MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Ferreira scores Halfpipe win; U.S. men to meet Canada for hockey gold; Liu talks about her skating gold

February 20, 2026

tsx pix 2026-220 owg-ferreira, alex (Isami Kiyooka us ski team) — American Alex Ferreira celebrates his Freestyle Halfpipe gold at the Milan Cortina Winter Games (Photo: Isami Kiyooka/U.S. Ski Team).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

The Winter Games are winding to the close, but an important off-the-field development is worth noting. It was the election of former basketball great Pau Gasol (ESP) as the Chair of the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission.

Gasol, of course, won two NBA titles while with the Los Angeles Lakers and at 45, will be the face of the Athletes’ Commission through the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The 7-0 scoring star was a five-time Olympian and three-time medal winner.

If the IOC’s political history informs us, he is also now someone to watch as a possible future head of the IOC.

Most IOC Presidents have not been Olympic athletes. But in 2001, Belgian sailor Jacques Rogge took over, then German fencer Thomas Bach and in 2025, swimmer Kirsty Coventry (ZIM). Coventry’s maximum term of 12 years will end in 2037, when Gasol will be 57.

Bach served on the first IOC Athletes Commission, formed in 1981. Coventry was the head of the Athletes Commission from 2018-21. Gasol was elected to the Athletes Commission in 2021 and is also a member of the IOC Coordination Commission for the LA28 Games. And he will see how it all works now, from a position on the IOC Executive Board.

There is a natural progression here. Don’t anoint him yet. But recognize that Gasol is an emerging leader in the Olympic Movement and standing 7-0, he literally towers over many others who see themselves as possible future heads of the IOC.

He also won’t have to be concerned with questions about salary or subsidies, as he earned a reported $224.45 million during his NBA career.

Gasol’s election is important and look for him to raise his profile the same way he played: with consistent effort, considerable skill and a keen understanding of what it takes to win and how he can contribute.
~ Rich Perelman

● The Rosen Report ● American Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu was “calm, happy and confident” on the way in her historic Free Skate performance in Milan. More on Liu and her life-changing night on the ice.

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Saturday’s Milan weather is for partly sunny skies with a high of 56 F and a low of 38 F, with modest winds of 4 miles per hour and only a 10% chance of rain.

In Cortina, more snow is predicted, possibly complicating the schedule, with a high of just 33 F and a low of 22 F. Winds are to be 6 miles per hour, which will add to the cold. Cloudy skies and a high of 40 F is projected for Sunday, if needed.

● Scoreboard ● Norway continues its impressive march to the top of the medal table for the third Winter Games in a row. The Norse won 39 medals at PyeongChang 2018 and 37 at Beijing 2022 and are certainly not done for 2026:

● 37: Norway (17-10-10)
● 29: United States (10-12-7)
● 27: Italy (9-5-13)
● 24: Japan (5-7-12)
● 22: Germany (6-8-8)

● 20: France
● 18: Netherlands
● 18: Austria
● 17: Switzerland
● 17: Canada

This is the most golds ever for Norway at a Winter Games and the most golds ever won by one country at a Winter Games. The U.S. now has its third-highest Winter medal total ever and highest ever outside of North America. The 10 gold equals the most ever for the U.S. at a Winter Games, also in 2002 in Salt Lake City. And there are two days to go.

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 15 days, the top 12:

● 450.5: Norway
● 388.5: United States
● 341.5: Italy
● 278: Germany
● 274.5: France

● 242.5: Austria
● 242.5: Japan
● 232: Canada
● 220.5: Switzerland
● 217: Netherlands

● 181: China
● 169: Sweden

The top 1-8 place winners are now the U.S. with 81, Norway with 80, then Italy with 70, France with 57 and Germany with 56.

● Television ● NBC said that Thursday’s combination of the women’s figure skating Free Skate and women’s hockey final produced an average of 26.7 million viewers for its afternoon and evening prime-time programming blocks, according to preliminary data for NBC, Peacock, NBCU Digital Platforms and Versant’s USA Network. As for the Games as a whole:

“Through Thursday, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is averaging 24.1 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, NBCUniversal Digital Platforms and Versant’s CNBC and USA Network – marking the most-watched Winter Games presentation at this point since the 2014 Sochi Olympics.”

● International Olympic Committee ● IOC President Coventry told reporters on Friday the Milan Cortina Games “successful in a new way of doing things, in a sustainable way of doing things, in a way that I think many people thought that maybe couldn’t be done well, and it’s been done extremely well, and it surpassed everyone’s expectations, and that’s what we need to take away the Games.”

Asked about the impact of the Games in view of political issues that have come up around them, Coventry noted:

“I think that when we look at just the pure viewership numbers that we’re getting across the globe, it shows that the Games can unify people, and they can bring people together. And I wholeheartedly still believe that we have a huge role to play in this world to allow for that to still happen, to remind of people of just what kindness looks like and what courage looks like, and respect looks like.”

Coventry was asked about a possible return of Russia to the Olympic Movement, so far limited to “neutral” status for a limited number of athletes. She explained during her Friday news conference that no discussions concerning Russia’s status have been held and none are scheduled.

● Fair Play ● A special ceremony was held on Monday (16th) at the “German House” in Cortina during the Games to honor the memory of Italian bobsled star Eugenio Monti, the 1956 double silver medalist, 1964 double bronze medalist and 1968 double Olympic champion, for whom the old sliding track in Cortina was named and for whom the new track has also been named.

Among those participating was Prince Albert II of Monaco, member of the International Olympic Committee, who told attendees:

“It is a profound honor to be in Cortina today to celebrate the enduring legacy of Eugenio Monti. For those of us who have lived the speed and intensity of bobsleigh, Monti is more than a champion; he is the soul of the sport. His legendary act during the 1964 Innsbruck Games – handing a crucial bolt from his own sled to his [British] rivals so they could compete – remains the ultimate gold standard for sportsmanship. To be here in Cortina, the very ground where his journey began and where his spirits still resides, accentuated by the fact that the sliding center is named after him, is a powerful reminder that while medals may tarnish, the integrity of a fair competitor is immortal.

“As an Honorary Member of the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) and a five-time Olympian in bobsleigh, I have always believed that the ‘finish line’ is secondary to how we run the race. The sport of bobsleigh requires a unique blend of courage, technical precision, and, above all, mutual respect. We are not just competing against the clock or each other; we are stewards of a tradition that demands we lift one another up. The CIFP exists to protect this heartbeat of the Olympic movement, ensuring that the values of fairness and solidarity are never sacrificed at the altar of victory.”

CIFP President Sunil Sabharwal (USA) added:

“Eugenio Monti’s moment in 1964 was more than a gesture; it was a defining pivot for international sport. As President of the CIFP, my mission is to ensure this legacy is not just remembered, but transformed. We want the next generation of athletes to see that true meaning in sport comes from respect. By embedding these values today, we ensure that the youth of the Milano Cortina 2026 Games and beyond understand that winning with honor is the only way to truly win.”

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● The Australian Financial Review reported that Commonwealth Bank Australia is set to be announced as the first major sponsor of the Brisbane 2032 organizing committee, sometime in the second quarter.

The deal was noted to cost in the range of A$200 million for the six-year term to 2032, about $141.74 U.S. at current rates.

● Olympic Games: Future ● German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier indicated Thursday that he was in favor of a German bid for the 2040 or 2044 Olympic Games, but not for 2036, the centennial of the infamous “Nazi Games” of 1936. A spokesman said a 2036 bid and possible hosting would be “historically problematic.”

His concerns are not universally felt in Germany, as others are in favor of a 2036 Games. The German Sports Confederation (DOSB) has interest from four regions, with a decision on a bidder due in September 2026.

● Russia ● The New York Times published a story on Friday stating that Russian Anti-Doping Agency head Veronika Loginova was involved in covering up doping test results in 2014, during the 2011-15 state-sponsored Russia doping program, and that the World Anti-Doping Agency had received information on this from a whistle-blower.

Loginova told the Russian news agency TASS:

“These fantasies, based on a desire to promote ‘hot facts,’ apparently to boost sales, are not true. I know that the N.Y. Times is downsizing, and journalists are chasing such fake news. During the 2014 Olympic Games, I was responsible for the educational program and a member of the WADA team. I had no potential exposure to the anti-doping lab’s operations, much less influence the collection of doping samples and their subsequent analysis.

“All the facts of my activities during the preparation and conduct of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi are known to WADA representatives and other employees from other countries’ anti-doping agencies involved in the Olympics. These facts have never, under any circumstances, aroused any suspicion. I am considering taking a strong response to any offensive or defamatory publications.”

= RESULTS: FRIDAY, 20 FEBRUARY =
(7 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)

● Biathlon: Men’s 15 km Mass Start
The men’s program finished with a second gold for Norway, as Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, the 2021 Worlds Mass Start runner-up, took advantage of perfect shooting to earn the victory in 39:17.1 over teammate Sturla Holm Laegreid, who won a medal in all five men’s and mixed events, taking silver in 39:27.6 (1).

France’s Quentin Maillet Fillon (FRA) won a third medal, the bronze in 39:42.7 (4), by almost 10 seconds. Campbell Wright was the lone American, in 27th (45:14.0/7).

The men’s biathlon competition turned out to be the exclusive property of three countries: Norway (2-4-2), France (2-1-2) and Sweden (1-0-1). No one else won medals. Five countries have won medals so far in the women’s events, with the Mass Start on tomorrow.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Aerials; Men’s Halfpipe; Women’s Ski Cross
The men’s Aerials final came down to a China vs. Switzerland duel as four Chinese jumper and two Swiss made the final … and no one else!

Both countries got on the podium, as Xindi Wang, 30, won his first major championship medal by scoring 132.60 points in the medal final, edging two-time Swiss World Champion Noe Roth, at 131.58.

Third was China’s Tianma Li, like Wang, a World Cup event winner this season. Li scored 123.93 for the bronze, barely ahead of teammate Jiaxu Sun, at 123.42.

It’s China’s second Olympic win in a row and Chinese jumpers have now won a medal in this event in six straight Games. Roth got the first Swiss medal in Aerials since the first Games in which it was held, back in 1994!

In the men’s Halfpipe, only Americans and New Zealanders have won this event in its three Olympic appearances.

American Alex Ferreira, the 2018 silver medalist and 2022 bronzer, had a strong run going in the first round, but had some errors that caused a score of 49.50. In fact, only Andrew Longino of Canada scored more than 70 points and was the leader at 76.50. No way that was going to be good enough for gold.

In round two, American Birk Irving grabbed the lead at 87.50, but Estonia’s 19-year-old Henry Sildaru exploded onto the lead at 92.75 and looked like a possible winner. He took over from Ferreira, who had popped a 90.50 and ended the round in second place.

The final round saw Irving improve to 88.00, but he was still fifth. The top four in the standings were the last four to go, with Ferreira up at no. 9 and soaring into the lead with a splendid 93.75 and three men left to challenge.

Sildaru at no. 10 was up for it and scored 93.00, but still in second. American Nick Goepper, the 2025 Worlds silver winner, scored 89.00 in round two and did not improve, but he was standing third with only Canada’s Brendan Mackay left.

Mackay, the 2023 World Champion, had scored only 37.75 and 53.00 on his first two runs, but was in full form and was rewarded with a 91.00 score and the bronze medal, over Goepper.

This makes three U.S. wins out of four times this event has been held at the Games and the first medal for Estonia!

Goepper was fourth, Irving was fifth and Hunter Hess finished 10th at 58.75 as the other Americans finalists behind Ferreira, who now has a full set of medals, finally adding a gold.

The expected stars of the women’s Ski Cross advanced right to the final, with defending champion Sandra Naeslund (SWE) and 2025 Worlds bronze medalist Daniela Maier, who also won the 2022 Olympic bronze.

They were accompanied by 2022 co-bronze winner – and two-time World Champion – Fanny Smith (SUI), and French star Marielle Berger Sabbatel. Off the start, Naeslund skied well, but was overtaken by Maier and Smith and Maier had the edge to the finish over Smith by 0.14, and the gold medal. Naeslund settled for bronze.

So, the co-bronze winners from 2022 were 1-2 in 2026, with champion Naeslund in third. It’s the first gold for Germany in this event and the third straight for Smith: bronze-bronze-silver.

● Short Track: Men’s 5,000 m relay; Women’s 1,500 m
The Netherlands won one medal in Short Track at the 2014 Winter Games, then four each in 2018 and 2022. In Milan, they went wild, with five golds, a silver and a bronze to lead all nations. One of those wins was in the men’s relay.

Defending champion Canada fought with South Korea for most of this race, but it was the Dutch took control in the late stages and with three laps to go and skated away with the gold medal in an impressive show of pacing, tactics and speed in 6:51.847, with Jens van’T Wout winning his third gold to go along with one bronze, dominating the meet.

South Korea edged Italy for the silver on the final lap, 6:52.239 to 6:52.335, with defending champion Canada in fourth (6:52.425).

In the women’s 1,500 m, the semifinals produced multiple crashes, but the fastest times belonged to two-time Olympic champion Min-Jeong Choi (KOR) at 2:20.984 and American Corinne Stoddard at 2:21.042, both from semifinal three. But Italian Arianna Fontana was also qualified, looking for a historic 15th medal to tie for the most in Winter Games history.

Stoddard took the lead in a slow-starting event, with Fontana second, but the pace quickened on the second lap. Choi moved up to second with six laps left, then 2024 World Champion Gil-li Kim moved onto the inside into third. Choi and Kim rolled into the lead with two laps to go, them Kim accelerated into the lead at the bell and held on to lead the Korean 1-2 at 2:32.076 and 2:32.450.

Stoddard was third at the bell and she held off China’s Jingru Yang for the bronze, 2:32.578 to 2:32.713. Fontana was fifth in 2:32.783.

It was the first U.S. Short Track Olympic medal since 2018 and only the fifth women’s individual medal ever, the last in 2010 from Katharine Reutter in the 1,000 m. Stoddard’s bronze – especially sweet after her earlier crashes – is the first American medal ever in this event (Stoddard pictured below; TSX photo by Karen Rosen):

The Koreans extended their win streak in the 1,500 to three straight Games and five out of seven all-time.

● Speed Skating: Women’s 1,500 m
The first skater, 500 m champion Femke Kok (NED) – skating alone – set the pace with a fast 1:54.79 time that stood up through the 10th pair! It took that long for Canadian Valerie Maltais – the 3,000 m bronzer – to take the lead with an impressive 1:54.40 time.

Two more pairs passed until Norwegian Ragne Wiklund, the 2021 World Champion in this event and the 3,000 m runner-up, got on the track and she pushed hard in the middle of her race and crossed in 1:54.15 to take the lead, with two pairs to go.

Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED), the 2025 Worlds silver winner, was matched against American star Brittany Bowe, 37, the 2015 World Champion at this distance. Bowe was out hot, but Rijpma-de Jong finished better and timed 1:54.09, a track record to 1:54.70 for Bowe, in fourth.

The final pair had 2024 World Champion Miho Takagi, who started very fast and looked like a possible winner, but faded on the final lap and her 1:54.87 time placed her sixth overall. Greta Myers of the U.S. finished 29th in 1:59.81.

Rijpma-de Jong was a contender coming in, but won with a superior final lap, helped by Bowe’s challenge. She’s the fifth straight Dutch winner in this event and she moved up from bronze at Beijing 2022. Wiklund won the first Norwegian medal in this event ever, and Maltais won Canada’s first medal in this event since 2010.

Bowe, in her last Games, finished fourth, as she did in the 1,000 m and Team Pursuit. She has been one of the best-ever American skaters, with two Olympic bronzes and 13 World Single Distance Championships medals, including four golds, from 2013-24.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: Switzerland and Yannick Schwaller (9-1) faced off with Magnus Ramsfjell and Norway (5-5) in the bronze-medal game for the men. Schwaller’s squad got off to a 4-0 lead with three in the second and one in the third. It was 4-1 after the fifth, but the Swiss added two in the eighth and one in the ninth for a 9-1 victory and third place overall.

The women’s semifinals had dominant performances from the Swedes and the Swiss.

Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg, the 2018 gold medalist and 2022 bronzer, had her rink in top form, scoring two in the sixth end for a 4-2 lead on three-time World Champion Rachel Homan and Canada and the Swedes followed through to a 6-3 win and into the gold-medal final.

The U.S. beat the Swiss in 11 ends to reach the semis and then play Silvana Tirinzoni’s four-time World Champions once again. Tabitha Peterson’s U.S. rink took a 1-0 lead, but it was 4-2 for Switzerland after four. The U.S. closed to 5-4 after nine, but two in the 10th gave the Swiss a 7-4 win and advanced to the gold-medal match on Sunday.

Canada and the U.S. will play for bronze tomorrow.

● Ice Hockey: The first men’s semifinal was a doozy, with Finland ahead of favored Canada by 1-0 after the first period, then getting a short-handed goal from Erik Haula to lead 2-0 just 3:26 into the second period.

But the Canadians fought back and closed to 2-1 by the end of the second and then tied it at 10:34 of the third on a Shea Theodore score. The Finns suffered a penalty at 17:25 of the third for high sticking and a determined Canadian attack paid off as Nathan MacKinnon got a go-ahead score at 19:24 and that turned out to be the 3-2 winner. Canada’s 39-17 shots edge was barely enough to get by and into the final.

The U.S. played Slovakia in the second semi, and Dylan Larkin have the Americans a 1-0 lead at 4:19 of the first period and then Tage Thompson scored on a power play at 19:19. The Americans blew it open in the second period with scores from Jack Hughes at 12:14, then Jack Eichel just 19 seconds later (12:33) and Hughes again at 18:24 for a 5-0 scoreline after two (and a 26:13 shots advantage).

In the third, Slovakia got a goal from Juraj Slafkovsky at 4:55 of the period, but the U.S. responded with a Brady Tkachuk score at 10:52 for a 6-1 edge. Pavol Regenda (SVK) scored the final goal of the game at 13:17 and, after some physical play in the final few minutes, ended at 6-2. The Americans ended with a 39-24 shots advantage.

Slovakia will play Finland for the bronze and the U.S. and Canada will face off for the gold on Sunday. It had to be.

= PREVIEWS: SATURDAY, 21 FEBRUARY =
(10 finals across 7 sports & disciplines)

● Biathlon: Women’s 12.5 km Mass Start
The two Mass Start races in the IBU World Cup this season were won by Norway’s Maren Kirkeedie – the Olympic Sprint winner – and France’s Julia Simon, the 15 km Individual gold medalist. In those races, Olympic Pursuit champ Lisa Vittozzi (ITA) won a bronze and 2026 medal winners Oceane Michelon (FRA: Sprint silver) and Lou Jeanmonnot (FRA: Individual silver) also won medals.

So did defending Olympic champion Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, making this final event a sort of “all-star” showdown.

You can add in Sweden’s relay silver winner Elvira Oeberg as well; she won the 2025 World Championships gold, over Michelon and Kirkeedie. Braisaz-Bouchet won the 2024 Worlds, over Vittozzi and Jeanmonnot. And Hanna’s sister Elvira, won the 2023 Worlds gold.

So it has to be one of these stars who will win, right? Maybe; do not count out Finland’s Pursuit winner Suvi Minkkinen!

● Bobsled: Two-Woman
One of the great showdowns in Olympic history is in this event, with two-time Olympic champion – when with Canada – Kaillie Armbruster Humphries of the U.S., four-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor of the U.S. and German star Laura Nolte, the defending champion.

Nolte and fellow pilots Kim Kalicki and Lisa Buckwitz went 1-2-3 at the 2025 Worlds; Buckwitz won in 2024 and Kalicki won in 2023. During the 2025-26 IBSF World Cup season, Nolte was dominant, winning five of the seven races (with Deborah Levi), with Armbruster Humphries winning the other two with Emily Renna.

German sleds won 14 of the 21 World Cup medals this past season, the U.S. took six and Melanie Hasler’s Swiss sled took one. While Meyers Taylor did not medal, that also did not stop her from winning the Monobob. And Kaysha Love of the U.S. won two silvers and is fully capable of a surprise.

