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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One
“We believe we have achieved the biggest number of tickets sold for a Winter Olympics ceremony, with 61,221 tickets [in Milan] but we actually involved many more people because another 10,000 people were attending the remote ceremonies, so this is extraordinary for a Winter Olympics ceremony.
“A big challenge that we have taken on and the result of which makes us very, very proud.”
That’s Milan Cortina 2026 organizing committee chief executive Andrea Varnier at a Saturday morning news conference in Milan, reflecting on the Friday opening at the San Siro in Milan, but also ceremonies in Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo so that all of the athletes could participate if they desired.
Ceremonies Director Maria Laura Iascone congratulated her team on the ceremony, adding, “We have been working for years on this ceremony, with the purpose of telling about the Italian spirit, of narrating to the world why Italy is so proud, so I would like to thank the ingenuity of my [team] because the ceremony communicated what we wanted to communicate: the Italian spirit, the Italian passion, the Italian harmony.”
Asked about the performance of American star Mariah Carey, Iascone noted that she was not paid to participate and that she had some technical help with singing in Italian:
“Of course we had a teleprompter, it’s part of the show; it is a way to support the talents on the stage.”
No television ratings data was available yet, but is promised on a few days. Overnight digital engagement was reported as quite strong.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams (GBR) noted that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance met with IOC chief Kirsty Coventry on Friday and expressed the Trump Administration’s support for the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Games.
In reply to a question about the norovirus that impacted the Finnish women’s hockey team and one Swiss athlete, it was insisted upon that there was no outbreak and that all of the cases were being treated. The Finns fielded a full team against the U.S. on Saturday.
~ Rich Perelman
● ROSEN REPORT ● Special coverage of the Olympic debut of U.S. skating star Ilia Malinin, who was a rare second in the Team Event men’s Short Program on Saturday, here.
● Milan Cortina 2026: Torch Relay ● A poignant moment on Friday before the opening, when IOC member and women’s champion Anita DeFrantz of the U.S. ran with the Olympic Torch and passed it to IOC chief Coventry, the first woman to be elected as the IOC President (photo: Quinton Meyer/IOC):
Said Coventry:
“To take the flame from Anita was super special; she was so happy and I was so happy. And it was super memorable because she’s really led the way for female leaders in sport globally, and for her to be here and for her and me to share that moment was really very cool.”
Added DeFrantz: “Now, having a woman President of the IOC is exactly how the world should be. I’m so grateful to her and her work.”
● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Pleasant winter weather for Milan on Sunday, with cloudy skies and highs of 51 F and a low of 41. Rain is forecast for Tuesday morning.
In Cortina, the Sunday high is projected at 42 F and then 23 F at night, with partly cloudy skies. No snow is forecast until Thursday.
● Scoreboard ● After the first day of medal events, with five of 116 events completed:
● 3: Italy (1-1-1)
● 3: Japan (1-1-1)
● 3: Norway (1-1-1)
● 2: Sweden (1-1-0)
● 1: Four tied
A better indication of team performance has to go beyond three places, so The Sports Examiner returns our eight-place scoring, using the NCAA track & field format of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 to score each event. After a day:
● 34: Norway
● 28: Italy
● 24: Japan
● 24: Switzerland
● 18: Sweden
The U.S. has six points from Ollie Martin in the Snowboard Big Air and Jessie Diggins in the women’s Cross Country Skiathlon.
= RESULTS: SATURDAY, 7 FEBRUARY =
(5 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)
● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Downhill
Swiss star Franjo von Allmen won the 2025 World Championships gold and now he is the 2026 Olympic Champion.
He was in familiar territory when he came to the start as the no. 8 skier on Saturday, looking at the time of teammate and World Cup leader Marco Odermatt, who took the lead at 1:52.31. But von Allmen was equal to the challenge and rolled through the iconic Stelvio course to a 1:51.61 mark and let the rest of the field chase him.
No one got close until Italy’s emerging star Giovanni Franzoni at no. 11, who moved into second at 1:51.81 and then teammate Dominik Paris, 36, who won a Worlds Downhill silver way back in 2013, challenged for the lead at no. 12. He finished at 1:52.11 and squeezed Odermatt out of the medals by 0.20 and no one else got close to the podium.
