Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Are Next
12th August 2024
As the Paris Summer Games ends our eyes are on Milan-Cortina 2026. Some of the athletes expected to be in Italy were watching in Paris. So, what’s in store for 2026? UPDATED
This will be the third time Italy has hosted the Winter Olympics with Cortina holding the Games in 1956, followed by Turin in 2006.
It will be the first time that two cities have co-hosted host any Olympic Games, summer or winter.
The 2026 Winter Games begin February 6th and end on February 22nd.
The Winter Paralympics will be held from March 6th to 15th.
Amoung the crowds in Paris were some famous Olympic ski faces, some whom will likely be at the next Winter Games:
The US superstar skier, Mikaela Shiffrin, for one.
She has three Olympic medals:
- Gold in Slalom at Sochi 2014
- Gold in Giant Slalom at Sochi in 2014
- Silver in Alpine Combined at PyeongChang 2018
The Norwegian legend Aksel Lund Svindal, who has retired, was in Paris to support his wife, the 400m hurdler, Amalie Luel.
Svindal has four Olympic medals to his name, including three at the 2010 Vancouver Games – Gold in Super-G, Silver in Downhill, and Bronze in Giant Slalom.
He was Olympic Downhill Champion at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
Also in Paris was Federica Brignone from Italy.
She has three Olympic medals:
- Bronze in Giant Slalom in 2018 in PyeongChang
- Silver in Giant Slalom in 2022 in Beijing
- Bronze in the Beijing Alpine Combined
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Also spotted was Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, who was took gold in Slalom in Beijing.
Tina Maze, the Slovenian racer, was also in the French capital for the Summer Olympics.
She has four Olympic medals to her name;
- Silver in Giant Slalom and Super-G in 2010 at Vancouver
- Two Olympic golds at Sochi in 2014 in Downhill and Giant Slalom
See who else was in Paris from The International Ski & Snowboard Federation.
We’re also pleased to see that some of our great PlanetSKI friends from the Alps were also there.
Step forward Holger Gassler from Innsbruck Tourism, who was celebrating the success of the Austrian athletes including the veteran Austrian climber, Jakob Schubert from Innsbruck.
33-year old Schubert, a four time World Champion, took a bronze in the boulder and lead climbing.
He was beaten by Team GB’s 19-year old Toby Roberts who took gold.
In two years time at Milan-Cortina 2026 the events will be held in four main areas across northern Italy:
- Milan,
- Valtellina,
- Cortina
- Val di Fiemme.
They will host:
- Cross-country skiing
- Ice hockey
- Freestyle skiing
- Short track speed skating
- Figure skating
- Snowboard
- Alpine skiing
- Bobsleigh
- Skeleton
- Luge
- Ski jumping
- Curling
- Biathlon
- Speed skating
- Nordic combined
- Ski mountaineering
Ski mountaineering is a new sport for the Olympics with Italy having medal hopes:
Other new disciplines are Men’s Freestyle Skiing Dual Moguls, Women’s Freestyle Skiing Dual Moguls and Women’s Ski Jumping Large Hill.
There is no space for Women’s Nordic Combined.
Olympic Rings.
The Summer Games are far bigger than the Winter edition but expect some stellar performances.
In a recent survey by ESPN there were six snowsport athletes in the top 25 Olympians of the 21st century.
Team GB will be putting in one of its strongest teams with many genuine medal hopes.
Last season saw a host of podiums and strong performances:
Chamonix World Cup Slalom. Image c/o PlanetSKI.
- GB wins gold and silver at X Games
- Another GB gold at Youth Winter Olympics
- GB slalom racers dazzle at Kitzbuehel
- Mia Brookes is BBC Young Personality of the Year
- GB’s golden snowboard girls
- Charlotte Bankes wins gold for GB
The 2026 Opening Ceremony will be held at Milan’s San Siro football stadium, with the Closing Ceremony at the Verona Arena.
Related Articles:
- Milan-Cortina 2026 launches ticketing programme
- Eve Muirhead to leads Team GB at 2026 Winter Olympics
- New events for 2026 Winter Olympics