It didn’t all go to plan on the first two runs on Friday. Armbruster Humphries and Jasmine Jones had the lead after the first round, then were fourth after round two and it was Nolte and Levi at 1:53.93, then Buckwitz and Neele Schuten at 1:54.11. as the top two Armbruster and Jones are third at 1:54.16, with Love and Azaria Hill fifth at 1:54.55. Meyers Taylor and Jadin O’Brien stand 12th at 1:55.13.

● Cross Country Skiing: 50 km Classical
Can Norway’s superstar, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, complete his sweep of the men’s events?

He has five golds in five events, echoing the six golds he won at the 2025 World Championships, where he won the 50 m (31.1 miles) race in 1:57.47.1, just a couple of seconds up on Swede William Poromaa (1:57:49.2) and eight seconds ahead of teammate Simen Krueger (1:57:55.6).

A 50 km race is usually held only once during the FIS World Cup season, coming up in Oslo (NOR) on 14 March. Klaebo won the 2025 season 50 km, held in Lahti (FIN), leading a Norwegian sweep with Martin Nyenget and Krueger 2-3. This could happen again.

Klaebo also won the Oslo 50 km World Cup in 2024, again over Nyenget, with Erik Valnes third for another Norwegian sweep.

Beyond the Norwegians, Swede Edwin Anger won 20 km Mass Start and Pursuit World Cup bronzes this season, but in four World Cup races of all styles at 20 km, Norway won 10 or the 12 medals available.

Klaebo has 10 career Olympic golds, more than anyone else in Olympic Winter Games history. If he wins his 11th, and sweeps his six events, it will be the most ever in a single Games, passing American Eric Heiden’s five speed skating golds in 1980 in Lake Placid, New York.

● Curling: Men’s final
Canadian skip Brad Jacobs was the 2014 Olympic champion and is back to the final with a new rink, after going 7-2 in the round-robin and then edging Norway, 5-4, in the semis.

Against them is Bruce Mouat and Great Britain, normally representing Scotland, but part of the British team at the Olympic Games. His rink was the Beijing 2022 runners-up and has the same line-up. Mouat’s Scots won the World Championships in 2023 and 2025, but were just 5-4 in the round-robin.

In the one match between them so far, Jacobs scored a 9-5 win on the 17th, scoring in six of the nine ends. Jacobs’ rink has been consistent in Cortina, and that makes them a slight favorite over the reigning World Champions.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Ski Cross; Women’s Halfpipe, Mixed Team Aerials
Switzerland’s Ryan Regez won the Beijing 2022 Olympic title and the 2025 World Championships gold. He’s in, but didn’t win a medal on the World Cup circuit this season.

Instead, the big winner has been Canada’s Reece Howden, with four wins and 2023 World Champion Simone Deromedis, with two wins. German Florian Williamson, a 2023 Worlds silver winner, scored a win and two silvers. They have been the stars of this season.

That doesn’t mean they will win, or even medal. Beijing 2022 silver medalist Alex Fiva (SUI) won a World Cup silver this season and German Tim Hronek won two. Under the radar are Sweden’s Erik Mobaerg, a two-time Worlds bronzer in 2021 and 2023, and brother David, a World Cup medalist this season.

China’s Eileen Gu was a spectacular winner of this event in 2022, over 2018 gold medalist Cassie Sharpe (CAN) and teammate Rachel Karker. Since then, Karker (2023) and Sharpe (2025) both won Worlds bronzes.

At the 2023 Worlds, it was Britain’s Zoe Atkin second, and Atkin moved up to Worlds gold in 2025. China’s Fanghui Li took the 2025 Worlds silver, and Gu, Atkin and Li all won World Cup events this season.

In the qualifying round, Atkin put up 91.50 right away and qualified first, with Li at 85.00 and 90.00. Sharpe (88.25), Gu (86.60) and World Cup medalist Svea Irving of the U.S. made it in at 80.75.

Qualifying fourth was the wild card, Australia’s Indra Brown (87.50). At age 16, she won a World Cup gold, silver and bronze in four events this season. She is dangerous.

This is the second time in the Games for the Mixed Team Aerials, with the U.S. back to defend its 2022 title with a strong team. Chris Lillis returns from the 2022 Olympic winners and has been part of the 2023 World Champions (also with Quinn Dehlinger) and the 2025 World Champions (with Dehlinger and Kalia Kuhn).

The U.S. certainly rates as a medal favorite, but China has Olympic Aerials women’s winner Mengtao Xu and veteran Guangpu Qi, on their 2022 Beijing silver winners. Ukraine has medaled in the last two Worlds and has proven veterans in Oleksandr Okipniuk and Dmytro Kotovskyi and the Swiss have medals at the 2021 and 2025 Worlds, with Noe Roth and Pirmin Werner on the team, then and now.

● Ski Mountaineering: Mixed Relay
Lots of familiar names from the Sprint medal stand at the 2025 World Championships, as France’s Emily Harrop (Olympic silver) and Thibault Anselmet (Olympic bronze) won, ahead of Spain with Sprint winner Oriol Cardona Coll and Ana Alonso Rodriguez (Olympic bronze).

Third was Switzerland, with Sprint winner Marianne Fatton and Robin Bussard, and those three teams looked poised to share the podium again.

Looking for upset are the 1-2 finishers from the early December ISMF World Cup in Solitude, Utah: Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith of the U.S. and Italy (of course) with Michelle Boscacci and Alba De Silvestro.

● Speed Skating: Men’s Mass Start; Women’s Mass Start
The Mass Start races are always the most fun, since the racers are together for a change. In the men’s race, the one constant in this event has been Belgian Bart Swings.

He’s the 2018 Olympic silver medalist, 2022 gold medalist and a two-time World Champion in 2023 and 2024. He’s a favorite.

Also in the mix is Italian Andrea Giovaninni, who had a first and two thirds on the World Cup circuit this season and is the reigning World Champion. Dutch star Jorrit Bergsma, the 2014 Olympic 10,000 m champ and 2026 bronze medalist, was best on the World Cup tour, winning twice.

Two others won World Cup races this past season and are both dangerous. Czech teen Metodej Jilek, the Olympic 10,000 m winner and 5,000 m silver man, won the last World Cup prior to the Games.

American Jordan Stolz, the 500 and 1,000 m and 1,500 m silver medalist, competed four times on the World Cup tour and won once and was third once. He likely has the best flat speed in the field and in a race of positioning and acceleration, he is certainly equipped to win.

This should be great.

The women’s Mass Start has been dominated by Dutch ace Marijke Groenewoud, the 2021, 2023 and 2025 World Champion, and a two-time winner and two-time runner-up on the World Cup circuit.

But Beijing Olympic runner-up and 2025 Worlds runner-up Ivanie Blondin (CAN) is ready to challenge, as is Italian star Francesca Lollobrigida. She’s already won the 3,000 and 5,000 m golds and earned the Beijing 2022 Olympic bronze. She had only modest success on the 2026 World Cup tour, however.

Canada’s 1,500 and 3,000 m bronzer, Valerie Maltais should be a factor; she had two seconds in World Cup races and was very competitive.

But that still leaves out the World Cup winner this season: American Mia Manganello. In five races, she won once, was second once and third twice. She was fifth at the 2025 Worlds and this has been her best season. At Beijing in 2022, she missed the podium by 1.17 seconds, finishing fourth. Is this her year?

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MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT: Liu was “calm, happy and confident” on the way to her women’s figure skating gold

Karen Rosen

February 20, 2026

tsx pix 2026-220 owg-liu, alysa (wiki-yantsimages) — Olympic women's figure skating champion Alysa Liu of the U.S. (Photo: Wikipedia via YantsImages)

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≡ THE ROSEN REPORT ≡

MILAN, Italy – Alysa Liu brought the fun back to U.S. figure skating, punctuating a dynamic Olympic performance by pointing toward the sky and flipping her ponytail at center ice.

Pressure? What’s that?

“The feelings I felt out there were calm, happy and confident,” she said. “Of course I had fun. But I’ve been having fun all the time. This experience is really cool, and the past two nights, I got to see my siblings and my friends, had dinner with them. It was super fun.”

Wearing a gold dress that matched the gold stripes in her two-toned hair, Liu further accessorized with the first gold medal by an American woman since Sarah Hughes in 2002 and the first medal of any kind since Sasha Cohen‘s silver in 2006. That drought had been felt keenly in light of 17 U.S. medals – seven gold – from 1956-2006.

“I don’t need this,” Liu said, “but what I needed was the stage. And I got that. So, I was all good no matter what happened. If I fell on every jump, I would still be wearing this dress. So it’s all good.”

The 20-year-old Californian didn’t fall on any jump, the dress twirling exquisitely. And Liu posted the highest score in the Free Skate (a season-best of 150.20) to move from third place following the Short Program to first. She leapfrogged over Japan’s three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto, who remained in second place and 17-year-old Ami Nakai, who led the Short Program, but fell to third following a flawed Free Skate.

Liu made sure the crowd at the Milano Ice Skating Arena was enjoying her routine as much as she was. Liu smiled as she landed difficult jumps to the beat of Donna Summer‘s rendition of “MacArthur Park.” She also showed off the mouth piercing – which she did herself – and calls her “smiley.”

Fellow skaters watching the competition from their seats near the rafters clapped along loudly. When Liu was finished, she had to wait in a white armchair while the two Japanese skaters took the ice. She couldn’t keep a poker face, still smiling, and then jumped out of her chair to chat with teammate Amber Glenn until an official made her sit down again. When the final scores were announced and Liu realized she won, Glenn said, “She was in disbelief.”

Liu even skated out for the victory ceremony and made a hand gesture like, “Who would have thought?”

While IOC president Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) awarded her the gold medal, fellow U.S. Olympic champions Dorothy Hamill (1976), Brian Boitano (1988) and Kristi Yamaguchi (1992) stood together at the railing and held up their phones to record the moment like two proud aunts and an uncle.

And to think Liu retired after her first Olympic experience in 2022, where she finished sixth. About 18 months ago, she was ready to return on her terms, culminating with an Olympic gold medal (actually two counting the team competition).

Liu also won the first medal by a U.S. woman in singles since Sasha Cohen took silver 20 years ago. She had already broken a world championships drought in 2025 when she won the first gold at the event since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.

Nathan Chen, the 2022 Olympic men’s champion, told The Sports Examiner on the eve of the competition, “The thing that’s so cool about her is that she has no pressure. She doesn’t think about or conceptualize pressure in the way that I do. She’s just out there to have fun and really enjoy the experience. And as a result, the best performances come out of that.

“I think that she has a really golden opportunity to look back at this experience and say, ‘I just had the best time of my life.'”

Liu would probably agree that’s the case. As she held court with the media following the Free Skate, she bounced up and down while answering questions.

“No matter what happens in my life, I think I have a beautiful life story,” she said, “and I feel really lucky and I’m glad that a lot of people are now watching me so I can show them everything that I’ve come up with in my brain, share my stories. I want to be a storyteller of sorts.”

Liu’s father, Arthur, fled China for a better life in the U.S. Alysa started skating at age 5 and was a national champion as a cute-as-a-button 13-year-old.

While Chen was finding redemption in Beijing following a below-expectations showing at his first Games in 2018, Liu was losing her love of the sport.

“I am grateful for both Olympic experiences,” Liu said, “but I feel like I am more gracious now because I have stuff that I want to share and I want to be here. And I think that’s the difference from last time.”

She likes being here so much she’d like to stay longer. “I wish there was another event we could do,” Liu said. “I want to be out there more.”

Well, there is the “gala” on Saturday. “I have a program that I really am excited to show,” Liu said. “It’s a really cool dress, unlike any dress I have, so I’m super stoked for that.”

She knows that all eyes will be on her as the new Olympic women’s champion. The message she would share, Liu said, “I guess it’s doing stuff that people tell you that you shouldn’t do. I’ve been doing a lot of that.”

She also advises people to find a really good team, like her two coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, and her family and friends, who she said, “bring me joy.”

Liu joins an exclusive club of U.S. female figure skating championships that started 70 years ago with Tenley Albright (1956) and includes Carol Heiss (1960), Peggy Fleming (1968), Hamill, Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski – an NBC commentator for the Milan competition – and Hughes.

“I’m really honored and they are incredible athletes,” Liu said. “Incredible athletes get these medals …. So, I’m just so grateful to be an athlete. I really love this life.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

INT’L OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Coventry salutes Milan Cortina organizers, the athlete experience and what athletes are teaching us

Rich Perelman

February 20, 2026

tsx pix 2026-220 owg-coventry news conf — International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) at her 20 February 2026 news conference in Milan (IOC video screen shot).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ COVENTRY ON THE GAMES ≡

Always near the end of an Olympic Games, a news conference gives the International Olympic Committee President an opportunity to pronounce their feelings on what has transpired. IOC chief Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) opened her Friday session this way:

“I hope that you’re having a good couple of weeks and have managed to get out into these incredible venues and watch and experience the amazing atmosphere that Milano Cortina team have created for every single one of us.

“I have had the honor and privilege of traveling around in a beautiful Italian country and got to spend some time with athletes in all of the Villages and get to watch some magnificent performances around.

“I don’t think you can leave these Games without being inspired by what we’re seeing on the field of play.

“So, I really want to thank the Milano Cortina team, across all the venues, and all the Villages; really, it’s been amazing.”

She was asked about her evaluation of this wide-spread Games, in Milan and the mountains; she brought it back to the athletes:

“I’ve had the opportunity to go to all of the venues, across these Games and Villages, and the athletes are extremely happy. And they’re happy because the experience that the MiCo team and my team delivered to them have been the same.

“So we really tried very hard, and I have to thank the MiCo organizing committee for hearing from our Athletes’ Commission that the one thing that would be really important to the athletes of a widespread Games was to ensure that the experiences in each of the Villages would be exactly the same.

“And I’ve gone to every single Village and just about all the venues, and they are exactly the same. And I spent some time with some athletes in Cortina, who said they think that their experience in the opening ceremony was actually better than walking into the stadium, because they got to be so close with everyone in a small city, and they got to engage.

“And they were sharing some of the highlights with me, of seeing little kids from the windows, and they were waving and smiling, and they got to like run down and high-five them. You know, when you’re walking into a big stadium, you don’t get that close to the spectators, so they loved the fact that the team worked really hard on ensuring the experiences were not just going to be the same, but even better.”

She called the Milan Cortina Games “successful in a new way of doing things, in a sustainable way of doing things, in a way that I think many people thought that maybe couldn’t be done well, and it’s been done extremely well, and it surpassed everyone’s expectations, and that’s what we need to take away the Games.”

Asked about the impact of political issues drowning out the message of the Games, Coventry noted the audience the Games has generated:

She also pointed to the lessons everyone can learn from the athletes and what they demonstrate on and off the field of play:

“Last night, it was just the sweetest thing to watch the last figure skater – the Japanese figure skater [Ami Nakai, 17] – and she’s waiting for her scores, and I think we all realized she came third before she realized it, and then she realized it and she looked over to Alysa [Liu, 20], who had won gold, and she was like ‘oohhh’ and they ran up and hugged, and that is the best thing, right?

“They have so much respect for each other. They are inspired by each other, each other’s performances. And that, for me, is the greatest sign of everything: of peace, of unity, of respect. They choose to respect each other; it doesn’t matter where they come from.

“You have seen that on every single field of play across these Games, and I think that is truly just incredible. It’s why we’re sitting here. It’s why we have thousands of people, thousands of volunteers, thousands of staff on the MiCo, on the IOC team, thousands of broadcasters sharing these stories, these images. It’s what reminds us, hopefully, to be better humans, right?

“If you don’t want to walk away from watching that, and be like, ‘I’m going to be a better person,’ then maybe, yeah, we need to think about what choices we’re making. Because I don’t think you can not watch that and not want to walk away inspired by what they’re showcasing for us.”

So what how is she feeling about her first Games as IOC President?

“My first impression is that it goes very quickly and I can’t believe we’re already at the end!”

Coventry was asked a series of questions about events, people and statements from outside the Games and either wasn’t familiar, or said they would be dealt with later.

Right now, she’s still enjoying the Games, which end on Sunday.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: U.S. women win hockey gold in overtime thriller; Liu takes skating gold; world 800 record for Hodgkinson!

Rich Perelman

February 19, 2026

tsx pix 2026-219 owg-liu, alysa short program (rosen) — Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu of the U.S., celebrating after her brilliant Short Program performance (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

The Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games are rushing to the close and will finish on Sunday. The worries about no snow have been unfounded; multiple competitions have been re-scheduled due to heavy snow in the Alps.

The venues that could not be finished were, at least enough to hold the competitions. And the hand wringing about a lack of interest turned out to be for nothing. The Games have not been a sell-out, but the organizing committee has met and surpassed its goal of 1.3 million tickets sold days before the close.

Italy, of course, has the most ticket buyers, but reports have consistently shown the U.S. as the top foreign ticket buyers, as much as 35% of the foreign sales, according to the early reports.

This is fairly amazing, considering the constant harping by media at the Games on U.S. political divisions. Yet, for the women’s hockey final on Thursday, attendance was reported at 11,171 at the new Santagiulia Arena – a full house – with the camera pans showed American and Canadian fans all over the place.

That kind of support says a lot about the Olympic Games, and about sport. And it has helped the American team – the largest at the Games at 232 athletes – which has won 27 medals despite some stunning disappointments, and nine golds.

The 27 medals is one short of the record for the most U.S. medals at a Games outside of North America: the U.S. won 34 in Salt Lake City in 2002 and 37 in Vancouver (CAN) in 2010. The golds record is 10 from 2002 and that could be eclipsed.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee believed that its team performance would be improved from 2022 and it has been, despite the upsets. And to reach 30 medals would be an outstanding achievement. One thing they can count on is support in the stands from fellow Americans.
~ Rich Perelman

● Rosen Report ● Correspondent Karen Rosen made the trek from Milan to the mountains, and back again. Her report on this spread-out Games, part of the challenge and the charm of the 2026 Winter Games is here.

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● The Milan forecast for Friday calls for sunny skies for a change and a balmy 63 F for the high, with a low of 39 F. Winds are projected at 8 miles per hour. Saturday is also supposed to be sunny.

In Cortina, mostly cloudy skies are expected, with a high of 31 F and a low of 21 F. Winds are moderate at 7 miles per hour and the chance of rain is only 20%. A touch of snow is possible on Saturday.

● Scoreboard ● The U.S. had a good day and surged into second place for total medals at the Games, with three days to go:

● 34: Norway (16-8-10)
● 27: United States (9-12-6)
● 26: Italy (9-5-12)
● 24: Japan (5-7-12)
● 21: Germany (5-8-8)

● 19: France
● 18: Austria
● 16: Netherlands
● 15: Sweden
● 15: Canada

Italy already has a record for the most medals ever (and most wins) at a Winter Games and the U.S. has surpassed its medal totals from Beijing 2022 (25) and PyeongChang 2018 (23). The Americans won 28 medals at Sochi 2014 (after the Russian doping disqualifications), the most ever for a Games outside of North America.

● 419.5: Norway
● 357.5: United States
● 327.5: Italy
● 261: Germany
● 260.5: France

● 242.5: Austria
● 237.5: Japan
● 210: Canada
● 194.5: Switzerland
● 192: Netherlands

● 163: Sweden
● 148: China

In terms of place winners from 1-8, Norway and the U.S. each have 75, followed by Italy (66), Austria (55), France (54) and Germany (53).

● Television ● Sports Media Watch reported:

“Through Tuesday, NBC’s ‘primetime’ coverage of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics is averaging a combined 23.8 million viewers across a live afternoon window and primetime replay – a figure that combines a mix of preliminary and final Nielsen data with streaming viewership measured by Adobe Analytics — up 86% from the same point of the Beijing Winter Olympics four years ago (12.8M).”

● Milan Cortina 2026 update ● The organizing committee said 89,000 tickets were sold on Wednesday, meaning the total is well past 1.3 million so far.