It’s the first time in the last six Games with a men’s Downhill medal for the Swiss and two wins in a row after Beat Feuz in 2022. The U.S. had Kyle Negomir in 10th (1:53.20), then Bryce Bennett in 13th (1:53.45), Ryan Cochran-Siegle in 18th and Sam Morse in 19th.
● Cross Country Skiing: Women’s 20 km Skiathlon
American Jessie Diggins’ hope for a medal ended early as she collided with Karoline Simpson-Larsen (NOR) just beyond the 1.5 km mark and both fell back and out of contention. As expected, Sweden’s two-time Worlds winner in this event, Ebba Andersson, was out in the lead in the Classical first section, chased by teammate Frida Karlsson, a two-time Worlds runner-up.
Karlsson took over by the 11.8 km mark, now in Freestyle and led the rest of the way to the line, winning her first individual Olympic medal and first gold in 53:45.2, with Andersson at 54:36.2 for silver and Norway’s Heidi Weng (55:11.9 third. It’s Weng’s second Skiathlon Olympic bronze, also in 2014.
Diggins was 21st after her fall, but worked her way up to 17th by the 10 km mark and then to eighth overall at 56:06.3, with the third-fastest Freestyle 10 km in the race. She said afterwards:
“I’m in the best shape of my life and my body felt really good, but there’s a lot of things that need to come together for a good ski race to happen.
“I was really encouraged by the skate [Freestyle] half, but the Classic half, the things out of my control did not go very well. I had a crash on the first lap, where my tip just disappeared in the slush, and unfortunately it was a tough spot where you lose all your momentum.”
● Ski Jumping: Women’s Normal Hill (109 m)
Could anyone beat 20–year-old Slovenian star and 2025 World Champion Nika Prevc?
There was one who could: Norway’s Anna Odine Stroem, 27, who got out in front in the first round with a 100.0 m jump and 136.9 points to take the lead, with Prevc second but close at 98.0 m and 135.9 points.
Prevc put the pressure on in round two, at 99.5 m and scoring 130.3 points, but Stroem, who won once on the FIS World Cup circuit his season vs. 13 for Prevc, was equal. She jumped 101.0 m and even with a 130.0 score, won the gold, 267.3 to 266.2. An upset for sure.
Japan’s Nozomi Maruyama, also figured for a medal, took the bronze finishing 3-4 on her two jumps for 261.8, over Austrian Lisa Eder (257.3) in fourth.
The U.S. had Annika Belshaw in 21st (225.4), Paige Jones at 23 (222.6) and Josie Johnson in 27th (216.4).
● Snowboard: Men’s Big Air
Japan’s Kira Kimura, a two-time World Cup silver medalist this season, took the lead with his spirited 89.00 performance in the first of three rounds, trailed by defending Olympic champ Yuming Su (CHN: 88.25).
Japanese teammate Ryoma Kimata put together an 85.25 score in the second round to take the lead at 171.50 and pressure the field. Kimura fell and Su’s only scored 73.75. American Ollie Martin – competing after recovering from a broken arm that he kept quiet – recovered from a first-round fail to score 79.50 and move into contention.
The final round saw the 17-year-old Martin second-up and get a solid 83.50 score and take the early lead at 163.00. He stayed on top through six more riders until Kimura came up for his third try, needing a big score. He got it at 90.50, best of the day and took a solid lead at 179.50 with only three others left.
Su was 11th out of 12 and got a good 80.25 score for 168.50 that passed Martin for the bronze and when Kimata did not improve on his final run, Japan had a 1-2 finish and Su settled for bronze.
These are the first two medals in this event for Japan, in only the third time that Big Air has been held at the Games. It was the first time in three tries that Canada did not win a medal.
● Speed Skating: Women’s 3,000 m
No one broke 4:00 until the eighth of 10 pairs when Italian birthday girl – and 2025 5,000 m World Champion – Francesca Lollobrigida, now 35, tore the race apart and scored an Olympic Record of 3:54.28 to take the lead. Her performance helped Canada’s Valerie Maltais to a 3:56.93 clocking that looked a potential medal winner.
