The 2026 Olympics in Milan Cortina begin this week and will showcase the world’s best winter sports talent across 16 different disciplines, from Alpine skiing and biathlon to luge, figure skating, snowboarding, and the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering.
With 116 medal events on the line and nearly 3,000 athletes expected to compete, no list like this is ever complete, but we’ll try anyway. Below, The Athletic picked 26 international athletes to watch (with a few liberties taken on the total number), spotlighting at least one top contender in every sport before competition begins Wednesday. Also, check our top U.S. athletes to watch.
Federica Brignone, Italy, Alpine skiing
The three-time Olympic medalist has recovered well from a major leg injury last April and will compete in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Brignone, 35, returned to World Cup competition in January on home snow in Kronplatz, finishing sixth in a giant slalom. She’s the defending world champion in giant slalom and won the World Cup overall, giant slalom and downhill titles last season. The women’s Alpine skiing competition begins Feb. 8.
Canadian hockey teams
OK, we’re cheating a bit here, but it’s hard to pick just one player. Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid headline a men’s team that will contend for gold in the first Olympic tournament to feature NHL stars since 2014, which is also the last time the Canadian men won gold. On the women’s side, captain Marie-Philip Poulin heads to her fifth Olympics and leads a team that has won five of seven Olympic golds since the women’s event debuted in 1998. The women’s tournament opens Thursday; the men begin Feb. 11.
Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner, Italy, curling
The Italian mixed doubles duo has been impossible to beat when it matters most. Constantini, 26, and Mosaner, 30, won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022 with an undefeated run and followed that with a perfect performance to capture the 2025 world championship for Italy’s first triumphs in both events. Mixed doubles curling is the first competition to begin at these Olympics, starting Wednesday.
William Dandjinou, Canada, short track speedskating
Now a two-time defending World Tour champion, the 24-year-old Canadian won seven races across four tour stops this season. He also won four medals at the 2025 world championships, including gold in the 1500m, men’s relay and mixed relay. Men’s short track begins Feb. 14.
Canada’s William Dandjinou. (Jade GAO / AFP via Getty Images)
Quentin Fillon Maillet, France, biathlon
The five-time Olympic medalist remains a core leader of the French biathlon team. The 33-year-old is the defending gold medalist in the 20 km individual and 12.5 km pursuit and one of the season’s top World Cup competitors. Biathlon begins with the mixed relay competitions on Feb. 8; France is a medal contender.
Eileen Gu, China, freestyle skiing
The California-born Gu, 22, once competed for the United States but made a highly scrutinized change to her mother’s home country of China in 2019. She represented the host nation at the Beijing Olympics, winning two gold medals and one silver, and will do so again in 2026. Freestyle skiing begins Feb. 7.
Francesco Friedrich and Johannes Lochner, Germany, bobsled
The two 35-year-old pilots have dominated the sport for years, combining to sweep the last seven four‑man and two‑man world championships, and finishing 1‑2 in both events at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. After seven straight World Cup season titles in the four-man, Friedrich finished second this year to Lochner, who also won the two-man crown. Men’s bobsled begins Feb. 16.
Emily Harrop, France, ski mountaineering
In the new Olympic sport of ski mountaineering, Harrop is the current star. She’s the defending World Cup champion and likely would be leading this year’s as well if she hadn’t missed the first race. In the four events since, she has two wins (both in the sprint discipline that will be contested in Italy) and two second-place finishes. She won seven times last season, including at the Bormio test event on the course slated for the Olympics. The ski mountaineering sprint events are on Feb. 19.
France’s Emily Harrop. (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images)
Yuma Kagiyama, Japan, figure skating
Kagiyama, 22, was the silver medalist at the 2022 Olympics behind Nathan Chen of the U.S. and is a three-time world championship runner-up. Everyone in the sport is looking up at American Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” but Kagiyama is the top-ranked skater behind him. Figure skating starts Friday with the team event.
Mikaël Kingsbury, Canada, freestyle skiing
A moguls standout, Kingsbury, 33, is one of the sport’s all-time greats. The Canadian flag-bearer has collected 18 medals across the Olympics and world championships, highlighted by gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, and is still among the top medal contenders. Moguls begins Feb. 10.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway, cross-country skiing
The five-time Olympic gold medalist and 15-time world champion continues to dominate cross-country skiing, claiming his 100th World Cup win in December and adding multiple victories in distance and sprint events this season. The 29-year-old also swept all six events at last year’s world championships, making him a threat across the entire Olympic program, which begins Feb. 8.
Femke Kok, Netherlands, speedskating
There are always a handful of Dutch speedskaters to watch at an Olympics. At the top of the list this time is Kok, 25, who was the top World Cup performer this season at 500 and 1,000 meters. She’s won three straight world titles in the 500m and was the silver medalist in the 1,000m at last year’s edition. The first Olympic women’s sprint event is the 1,000m on Feb. 9.