● International Olympic Committee ● The evolving nature of the IOC’s Olympic sponsorship program was discussed on Wednesday morning, by Anne-Sophie Voumard (SUI), Managing Director of the IOC Television & Marketing Services group.

Asked about the expanding presence of TOP sponsors in product-placement situations – such as Proctor & Gamble’s Puffs facial tissues placed in the post-competition area in figure skating – she explained:

“We continue to look with every one of our partners: what are the opportunities for those partners to be organically be present and supporting us in the Games.

“It has been a very dynamic program. I would say it has been the most successful sports marketing program in the world and it needs to continue to evolve. You know, we have partners who have been here for almost 100 years, and we have partners – by the last time we were here in Italy [2006] – were companies that were not even created. So, it shows the agility of the program.”

She also noted that while there were 15 partners for the Paris 2024 Games and 11 now:

“We don’t have a [required] fixed number of partners. We want to make sure we bring the companies that actually help, that are aligned with our values, also that help us deliver great Games, and we will be looking always for those kinds of partnerships around the globe that complement, actually, that program.

“It’s also a balance that we have to be found, with also the number of partners that the organizing committees, or the categories that the organizing committees can then have in their program, and also the National Olympic Committees. So, it’s really balance to be found and we feel, really, I would say, in a good place with respect to the conversations we are having at the moment.”

● Alpine Skiing ● Following her dominating Slalom gold, American star Mikaela Shiffrin took to Instagram to share her thoughts, including:

“I won!

“I got there, in the face of fear and adrenaline and the potential for criticism and backlash from people who know nothing and don’t even try to understand.

“I won.

“I stood in the start gate, and looked out at the mountain and the course ahead and my heartbeat nearly fell out of my butt. Still, when the countdown started, I pushed. I pushed to chase, I pushed to earn. I pushed to dare and to dream. I pushed to believe.

“I won.

“I questioned all that I’ve learned in life, multiple times this week. I questioned what kind of grit I have in my heart and I wondered if I should be doing this at all. I questioned my toughness and tenacity. I questioned it all. And then I left those questions behind, and stepped into the arena anyway.

“I won.”

Shiffrin won Olympic golds in 2014 and 2018, but missed in 2022 and had finished out of the medals in the women’s Team Combined and the Giant Slalom, before her dominant Slalom triumph.

= RESULTS: THURSDAY, 19 FEBRUARY =
(6 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)

● Figure Skating: Women’s Singles
The Short Program left Japanese skaters in first, second and fourth, all to skate in the fourth group.

At the end of the second group of four, American Amber Glenn – in 13th – got to skate and landed an impressive, clean triple Axel to start. She moved elegantly on the ice, executed a three-element sequence perfectly in the middle of the routine, then had to put a hand down on her last jumping pass, a triple Loop. She was happy and the crowd roared; she said “so close” on the ice as she took in the cheers. She was rewarded at 147.52, a seasonal best that thrilled her and … put her into first place at 214.91, with 12 skaters remaining.

Fellow American Isabeau Levito, eighth after the Short Program, suffered a fall on a triple Flip on her first jumping pass, but was otherwise solid and athletic and received a big cheer in the hall. But the error hurt and she scored 131.96 and 202.80 in total, standing sixth.

And at the end of three groups, with six skaters to go, Glenn was still in front.

Russian “neutral” Adeliia Petrosian, 18, was fifth in the Short but fell on her first jumping pass on a quad Toe attempt, and toned her program down a little and gained momentum as she went. The performance was impressive and demonstrates that Russian skaters are still to be reckoned with. She scored 141.64 and a 214.53 total, and with four skaters left, Glenn was still on top.

Japan’s Mone Chiba, 20, came next and skated with technical grace and elegance, smiling with joy as she left the ice. She scored 143.88 and took the lead at 217.88.

World Champion Alysa Liu of the U.S. was next, and wowed the crowd to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” and “One of a Kind,” with an expressive and brilliant program. She was thrilled with it, jumping into the arms of her coaches and scored a seasonal best 150.20 and took the lead at 226.79, a lifetime best at just the right time.

A hard act to follow, but Japan had three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto on the ice next. She glided powerfully on the ice, executed her jumping sequences slightly out of order, and performed with great artistry. The cheers were loud, but she was not satisfied as she came off, in what she says will be her final season. She scored 147.67 and 224.90 overall, good for second.

That brought 17-year-old Short Program lead Ami Nakai on, fourth at the Japanese nationals and now skating for the Olympic gold. She hit her opening triple Axel and executed a difficult technical program with athleticism and some flair. There were some technical errors and her score of 140.45 gave her a total of 219.16 and the bronze medal.

That means Liu won the gold at 226.79 over Sakamoto (224.90) and Nakai (219.16) with Glenn an amazing fifth. It was the first U.S. medal since Sasha Cohen’s silver in 2006 and the first win since Sara Hughes in 2002. She is the eighth American women’s gold medalist, at 20, after “retiring” in 2022 and then coming back in 2024. Amazing.

● Ice Hockey: Women’s final
Canada came in as the defending champions, but the U.S. had won the last five matches against them by a combined 29-7 score.

The first period was defensive, with only eight Canadian shots and six for the U.S. and no goals. Canada did end the period with a penalty and the U.S. started with 1:45 on the power play.

But it backfired as a Canadian clearance led to a 2-on-2 break and Kristen O’Neill scored off a cross-ice pass from Laura Stacey for the 1-0 lead just 54 seconds into the period. The rest of the period was tightly played, with no penalties and no more scoring. Canada had some good chances on the U.S.’s Aerin Frankel, but the Canadian defense was excellent in front of Anne-Renee Desbiens and rush after rush for the Americans came to naught.

The third period continued with a packed-in Canadian defense and the U.S. desperately looking for the equalizer. The Canadians stayed strong and the U.S. had to pull Frankel with 2:23 to go.

That led to a U.S. set-up with a smash from Laila Edwards from straightaway near the blue line, that was on-line and tipped in front of goal by Hilary Knight for the score at 2:04 to go for the 1-1 tie. With that goal, Edwards became the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Olympic women’s history.

Canada had only one penalty in the game and a 29-28 shots edge, but it was not to be decided in regulation. A 3×3, sudden-death overtime followed, with back-and-forth action, but a long lead pass from Taylor Heise to Megan Keller put her in position on the left side of the ice. She rolled to the center, went through defender Claire Thompson and sent a low shot that got past Frankel’s right leg pad and into the goal for the gold-medal, 2-1, winner at 4:07.

It’s the third U.S. gold in women’s hockey, after 1998 and 2018. Canada and the U.S. have now met seven times in the Olympic final, with Canada holding a 4-3 edge. Canada played its best game of the tournament, but it was not quite enough; the U.S. ended with a 33-31 shots edge for the game.

The bronze-medal match with Switzerland and Sweden was a low-scoring affair, tied 1-1 and also needing overtime. Finally, Swiss forward Alina Muller scored at 9:09 for the 2-1 win and the second-ever medal for Switzerland.

● Nordic Combined: Team Sprint Large Hill (141 m) + 2 x 7.5 km
It was snowy in Tesoro for the first running of this event in the Winter Games, but the competition was hot. Germany’s Johannes Rydzek and Vinzenz Geiger led the jumping and started skiing first, with a 13-second margin over Norway’s Andreas Skoglund and two-time gold winner Jens Oftebro.

Eventually, in difficult conditions that saw Geiger crash and fall back, it came down to Oftebro and Finland’s Eero Hirvonen fighting it out to the line, with Oftebro winning his third Olympic gold and sweeping the events at 41:18.0, with Ilkka Herola and Hirvonen second by just 0.5.

Austria, with Steffen Rettenegger and Johannes Lamparter, finished a clear third in 41:40.3, with Italy well back in fourth (42:21.5). The U.S. pair of Ben Loomis and Niclas Malacinski finished seventh in 43:42.8.

● Ski Mountaineering: Men’s Sprint; Women’s Sprint
Spain’s 2025 World Champion Oriol Cardona Coll was the favorite in the men’s Sprint, as Ski Mountaineering made its Olympic debut in Bormio. He was a close second in his heat, but in the final, he led wire to wire and was a clear winner in 2:34.03, with Russian “neutral” Nikita Filippov scoring the silver ahead of France’s co-favorite Thibault Anselmet, 2:35.55 to 2:36.34. Swiss Arno Lietha was in medal position for most of the race, but fell to fourth at 2:39.07.

The women’s final started as expected, with French favorite Emily Harrop in the lead. But she was passed in mid-race by 2025 World Champion Marianne Fatton (SUI), who was unchallenged to the finish in 2:59.77. Harrop was the only one close and won silver in 3:02.15.

Behind the leaders, Ana Alonso (ESP) charged past Tatjana Paller (GER) to win the bronze, 3:10.22 to 3:13.26.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 1,500 m
American Jordan Stolz, the 500 and 1,000 m winner, was favored again, having won all five races during the ISU World Cup season.

The racing really got started in the 11th of 15 pairs, as the 2025 World 1,000 m champ, Joep Wennemars (NED) crushed the Olympic Record of 1:43.21 by two-time winner Kjeld Nuis (NED) from 2022 and won the pair in 1:43.05.

Nuis was on the track himself in the 13th pair, against China’s Zhongyan Ning, a four-time World Cup medal winner this season and the 1,000 m bronze medalist. Nuis started well, but Ning was sensational in the middle laps and finished in a sensational 1:41.98 for another Olympic Record. Nuis was well back at 1:42.82, but into second place.

Stolz came up in the final pair, against 2025 World Champion Peder Kongshaug (NOR). Stolz was off well, but his lap times were 0.4, 0.6 and 0.4 behind Ning. Stolz was all out on the final lap and made up 0.5, but finished in 1:42.75 to get the silver. Kongshaug was a distant second in 1:43.93 and finished sixth.

Ning had the race of his life and won China’s first medal at this distance. Stolz won a U.S. 1,500 m medal for the first time since 2010 and Nuis extended the Dutch medal streak in the event to five Games. Stolz still has the Mass Start ahead of him.

The other Americans, Emery Lehman (1:47.23) and Casey Dawson (1:47.88) finished 25th and 29th.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: The men’s tournament round-robin concluded with Yannick Schwaller and Switzerland – the 2025 Worlds silver winners – at 9-0, ahead of 2014 Olympic champ Brad Jacobs and Canada at 7-2. Norway and Britain made the playoffs at 5-4, with Daniel Casper’s U.S. rink at 4-5 and missing out by one place in fifth. The Americans were 1-3 in the matches against the semifinalists.

The Swiss played Bruce Mouat’s British team in the semis, with Canada facing Norway. Mouat, the 2018 silver medalist, was down 4-2 in the fourth, and and 5-4 in the seventh, then scored twice in the eighth and 10th and advanced to the final, 8-5. Schwaller’s first loss moved the Swiss to the bronze match.

The Canada-Norway semi went to an extra end as the Norwegians scored two in the 10th to tie. But Jacobs’ rink for the point in the 10th and won, 5-4, to try for a second Olympic gold.

The women’s tournament round-robin ended with Swede Anna Hasselborg – the 2018 Olympic champ – and her rink at 7-2 in first place. A battle for second ended with three teams at 6-3: Tabitha Peterson’s U.S. team, the four-time World Champion Swiss team skipped by Silvana Tirinzoni and Rachel Homan’s Canadian squad.

The U.S. was able to get into the semis with thrilling, extra-end, final-shot win over the Swiss, 7-6. The Americans were cruising into the 10th end, leading 6-3, but the Swiss scored a triple to tie it and head to the 11th. But a final shot by Peterson found the back of the circle and got the victory.

The U.S. reward is to face the Swiss again in the semis, with Sweden and Canada facing off first. Those matches will be on Friday.

= PREVIEWS: FRIDAY, 20 FEBRUARY =
(7 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)

● Biathlon: Men’s 15 km Mass Start
There will be familiar faces from the Beijing 2022 podium in the race with silver winner Martin Ponsiluoma (SWE) and Norway’s Vetle Christiansen, the bronze medalist. Both have 2026 medals, with Ponsiluoma winning the Pursuit and Christiansen with silvers in the Sprint and Relay.

Neither won either of the two Mass Start races on the World Cup circuit, with Tommaso Giacomel (ITA) winning over France’s Eric Perrot – already with two medals at the Games – in December and then Perrot winning in January, right before the Games. In that race, Campbell Wright of the U.S. got the silver, and the U.S. is still looking for its first-ever Olympic biathlon medal.

With all of Italy’s success at the Games, it has no men’s biathlon medals and Giacomel won four World Cup golds this season.

There are more contenders, of course. Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid, sad for losing his best girlfriend by cheating on her later, has had a great Games: bronzes in the Individual and Sprint, silver in the Pursuit and silver on the Relay. Maybe a gold to get his girl back? He’s also the 2021 World Champion in this event.

Swede Sebastian Samuelsson has a relay bronze at the Games and was the 2023 World Champion. France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet has had great success in the Mass Start, with a 2020 Worlds silver and bronzes in 2021 and 2023; he already has golds in the Sprint and Relay.

One more reason for Giacomel to do well: Italy has never won an Olympic medal in this event.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Aerials; Men’s Halfpipe; Women’s Ski Cross
Bad weather postponed the aerials until Friday. Defending champion Quangpu Gi (CHN) won a couple of World Cup medals this season. Two-time World Champion Noe Roth (SUI) won one.

But there were lots of others who shined, including China’s Jiaxu Sun, Xindi Wang and Tianma Li, who all won World Cup golds. Ukraine’s Dmytro Kotovskyi and Oleksandr Okipniuk also won.

The U.S. has two contenders, with Chris Lillis, the 2021 Worlds silver winner and Quinn Dehlinger, the 2023 and 2025 Worlds runner-up. A darkhorse pick would be Swiss Pirmin Werner, the 2025 Worlds bronze medalist, who won one World Cup medal this season.

No one has dominated; someone else could completely surprise.

Only Americans and New Zealanders have won this event in its three Olympic appearances. Americans and New Zealanders have won six of the 10 Worlds golds and six of the last seven. Americans and New Zealanders won all four World Cups this season.

The U.S.’s Alex Ferreira won silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022, won the Worlds bronze in 2023 and 2025 and won one of the World Cup events this season. Teammate Nick Goepper won Olympic medals in Slopestyle in 2014-18-22 (0-2-1) then switched to Halfpipe and took a Worlds silver in 2025! He also won a World Cup gold this season, plus a bronze.

The most consistent of the Americans was Hunter Hess, who won two silvers and a bronze in the four World Cups, the one of two to take three medals.

All of them will be contending with the actual favorite, Kiwi Finley Melville Ives, the 2025 World Champion and who won two events and a silver at a third this season. He’s the most consistent.

There are other stars in the field, such as 2023 World Champion Brendan MacKay (CAN) and teammate Andrew Longino, a World Cup medalist this season. New Zealand’s Luke Harrold also won a Worlds silver this season, as did American Birk Irving. And a longshot? How about 19-year-old Estonian Henry Sildaru, sixth at the Worlds last year?

The women’s Ski Cross also has multiple stars back from past Games, but the story of this event continues to be Swede Sandra Naeslund. She is a three-time World Champion, the defending Olympic champion and has won five of the nine World Cup held this season and is the seasonal leader.

No doubt, she is the favorite. Canada’s Marielle Thompson was the Olympic winner in 2014 and runner-up in 2022 and the 2019 World Champion. She won two bronzes just before the Games and should be ready.

Perhaps the best challengers for Naeslund are the co-bronze winners from 2022. Swiss Fanny Smith was the World Champion in 2013 and in 2025 and has four World Cup medals, and German Daniela Maier has two World Cup wins and a silver this season and won the Worlds bronze last season.

Upset choices would be Canadian Courtney Hoffos, last year’s World silver winner and veteran Italian star Joie Galli, who was first and third in the two World Cups right before the Games. She’s obviously ready.

● Short Track: Men’s 5,000 m relay; Women’s 1,500 m
Canada has four Olympic golds in the men’s relay, more than anyone else and is the defending champion, with 500 m winner Steve Dubois returning. The Canadians also won the 2025 Worlds gold in this event, ahead of China and South Korea. They are the logical favorites.

During the World Cup season, however, Canada won once and it was the Dutch with a win and a second, the Koreans with a two wins, China with three seconds and Italy with bronzes in all four races. Those five appear to be the real contenders and at Beijing 2022, it was Canada, South Korea and Italy.

The Koreans field a formidable team in the women’s 1,500 m, with two-time Olympic champion Min-jeong Choi, who also happens to be the 2025 World Champion! Her teammate, Gil-li Kim, won the 2024 Worlds gold, was third in 2025, and took two World Cup wins and a silver in the four races at this distance this past season.

They will be attacked by Canadian star Courtney Sauralt, the 500 m bronzer and 1,000 m runner-up, who was the 2025 Worlds runner-up.

But looking for a record-tying 15th Olympic Winter Games medal is Italian star Arianna Fontana, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist and a 2014 bronze winner. Fontana has 14 medals and will have the crowd screaming for her to get level with Norwegian cross-country star Marit Bjorgen (2002-18).

This was a strong event for the U.S. during the World Cup season, with Corinne Stoddard winning a silver and a bronze and Kirsten Santos-Griswold taking a bronze. Both have the talent to medal; Stoddard has already apologized online for crashing in her other races. She can put a different spin on her 2026 Games with a big performance in the 1,500 m.

● Speed Skating: Women’s 1,500 m
A Dutch skater has won this event at four straight Olympic Games, but three-time winner Ireen Wust is retired. World Champion Joy Beune is next in line and is the clear favorite, having won this event all four times she contested it on the ISU World Cup circuit.

Right behind her is teammate Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong, the 2025 Worlds silver winner.

Standing in their way will be Japanese star Miho Takagi, the 2024 World Champion and the Olympic runner-up in both 2018 and 2022. She went 5-2-5-1-2 on the World Cup tour.

China’s Han Mei has to be accounted for, with a 2024 Worlds silver and 2025 bronze, but was not strong in the World Cup races. Norway’s Ragne Wiklund, the 3,000 m silver medalist and 5,000 m bronzer, was third three times during the season, but will she have enough speed?

The best American is Brittany Bowe, 37, who was the 2015 World Champion at this distance, and second in 2021. She had a third and a fourth in the World Cup, and if she catches fire, she could be on the medal stand again, following two Olympic bronzes in 2018 and 2022.

= INTEL REPORT =

● Athletics ● The annual World Athletics World Indoor Tour Gold Hauts de France meet in Lieven was focused on a world women’s 800 m indoor record shot by British Olympic champ Keely Hodgkinson. And she delivered.

Taking over after a 55.56 paced first 400 m, she sprinted alone to the finish and timed a world record 1:54.97, destroying the 1:55.82 standard of Jolanda Ceplak (SLO) from the European Indoor Champs on 3 March 2002, the same day Hodgkinson was born.

Swiss Audrey Werro was a distant second in 1:58.38

This was a strong meet, with four world-leading marks beyond the women’s 800:

● Men/Pole Vault: 6.00 (19-8 1/4), Emmanouil Karalis (GRE)
● Men/Triple Jump: 17.35 m (56-11 1/4) Yassir Triki (ALG)
● Women/2,000 m: 5:26.68, Jessica Hull (AUS)
● Women/3,000 m: 8:24.59 Freweyni Hailu (ETH)

Hull’s mark in the rarely-run 2,000 is no. 2 all-time. The women’s 1,500 m was also a strong 4:00.21 win for Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell.

The World Indoor Gold circuit moves on to Poland on Sunday for the Copernicus Cup in Torun.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT: The spread-out Games are a challenge, but also part of the charm of the 2026 Winter Olympics

Karen Rosen

February 19, 2026

tsx pix 2026-219 owg-free ski livigno (rosen) — The Olympic Freestyle Skiing venue in Livigno (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE ROSEN REPORT ≡

“IT’s Your Vibe.”