Norway’s Ragne Wiklund was in the ninth pair and was the 2023 World Champion in this event, but she could not match Lollobrigida and had to settle to move into second at 3:56.54; Mass Start star Marijke Groenewoud (NED) disappointed with a 4:01.35 time that was out of the medals.
That brought the final pair and 2025 World Champion Joy Beune (NED), who simply could not generate the needed speed and fell back lap by lap and ended with 3:58.12 in fourth, leaving Maltais with the bronze.
An overjoyed Lollobrigida moved up from silver in 2022 and ended a three-Games win streak for the Dutch, who missed the podium altogether for the first time since 2010.
Elsewhere:
● Curling: Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, the 2021 World Champions, remained the only undefeated team in the Mixed Doubles, defeating the U.S.’s 2023 World Champions Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin on Saturday, 7-4. So the Brits are 7-0.
The U.S. dropped to 4-2, losing to South Korea, 6-5, Saturday evening, the first win for the Koreans in six matches. Heading into Sunday, the U.S. and defending champ Italy are 4-2 and Sweden is 4-3, in the top four places.
The round-robin continues through the 9th with the top four moving to the playoffs.
● Freestyle Skiing: Qualifying was on in men’s and women’s Slopestyle, with Beijing 2022 Big Air champion Birk Ruud (NOR: 81.75) leading the men’s qualifying. The U.S. qualified three to the final: 2023 Worlds runner-up Mac Forehand (6th), defending Olympic champ Alex Hall in 8th and Konnor Ralph in 10th. Troy Podmilsak, the 2023 World Big Air winner, did not qualify in 28th place.
The women’s qualifying had some drama from Chinese star Eileen Gu, the 2022 Olympic silver winner, who fell on her first run, but scored 75.30 for second overall on her final run. Defending Olympic champ Mathilde Gremaud (SUI: 79.15) was the leader.
The U.S.’s Avery Krumme qualified fourth at 64.93; Grace Henderson (15th: 49.78) and Marin Hamill (16th: 47.91) did not advance.
● Ice Hockey: The U.S. women had no trouble with Finland – which was suffering from norovirus issues but fielded a full team on Saturday – with a 5-0 win. The American powerhouse generated 49 shots-on-goal to 11 for the Finns and after a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period, exploded in the second.
Taylor Heise made it 2-0 at 2:21 of the second, then just 1:06 later, it was defender Megan Keller for a 3-0 edge. Captain Hilary Knight scored at 9:17 on a power play to make it 4-0 at the end of the second.
Abbey Murphy scored the final goal at 15:56 of the third. Aerin Frankel got the shutout in goal. Next up for the 2-0 Americans are the Swiss, on the 9th.
= PREVIEWS: SUNDAY, 8 FEBRUARY =
(8 finals across 7 sports and disciplines)
● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Downhill
The last chapter in the amazing story of Lindsey Vonn? Now 41 and an 84-time FIS World Cup winner, the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Downhill gold medalist and a lot more, she returned to competition after a successful knee replacement surgery in 2024. After placing 1-2-3-1-3 in the first five World Cup Downhills this season, she crashed on 30 January in Crans-Montana and tore an anterior cruciate ligament, but completed a training run in Cortina and will compete.
If she’s right, she’s a medal favorite for sure, in what she says is her last season and maybe her last race. She will have to deal with two strong teammates, 2025 World Champion Breezy Johnson and Jackie Wiles, both World Cup medalists this season.
Then there is Italy’s torch-lighter, Sofia Goggia, the 2018 gold medalist and 2022 silver winner, Austria’s Cornelia Huetter and Germans Emma Aicher and Kira Weidle-Winkelmann, all of whom are World Cup medalists this season. Austrian Mirjam Puchner won the 2025 Worlds silver behind Johnson and should be a contender as well.
Saturday’s final training session was cut off after 23 skiers due to deteriorating conditions, but Johnson and Vonn were 1-3 among those who completed a run, including most of the contenders.
● Biathlon: Mixed 4 x 6 km Relay
This event was held twice during the FIS World Cup season, with France winning over Italy and Norway at the end of November and the Italians over France and the Czech Republic at the end of January.