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama. (Atsushi Tomura / Getty Images)
Johannes Lamparter, Austria, Nordic combined
In the sport that combines cross-country and ski jumping, the 24‑year‑old Austrian has emerged as the top performer on the World Cup circuit this season, with five wins. He just missed the individual podium at last year’s world championships, where he also took home two team medals. Nordic combined events begin Feb. 9.
Max Langenhan and Felix Loch, Germany, luge
At 26, Langenham will lead the powerhouse German team in Cortina after securing the last two World Cup titles and winning six world championships over the past three years, including the previous two individual world championships. He’ll be pushed by 36-year-old teammate Felix Loch, the current World Cup leader and Olympic gold medalist in both 2010 and 2014. Men’s luge begins Saturday.
Bruce Mouat, Great Britain, curling
Mouat, 31, will lead the British team that took silver in Beijing. The Edinburgh native also won the 2023 and 2025 world titles with Scotland. In November, he guided Scotland to bronze at the European championships. Men’s curling starts Feb. 11.
Marco Odermatt, Switzerland, Alpine skiing
Already one of the winningest Alpine skiers ever, the 28-year-old Odermatt is the defending Olympic gold medalist in giant slalom. He’s also a three-time world champion and 53-time winner on the World Cup tour, good for eighth on the all-time list. The overall leader in downhill, super-G and giant slalom this season, he’ll be a favorite for four golds (along with the team combined event) in Italy when the men’s program begins Saturday.
Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt. (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images)
Adeliia Petrosian, Individual Neutral Athlete, figure skating
Petrosian, the 18-year-old Russian, is women’s figure skating’s big wild card. She was cleared to compete as a neutral athlete and is expected to be a medal contender. Due to restrictions on Russian participation in international sports following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, though, she hasn’t yet been in a major international competition. She’s won the last three Russian championships. Women’s singles begins Feb. 17.
Domen and Nika Prevc, Slovenia, ski jumping
The siblings are dominating their respective World Cup tours this season. Domen Prevc, 26, has 10 wins so far, while 20-year-old sister Nika has 13, including in seven of the last nine events. Both won two golds and a silver at last year’s world championships and are likely to find themselves on some podiums again in Italy. The ski jumping events begin Saturday.
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, New Zealand, snowboarding
Sadowski-Synnott won slopestyle gold and big air silver in Beijing in 2022 and has claimed four X Games golds since then. At the 2025 X Games, the 24-year-old became the first woman to land a triple cork 1440 in slopestyle. She’s also the defending slopestyle world champion. Women’s snowboarding begins Feb. 8.
Courtney Sarault, Canada, short track speedskating
A World Tour winner across three distances — 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m — Sarault, 25, won the overall season title and will be a medal favorite in all those races. The 11-time world championship medalist will be seeking her first Olympic hardware when the women’s short track program begins Feb. 10.
New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Julia Simon, France, biathlon
The 2022 Olympic mixed relay silver medalist and 2022-23 overall World Cup champion, Simon, 29, won four golds at the 2025 world championships and also topped the last pre-Olympic World Cup race, a 12.5 km mass start. She heads to the Games under a cloud of controversy, though: The French federation suspended her in November for stealing money from a teammate, but she will still be allowed to compete in the Olympics.
Jonna Sundling, Sweden, cross-country skiing
The 31‑year‑old Olympic sprint champion at the Beijing Games followed that with five world championship golds over the past two editions, and continues to excel in 2025‑26 with distance and sprint World Cup wins. She leads the World Cup sprint standings and is second overall to American Jessie Diggins. The women’s cross-country skiing competition begins Saturday.
Miho Takagi, Japan, speedskating
With seven Olympic and 16 world championship medals, Takagi is one of the most decorated speedskaters of all time. And the 31-year-old is still in strong form — especially in the 1,500m distance, where she leads the World Cup standings. She won the silver medal at that distance in each of the past two Olympics. The women’s 1,500 is scheduled for Feb. 14.
Julia Taubitz, Germany, luge
Winner of the last three World Cup season titles, the 29-year-old Taubitz enters Cortina as a favorite for the women’s singles gold medal. She also won three golds at last year’s world championships. Women’s luge begins Feb. 9.
Matt Weston, Great Britain, skeleton
Since placing 15th at the Beijing Olympics, Weston has surged to the pinnacle of his sport, capturing world titles in both 2023 and 2025. This World Cup season, he secured his third consecutive overall crown, winning five of seven races and finishing second in the other two. He’s the clear gold-medal favorite for the men’s skeleton competition on Feb. 12-13.
Damian Źurek, Poland, speedskating
If anyone is going to beat American star Jordan Stolz in Italy, Źurek might have the best chance — because he just did it. The 26-year-old edged Stolz in a pair of 500m World Cup races in Germany a week ago, setting the track record each time. With his first career World Cup wins, Źurek is peaking at the right time as the men’s speedskating program begins on Feb. 8. The 500m is Feb. 14.