That’s the motto for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. “IT” is capitalized on purpose to symbolize communication and connection, but your vibe is completely different depending on where you experience the Games.

It’s more than just the traditional city vs. mountains or pavement vs. snow that has characterized past editions.

Giovanni Malago, the head of the organizing committee, said this would be “a pioneering edition of the Winter Games, spread across a vast territory,” as if it were a good thing.

Instead, it’s a challenge. One Olympic veteran said the Games are more like five distinct World Championships.

Most Olympic media and fans have been encouraged to choose a “cluster” and stay there because traveling between them is too onerous. It is five to six hours from Milan to Cortina by car. Without a car, it can take even longer based on train and bus schedules.

Milan hosts the figure skating, hockey and speed skating while Cortina has women’s alpine, the sliding events and curling.

Livigno, part of the Valtellina cluster, has Freestyle skiing (including moguls) and snowboard events. It is about four hours by car or bus between Livigno and Milan, and includes passage through some very long tunnels. Bormio, about an hour from Livigno, has men’s alpine and the new sport of ski mountaineering.

The Val di Fiemme cluster, comprising Predazzo and Tesero, hosts cross country, ski jumping and nordic combined, while Bolzano (Anterselva di Sopra) has biathlon.

People who have been to many summer and winter Olympics have commented that Milan, which has a population of 1.4 million, “doesn’t feel like an Olympic city.”

The Games are more like a few blips on the urban landscape. There are some large billboards and signage in some parts of the city. That huge Samsung ad on the Duomo, a revered religious site, is a bit jarring. Near the La Scala opera house and a statue of Leonardo da Vinci, people stand in line to pose in front of the Olympic rings, which unobtrusively stand in front of a building.

Most banners are only near the venues. There are pictograms on wires stretched across the street courtesy of Milano Cortina 2026 sponsor Eli Lilly, which explains that it is a “medicine” company.

People wearing accreditation or volunteer uniforms were more noticeable at previous Games. In Milan, metro riders stare at accreditations like they have never seen one before. However, you do see fans, particularly the Dutch in their orange, around the Duomo or on public transportation.

There are long walks from the metro stations to the Milan venues, particularly the Fiera Milano Rho (speed skating and some hockey), which is about a mile. While there are some moving sidewalks along the way, it is still an incredibly long corridor. If you get off at the wrong stop for figure skating/short track (the official transport app has the wrong number of stops), you actually have to cross a highway on foot.

City life does have its charms. The Milanese dining scene is superb and diverse, and must-see sightseeing trips include the Duomo, “The Last Supper” by da Vinci at the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie and other museums and cultural attractions.

But if you came to the Games for the Olympic spirit, it’s much more visible in Livigno and Cortina. Each has a population of about 6,000, and expands during the ski season. Their main streets are covered in banners and flags. Shop windows, which cater to winter enthusiasts, are full of Olympic imagery. It seems every other person is wearing a team jacket or volunteer uniform or is a fan. And yet life goes on, with some folks carrying ski equipment for their own trips to the slopes, oblivious to the competitions around them.

In Livigno, many of the accommodations are just a few minutes’ walk to the venues and a shuttle bus connects them. The Australians – who have their best medal hopes here – have a big presence here and have scoped out the best cafes. However, if you order a cappuccino at the cafe they say has the best selection, the proprietors prefer you drink it without sugar, handing it over reluctantly. You can pop out of the venue after a morning session, eat a good lunch in town, and then see a night event. Amazingly, portions of the competitions, like Snowboard Cross and Big Air, are visible from the street without a ticket.

The town center of Cortina is the 18th century church of Santi Filippo e Giacomo with its iconic bell tower. Only the peaks are higher. The Corso Italia has a vibrant night life, and in the distance lights illuminate the Tofane skiing course.

The Olympic-decorated Corso Italia in Cortina (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

The new sliding center and curling arena are adjacent to each other. Curling is held at the site that hosted the 1956 Winter Olympic figure skating competitions and some of the wooden seats are original and extremely uncomfortable. “Sometimes we have to suffer. It proves we are alive,” said one volunteer.

The weather, of course, also varies tremendously between city and mountains. Milano is warm – sometimes in the 50s – and rainy. There are usually puddles because of fog and drainage issues.

Livigno is currently blanketed by heavy snow, causing disruptions to the competition schedule, and it can be bitterly cold. That’s not an issue with the indoor venues of Milan, so in this case comfort wins out over spirit.

The experiences on the Olympic “sidelines” vary, too. The Casa Italia and other hospitality houses are en route to the curling and sliding venues in Cortina. There are more hospitality houses and sponsor activations in Milan, but they are spread out.

Of course, there are some similarities. Expect lines to get into the Olympic stores anywhere you go. Time to head for the metro.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Shiffrin gets brilliant Slalom gold; “Leonardo’s cauldron” a big hit in Milan; 10th gold for Klaebo!

Rich Perelman

February 18, 2026

tsx pix 2026-218 owg-arco della pace cauldron (rosen) — The popular Winter Olympic cauldron in Milan, at the Arco della Pace (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
A Rosen Report Extra

A popular event at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics occurs seven times a night, lasts roughly as long as a figure skating free skate and holds its viewers spellbound.

The best part is it’s free.

Since the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6, the Olympic flame has been suspended within the Arco della Pace – Arch of Peace – at the Piazza Sempione in Milan (pictured above; TSX photo by Karen Rosen). A smaller cauldron sits off the Corso Italia in Cortina.

While the two flames dance 24 hours a day, as night falls the sound and light shows begin. They start at 5 p.m. and run on the hour until 11 p.m.

Eighteen months ago, the 2024 Paris Olympics set the bar high for a “cauldron experience” with its 30-meter flying balloon at the Tuileries Garden.

Milan Cortina made its flames even more accessible, with the one in the Arco della Pace easy to see from afar.

On a typical night thousands of people stream into the park – sharing paths with the usual runners and cyclists who are indifferent to the spectacle – and then wait expectantly in the open area in front of the triumphal arch. A significant police presence protects both flames.

The cauldrons were Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies, with the brazier supposed to resemble a sun that opens and closes.

The crowd hushes when lasers begin to flash, producing designs on the cauldron, and the music begins. Soothing and inspirational, the music was composed by Roberto Cacciapagglia, who also wrote the soundtrack for the opening ceremony.

The colors on the cauldron range from red to orange – reminiscent of the Dutch team and fans – to purple, green and deep blue.

Just when you wonder if the cauldron really does expand, it starts to flex its muscles. Now a golden hue, the diameter increases from 3.1 to 4.5 meters (10-15 feet) as the music crescendos.

About four minutes after it began, the show is over.

The flame will be extinguished on 22 February during the closing ceremony and then return for the Paralympic Winter Games – and more shows – from 6-15 March.
~ Karen Rosen

● The Rosen Report ● The U.S. federations for figure skating, ice hockey and speed skating created a Milan hideaway – the “Winter House” – for its athletes and supporters. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum is there with a unique “medal care kit” for the stars of 2026, and before!

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● More rain is forecast for Milan on Thursday, with highs of 45 F and a low of 40 F. Winds will be up a little to an average of 7 miles per hours.

In Cortina, the last snow of the Games is projected with a high of 27 F and a low of 19 F. Winds, however, are expected to be modest, at 5 miles per hour. Partly-cloudy skies are predicted for Friday and Saturday.

● Scoreboard ● We’re up to 89 of the 116 events decided, and Norway continues to extend its lead on the medal table:

● 33: Norway (15-8-10)
● 26: Italy (9-5-12)
● 24: United States (7-11-6)
● 22: Japan (5-6-11)

● 21: Germany
● 17: France
● 17: Austria
● 15: Netherlands
● 15: Sweden

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 13 days, the top 12:

● 404.5: Norway 72
● 323.5: United States 70
● 314.5: Italy 62
● 250: Germany 50
● 241.5: France 50

● 235.5: Austria 53
● 215.5: Japan
● 202: Canada
● 181: Netherlands
● 168.5: Switzerland

● 158: Sweden
● 137: China

Norway has 72 placers from 1-8, with the U.S. at 70, then Italy with 62, Austria at 53 and France and Germany with 50 each.

● Television ● From the International Olympic Committee’s news briefing on Wednesday:

“In the United States, Milano Cortina 2026 has been averaging 24.3 million viewers on NBCUniversal platforms up to [Monday] 16 February – up 88 per cent compared to Beijing 2022 at the same point. Coverage has topped 20 million viewers for each of the first 11 days of competition.”

● Cross Country Skiing ● A Czech wolfhound wandered into the finish-line area with some of the later finishers in the women’s Team Sprint qualifications, looking for its owner.

It was shown on the race broadcast; Greek racer Konstantina Charalampidou, who finished 26th, said later, “He followed the camera on the finishing straight, was cute, and thankfully didn’t disrupt the race.

“It was funny. He made me forget about the race, because it wasn’t good. Thanks to him, I’m famous now, so I have to thank him.”

The dog was reunited with its owner.

● Freestyle Skiing ● The athlete quota for the men’s Freestyle Ski Cross event is 32 total athletes, but there are 31 entries indicated, with the event taking place on Saturday (21st). The U.S. has no entries, but American Tyler Wallasch published an open letter through Global Athlete, asking for the final spot:

“I have qualified for that vacant quota place through international competition rankings and have had the backing of the USOPC and FIS to be granted the spot. However, the IOC has denied my request to compete and denied the USA representation in the men’s Skicross event.”

He cites “an administrative rule and administrative procedures that fail to uphold the athlete-centered Olympic ideals of participation and fair competition.”

The letter was signed by 32 other Skicross competitors. According to Global Athlete Director General Rob Koehler (CAN) on X:

“1. @FIS_news and @TeamUSA supported @TJWallasch entry to the @milanocortina26 . Both indicated @Olympics has the power to make the decision.

“2. Tyler requested @iocmedia to attend the Games – the IOC said it was the FIS’s decision. FIS then denied entry.”

● Short Track ● American star Corrine Stoddard, who won three medals at the 2024 World Championships, has had a nightmare in Milan so far, crashing out of her races. But she’s not done; she posted on Instagram:

“I came into the 2026 Olympics with a lot of hopes and dreams of bringing home multiple medals, considering how well I performed throughout the World Cup season. Ultimately, that hasn’t happened. I’m not sure what’s been going on. Part of me thinks I haven’t been able to handle the pressure and expectations I put on myself. The other part of me feels so physically drained every time I try to race.

“This whole experience has been incredibly unfortunate, and I feel embarrassed by how many times I’ve crashed, especially since I’m not an athlete who’s known for falling often. I also feel embarrassed by how much I’ve choked on the Olympic stage over and over again. This isn’t what I planned to show the world I was capable of.

“I’m sorry to my friends and family who’ve had to watch me suffer so many times over the last week. I have one last chance on the 20th (1500m), and then my 2026 Olympics will be over. Thank you to everyone who has continued to be there for me. I’m sorry I haven’t been myself.”

Optimistically, it’s worth noting that she won the 1,500 m bronze at the 2024 Worlds.

● Skeleton ● Ukrainian racer Vladyslav Heraskevych became a household name in Cortina, even though he was not allowed to race in his “memory helmet” that included images of Ukrainian athletes killed during the Russian invasion.

Only 27, he’ll be able to continue racing, as he was given a donation of $200,000 by Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov, who owns the Azovstal steel company and the Shakhtar Donetsk football club. He said in a statement:

“At the same time, I want him to have enough energy and resources to continue his sporting career, as well as to fight for truth, freedom and the remembrance of those who gave their lives for Ukraine.”

The Associated Press noted the money will be paid to Heraskevych’s foundation, “to ensure the athlete and his coaching staff have the necessary resources to continue their sporting career and their advocacy for Ukraine on the international stage.”

● Winter Paralympic Games ● After the International Paralympic Committee’s General Assembly narrowly voted to return Russia and Belarus to full status last September, and a series of appeals by Russian winter-sport federations against several International Federations, Russia will have six athletes and Belarus will have four at the Winter Paralympics from 6-15 March.

The IPC confirmed on Tuesday that the Russians will have “two in Para alpine skiing (one male, one female), two in Para cross-country skiing (one male, one female), and two in Para snowboard (both male).” All will compete with national colors and anthems, given their restored status.

This has enraged Ukraine, with sports minister Matvii Bidnyi saying Wednesday that Ukrainian officials will not attend the Paralympic Games opening and is asking others to stay away. He explained:

“The flags of Russia and -Belarus have no place at international -sporting events that stand for fairness, integrity, and respect. These are the flags of regimes that have turned sport into a tool of war, lies and contempt.

“In Russia, Paralympic sport has been made a pillar for those whom Putin sent to Ukraine to kill – and who returned from Ukraine with injuries and disabilities.”

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that “I have instructed Ukraine’s ambassadors to engage with officials in their host countries and urge them not to attend the Opening Ceremony if this disgraceful decision is not reversed.”

= RESULTS: WEDNESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Slalom
“I came here for the skiing. I wanted to feel these two runs that I felt today. That it was on the limit, that it wasn’t easy but I took the risk even when it felt that there was something to lose. But in the end there was everything to earn.”

That’s American star Mikaela Shiffrin, who dominated the Slalom – as she has so many times before – and ran up a huge, 0.82-second lead on the first run and then was second only to teammate Paula Moltzan on the second to win in 1:39.10, by a sensational 1.50 seconds.

After winning the Slalom in 2014 and the Giant Slalom in 2018, Shiffrin’s difficulties in 2022 were well documented. And a bad crash in a Giant Slalom in November 2024 took a significant toll on her. In Cortina, she missed a clear chance for gold in the Team Combined and did not contend in the Giant Slalom, but destroyed the field in her specialty. The best ever saluted her competition:

“I think there’s many people who can take that [greatest] title and many were skiing today. This is a sport where we get to share the beautiful feelings. Even if one can be on the top of the podium, we share it together.”

A golden finish for U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin in the Olympic women’s Slalom in Cortina! (Photo: Emily Tidwell/U.S. Ski Team)

Lena Duerr (GER) stood second after the first run, but skied out on the second, and 2025 World Champion Camille Rast (SUI) moved from fourth to the silver in 1:40.60. Swede Anna Swenn Larsson moved up from fifth to bronze in 1:40.81.

Many of the first-round leaders had trouble on the second run, while Moltzan, 29th in the first run, had the fastest second round and zoomed up to eighth overall at 1:41.29. American A.J. Hurt was 18th at 1:42.43.

Shiffrin is the second to win this event twice, after Vreni Schneider (SUI) in 1988 and 1994. It’s her fourth Olympic medal (3-1-0) and at 30, she’s not close to being done. Could she make it all the way to Utah 2034 … or will she be in the broadcast booth?

Shiffrin is also the leader of the FIS World Cup circuit, looking for a sixth seasonal title. She can rest a little; the next Giant Slalom-Slalom weekend isn’t until 14-15 March in Are (SWE).

● Biathlon: Women’s 4×6 km Relay
France’s lead-off skier, Camille Bened had three penalties and her leg and handed off 55.8 seconds behind defending champion Sweden. No need to worry.

The next three French legs – Olympic medalists Lou Jeanmonnot, Oceane Michelon and Julia Simon – buried the field and brought France a relay sweep – men’s women’s and mixed – in 1:10:22.7 (6 penalties).

Jeanmonnot had the lead by 1.6 seconds over the Swedes after the second leg and then it was over. But the Swedes hung in for silver with Elvira and Hanna Oeberg handling the final two legs to finish in 1:11:14.0 (7). Norway was an expected third, but well back at 1:11:30.3 (7) and then Germany at 1:11:51.8 (9).

The U.S. was 18th at 1:16:49.4 (13) with Deedra Irwin, Luci Anderson, Margie Freed and Joanne Reid.

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s Team Sprint; Women’s Team Sprint
Coming into the 2026 Winter Games, the U.S. had won a total of four medals in cross country skiing, ever. Bill Koch won the 1976 men’s 30 km silver and Jessie Diggins had won a gold (with Kikkan Randall) and an individual silver and bronze.

As of Wednesday, Americans have won three medals in 2026.

As expected, the heavily-favored Norwegian team, with Einar Hedegart and star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, got to the line first in 18:28.98, barely ahead of American Gus Schumacher, charging on the final leg for second in 18:30.35, as he and Sprint silver medalist Ben Ogden both had the fastest final legs.

Said Ogden, the first-ever U.S. men’s double Olympic medalist in cross country:

“It’s insane. Man, we proved today and all week we are here to stay and the USA guys are in good form, so it was awesome.”

Italy figured in the medal hunt and with Elia Barp and veteran Federico Pellegrino, they were third in 18:32.29, just ahead of the Swiss (18:33.20).

Klaebo won his record 10th Olympic gold, and continues alone behind swim icon Michael Phelps of the U.S., who won 23 Olympic golds for the all-time lead. Klaebo won six golds at the 2025 World Championships and had a chance at a sixth in the 50 km Classical to come.

Diggins was looking for another medal in the women’s Team Sprint, with Julia Kern, but the favored Swedes – silver winner Jonna Sundling and bronzer Maja Dahlqvist – had the lead for most of the race and finally won a tight battle with 2025 Worlds bronze winners Switzerland, 20:29.99 to 20:31.39.

The U.S. was second or third for the first half of the race, but Diggins and Kern slowed on the final legs and Germans Laura Gimmler and Coletta Rydzek took the bronze in 20:35.86, followed by Norway (20:36.00) and the U.S. in 20:41.53.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Aerials
Defending champion Mengtao Xu recorded a 107.75 jump in the first final and skipped the second, confident of advancing to the medal final. She did, as the no. 3 qualifier. Australia’s Danielle Scott, the 2025 Worlds bronze winner, uncorked a 117.19 score and was the top qualifier into the medal round.

Once there, it was Xu who scored big as the third starter out of six and took the lead at 112.90 and invited anyone to pass her. No one could, with Scott the last to try and her 102.17 earned her the silver medal, Australia’s first since 2014 in this event.

China’s unheralded Qi Shaq, whose first-up jump scored 101.90, ended up with the bronze, ahead of teammate Fanyu Kong (101.31), the 2023 World Champion.

The U.S. also had two finalists, with Kalia Kuhn scoring 99.16 and Winter Viniecki finished sixth with 90.58 in the medal round.

Xu made history as the first to win this event twice!

● Short Track: Men’s 500 m; Women’s 3,000 m Relay
Dutch star Jens van’T Wout was in lane one and ready for a third gold in the men’s 500 m A final, but he was beaten to the first corner by Canada’s Steven Dubois, the 2025 World Champion. A lap later, his teammate and seasonal leader William Dandjinou passed aggressively on the inside and got into second, but it caused a ripple effect that sent Teun Boer (NED) flying into the pads.

That left Dubois with a serious lead over Melle van’t Wout – the older brother – and they rolled to the line 1-2, with Dubois advancing from bronze in Beijing to gold in Milan. Melle van’T Wout won a completely unexpected silver and Jens recovered enough to finish third, so both were on the podium. Dandjinou was disqualified for his inside pass.

It’s the first win in this event for Canada since 2010 and the first medals ever in the 500 for the Dutch.

The women’s 3,000 m relay had defending champion Netherlands and star sprinter Xandra Velzeboer, but with 15 laps to go, the Dutch crashed out and it was Canada and Italy at the front, with South Korea third.

Canada maintained the lead with the crowd ready to explode for Italy and the Azzurri were in front with four laps to go. Then 1,000 m bronze winner Gil-li Kim flew to the front with two laps to go, with Italian star Arianna Fontana chasing. But it was Kim who got to the line first in 4:04.02, just ahead of Italy in 4:04.15.

Canada ended up with the bronze (4:04.33) with the Dutch finishing in 4:09.10.

The Koreans have won a medal in this event in four straight Games and took the win in the relay for seventh time in the 10 times it has been held.

For Fontana, it was her 14th career Winter Games medal (3-6-5), tying her for the second-most in history with Norse biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen and one behind Marit Bjorgen (NOR: cross country).