Given their depth, France and Italy are medal favorites. This is the fourth time this event has been held at the Winter Games, with Norway a medalist each time (1-2-1), France twice (1-2 in 2018-22) and Italy twice (3-3 in 2014-18). Sweden also has to be considered; those four squads should take the three medals.
● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s 20 km Skiathlon
This event was held only once during the FIS World Cup season, with Norwegian star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo winning in Trondheim (NOR) at the head of a sweep, with Harald Amundsen second and Emil Iversen third.
Another Norwegian sweep is a possibility; it happened in 2018. Moreover, Norway has won this event five of the nine times it has been held at the Winter Games. And at the 2025 World Championships, Klaebo won ahead of teammates Martin Nyenget and Amundsen!
Who could break them up? Italy’s Federico Pellegrino, better known as a sprinter, was fifth in this event at the 2025 Worlds, with Mathis Deloges of France sixth. American hopes are pinned on Gus Schumacher, who was ninth at the 2025 Worlds and won a 5 km Mass Start gold and a Sprint silver in this season’s World Cup.
● Figure Skating: Team Event
The U.S. had a 25-23 lead over Japan going into the men’s Short Program, and it got tighter as Beijing 2022 silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama put on a spectacular performance and earned his second-highest score ever at 108.67.
American star Ilia Malinin was next and he was excellent, but not perfect, despite a quad flip and quad Lutz, plus his patented backflip, scoring 98.00 points for second. That cut the U.S. lead to 34-33 going into the final round. Italy (28), Canada (27) and Georgia (25) also advanced to the final.
First up was the Free Dance, Japan’s weakest event and Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita scored 98.55 and finished fifth, scoring six points. Canada’s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha performed elegantly and scored 120.90 for third, behind Italy’s two-time Worlds medal winners Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, who completed a sensuous routine at 124.22 and won nine points for second.
But World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. were in another league. Their perfect routine wowed the audience and scored a seasonal high of 133.23, sending a clear signal they will be tough to beat in Milan.
But for the Team Event, the U.S. moved out to an expected 44-39 lead on Japan going into Sunday’s Pairs, women’s and men’s Singles. Japan has a clear edge on the U.S. in Pairs, but the competition in the women’s and men’s Free Skates will be the difference maker.
● Luge: Men’s Singles
The first FIL World Cup back in December had 2010 and 2014 Olympic champ Felix Loch (GER: 36) beating 2023 World Champion Jonas Mueller (AUT) and 2024 and 2025 World Champion Max Langenhan (GER).
Those figured to be the medalists in Cortina, as Loch won four times on the World Cup circuit, and Mueller three times, with Langenhan winning six medals in seven races.
After the first two runs on Saturday, however, Langenhan was in front at 1:55.826, having won both races and setting track records in both, at 52.924 and 52.902. Mueller was close at 1:45.988, running second twice. Loch was ninth at 1:46.745 and the contenders for medals now are Italy’s 2022 Olympic bronzer Dominik Fischnaller at 1:46.124 and Latvian star Kristers Aparjods (1:45.334), a 2022 Olympic team relay bronze winner.
The U.S. had Jonny Gustafson in 11th (1:47.301) and Matthew Greiner in 17th (1:47.760).
Since re-unification, German lugers have won this event six times out of nine.
● Snowboard: Men’s and women’s Parallel Giant Slalom
Perhaps the intrigue is highest in the women’s competition, where two-time Olympic champion Ester Ledecka (CZE) will go for three straight golds, but was saddened by a schedule clash with the women’s Downhill, which she also wanted to contest. Remember, she stunned everyone in 2018 with a win in the women’s super-G, which she will also ski in Cortina.
She asked for an accommodation, but none was granted, so she opted for a possible PGS triple; no one else has even won two in a row besides Ledecka. She won one World Cup gold this season, on 23 January in Austria, just to show everyone she’s ready.
