 21, is known for his incredible quadruple jumps. On Jan. 10, 2026, Malinin won the men’s title at the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships—marking his fourth consecutive national championship. The Virginia native is also a two-time world champion (2024-2025). In fact, since 2023, he’s undefeated in every major competition! Malinin hopes to land seven quads in his 2026 Olympics long program.
Monumental Sports
7. Johannes Hosfløt Klæbo—Norway
Photo by VESA MOILANEN on Getty Images
Cross-country skiing may not be a big sport in the U.S., but it is in Europe, and Klaebo, 29, is considered the best cross-country skier of all time. Klæbo won three gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics and is the favorite to take more in 2026. In a blog, he wrote about how much he loves his sport: “Cross-country skiing was what moved my soul, and I owe this to my spirit, my family, and the instructors I was lucky enough to meet.”
8. Lindsey Vonn—U.S.
After a five-year retirement and partial knee replacement, Lindsey Vonn officially qualified for her fifth Winter Olympic Games on Jan. 22, 2026. The 41-year-old has won a total of three medals in her first four outings. Vonn shared her excitement with CNN. “I actually feel rejuvenated and younger [with] this crazy adventure,” she said.
Related: Lindsey Vonn Debuts Impressive Body Transformation: ‘Goal Attained’
9. Sidney Crosby—Canada
Photo by Andre Ringuette/4NFO on Getty Images
The 38-year-old NHL star is one of the talented men leading Team Canada at the upcoming Winter Games. Crosby—lovingly nicknamed “Sid the Kid”—is also known for being captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. But at the Olympics, he’s competing for his native Canada—even scoring the “golden goal” in overtime against Team USA to put his country at the top in 2010. At Sochi 2014, Crosby led his team to another gold medal. After missing the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games, Sid the Kid is fired up for Milan!
10. Erin Jackson—U.S.
Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke – International Skating Union on Getty Images
Now 33, Jackson made history at the 2022 Beijing Games after becoming the first Black woman to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport, speed skating. The Florida native—whose career took off after her mom chatted up coach Renee Hildebrand at Waffle House—triumphed in the women’s 500-meter speed skating event! “It takes a lot of commitment and perseverance and sacrifice,” Jackson has said of her Olympic journey, which will continue this February.
11. Alysa Liu—U.S.
Photo by China News Service on Getty Images
Women’s figure skater Liu, 20, may have lost the U.S. 2026 figure skating title to her Olympics teammate Amber Glenn, but she’s still one to watch at the Winter Olympics. Since coming out of retirement last year, Liu won the 2025 World Championships in Boston. She competed in the 2022 Olympics—finishing sixth individually, but helping Team USA win the bronze. “I’m so excited to go on the stage to show me off,” the California girl said after making the 2026 Olympics team. “My hope is to get seen—not even just my skating—just me.”
Related: Who Is Alysa Liu? Inside the Life of America’s Top Women’s Figure Skater
12. Bruce Mouat—Great Britain
Photo by JUSSI NUKARI on Getty Images
Who can forget curling? The slow, strange sport in which team members slide stones on a sheet of ice towards a target became an Olympic cult sensation beginning with the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. Mouat, 31, is the head of the Scottish men’s curling team that was selected to represent Team Great Britain in Milan. He plans to compete in both the Men’s Team event and the Mixed Doubles. The steely-eyed curler skippered his squad to world championship titles in 2023 and 2025. Mouat previously won a silver medal at Beijing 2022 in the men’s team curling event.
Mouat opined to the Daily Mail that curling is “chess on ice….to think on your feet is important. I find it exciting.” The Scotsman came out as gay in 2014 and said that openness has helped him become an even better curler!
13. Elana Meyers Taylor—U.S.
The bobsled athlete, 41, is a study in perseverance, having competed for nearly twenty years. A native of California, Meyers Taylor has earned a total of five Olympic medals over four Olympics. The three-time silver and two-time bronze medalist is looking for her first gold in her fifth Games this February.
Photo by picture alliance on Getty Images
Meyers Taylor’s exuberant spirit has won many fans, and she’s shared her thoughts on bobsledding. She said, “When bobsled is going right—and it sometimes goes wrong—it’s the closest thing I could imagine to being a superhero.”
14 & 15: Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt—Germany
The two men with the same first name, known as “the Tobis,” go sledding down icy tracks as the best doubles luge team in the world. Wendl and Arlt, both 38, have won six total/consecutive Olympic gold medals in men’s doubles and the team relay—in 2014, 2018, and 2022. Olympics.com reported that the doubles kings and best friends credit “knowing when to leave the other one alone” as part of their success. Fans will see them go for Games glory again in Milan!
16 & 17: Madison Chock and Evan Bates—U.S.
Photo by Gregory Shamus – International Skating Union on Getty Images
The American ice dance team and married couple recently won a record seventh U.S. Nationals title. Californian Chock, 33, and Bates, 36, from Michigan, also finished first at the world championships the past three seasons. They only have one big goal left—an Olympic medal, and they are the favorites for Milan gold after placing eighth in 2014, ninth in 2018, and fourth in the 2022 Winter Games. Look for the passionate pair to throw down a flamenco-themed “Paint It Black” free skate routine at the Games this winter.
Next up: Andrea Bocelli Set to Headline 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