● Snowboarding: Men’s Slopestyle; Women’s Slopestyle
A loaded field, but the returning silver medalist, China’s Yuming Su, got off an 82.41 jump in the first round and had the lead. Japan’s Taiga Hasegawa, a Worlds medalist in Big Air but not in Slopestyle, scored 82.13 in round one to sit second.

But the big scores never came. France’s Romain Allemand was third heading into the third round at 76.95. American Jake Carter, no. 3 in the order, jumped into bronze-medal position with a 79.36 finale and Su popped an 82.18 back-up score two jumpers later.

But there were no late fireworks and Su moved up from second in 2022 to the top of the podium. Winning on his 22nd birthday, he will have more chances for medals. Hasegawa won his first major international medal in Slopestyle, and Canter – also 22 – won his first major medal as well.

The U.S.’s Red Gerard, the 2018 winner, was fifth (76.60) and Oliver Martin (75.36) was ninth.

The women’s Slopestyle had Big Air medal stars – gold winner Japan’s Kokomo Murase and runner-up Zoi Sadowski Synnott (NZL) – as the final two jumpers in the order, and Murase delivered in the first round, scoring 79.30 for the lead.

That stood until the middle of the second round, when Mari Fukada (JPN), the 2025 Worlds Big Air bronze winner, took over at 85.70, which turned out to be one of just four jumps over 80.00 during the competition.

The action finally got hot in the final round, but Fukada added pressure with an 87.83 closer.

Murase got untracked and improved to 85.80 and the Sadowski Synnott reached 87.48, but it was not enough and Fukada had the gold, and Sadowski Synnott a second silver at the 2026 Games. The 1-3 for Japan were their first medals in this event.

The U.S. finished 6th and 11th with 16-year-olds Jessica Perlmutter (68.18) and Lily Dwawornvej (41.81).

Elsewhere:

● Curling: Swiss Yannick Schwaller’s men’s rink continued undefeated at 8-0, with a 10-4 win over Norway, with 2014 Olympic champ Brad Jacobs and Canada at 7-1 after an 8-3 defeat of Italy.

Daniel Casper’s U.S. squad fell to 4-5 and finished group play, losing to Bruce Mouat and Britain (5-4), 9-2. Casper’s rink is currently sixth and has only a slight chance of getting into fourth place and the playoffs, depending on the results of the remaining matches tomorrow.

In the women’s tournament, Anna Hasselborg’s Swedish rink finished at 7-2, with the four-time World Champion Swiss – skip Silvana Tirinzoni – at 6-2, then the U.S., Canada and South Korea at 5-3, with a day to play.

American Tabitha Peterson’s rink lost to Britain, 8-7, and Hasselborg – the 2018 Olympic champ – lost to South Korea, 8-3. The U.S. will finish tomorrow with the Swiss, and the Canadians and Koreans face off in what could be a play-in game.

● Ice Hockey: In the men’s quarterfinals, Canada got all it could handle from the Czech Republic, but a Mitch Marner goal just 1:22 into overtime got a 4-3 win and advanced the favorites to the semis.

No. 3 Slovakia handled Germany by 5-1 and no. 4 Finland also had to go to overtime to get past Switzerland, 3-2.

The U.S. was matched with no. 7 Sweden, which was 2-1 in Group B, in a tight match that was scoreless after a period. In the second, the Americans broke on top with a Dylan Larkin goal at 11:03 of the period, tipping in a Jack Hughes shot from the top of the zone.

The U.S. stayed in front until 1:31 to go, as Mika Zibanejad took a cross-ice pass from Lucas Raymond and sent a laser past American keeper Conor Hellebuyck, who had turned aside 28 Swedish shots. The U.S. ended regulation with a 34-29 edge on shots.

So the third of four quarterfinals to go to a 3×3 overtime saw the U.S. take the first five shots and dominate the period. Finally, Quinn Hughes reversed from right to left inside the blue line and fired a liner that zipped past the left shoulder of Swedish keeper Jacob Markstrom for the 2-1 win.

So Canada will face Finland and the U.S. will play Slovakia in the semifinals on Friday.

= PREVIEWS: THURSDAY, 19 FEBRUARY =
(7 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)

● Figure Skating: Women’s Singles
Japan dominated the Short Program, with Ami Nakai, 17, and fourth at the national championships, landing a triple Axel and scoring 78.71 points to stand just ahead of three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto (77.23).

American Alysa Liu, the 2025 World Champion, is in the mix at 76.59 for third, and Japan’s Mone Chiba, 20, is fourth at 74.00. Russian “neutral” Adeliia Petrosian is fifth at 72.89.

The other Americans are Isabeau Levito in eighth (70.84) and Amber Glenn missed an element and was 13th (67.39).

If the Free Skate scores during the season mean anything, this is going to be close. Sakamoto has the best score so far at 150.13, trailed closely by Nakai at 149.08 and Liu at 146.70. Chiba has scored 144.94.

Sakamoto has scored as high as 155.77 (2022) and figures as the favorite; Liu has scored 150.97and Nakai, 149.08. Close. Very close.

Chiba’s 144.94 Free Skate best and Petrosian has scored 140.91, so they figure to be looking at bronze, not gold, if any of the top three fall back.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Aerials
Defending champion Quangpu Gi (CHN) won a couple of World Cup medals this season. Two-time World Champion Noe Roth (SUI) won one.

But there were lots of others who shined, including China’s Jiaxu Sun, Xindi Wang and Tianma Li, who all won World Cup golds. Ukraine’s Dmytro Kotovskyi and Oleksandr Okipniuk also won.

The U.S. has two contenders, with Chris Lillis, the 2021 Worlds silver winner and Quinn Dehlinger, the 2023 and 2025 Worlds runner-up. A darkhorse pick would be Swiss Pirmin Werner, the 2025 Worlds bronze medalist, who won one World Cup medal this season.

No one has dominated; someone else could completely surprise.

● Ice Hockey: Women’s final
Canada has been in all seven Olympic Winter Games finals and has won five of them. The U.S. has been in six, winning in 1998 and 2018.

So far, this season has been one-sided. The U.S. won the four games in the Rivalry Series by a combined score of 24-7. And the Americans were 5-0 winners in the group-stage game between the two.

On paper, no contest. But it’s one game for the gold.

Canada won, 3-2, at Beijing in 2022, and the Canadians have won three of six IIHF World titles from the U.S. since the 2018 Games. In 2025, the Americans won, 4-3, in overtime.

● Nordic Combined: Team Sprint Large Hill (141 m) + 2 x 7.5 km
This is a new Olympic event, with two athletes per team. The simple math from the Large Hill competition was that Norway’s Jens Oftebro and Andreas Skoglund went 1-4, Finland’s Ilkka Herola and Eero Hirvonen went 3-5 and Austria’s Johannes Lamparter and Stefan Rettenegger went 2-8, so those are the medal favorites.

Germany should challenge, with veterans Vinzenz Geiger and Julian Schmid or Johannes Rydzek, who placed 9-12-11 in the Large Hill competition.

● Ski Mountaineering: Men’s Sprint; Women’s Sprint
This will be the debut for this sport in the Olympic Winter Games, combining uphill climbing and downhill skiing, to be held in Bormio. The 750 m course starts and finished at 1,215 m (3,986 feet), has a climb of 70 m (230 feet) and returns to the original altitude.

Spain’s Oriol Cardona Coll is the unquestioned men’s favorite, having won the ISMF World Championships in 2023 and 2025 and a World Cup Sprint this season. But he has a real challenger in France’s Thibault Anselmet, second and first against Cardona this season and twice runner-up to him in the 2023-25 Worlds. Russian “neutral” Nikita Filippov won two World Cup bronzes this season and could challenge, along with Swiss Jon Kistler – the 2025 Worlds bronzer – and Arno Lietha, who went 1-2 in the World Cup in Utah in early December.

Based on the World Cup season so far, France and Italy are expected to battle for the women’s race, with Emily Harrop (FRA) a two-time World Cup winner this season and the bronze and silver medalist in the last two Worlds. Teammate Margot Ravinel finished 1-2-3 in the three Sprint World Cups this season.

However, Swiss Marianne Fatton, won the 2021 and 2025 Worlds golds, and there is a home favorite. Italy’s Giulia Mirada won two silvers and a bronze in the three World Cup races and took silver at the 2017 World Championships. She will surely be in the mix.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 1,500 m
Two races and two wins for American Jordan Stolz, in the 500 m and 1,000 m and now he goes for the 1,500 m, in which he won the World Championships golds in 2023 and 2024. He was second in the 2025 1,500 m Worlds but then won all five races during the 2025-26 World Cup season.

If he’s healthy, he should win. If not, the three logical challengers are two-time defending Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis (NED), who was second twice and third twice in the World Cup season. China’s Zhongyan Ning was also second twice and third twice in the World Cups and won the 1,000 m bronze.

German Finn Sonnekalb had a second, third and two fourth during the World Cup. Just 18, he won the Youth Olympic Games gold in the 1,500 m in 2024 and the World Junior gold in 2025. A breakthrough?

It must be noted that it was Norway’s Peder Kongshaug who won the 2025 Worlds gold over Stolz and Connor Howe (CAN) was third. Kongshaug was quiet on the World Cup circuit in four races; Howe is injured and is not in Milan.

A U.S. skater hasn’t won this race since Derek Parra in 2002, and no medals since 2010. Stolz is trying to change all that.

= INTEL REPORT =

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The Los Angeles City Council approved on Tuesday, by 10-2, a second reading of an ordinance to be submitted to voters on the 2 June 2026 municipal ballot, an increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax (“hotel tax”) through 2028, raising revenue from visitors through the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The current rate would, if approved by voters, to go 16% through 2028 and then revert down to 15% thereafter.

● Athletics ● The U.S. Justice Department announced an indictment in Florida against Paul Askew, 46, of Jacksonville, Florida under the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019, which seeks to punish those who supply doping materials to athletes. Per the announcement:

“[F]rom on or about July 10, 2023, and continuing through on or about January 31, 2024, Askew conspired with others to influence major international sports competitions by providing performance enhancing drugs to an athlete. The major international sports competitions the conspiracy sought to influence included the 2023 Ed Murphey Classic, the 2023 Xiamen Diamond League, the 2023 Prefontaine Classic, the 2024 American Outdoor Track and Field Championship, the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, the 2024 United States Olympics Trials, and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.”

No further details were offered in the indictment; The Associated Press reported that information from 2022 Worlds 100 m silver medalist Marvin Bracy-Williams – banned for 45 months in November 2025, with credit back to February 2024 for time already suspended – was used in charging Askew.

● Cycling ● “Although cycling is now hugely popular across five continents, its media coverage and the revenues generated for its stakeholders do not yet fully reflect its potential. There is considerable room for improvement, provided that a concerted, balanced approach is developed that is adapted to future challenges, while preserving the historical strengths of the discipline.

“Several reforms implemented in recent years have helped to promote the development of road cycling (internationalisation, new events, the growth of women’s cycling, etc.). The aim now is to continue this positive momentum collectively, in a spirit of dialogue and shared responsibility, under the auspices of the UCI.”

That is the driver behind a discussion project of the Union Cycliste Internationale with the road cycling community, to be completed by 30 April 2026. At that point, “in-depth” discussions with the stakeholders in the sport are to develop a better model for the sport.

● Wrestling ● Paris 2024 Olympic 86 kg bronze medalist Aaron Brooks of the U.S., a four-time NCAA champion at Penn State, was suspended for two years by an independent arbitrator.

Brooks tested positive for anabolic agent dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on 21 April 2025, which was ruled as unintentional. Therefore, his sanction was chopped from four years to two; it began on 13 June 2025, the date of his provisional suspension.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT: U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum ready with “medal care” at U.S. federations’ “Winter House”

Rich Perelman

February 18, 2026

2026-218 owg-winter house lounge (rosen) — The lounge area at the “Winter House” in Milan, organized by the U.S. federations for ice hockey, figure skating and speed skating (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

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≡ THE ROSEN REPORT ≡

U.S. Olympic medal winners who visit the Winter House, the American hospitality center in Milan for figure skating, hockey and speed skating, receive a “Medal Care Kit,” courtesy of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

While this kit can’t fix a broken medal like Breezy Johnson‘s – “I was jumping in excitement and it broke” – said the Downhill champ, it can prevent wear and tear.

“At the Museum, we often see athletes bring their medal with them,” said Lindsay Flanagan Huban, the Museum’s chief content & integration officer. “They pull it out of a pocket, and say, ‘Oh, I keep it in a shoebox, I keep it in a sock drawer.’ Bonnie Blair will pull hers out of a pocket and put it around peoples’ necks. They get sort of worn after a while.”

Museum archival specialist Oriana Va’I had the idea to put together the proactive kits which have, Huban said, “everything an athlete needs to take care of and preserve their piece of history.”

There’s an acid-free archival box so the medal won’t tarnish, foam to wrap the ribbon so it doesn’t crease, acid-free tissue paper, and “because we are a museum, of course we’re going to give you a pair of white gloves,” Huban said.

A lint-free wipe, also included, is the only thing an athlete should use to clean a medal because solvents or soap and water will damage it.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum’s “medal care” kit, at the U.S. Winter House in Milan (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

“We have not done anything like this before and there has been a lot of interest, not just from current members of Team USA, but athletes who competed, 15, 20, 50 years ago,” Huban said, noting the Museum has gotten emails from athletes who aren’t in Milan. “We’re really pleased to be able to offer this.”

The museum brought 50 kits and could run out if both U.S. hockey teams reach the podium.

For now, each medal-winning athlete has received one kit and the museum is happy to ship more. Blair, who won five speed skating golds and a bronze in her Olympic career, has already requested five more boxes.

The kit also includes a loan and donation card if the athlete is inclined down the road to remember the Museum.

The Winter House, set unobtrusively in a Milan hotel with heavy security outside, is sponsored by Starbucks and is one of the most exclusive tickets in the Olympic city. Olympic athletes, their families, sponsors, donors and guests, including entertainers Marisa Tomei and Jeff Goldblum, have enjoyed the warm atmosphere reminiscent of a lounge from the last century during nightly watch parties.

Sponsored by Starbucks, the original plan was to call it the Ice House because the three sports are all played on ice. However, the name was changed because of its similarity to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement acronym.

The capacity is about 300 a night. “Some people who have come in have enjoyed it so much that they want to come back,” Huban said.

Besides the Starbucks cafe, drinks are served from “Boitano’s Lounge,” created by 1988 Olympic figure skating champion Brian Boitano. For entertainment, he has conversed with a large stuffed ostrich in the Winter House.

Athletes who visit sign a panel like the ones that cover the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. Besides Winter Olympians, gymnastics icon Simone Biles, Olympic swim star Mary T. Meagher and rugby player Ilona Maher have swung by to hobnob.

There are photos of current American athletes on the wall and they sign them when they visit.

The Winter House has celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics with gold medalists Dorothy Hamill and Sheila Young and the 20th anniversary of the 2006 Turin Games with U.S. stars Sasha Cohen, Apolo Ohno, Ben Agosto and Rusty Smith.

As part of its display, the Museum brought three torches that rest in a case: 1984 Los Angeles, because L.A. is hosting the next Olympics; 2022 Beijing, the previous Winter Games, and 2024 Paris, the previous Summer Games.

“We pull out either L.A. or Beijing every evening,” Huban said. “We let people put on some gloves – and it’s two hands on the torch at all times. They take a photo, make a memory. It’s been super popular.”

A Milan Cortina torch and set of medals have been promised and they will be installed soon at the Museum.

“The Museum is just so pleased to have the opportunity to connect with the athletes and introduce ourselves if they don’t know us yet,” Huban said.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Organizers hit ticket goal with five days left; U.S. settles for Pursuit and Big Air silvers to reach 21 medals

Rich Perelman

February 17, 2026

tsx pix 2026-215 owg-on-ice graphics (rosen) — The between-periods imagery on the ice sheet at the Santagiulia arena in Milan (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

There is a certain rhythm to the modern Olympic Games, especially as reported in the run-up. There are always crises, calls to move the Games elsewhere, or cancel them. Costs are an issue and for the Milan Cortina organizers, real questions about the bobsled, luge and skeleton track that finally did get built on time, and the privately-finance Santagiulia ice hockey arena, which also was finished enough to hold the men’s and women’s tournaments in substantial style (see the between-period imagery on the ice above).

But on Tuesday, the Milan Cortina 2026 organizers announced that they sold 55,000 tickets Monday and had met their goal – branded unattainable by some – of 1.3 million tickets sold, with close-to-capacity attendance at many sports and huge crowds in the mountain venues.

That’s a success, powered in part by the enormous success of the Italian team, which is shattering all records for medals. Their prior best was 20 from 1994 in Lillehammer (NOR), with seven golds. Already, the Azzurri have 24 medals and nine golds (9-4-11) and still have five days remaining. It’s worth noting that at their last home Winter Games – Turin 2006 – the Italians won just 11 medals (5-0-6). They did something right this time.

Our correspondent in Italy, Karen Rosen, noted, ”Even the people on the metro who are not attending the Games know that their country is doing well.”

So is the organizing committee, which still has a third of the Games to go, and then the Winter Paralympic Games in March. But there are a lot of happy people at the venues and one of the big “problems” has been that souvenirs of the mascots Tina and Milo and the Flos have repeatedly sold out.

There are also some angry people, for whom nothing is ever right and nothing ever will be right. They will have their day soon, after the Games have passed, as seen in France only months following the close of the Paris Games. But that did not detract from the greatness of that Olympic edition.

As for the U.S. team, at 232 members the largest at this Games, it crossed the 20-medal level (21 so far) for the seventh straight time after having never won more than 13 in any Winter Games through 1998. There are more opportunities coming, such as Mikaela Shiffrin in the women’s Slalom, both the men’s and women’s hockey teams, Alysa Liu in women’s Figure Skating and more from phenom Jordan Stolz in speed skating (he has two events left).

The best-ever U.S. gold-medal performance is 10, at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and the American team is at six now and could get a new record in the remaining five days. Interestingly, Team USA has won nine gold in the succeeding five Winter Games.

But there is a sense that the U.S. has under-performed with gold-medal misses from Lindsey Vonn (a crash), from Shiffrin in the Team Combined, Chloe Kim (silver), Ilia Malinin (falls) and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (silver) in figure skating and so on.

If, however, it’s true that it is how you finish that counts, U.S. fans will be feeling better by the end of the Games on Sunday.
~ Rich Perelman

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Cloudy weather in Milan on Wednesday, with a high of 53 F n a low of 37 F; rain is expected on Thursday.

Cortina is forecast for cold temperatures at 26 F, but with clouds and no snow, which impacted Monday’s events. The low is expected to be at 11 F and with light winds of 3 miles per hour. More snow is expected Thursday.

● Scoreboard ● Norway has passed the 30-medal mark and is pulling away – as expected – through 12 days on the medal table:

● 31: Norway (14-8-9)
● 24: Italy (9-4-11)
● 21: United States (6-10-5)
● 20: Germany (5-8-7)
● 19: Japan (4-5-10)

● 17: Austria
● 16: France
● 13: Netherlands
● 12: Sweden
● 12: Canada

● 378.5: Norway
● 299.5: Italy
● 280.5: United States
● 234: Germany
● 226.5: Austria

● 223.5: France
● 187.5: Japan
● 169: Canada
● 157: Netherlands
● 139.5: Switzerland

● 134: Sweden
● 99: China

In terms of place winners from 1-8, Norway continues to lead with 68, then 60 for the U.S., 59 for Italy and 50 for Austria. To say this has been a great Winter Games for Italy is an enormous understatement; it’s their best ever.

● Television ● French-language Radio Television Suisse bobsled announcer Stefan Renna launched into a lengthy criticism of the Israeli two-man bobsled team and driver Adam Edelman during his run on Monday, citing his support of the Israel Defense Forces in its response to the Hamas invasion on 7 October 2023 that killed more than 1,200.

Renna further questioned why Edelman is competing while Russians supporting their war against Ukraine are not, and more.

