5 Moments We Can’t Wait to See at the Winter Olympics
On Friday, the Winter Olympics, hosted in Milan and Cortina, Italy, will return. The cold-weather competitions occur every four years, but 2026 marks the first time in eight years since the Winter Olympics have had in-person spectators. (The last time was the 2018 competitions in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as Covid-19 countermeasures and restrictions were in full force at the 2022 festivities in Beijing, China.)
As an international competition that involves some of the world’s best athletes and most obscure sports, the Olympics brings a specific allure. Athletes train their entire lives for these games; but no matter how much they prepare, anything can happen. No one could have predicted the 1994 Tonya Harding scandal, or the underdog fixation with British ski jumper Eddie the Eagle in 1988 — he finished last but won his country’s heart — or the 2002 photo finish from last-place speed skater Steven Bradbury, which would go on to be an indelible meme. These moments were magic, in part because no one saw them coming.
But while we can’t peer into the future to foretell the breakout story of the 2026 Winter Olympic games, here are several moments we can’t wait to tune in and watch.
NHL players finally return to the ice
After years of contract negotiations, NHL players will finally be allowed to compete in the Winter games. It’s been 12 years since professional hockey players were allowed to play for their home countries in the Winter Olympics, after the National Hockey League, its Players Association, and the International Olympic Committee failed to ratify a bargaining agreement that tackled costs, sponsorship rules, and scheduling disputes.
These professionals will finally return to the ice for the 2026 Winter Olympics, drastically upping the speed and skill of play, and potentially changing the odds of the eventual winners podium. The Olympics take place in the middle of the NHL season, which also means any injuries could have detrimental impacts on who takes home the Stanley Cup in June.
Skier Lindsey Vonn will attempt to win with a torn ACL
Talk about determination! In the midst of preparations for the winter games, American skier Lindsey Vonn isn’t just fighting against competitors — she’s battling her own body. Vonn, 41, was skiing at the World Cup race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland last week and she crashed on the course. After she was airlifted to a medical facility, she announced that she had ruptured the ACL in her knee, and suffered from bruising of the bone and damage to her meniscus.
After consulting with doctors, Vonn said she would still compete at the Olympics, and was back on the slopes as of Friday, getting ready for the big competition.
“This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics … but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback,” she wrote on Instagram. “My Olympic dream is not over.”
If Vonn wins at any of her events, it will be her fourth Olympic medal.
Team USA figure skating fights to end a 20 year slump
In the world of figure skating, there’s already a comeback story forming and it involves a 22-year-old champion Alysa Liu. Liu retired at age 16, in 2022, citing burnout from the pressures of professional skating. During her retirement, Liu went to college and tried to reclaim many of the aspects of young adult life that she lost while she was competing. And then she announced her return.
Liu has continued to shock the skating world by becoming the 2025 World Champion and 2025-2026 Grand Prix Figure Skating Final champion. Liu joins skaters Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito on Team USA, a lineup experts say could be the country’s strongest showing in the sport in years. If any of the women make the podium, it will end a 20-year run for the U.S. without a women’s figure skating Olympic medal.
“Quitting was definitely, still to this day, one of my best decisions ever,” Liu told NPR in October.
Jutta Leerdam brings her celebrity status to the ice
Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam is going to the Olympics after a near miss at the Olympic trials, but with plenty of support from her fiancé, YouTuber Jake Paul.
Leerdam was competing in the 1,000-meter speed skating trial for Team Netherlands when she lost her balance and slammed into the boards, which could have wiped out her chances entirely for making the Olympic roster. She was chosen for the team by the selection committee, which picks team members not just on their trial scores but also on their past medals and podium potential.
Leerdam has been documenting her journey to the Milan Cortina Games faithfully on social media, including her flight on a private plane and support from Paul, who is expected to attend Leerdam’s meets.
Skimo makes its Winter Olympics Debut
As if explaining the tricky rules of curling wasn’t enough, a new sport is making its debut at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Ski mountaineering, or “skimo” as it’s called colloquially, is when competitors cross country ski up a mountain before skiing down it. According to the official Olympics guide, there will be both men and women sprints and mixed relays.
While the sport isn’t as well known as some of the tentpole Winter Games programs, American spectators have their focus on Team USA member Cam Smith, an 11-time USA ski mountaineering national champion.
“It’s basically what skiing was before there were chairlifts,” Smith told the AP. “We’re going there to be competitive and chase bigger and bigger dreams. We’re allowed to dream of podiums and dream of medals.”