She won’t have a cakewalk, with challenges from 2023 World Champion Tsubaki Miki (JPN), Austria’s Sabine Payer, who has two World Cup wins this season, and Italian favorites Lucia Dalmasso (two World Cup wins) and Elisa Caffont (five World Cup medals). Germany’s 2018 Olympic bronzer, Ramona Hofmeister, has to be accounted for, as she won four World Cup medals in January races. Also, Poland’s Aleksandra Krol-Walas took two World Cup silvers this season.
The men’s race has Beijing 2022 gold medalist Benjamin Karl (AUT) and PyeongChang 2018 runner-up Sang-ho Lee (KOR) on the line once again; both have World Cup wins this season. But this could be a good day for Italy.
Roland Fischnaller – now 45 – was the 2025 World Champion in PGS and three World Cup wins and a silver. Maurizio Bormolini has two wins and Mirko Felicetti and Aaron March have one each. Italian riders have 16 medals out of 33 possible in the first 11 races of the season.
Karl’s teammates will challenge, including red-hot Fabian Obmann, who has two silvers and a bronze in the last three World Cups. American hopes are primarily on Cody Winters, who won a World Cup bronze in mid-January.
● Speed Skating: Men’s 5,000 m
Norway’s Sander Eitrem is the reigning World Champion from 2025 and on 24 January in Inzell (GER), became the first man to break six minutes, with a world record 5:58.52. He’s the favorite, for sure.
But Czech Metodej Jilek, 19, the 2025 Worlds 10,000 m bronzer, must be watched; he had two wins and two seconds on the World Cup circuit this season, and France’s Tim Loubineaud had the world record at 6:00.23 in November in Kearns, Utah, until Eitrem crushed it.
Casey Dawson is the top American and on the right day, can be a medal contender and is the American record holder at 6:01.84. Italian fans will be looking to 10,000 m star Davide Ghiotto, the 2025 World 10,000 gold medalist, who won Worlds silver in the 5 in 2023 and 2024.
The Mixed Doubles in curling and women’s ice hockey are continuing as well.
= INTEL REPORT =
● Milan Cortina 2026: Bobsled & Skeleton ● An appeal by the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association to allow a new-styled helmet to be used by the medal-contending Skeleton racers was turned down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Milan:
“After hearing the expert opinions and considering the evidence, the Panel noted that the helmet departs from the standard shape and reflects a novel design specifically developed to enhance aerodynamic performance where the rear considerably protrudes. The Panel determined that the BBSA did not sufficiently establish that the helmet complies with the current IBSF rules. As a consequence, the application was dismissed.”
● Athletics ● World Athletics announced some minor changes in the schedule for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, with a switch of the women’s 400 m and 400 m hurdles.
Now, the women’s 400 hurdles will start on 15 July, the women’s 400 will start on the morning of 18 July with the 400 hurdles semis in the afternoon. But on 20 July, the 400 m semis and 400 m hurdles final are still in the same session. The 400 final is on the 22nd.
So, no relief for hurdles and flat 400 star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the U.S., who would still have to run a 400 semi and hurdles final within an hour. Her coach, Bobby Kersee, has bemoaned the schedule; a simple move of the 400 semi into the morning session of the same day could salvage the situation, but has not been made … yet.
● Fencing ● At the FIE Foil Grand Prix in Turin (ITA), American Nick Itkin made it to the men’s final, but fell to home favorite Guillaume Bianchi, the 2025 European Champion, 15-11. It was Itkin’s fifth career Grand Prix medal.
Italy finished 1-2 in the women’s event, with 2014 Worlds silver winner Martina Batini out-dueling two-time World Champion Arianna Errigo, 15-13.
Ruslan Kirbanov (KAZ), the 2023 Worlds bronzer, won the FIE men’s Epee World Cup in Heidenheim (GER), in a 15-14 tussle with 2023 Worlds runner-up Davide di Veroli (ITA).
● Wrestling ● In the women’s Freestyle division at the United World Wrestling Ranking Series in Zagreb (CRO), the U.S. claimed three golds, with Everest Leydecker of the U.S. in the 53 kg class, Skylar Grote at 72 kg and Yelena Makoyed at 76 kg.
Two more Americans won silvers, with Alexis Janiak (59 kg), and Tristan Kelly at 76 kg.
¶
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