RTS has deleted the segment from its web site and told Reuters:

“Our journalist wished to question the IOC’s policy regarding the statements made by the athlete concerned. However, although factual, such information may have appeared inappropriate due to its length within the context of a sports commentary. For this reason, we removed the segment from our website last night.”

Edelman replied on X:

“I am aware of the diatribe the commentator directed towards the Israeli Bobsled Team on the Swiss Olympics broadcast today.

“I can’t help but notice the contrast: Shul Runnings is a team of 6 proud Israelis who’ve made it to the Olympic stage. No coach with us. No big program. Just a dream, grit, and unyielding pride in who we represent. Working together towards an incredible goal and crushing it. Because that’s what Israelis do.

“I don’t think it’s possible to witness that and give any credence to the commentary.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also commented on X:

“Beyond disgusting that the Jew-hating Swiss ‘sportscaster’ spewed bigotry & bile at @Israel Olympic Bobsled team & its captain @realajedelman as they competed.”

So much for Swiss neutrality.

● Olympic Winter Games 2028: Los Angeles ● In a CNN interview, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass changed her position and said that LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman should resign. She had previously said the matter was up to the LA28 Board, which has determined he should continue. But now:

“I cannot fire him, but I have an opinion. And my opinion is that he should step down. That’s not the opinion of the [LA28] Board.

“The Board made a decision. I think that decision was unfortunate. I don’t support the decision. I do think that we need to look at the leadership.”

Wasserman said in a statement when his name surfaced in a U.S. Justice Department dump of three million pages of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, including some personal e-mails with convicted child-sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell (GBR), “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

Asked about this on Tuesday, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams (GBR) stated, “This is a matter for their board, LA28, at this stage,” but noted that “there are many conversations happening at this moment, but I will not make any further comment.”

● Figure Skating ● A happy story from Milan, where ice dancers Olivia Smart (ESP) and American Jean-Luc Baker – a four-time U.S. nationals bronze medalist – got engaged on the streets of the city on Saturday (14th).

Smart and Tim Dieck finished ninth at the 2026 Ice Dance on the 11th and Baker proposed three days later. Baker said they had been close friends for more than 10 years.

● Memorabilia ● Just a couple of days left in the RR Auction winter Olympic sale, with first bids closing on Thursday (19th) at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Thus far, the unique Moscow 1980 “Stadium Torch” – one of just 20 “no-fail” torches made, is up to $69,975, indicating it will go much higher when the hammer finally drops.

It was specially made to continue burning no matter what the weather conditions were and was used for torch-lighting ceremonies in multiple Soviet cities, including for the opening of the Moscow Games.

A rare 1896 Athens Olympic winner’s medal – silver in those days – in good condition with a rare original presentation case – is already at $33,000 and expected to go for more than $100,000.

The auction includes what is believed to be the first public sale of a Milan Cortina 2026 torch – while the Games are going on – and is already at $15,749 with 33 bids, ahead of the estimate of $12,500-plus beforehand.

The highly-sought-after Lillehammer 1994 Winter Torch is also doing well, at $10.454 so far and 30 bids. It is estimated to bring $30,000 or more.

A unique item on sale is a pin for the cancelled 1944 Winter Games slates to be in Cortina d’Ampezzo! Estimated to bring $300, it’s already up to $666!

= RESULTS: TUESDAY, 17 FEBRUARY =
(6 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)

● Biathlon: Men’s 4×7.5 km Relay
Norway came in as the defending Olympic and World Champion and Uldal Martin handed his team a 50.3-second lead after the first leg over France, in snowy conditions in Anterselva.

But France’s Pursuit bronze winner Emilien Jacquelin stormed the second leg while Norway’s Johan-Olav Botn had shooting problems and took the lead by 16.1 seconds and the French never looked back and won by 1:19:55.2 (9 penalties) to 1:20:05.0 (6). It was their first win ever in this event, after a silver in 2022 and three prior bronzes.

Norway was an easy second, then came Sweden in 1:20:52.7 (6), another 47.7 seconds back, followed by Germany (1:21:43.5/12) and the U.S. in fifth.

That’s the best finish ever by a U.S. team or individual in Olympic biathlon, with Sean Doherty, Maxime Germain, Paul Schommer and Campbell Wright skiing. Wright, who won two Worlds silvers in 2025, started 11th but moved up to fifth by the last shooting stage, with a total time of 1:22:22.6 (8). Wright is just 23.

● Bobsleigh: Two-Man
German stars Johannes Lochner and George Fleischauer, the 2022 silver medalists, came into Tuesday with a 1:49.90 to 1:50.70 margin over teammates Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schueller, the defending Olympic champions.

That lead grew in the third heat, as Lochner drove the fastest time in 54.68, with third-place Adam Ammour (and Alexander Schaller) second-fastest at 55.12 and then Friedrich’s sled at 55.16. Ammour’s fast time also extended his lead to 0.55 over Frank Del Duca and Joshua Williamson of the U.S., fourth-fastest at 55.40.

Lochner led Friedrich, 2:44.79 to 2:45.71 into their final runs, with Ammour third at 2:46.17.

Del Duca has his best run of the Games and took the lead with a 55.34 time and a 3:41.96 total. Ammour was next, and his 55.35 was good enough for bronze at 3:41.52. Friedrich was up, trying for a third Olympic title in a row and a strong run finished in 55.33 and 3:41.04, good enough for at least silver.

Last up was Lochner, trying for a first Olympic gold and they blitzed the field, racing to a 54.91 time and destroying a brilliant field with a 3:39.70 total. Lochner was the best all season and there were no surprises in Cortina.

The Germans were favored to sweep and did for the second straight Games.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Big Air
Strange things happen in the Olympic Games. Norway’s Tormod Frostad, 23, had won a career total of two World Cup medals coming into the Big Air final, with his only win coming in December of 2024. He was 12th at the 2022 Beijing Games.

But on Tuesday, he was brilliant. In a hot first round, he took the lead at 95.25, barely ahead of teammate and defending champion Birk Ruud (95.00). Frostad was even better in round two, scoring 97.00, but American Mac Forehand, the 2025 Worlds silver winner, was at 95.00 and 95.00 for his first two rounds for a 190.00 total and just behind Frostad’s 192.25.

Austria’s Matej Svancer was also a threat at 187.00.

In round three, American Konnor Ralph scored 91.50 to raise his total to 178.00, then teammate Troy Podmilsak, the 2023 World Champion, scored 94.00 to finish at 184.50 and move into fourth, with Ralph set for fifth.

Svancer improved again to 96.00 to up his score to 191.25, putting the pressure on Forehand for the silver. But the American scored a sensational 98.00 and totaled 193.25, taking the lead with Frostad still to go.

The Norwegian was up to the challenge, scoring an amazing 98.50 on his third attempt and winning the gold with 195.50 points. Superb.

This is the second time Big Air has been in the Games and Norway has won both (Ruud and Frostad) and the U.S. has been second both times (Colby Stevenson and Forehand).

● Nordic Combined: Large Hill (141 m) + 10.0 km
Highly competitive, the Large Hill event ended up just about the same way the Normal Hill did: Norway’s Jens Oftebro coming from behind after the jumping to win.

Oftebro was fifth after the jumping, won by Roya Yamamoto (JPN), and started 22 seconds behind the lead. Austria’s Johannes Lamparter, the 2021 World Champion, was second after the jumping, but Oftebro put down the fastest time on the cross-country course and won in 23:45.0.

Lamparter was game and won silver for the second straight event, in 24:50.9. The bronze went to Finland again, but this time to Ilkka Herola, who moved up from seventh to third in 24:59.8. Teammate Eero Hirvonen, who won the Normal Hill bronze, finished fifth in 25:31.5.

Niklas Malacinski was the top American, in 13th at 27:07.4 after being 12th in the jumping. Ben Loomis was 27th (28:44.9)

Norway has won this event in three of the last four Games, but Lamparter’s silver was the first Austrian medal since 2010 and Herola won Finland’s first medal in the event since 2002.

● Snowboard: Women’s Slopestyle
Heavy overnight snowfall postponed the event until Wednesday!

● Speed Skating: Men’s Team Pursuit, Women’s Team Pursuit
As noted in our preview, the U.S. team of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran won the 2025 Worlds gold in this event, were the 2022 Olympic bronze winners, own the world record of 3:32.49 from last November, and won all three World Cup races this season.

They had no shot in the final, facing Italy’s Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti, who took the lead with 2 1/2 laps to go in the eight-lap race and rolled to a convincing 3:39.20 to 3:43.71 victory.

Italy won its first medal in this event since its first appearance in the Games, at Turin in 2006. The U.S. trio was the same that won bronze in Beijing in 2022, so they moved up one notch. It’s the third American medal in this event (0-2-1).

China won the B Final and took the bronze medal over the Netherlands, 3:41.38 to 3:41.47.

The women’s relay came down to Canada and the Netherlands as expected and the defending Olympic champions from Canada – Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann – had the lead with two laps to go in the six-lap race and won by 2:55.81 to 2:56.77, over Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong and Marijke Groenewoud.

The Dutch won a medal in this race for the fourth straight Games – 1-2-3-2 – and Rijpma-De Jong won her third medal in this event (0-2-1).

Japan had the lead early in the B Final over the U.S. trio of Giorgia Birkeland, Brittany Bowe and Mia Manganello, and won by 2:58.50 to 3:02.00 for the bronze medal. This was the third straight medal for Japan in this event, with 2022 Olympic 1,000 m champ Miho Takagi on all of them (1-1-1).

Elsewhere:

● Curling: Swiss skip Yannick Schwaller’s rink continued undefeated, at 7-0 in the men’s tournament, defeating defending champions Sweden and Niklas Edin, 9-4. Canada, with 2014 Olympic winner Brad Jacobs as skip, is 6-1.

Danny Casper’s U.S. team fell to 4-4 and sixth place after losing, 8-5 to China and 8-5 to Italy (4-3). Round-robin play continues to the 19th.

PyeongChang Olympic champ Anna Hasselborg’s Swedish team lost their first match, 8-6, to Canada and three-time World Champion Rachel Homan, and is still first at 6-1. Tabitha Peterson’s U.S. squad routed Denmark, 10-3, to move to 5-2 and in second place with four-time World Champions Switzerland.

● Figure Skating: The women’s Short Program was held Tuesday, with Japan’s Ami Nakai – with a high-profile, high-scoring triple Axel in her program – leading into the final group at 78.71.

First up in the final six was American Alysa Liu, the 2025 World Champion, who was elegant and precise on the ice and scored 76.59 to stand second. Isabeau Levito, the 2023 U.S. champion, came next in an all fire-engine-red costume and skated with grace and style that scored 70.84 and fifth place. Beautiful, but not spectacular.

After Anastasiia Gubanova (GEO) scored a lifetime best of 71.77 for fourth, Japan’s three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto took the ice and offered a technically special and beautiful program that wowed the crowd. She scored 77.23 to stand second.

American Amber Glenn, the triple U.S. champ, was next-to-last and opened with a successful triple Axel, but missed a double Loop. The crowd loved the routine, but Glenn clearly felt the error as she finished and sobbed as she left the rink. “I had it,” she said through tears. The crowd cheered, but her score was 67.39 and 12th place.

The last skater was Japan’s Mone Chiba, the 2025 Worlds bronze winner. Skating to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance.” she had the crowd in her hands and got the loudest cheers of the final group. Her 74.00 earned her fourth place overall, behind Nakai, then Sakamoto, Liu and Chiba. Levito is eighth, heading into the Free Skate on Thursday. Glenn was 13th; nine scored 70 or higher.

● Ice Hockey: In the men’s play-in games, the Czech Republic beat Denmark, 3-2 and will face no. 1 seed Canada. Germany routed France, 5-1 and will play no. 3 Slovakia and the Swiss blanked Italy, 3-0 and will play no. 4 Finland.

Sweden played Latvia with the winner to take on the second-ranked American team on Wednesday. The Swedes got off to a 2-0 lead after a period, and 3-1 after two. The final was 5-1. The Slovakia-Germany and USA-Sweden games are in the lower bracket, and the Canada-Czech and Finland-Swiss games in the top bracket.

= PREVIEWS: WEDNESDAY, 18 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Slalom
Last event on the alpine calendar and the last chance for a medal in Cortina for American star Mikaela Shiffrin, the greatest Slalom skier in history.

She won this event at Sochi 2014 and an Olympic Giant Slalom gold at PyeongChang in 2018, along with a silver in the Combined. But in the Slalom, she was fourth in 2018 and did not finish in 2022. She owns four Worlds title in the Slalom, but none since 2019, finishing 3-2-5 in the three Worlds since.

In Cortina, she was poised to win a Team Combined gold after Breezy Johnson had the lead following the Downhill, but Shiffrin was 11th in Slalom and fourth as a team. Now she has one more chance to strike gold, before returning to the FIS World Cup tour.

She’s the favorite, but there is doubt. Also, 2025 World Champion Camille Rast has been strong, winning a World Cup this season, and Albania’s Laura Colturi has taken four Slalom medals this season.

Emma Aicher (GER), the Downhill silver winner, is one of the most versatile skiers on tour and won World Cup medals in three Slalom races this season. Those are the logical challengers.

U.S. teammate Paula Moltzan won the Team Combined bronze with Jackie Wiles and is a definite threat in Slalom. Swiss Wendy Holdener, the silver winner in 2018 and bronzer in 2024, also won a World Cup bronze this season. So did Katharina Truppe, who won the Team Combined gold, and her teammate, Katharina Liensberger, was the 2025 Worlds bronze winner.

But this is about Shiffrin. If she is right, she should win. If not?

● Biathlon: Women’s 4×6 km Relay
Sweden is the defending champion and has the Oeberg sisters – Elvira and Hanna – back. France has won this at the last two World Championships and has its 2025 team – Lou Jeanmonnot, Oceane Michelon, Justice Braisaz-Bouchet, Julia Simon – all back and ready to go. They figure as the favorites.

Norway, with Sprint winner Maren Kirkeedie, won the Worlds silver in 2025, and those three teams are odds-on for medals. But Italy, which won two silvers in this event during the World Cup season, has Pursuit winner Lisa Vittozzi to anchor and the home crowd.

During the World Cup season, France won twice, Norway and Sweden once, and Germany and the Czech Republic both won bronzes.

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s Team Sprint; Women’s Team Sprint
The Team Sprint, with two athletes, has Norway as the two-time defending Olympic champions, both times with record-setter Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo on the team. Klaebo has been part of Norway’s World Championships winners in 2019-21-23-25. Who’s going to stop him from a record 10th Olympic gold? Especially with teammate Oscar Vike taking the Sprint bronze as a partner?

The two World Cup Team Sprint events had Norway winning, then Italy (Elia Barp and Federico Pellegrino) second and Sweden and the U.S. winning bronzes. Pellegrino, Simone Drapa and Simone Mocellini all made the Sprint semis and look ready.

Ben Ogden won the surprise Sprint silver for the U.S. And JC Schoonmaker also made the Sprint semis in Tesoro, so a U.S. medal is a real possibility. But the Czechs, Swedes and perhaps Finland are just as likely to get there as well.

In the women’s event, Norway won four of the six medals during World Cup competition, but they were silvers and bronzes. Sweden has to be the favorite after sweeping the Sprint medals, with Linn Svahn taking gold over Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist.

Germany also won a World Cup race with Laura Gimmler and Coletta Rydzek, both semifinalists in Tesoro. Norway had Julie Drivenes fourth and Kristine Skistad fifth in the Olympic Sprint and they figure to compete for silver.

The U.S. had Julia Kern in the Sprint final and three others – including Jessie Diggins – in the quarters. Will Diggins compete here with the 50 km still to go? If not, Sammy Smith or Lauren Jortberg could get the call. Diggins and Kern won the Worlds silver in 2025, over the Swiss.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Aerials
Because of heavy snowfall on Tuesday, both the qualifying and finals will be on Wednesday. Beijing 2022 champion Mengtao Xu (CHN) is back, was the silver winner at the 2025 Worlds and scored medals in five of the six World Cup events, including one win.

But American Kalia Kuhn, the 2025 World Champion was third and first in the final two World Cups and teammate Winter Vinecki – maybe the best name in the Games – had a World Cup gold and silver.

Australian Danielle Scott is also a medal favorite, after her 2025 Worlds bronze and a first and third in the final two World Cups, both held in Lake Placid, New York. Canadian Marion Thenault scored a World Cup silver this season and has been in the top six in the last three Worlds and should be a contender. Same for China’s Fanyu Kong, the 2023 World Champion, but who won the second World Cup in December, then didn’t score another medal.

● Short Track: Men’s 500 m; Women’s 3,000 m Relay
In the four ISU World Cups in the men’s 500 m, Canadian star William Dandjinou won three and American Andrew Heo won one. Dutch star Jens van’T Wout won nothing.

He’s won the 1,000 and 1,500 m already.

Canadian Steve Dubois is the 2025 World Champion, beating Denis Nikisha (KAZ: second straight silver) and van’T Wout, and he won two World Cup medals.

Not to be overlooked are Beijing 2022 gold medalist Shaoang Liu (HUN) now affiliated to China, and ex-Korean Xiaojun Lin – the 2024 World 500 m champ – also competing for China.

Pietro Sighel is the best Italian entry and won the 2023 Worlds gold, and a 500 m World Cup silver this season.

The women’s 3,000 m relay should be a fight between the Dutch – with so-far-unbeatable star Xandra Velzeboer – Canada and South Korea. All won World Cup races and the Dutch and Koreans went 1-2 at Beijing 2022 and the Dutch won the 2023 Worlds. In the semis, the Koreans and Canadians had the fastest times.

Italy is also in the A final and that means another shot for star Arianna Fontana to contend for a 14th career Olympic medal.

● Snowboarding: Men’s Slopestyle; Women’s Slopestyle
The winner no matter what the results are will be Canadian Mark McMorris. The 2014-18-22 Olympic bronze medalist suffered a bad crash on 4 February with a concussion and other injuries. But he qualified third on Sunday and is into the final.

Lots of experience in this event. American Red Gerard, the 2018 Olympic winner, is back and qualified 11th. China’s Yuming Su, the 2022 Beijing silver winner, qualified eighth and won medals in both World Cup events this season.

The two World Cup winners, Jake Canter of the U.S. and Romain Allemand (FRA) are in, qualifying 10th and seventh.

But the qualifying leaders were New Zealand’s Dane Menzies – a World Cup bronzer this season – at 86.06 and Norwegian veteran Marcus Kleveland (81.86), the 2021 and 2023 World Champion, who has never won an Olympic medal, placing sixth and eighth in 2018 and 2022. Still just 26, this might be his time.

The U.S. has a third qualifier as well, Oliver Martin, a World Cup bronze winner in Big Air; he scored 78.30 to stand in sixth. And not to be overlooked is Japan’s Ryoma Kimata, the 2023 Worlds runner-up who was the fourth to score 80 or more (80.83) in the preliminaries.

The women’s Slopestyle had to be postponed a day due to heavy snowfall, but is now to be held on Wednesday.

Japan’s Kokomo Murase and New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott went 1-2 in the Big Air final, but the Kiwi is the favorite in Slopestyle, where she is the defending Olympic champion, the 2019-21-25 World Champion and beat Murase last year.

Murase was third and first in the two World Cups held so far, which Sadowski Synnott skipped. But in qualifying on Sunday, Sadowski Synnott led at 88.08, trailed by Murase, at 84.93.

Those two appear ready to fight for the top spot on the podium. But Korean Big Air bronzer Seung-eun Kim appears ready to contest as well, third in the qualifying at 76.80.

Japan has two more contenders in Reira Iwabuchi, last year’s World bronzer and Mari Fukada, the 2025 Worlds Big Air third.

Canada’s Laurie Blouin, the 2017 World Champion and 2018 Olympic runner-up is in the final, and won a World Cup this season, and Austria’s Anna Gasser, the two-time Olympic Big Air winner, must be acknowledged, as the no. 5 qualifier.

The U.S. has 16-year-old Lily Dhawornvej, who took a World Cup silver this season and qualified along with fellow 16er Jessica Perlmutter.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Meyers Taylor sensational in Monobob gold; Miura and Kihara set world mark in Pairs victory

Rich Perelman

February 16, 2026

Olympic Monobob gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor of the U.S., in 2022 (Photo: Wikipedia via Sandro Halank).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

American bobsled star Elana Meyers Taylor is 41 and in her fifth Olympic Winter Games. She’s married, with two young sons – both deaf – and has won medals in each of her four prior appearances: bronze in 2010, silver in 2014 and 2018 and bronze again in 2022 for the Two-Woman, and a Monobob silver in 2022.

But she came back again, and had a clear reason:

“I really want a gold medal. I haven’t gotten it yet, so I feel like that is the one thing that I am missing from my resume, but besides that it is doing it for myself and doing it for my kids.

“To show them that I can chase my dreams and I can overcome obstacles and just continue to persevere through any obstacles that come my way and actually achieve my dreams.”

Dreams do come true and if the Olympic Games show us anything, it is about drive and will and belief. Meyers Taylor put together two brilliant second-day runs, the equal-fastest third run and the no. 2 fourth run to overtake German star Laura Nolte and win the Monobob, 3:57.93 to 3:57.97: by 0.04. She explained afterwards about her second-day approach:

“I just focused on what I needed to do, the points I needed to hit. I had gone over the track again with my coach this morning, and he told me what I needed to do. We discussed it and we just went to work.

“I was super grateful to be able to put the pieces together and finally have a run that I could walk away very proud with.”

And now?

“I’m feeling great. I’m a little tired, the adrenaline’s wearing off a little bit, but I’m super excited to finally have a gold medal and to have worked so hard all these years.

“It means so much to the support staff around me, to my friends, my family, everyone behind me who’s worked so hard to even get me to the starting line, let alone to win a gold medal. It’s been incredible.

“Lots of ups and downs, and you have to be able to ride the storm. At the end of the day, I have great support behind me, starting with my husband [Nic].

“My husband’s been there every step of the way telling me I could do this, whether he’s taken late nights with the kids or anything like that.”

And there was more family on hand in Cortina, as she hugged her sons at the finish line:

“It was so incredible. They’re tired, a little cranky – especially Nico. He’s like, ‘I’m ready to go to bed mom.’ It is a little late.

“But to be able to have them and be able to share this moment with them; like, my mom she was so excited and to be able to have her here – she’s Italian too – but she’s never been to Italy before, so now she’s been to Italy and seen her daughter win a gold medal, it’s just incredible.”

There are lots of people who will tell you what is all wrong about the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement. Meyers Taylor demonstrates what makes it all right.
~ Rich Perelman

● Milan Cortina 2026 update ● The organizing committee said it sold 108,000 tickets on Sunday, sending the total over 1.3 million for the Games, out of about 1.5 million available.

Spokesman Luca Casassa explained, “The number of tickets sold keeps increasing, day by day. It’s a linear increase and we believe this linear increase will continue from now on, to the end of the Games.”

● Rosen Report ● The U.S. men’s hockey team routed Germany, 5-1, and won Group C with a 3-0 record, but there is “more to accomplish” as the playoffs start. The U.S. has never won an Olympic gold outside in a foreign Games.

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● A rare sunny day is forecast for Milan on the 17th (Tuesday), with highs of 57 F and a low of 36 F. But winds are to pick up slightly to 8 miles per hour.

In Cortina, a cold but partly sunny day is anticipated, with wintry temps of 26 F for the high and 12 F for the low. Wind is expected to be modest at 5 miles an hour. Snow is expected again on Thursday.

● Scoreboard ● Norway continues to lead the medal table, as 26 countries have won one or more at the Winter Games:

● 28: Norway (12-7-9)
● 23: Italy (8-4-11)
● 19: United States (6-8-5)
● 18: Japan (4-5-9)
● 17: Germany (4-7-6)

● 15: Austria
● 15: France
● 12: Netherlands
● 11: Sweden
● 11: Canada

● 338.5: Norway
● 287.5: Italy
● 241.5: United States
● 211.5: Austria
● 209.5: France

● 199: Germany
● 180.5: Japan
● 157: Canada
● 144: Netherlands
● 135.5: Switzerland

● 128: Sweden
● 91: China

In terms of place winners from 1-8, Norway continues to lead with 61, followed by 57 for Italy, 53 for the U.S., 47 for Austria and 44 for France.

● Television ● No ratings data from NBC for a couple of days, but the top viewing markets for the Games in the U.S. so far were shared. The top markets by rating:

● 14.9: Ft. Myers, Florida
● 14.9: Minneapolis, Minnesota
● 14.7: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
● 13.8: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
● 13.6: Dayton, Ohio

The second five are St. Louis, Missouri (13.1), West Palm Beach, Florida (12.4), Richmond, Virginia (11.6), then a tie between Cleveland, Ohio, Kansas City, Missouri and Buffalo, New York, at 11.4. Salt Lake City, Utah, site of the 2034 Winter Games, was next at 11.3 in 12th.

● French Alps 2030 ● International Olympic Committee Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) was asked about the turmoil among the top echelon of the French Alps 2030 organizing committee, with several executives moving on. But he is not concerned at present:

“Yes, there are problems, that’s life. The Games are so important, they involve so many people. In a position like mine, if you’re not prepared to face problems and challenges, you should change jobs. The project is so important that there are always problems. Right now, we have a people problem. We need to distinguish between problems that could impact the project and people problems. There are always people problems. It’s unpleasant, we don’t like seeing it in the media, it’s uncomfortable for all of us, but somehow it will be resolved.”

He also noted calls to switch the organizing dates with Utah 2034 are irrelevant, since that would only give the Utahans two years to market and organize the Games, following Los Angeles in 2028.

And what about Milan Cortina 2026? He’s happy, as the two most important groups are enjoying the events, despite the spread-out nature of the Games:

“They [athletes] tell us it’s working, and the fans love being in the mountains in this warm atmosphere. As long as these two major groups tell us it’s working, we don’t change a thing.”

● National Olympic Committees ● CNBC posted a list of the medal payouts for the Winter Games, which are made by the National Olympic Committees which send teams to the Games (in reality, their governments, which fund almost all of them).

The biggest prizes are from Singapore, with the equivalent of $792,000 for gold, and Hong Kong at $768,000 for winning. Among those countries active at the Winter Games, Italy is paying $214,000-107,000-71,000 for gold-silver-bronze. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee pays $37,500-22,500-15,000.

What about Norway, the Winter Games medal leader? The story notes:

“Norway … does not award cash bonuses for podium finishes. Instead, athletes who continue competing may qualify for financial support from the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee. The stipend is worth roughly 160,000 Norwegian kroner per year ($16,831) and includes access to professional training and medical services.”

● Figure Skating ● American star Ilia Malinin failed in his Free Skate at the Games and finished eighth after leading following the Short Program. But while he has drawn applause for his sportsmanship and grace in defeat, there has been a darker side. He posted on Instagram:

“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside. Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure. It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story.”

He closed with “Coming February 21, 2026,” indicating he will skate in the closing gala, reserved for the medal winners at the Games (he won the Team Event gold for the U.S.). His agent also confirmed that he plans to defend his Worlds gold at the 26-29 March ISU Worlds in Prague (CZE).

● Ski Jumping ● American Annika Belshaw was disqualified in the women’s Large Hill competition, after qualifying for the final and taking one jump. The results noted the sanction was for “Ski length / Too long ski (by +1 cm).” That’s about 13/32nds of an inch. Now you know.

= RESULTS: MONDAY, 16 FEBRUARY =
(6 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Slalom
Despite fresh snow which created difficult conditions, Switzerland completed a near-sweep of the men’s Alpine program as 2025 World Champion Loic Meillard came from second on the first run to win the men’s Slalom with the equal-fastest time on the second run.

Meillard timed 56.88 on his second run to take the lead from surprise Austrian skier Fabio Gstrein, 1:53.61 to 1:53.96 as both had the same second-run time, fastest in the field. That left first-run leader Atle Lie McGrath (NOR), who forged a big lead with his 56.14 performance.

But about a quarter of the way down the run, McGrath straddled a gate and was disqualified. He threw his poles over the netting and then walked away, into the trees nearby. He was checked on by medical personnel and finally came back, not stopping to talk to anyone.

That left Meillard with a bronze in the Giant Slalom, silver in the Team Combined and now a gold in the Slalom in Cortina. Gstrein, 28, came in with a total of two World Cup medals in his career – both bronzes – and is now Olympic silver medalist.

Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen, who won a 2014 Olympic bronze in this event, won the same medal 12 years later, in 1:54.74, moving from sixth to third in the second run.

The soft snow proved to be a problem for a lot of the skiers; out of the 95 starters, 49 did not finish the first run (!), including Giant Slalom winner Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA) and River Radamus of the U.S., and two more were disqualified. There were only 39 final placers.

● Bobsled: Women’s Monobob
Americans Elana Meyers Taylor and defending Olympic champ Kaillie Armbruster Humphries were hunting German Laura Nolte in the final two runs on Monday, starting 0.22 and 0.31 behind the 2023-24 World Champion.

The third heat saw the two Americans get close, as they co-led the heat at 59.08, with Nolte at 59.15. So, entering heat four, Nolte held a 2:58.27 to 2:58.42 lead on Meyers Taylor with Armbruster Humphries at 2:58.51. German Lisa Buckwitz, a two-time Worlds bronze winner, was chasing the Americans at 2:59.15 in fourth.

Buckwitz timed 59.67, not as smooth as her prior runs and ended up seventh in the run and fell back. Armbruster Humphries charged from the start, had only a small bump and rolled to a 59.54 time and into the lead with only two left.

Meyers Taylor was immediately aggressive, got to the top of the track to increase her speed early and flew through the middle of the course, touching the sides twice just for a moment and finished in 59.51 and took the lead at 3:57.93, ahead of Armbruster Humphries at 3:58.05 and Buckwitz at 3:58.82.

It was up to Nolte, fourth in heat three and she did not get the line she was looking for, suffered a small bump and finished in 59.70 – ninth-best in the final heat – for a 3:57.97 total and the silver medal.

Meyers Taylor is no stranger to the Olympic Games at 41, and won the Olympic Monobob silver in 2022 behind Armbruster Humphries and four Two-Woman medals – bronze, silver, silver, bronze – from 2010-22. This season was arguably her worst on the World Cup circuit, where she didn’t win a Monobob medal. Now she is Olympic champ and owns six Olympic medals, and had husband Nic and boys Nico and Noah with her in Cortina.

With six total Winter medals, she tied speedskater Bonnie Blair for the most Winter Olympic medals ever by an American woman.

Armbruster Humphries,40, won her fifth Olympic medal: two golds and a bronze in Two-Woman for Canada and as an American, a Beijing 2022 gold and now a Cortina bronze in the Monobob.

Kaysha Love, the third American, wasn’t far behind at 3:59.27 and was seventh overall. At 28, she’s the future.

● Figure Skating: Pairs
After the first two Free Skate groups, the U.S. duo of Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe got a seasonal best of 130.25 and were first with a total score of 200.31.

After a tough Short Program and standing fifth at 73.11, two-time World Champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara dropped a lyrical, elegant and perfect Free Skate on the judges and were rewarded with the highest score in history: 158.13!

That gave them a total of 231.24, no. 5 all-time, with four pairs yet to come.

Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko were up to the challenge and scored a lifetime best of 141.39 with a lifetime best of 215.36 to move into second. Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud had some errors and ended at 199.66; Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulova scored 146.29 and a total of 221.75 to move into second.

That brought Short Program leaders, Germans Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, who scored 80.31 to lead, and needed 151.24 to win, with a prior best of 149.57 from December 2025. Their program was athletic and fluid, but not perfect, with Hase’s two errors on jumps. They scored 139.08 to total 219.09 and earn the bronze.

Miura and Kihara were overwhelmed with their come-from-behind win, after finishing seventh in Beijing in 2022. Under pressure, they were supreme.

This was Japan’s first Pairs medal ever, and Georgia got its first Winter Olympic medal ever! This was the fourth Games in the last five that Germany has won a Pairs medal, three of them bronzes.

Americans Chans and Howe finished seventh overall, and Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea scored 194.58 to finish ninth.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Big Air
Despite an hour’s delay due to a snowstorm, and amid continuing snow, six different skiers scored 90.00 or more points, starting right away with Austria’s Lara Wolf at 93.50, followed by Megan Oldham (CAN), the Slopestyle bronze winner, at 91.75. Defending champion Eileen Gu (CHN) was at 90.00 in third.

In round two, it was Kirsty Muir (GBR) who hit 93.00 to lead the round, with Mengting Liu (CHN) at 90.00 and Oldham at 89.00, so she was the leader into the final round at 180.75.

Wolf, fifth in the order, finished with a 76.25 for a 169.75 total and would finish fifth. Gu, jumping sixth, earned an 89.00 for a brilliant jump and a 179.00 total and was the leader. Starting tenth was Italy’s 2025 World Champion, Flora Tabanelli, who exploded to a 94.25, best score of the day, but performing the same trick as she did in the first round, when she scored a 90.00. So only the 94.25 counted and she had to add in the 84.00 from the second round for a 178.25 total that left her in third place.

Muir, starting 11th, did not improve and finished at 174.75 and was fourth, meaning Oldham was the winner. She crashed out, but took the gold for Canada to get her first championship victory after the Slopestyle bronze and a Worlds silver and three bronzes.

Gu’s silver is fairly amazing, considering she didn’t contest the event in FIS competitions since the 2022 Beijing Winter Games!

● Short Track: Women’s 1,000 m:
Italian fans were screaming for another medal for home favorite Arianna Fontana, but Dutch star Xandra Velzeboer – the 2023 World champ in this event – took the lead with a lap to go and would not relinquish it and completed a 500-1,000 m double in 1:28.437.

She was just ahead of Canada’s Courtney Sauralt (1:28.523) and Korean Gil-li Kim (1:28.614), both of whom made mad dashes for the line, but could not catch Velzeboer. Fontana had to settle for fourth (1:28.745), just missing her 14th career Olympic medal.

It’s the third straight win for the Dutch in this event and the first 500-1,000 double since China’s Meng Wang in Vancouver in 2010.

Sauralt, an 11-time Worlds medal winner, now has three Olympic medals in Milan and her own 500-1,000 double, with a bronze and now, silver.

● Ski Jumping: Men’s Team (141 m)
Bad weather in Predazzo shortened the this reformatted competition – with two jumpers – to two rounds, but there was no doubt about the best team.

Austria’s defending Olympic champions prevailed again, with Jan Hoerl and Stephan Embacher winning both rounds and totaling 568.7 points, well ahead of Poland’s Pawel Wasik and the surprise of the competition, teen medalist Kacper Tomasiak, who totaled 547.3.

Norway’s Johann Forfang and Kristoffer Sundal were third (538.0), moving up from sixth after the first round. Slovenia’s Anze Lanisek and Domen Prevc stood second after the first round, but dropped to seventh in round two and ended up fifth at 536.1.

The U.S. had Kevin Bickner and Tate Frantz, 10th in the first round, but fourth in the second; they finished eighth at 520.2.

It’s the second straight gold for Austria and fourth win in the last six Games.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: The men’s tournament continued with Swiss Yannick Schwaller’s rink on top of the round-robin standings at 5-0 after a 9-7 win over China. Canada’s Brad Jacobs, the 2014 Olympic winner, moved his team to 5-1 after defeating defending champ Sweden and Niklas Edin by 8-6. At 1-5, the Swedes are in real danger of not making the playoffs.

David Casper’s U.S. team continues at 4-2, in third place and play China on Tuesday.

PyeongChang 2018 gold medalist Anna Hasselborg has her Swedish women’s team at 6-0 and leading Tabitha Peterson and the U.S. at 4-2. Sweden defeated four-time World Champions Switzerland (now 4-2), 6-4 on Monday, but Italy swamped the U.S., 7-2.

● Ice Hockey: The U.S. women were challenged by a physical Swedish side, but maintained excellent discipline and got a strong performance from keeper Aerin Frankel in a 5-0 shutout, to advance to the Olympic final once again.

Cayla Barnes opened the scoring at 5:09 of the first period as the U.S. piled up a 13-2 shots lead. But the Swedes attacked in the second, sending 13 shots at Frankel, while the Americans managed 11, but scored four times to break the game open.

Taylor Heise scored on a Hannah Bilka cross-ice pass at 9:09 of the second, then Abbey Murphy sent a seeing-eye shot over the shoulder of Swedish keeper Ebba Svensson Traff for a 3-0 edge at 15:12. That was followed quickly by Kendall Coyne Schofield at 16:10 and then Hayley Scarmurra at 17:59 for a 5-0 lead that ended up as the final. The U.S. ended with a 34-23 shots advantage.

This will be the seventh gold-medal final for the U.S. in eight women’s Olympic tournaments, with wins in 1998 and 2018, but losses in the other four to Canada, which had been in the seven prior finals, winning five.

Canada faced Switzerland in its semifinal, and despite a 46-8 shots edge, won by 2-1, on two second-period goals by star Marie-Philip Poulin. So, Canada and the U.S. will face off for gold, as expected, on Thursday. The Americans are 5-0 this season vs. Canada … so far.

= PREVIEWS: TUESDAY, 17 FEBRUARY =
(7 finals across 6 sports)

● Biathlon: Men’s 4×7.5 km Relay
The protagonists are well known. Norway, France and Sweden won 11 of the 12 medals in this event during the World Cup season. Those three have won eight of the nine medals in the last three World Championships.

And the favorite is Norway, which won this event three of four times during the World Cup season and was second in the fourth race. Vetle Christiansen was the anchor all four times, with the other positions shifting slightly between the races. The Norwegians are also the defending Olympic champs from 2022 and won the World Championship gold in 2025.

The French will not be intimidated, however, and have fielded a star-filled line-up with Sprint gold medalist Quentin Fillon Maillet and Pursuit bronzer Emelien Jacquelin, along with Individual runner-up Eric Perrot,. It may come down to penalties.

Sweden was third in this event on the World Cup circuit the first three times it was held and the Germans got the bronze in the fourth. They figure to battle for bronze this time as well.

● Bobsleigh: Two-Man
A German sweep seems inevitable, judging by the IBSF World Cup results. Johannes Lochner and George Fleischauer won six of seven races, usually by very slim margins over teammates Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schueller.

But Germany’s Adam Ammour, with different brakemen, also claimed two silvers and four bronzes. So, yes, German sleds won 20 out of 21 medals during the World Cup season. Only Britain’s Brad Hall and Taylor Lawrence managed one bronze.

Friedrich is the two-time Olympic champion in this event; Lochner was second in 2022. At the Worlds, Friedrich has won nine golds, Lochner has one, from 2023.

In the first two heats, Lochner and Fleischauer were on it, leading by 1:49.90 to 1:50.70 – an 0.80-second margin – over Friedrich and Schueller. And as expected, Ammour was third, with Alexander Schaller, at 1:51.14. The surprise was in fourth, as Americans Frank Del Duca and Joshua Williamson were fourth at 1:51.24.

Lochner won both heats; Ammour was a solid third in the first run, but was 11th in the second.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Big Air
American Troy Podmilsak won two of the three World Cups so far this season, and was the 2023 World Champion. New Zealand’s Luca Harrington medaled in all three World Cup, is the reigning (2025) World Champion and took a Slopestyle bronze already. Norway’s Birk Ruud won the 2026 gold in Slopestyle, is the defending champion , and won bronzes at the last two World Championships.

On paper, those are the favorites. But the qualifying was led by Mac Forehand of the U.S., scoring 93.25 and 89.75 for a 183.00 total and was last year’s Worlds runner-up. Austria’s Matej Svancer won a World Cup medal this season and had 92.50 and 90.00 scores for a qualifying total of 182.25. Ruud was third at 181.00.

The U.S. also has a third finalist in Konnor Ralph – the last man in – who scored 171.75; he also won a World Cup silver this season. Under the radar is Norway’s Ulrik Samnoy, who won the World Cup stop in China in December.

● Nordic Combined: Large Hill
This is a Gundersen-style race off a 141 m hill with a 10.0 km race to follow. History says that the logical favorites are Austria’s 2021 World Champion Johannes Lamparter, a five-time winner on the World Cup circuit, and Norway’s Jens Oftebro, the 2022 silver medalist in this event.

Oftebro won three of the last five races in the World Cup season and beat Lamparter by 1.0 seconds in the Normal Hill race. The re-match should be epic.

Ready to spoil the fun are Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger, the 2025 Worlds bronzer and a two-time World Cup winner this season and teammate Julian Schmid, who won once but collected six total medals. Austria also has upset-minded brothers in Thomas and Steffen Rettenegger, both World Cup medalists.

The International Olympic Committee is concerned that the Nordic Combined is too predictable and involves too few athletes and nations at the podium level. The World Cup shows this concern: all the medals went to Norway, Austria, Germany and one for Finland. That’s it.

● Snowboard: Women’s Slopestyle
Japan’s Kokomo Murase and New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski Synnott went 1-2 in the Big Air final, but the Kiwi is the favorite in Slopestyle, where she is the defending Olympic champion, the 2019-21-25 World Champion and beat Murase last year.

Murase was third and first in the two World Cups held so far, which Sadowski Synnott skipped. But in qualifying on Sunday, Sadowski Synnott led at 88.08, trailed by Murase, at 84.93.

Those two appear ready to fight for the top spot on the podium. But Korean Big Air bronzer Seung-eun Kim appears ready to contest as well, third in the qualifying at 76.80.

Japan has two more contenders in Reira Iwabuchi, last year’s World bronzer and Mari Fukada, the 2025 Worlds Big Air third.

Canada’s Laurie Blouin, the 2017 World Champion and 2018 Olympic runner-up is in the final, and won a World Cup this season, and Austria’s Anna Gasser, the two-time Olympic Big Air winner, must be acknowledged, as the no. 5 qualifier.

The U.S. has Lily Dhawornvej, who took a World Cup silver this season and qualified along with Jessica Perlmutter.

● Speed Skating: Men’s Team Pursuit, Women’s Team Pursuit
The U.S. team of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran won the 2025 Worlds gold in this event, were the 2022 Olympic bronze winners, own the world record of 3:32.49 from last November, and won all three World Cup races this season.

They believe this race belongs to them, an event in which the U.S. has a silver and a bronze, but no wins. It will not be handed to them.

Italy and the Dutch were 2-3 at the 2025 Worlds, with the U.S. winning comfortably and both, along with Norway and France, should contend for medals.

Competing head-to-head in the quarterfinals, the Italians – distance star Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, Michele Malfatti – won over the U.S. in the same pair, 3:38.40 to 3:39.27, with China third-fastest at 3:41.66.

Can the U.S. overcome Italy’s home-ice advantage?

The women’s relay has Canada as the small favorite, as defending Olympic champions – with Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann all back – and with a win and two seconds on the World Cup tour this season.

And they had the fastest time in qualifying at 2:55.03, but just ahead of Japan (2:55.52) and the Dutch (2:55.65), who each won a World Cup race. The U.S. was fourth, but slower at 2:58.32, with Giorgia Birkeland, Brittany Bowe and Mia Manganello.

At the 2025 Worlds, the Dutch got to the line first, with Japan second and Canada third. Those three seem ready to stand on the podium again, with the U.S. trying to find more speed to get into the medals.

= INTEL REPORT =

● Archery ● At the World Archery Indoor World Series in Merida (MEX), the men’s Recurve final was an all-North American affairs, with Matias Grande (MEX) edging Nicholas D’Amour of the U.S., 6-5 in a shoot-off. The women’s Recurve final was all-Mexico, with Angela Ruiz winning by 6-0 over Alejandra Valencia.

Dane Matthias Fullerton took the men’s Compound title over Mexico’s Miguel Becerra, 148-147 and Mexico’s Andrea Becerra took the women’s Compound gold, 148-147 over American Alexis Ruiz.

● Badminton ● In the Pan Am Team Cup finals in Guatemala City (GUA), the U.S. and Canada faced off in both the men’s and women’s final. Canada won both, by 3-1 in the men’s division and by 3-2 for the women.

● Sport Climbing ● The Boulder winners at the USA Climbing nationals in Orlando, Florida were Hugo Hoyer for the men (44.9) over Cozmo Rothfork (39.1), and 2021 World Champion Natalia Grossman (84.9) for the women. U.S. Paris silver medalist Brooke Raboutou was second at 69.2.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT: U.S. men’s hockey routs Germany, wins Group C, but “more to accomplish” at Games

Rich Perelman

February 16, 2026

tsx pix 2026-216 owg-santa giulia arena (rosen) — The barely-ready, but impressive Santagiulia Arena in Milan (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE ROSEN REPORT ≡

MILAN, Italy – The “Miracle on Ice” is still fresh in the minds of U.S. hockey fans even though it has been 46 years since Mike Eruzione scored the game-winning goal against the Soviet Union in Lake Placid. Just ask the fan striding down the concourse Sunday at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in his Eruzione “No. 21” USA jersey.

Could he be inspired to add to his wardrobe after the 2026 Winter Olympics? The Americans are legitimate contenders for another gold medal after defeating Germany 5-1 Sunday in a game that started close but turned into a rout.

The U.S. clinched first place in Group C with a 3-0 record to advance to the quarterfinals against the winner of the qualification round game Tuesday between Sweden and Latvia. Group winners receive a bye, so that means one more day of rest for the U.S.

The Americans, who also defeated Latvia and Denmark in Group C, are seeded no. 2 behind Canada, which defeated France 10-2, based on goal differential. If the perennial rivals advance through the knockout rounds, they would meet for the gold medal.

“This group is special and it’s fun to be out there with them,” said Dylan Larkin, who now wears Eruzione’s No. 21 for the U.S. “We’ve got to keep going, keep playing for each other to keep up the fun.”

Chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A” rang out as a large contingent of American fans were scattered throughout the new arena. Peter Gabriel‘s “Sledgehammer” played over the public address system, an apt choice as the U.S. team outshot Germany 37-24.

If the U.S. advances to the championship game, it would be Sunday before the Closing Ceremony. No U.S. men’s team has won an Olympic title on foreign soil, with the previous golds in Squaw Valley in 1960 and, of course, Lake Placid in 1980.

Team USA has not won any medal in men’s hockey since 2010, when Canada prevailed in Vancouver, 3-2, in overtime. There was never a more apt example of the saying, “You don’t win silver, you lose gold,” than the American players glumly standing on the medal podium.

The U.S. also took silver behind Canada at the Salt Lake City Games, with four-time Olympian Keith Tkachuk playing on that team.

His sons Matthew and Brady are integral players for this American squad. Brady said in the lead-up to Milan that their father played a very influential role in their careers. “Growing up, him winning a silver medal in 2002 in Salt Lake City – of course, it was not the medal he wanted – but to still bring home a medal to show his hard work,” he said.

In second grade, Brady brought the Olympic silver medal into show-and-tell. “I had no idea what the significance of it was,” he said, “but all my classmates loved it and thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

A gold would be even cooler. Older brother Matthew said he thought the U.S. team played better as the Germany game went along.

“Our goal coming in was to go 3-0 in group play, check that box and move on,” he said. “We accomplished that, and still have more to accomplish now. I’m super-excited to get to the knock-out stage.”

Matthew Tkachuk said although they have only been in Milan for a short time, “It feels like this group’s been together for way longer. The sacrifice we talk about all the time, the commitment, kind of the life-changing experience this is for all of us, we don’t want to stop now.”

While the Miracle on Ice team was made up of a ragtag group of college and amateur players led by the legendary Herb Brooks, the NHL now provides the players for the Olympic tournament. The New York Rangers’ Mike Sullivan is the U.S. head coach.

“I think everyone on this team has their own unique skill-set and they bring it,” said goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who had 23 saves vs. Germany. “It’s a complete team. Everyone is needed.”

Zach Werenski said the U.S. played its best 60 minutes of hockey so far in the tournament. “We were stingiest defensively,” he said, “and we created a lot of offense.”

Auston Matthews, who like Eruzione in 1980 is the team captain, had two goals and one assist.

“It seemed like everything he touched turned into a Grade-A chance or a great play or a strong defensive breakup,” said Matthew Tkachuk. “He was awesome. He’s our captain and we’re following his lead.”

For the record, Matthews wears jersey no. 34.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Klaebo sets Winter Games record with ninth gold; fab second gold for Brignone as Italy sets medal mark

Rich Perelman

February 15, 2026

tsx pix 2026-213 klaebo, johannes 2025 (stein langorgen-wiki) — Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo now has the most Olympic Winter Games gold medals ever (Photo: Wikipedia via Av Stein Langorgen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

There is a new standard-bearer for the most Olympic Winter Games gold medals. Americans have almost surely never heard of him, but he’s special: Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo.

He won his fourth gold of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games to go with five he previously won and became the first Winter Olympian to win nine gold medals. And he’s not done. But he sits above all others in Winter Games history:

● 9: Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR: Cross Country 2018-26)
● 8: Marit Bjoergen (NOR: Cross Country 2010-18)
● 8: Ole Einar Bjorndalen (NOR: Biathlon 1998-2014)
● 8: Bjorn Daehlie (NOR: Cross Country 1992-98)

What is impressive about Klaebo is his ability to win at all distances. In three Winter Games – he’s still just 29 – he has won nine golds, one silver and one bronze:

● 1998: Sprint, Team Sprint, Team Relay golds
● 2022: Sprint, Team Sprint golds; Team relay silver;15 km bronze
● 2026: Sprint, 10 km, 20 km Skiathlon, Team Relay golds

He still has the Team Sprint and the 50 km Classical to go, both of which he won at the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim (NOR) and where he will be favored again.

If he does win, Klaebo will have 11 career Olympic golds and 13 Winter Games medals: the most golds ever and equal-third all-time for total Winter medals, behind Bjorgen (15) and Bjorndalen (14) and tied with Ireen Wust (NED: Speed Skating) and Italian star Arianna Fontana – both with 13 – with Fontana still competing!

At nine career golds, Klaebo is now tied for the second-most ever in Olympic history – winter or summer – with Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, Finland distance legend Paavo Nurmi and American swimmers Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky and Mark Spitz and sprint and jumps star Carl Lewis. If he’s wins any more, he’ll stand only behind Michael Phelps, who won 23 from 2004-16.

And Klaebo is only 29, so could he go on to French Alps 2030 and Utah 2034? With today’s training, nutritional and medical advances, why not? And by 2034, he might be closing in on Phelps.

Following his ninth career gold in the Team Relay on Sunday, Klaebo preferred to focus on the team:

“It was a fantastic race and great to be able to give this gold medal to Norway. The other guys made it so possible and easy for me, it’s a team result. There are so many people involved and I want to share the victory with all of them.”
~ Rich Perelman

● Milan Cortina 2026 ● The International Olympic Committee said Saturday that 1.27 million tickets for the 2026 Games had been sold through the first week. Moreover, more than 250,000 had visited the Fan Villages.

In terms of tickets vs. capacities, 94% of tickets were sold for speed skating, 90% for ski jumping, and 87% for luge. About 85% of the tickets available have been sold for the events held so far.

The volunteer corps is 18,000 strong in Milan Cortina, with individuals from 98 countries and territories; 2,000 came from outside Italy to volunteer. They were selected from more than 135,000 applications, with 35,000 interviews made over 11 months, in Italy and abroad.

In terms of age, 46% are less than 35 years old, and 15% are over 60!

Some 14,000 are working during the Olympic Games; the remainder will be assisting during the Paralympic Games.

Italian railway lines were hit again by sabotage attempts on Friday, possibly burnt-out cables, on high-speed line between Rome and Naples, Florence and Milan. The U.S. State Department’s Consular Affairs office posted Saturday:

“On February 13, Italian authorities announced enhanced security measures to prevent disruptions to railway networks during the Winter Olympics. These efforts include increased patrols along the tracks and rigorous technical monitoring of railway services.”

Italian authorities are treating the incidents as criminal acts.

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Mostly cloudy weather will continue in Milan on the 16th, with highs of 52 F and a low of 39 F, but no rain in the forecast.

Cortina will be cold, with a 29 F high and a low of 16 F, with light snow forecast and winds averaging a light 3 miles per hour.

● Scoreboard ● Italy has done it. Led by Federica Brignone’s amazing Giant Slalom win, the Azzurri have won more medal at Milan Cortina then in any Winter Games in history.

The high was 20 in 1994 at Lillehammer, but they are now at 22 (8-4-10), also getting the most-ever gold medals; seven was the prior high, also in 1994. So far, after 68 of 116 events:

● 27: Norway (12-7-7)
● 22: Italy (8-4-10)
● 17: United States (5-8-4)
● 17: Japan (3-5-9)
● 15: France (4-7-4)

● 15: Germany (4-6-5)
● 13: Austria
● 11: Netherlands
● 11: Sweden
● 9: Switzerland
● 9: Canada

A total of 25 countries have won medals so far.

● 319.5: Norway
● 270.5: Italy
● 220.5: United States
● 209.5: France
● 188.5: Austria

● 175: Germany
● 167.5: Japan
● 134: Netherlands
● 130: Canada
● 128: Sweden

● 116.5: Switzerland
● 73: China

In terms of top-8 place winners, Norway is ahead of Italy by 57-53, with the U.S. next at 48, then France (44) and Austria (43).

● Television ● NBC said that Friday’s viewing averaged 21.0 million across Milan Prime and the primetime show, so seven of eight days have averaged 20 million or more. The overall average has not been updated for a few days.

● China ● The Wall Street Journal noted that a Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau report for 2025 listed payments to snowboard star Eileen Gu and figure skater Zhu Yi – American-born athletes now competing for China – $6.6 million for the year and more than $14 million for the past three years combined.

The report has been revised to remove their names.

Observed: This is a surprise? No. Countries, especially those with a political view of sports such as Russia, China and others, routinely pay athletes to switch nationalities where it makes sense for them. Yi has been a minor performer at the international level, but Gu has been a sensation, winning two golds and a silver at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing and has a silver so far in Cortina, with her best events coming up.

● Figure Skating ● U.S. Figure Skating did not file an appeal the scoring of the Ice Dance final, where Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the silver medal. In a statement to USA Today, USFS chief executive Matt Farrell explained:

“There has been a lot of thoughtful, and at times emotional, discussion about the ice dance competition in Milan.

“Working together with Madi and Evan after the Games, we will have thoughtful and intentional discussions about the best way to support them and the future of the sport.”

= RESULTS: SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 8 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Giant Slalom
Here’s a timeline of a skiing miracle, the story of Italian star Federica Brignone:

● 13 Feb. 2025: Won the FIS World Championships Giant Slalom, following a silver in the Super-G seven days earlier.

● 03 Apr. 2025: Crashed at the Italian Championships in Val di Fassa, with multiple fractures of her left leg and tearing her anterior cruciate ligament.

● 17 Apr. 2025: First rehab session, in Turin.

● 26 Nov. 2025: First training session on snow.

● 20 Jan. 2026: FIS World Cup return, sixth in the Giant Slalom at Kronplatz (ITA).

● 31 Jan. 2026: Finished 18th in the Super-G at Crans-Montana (SUI).

● 08 Feb. 2026: Olympic Downhill: 10th.

● 12 Feb. 2026: Olympic Super-G: Gold.

● 15 Feb. 2026: Olympic Giant Slalom: Gold.

Nothing short of stunning, as Brignone, 35, stormed to a first-run lead by 0.34 over Lena Duerr (GER), then held on to win in 2:13.50, a remarkable 0.62 ahead of defending champion Sara Hector (SWE) and Thea Louise St Jernesund (NOR), who shared the silver.

Brignone won the bronze in this event in 2018, then the silver in 2022. Now her second gold in these Olympic Games, nothing short of dreamland.

Hector and St. Jernesund skied the exact same time in their first run (1:03.97) and were 11th-fastest in their second run (1:10.15) to end up sharing silver. What are the odds on that?

The other favorites all had trouble. Austria’s Julia Scheib was 11th after the first run, then fifth in the second, to finish fifth. New Zealand’s Alice Robinson was 10th and ninth to finish eighth. American Mikaela Shiffrin, who won this event in 2018, was seventh after the first run and then 13th in the second and placed 11th overall (2:14.42).

Fellow Americans Paula Moltzan (2:14.77) and Nina O’Brien (2:15.31) were 15th and 20th. A.J. Hurt did not finish the first run.

● Biathlon: Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit; Women’s 10 km Pursuit
Italy had never won a medal in the women’s Olympic Pursuit, but that changed with Lisa Vittozzi’s dominant win, shooting clean and finishing in 3:11.8 to earn her first individual Olympic medal and first Olympic gold.

She took the lead after the final shooting stand and was, in the end, an easy winner, finishing almost 29 seconds ahead of Norway’s Maren Kirkeedie (30:40.6/3), who endured two penalties in the final shooting segment. Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen shot clean to earn the bronze in 30:46.1, more than 15 seconds up on France’s Lou Jeanmonnot (31:01.2/3).

This is Vittozzi’s third Games; she finished 11th and 32nd in the Pursuit in 2018 and 2022 and had never been higher than fourth in an individual event. Not any more.

Deedra Irwin was the only U.S. entry, in 35th (33:51.5/4).

France had won the men’s Pursuit at the last three Winter Games and Emilien Jacquelin was leading the event into the last shooting stanza, but suffered two penalties and the race got away.

Sweden’s Martin Ponsiluoma shot clean and took over, finishing in 31:11.9 (1) for his first Olympic gold and second medal, after a 2022 silver in the Mass Start. He was cleanly ahead of Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid (31:32.5/2), who emotionally confessed to infidelity after winning a bronze in the 20 km Individual race, then won another bronze in the 10 km Sprint and now a silver in the Pursuit! He still has the Mass Start to go!

Jacquelin ended up with the bronze in 31:41.6 with three penalties that hurt badly. France has now won a medal in this race in five straight Games.

Campbell Wright of the U.S. finished a very creditable eighth in 32:25.4, but with three penalties. Paul Schommer was 47th (36:41.4/4).

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s 4×7.5 km relay
there wasn’t a lot of doubt about the outcome and Norway got strong early legs from Emil Iversen and Martin Nyenget and cruised to a 1:04:24.5 victory, anchored by Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who won his record ninth Winter Olympic gold medal.

Klaebo won six golds at the 2025 Nordic World Championships – four individual and two relays – and he is on track for the same in 2026. He’s won three individual events, including the Sprint, and one relay, and has the Team Sprint and the 50 km Classical still on the program. No one has ever won six golds at a single Winter Games; American speed skater Eric Heiden won five in 1980. But that’s still to come.

Klaebo was on the Norwegian gold-medal team in this event in 2018, then was second to Russia in 2022. This time, he had the lead after Einar Hedegart’s leg and won by 22.2 seconds over France (1:04:46.7) and 47.9 seconds over Italy (1:06:12.4).

The U.S. finished sixth – Sprint silver man Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher, John Steel Hagenbuch, Zak Ketterson – in 1:06:11.8.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Dual Moguls
The greatest Moguls skier in history, Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, was an appropriate favorite to win the first-ever Olympic appearance of the Dual Moguls. And he did not disappoint.

A five-time winner of the Worlds gold in this event, Kingsbury won his first two matches by 25-10 and 23-12, , then rolled past Dae-yoon Jung (KOR), who did not finish, to reach the semis. There, he sailed past Takuya Shimakawa, 33-2 to reach the final against familiar foe Ikuma Horishima.

This time, it was no contest, as Kingsbury completed a romp through the event with a 30-5 victory. It’s his second Olympic gold after a 2018 Moguls win and his fifth Olympic medal.

It’s also the first gold in the 2026 Winter Games for Canada, which has been disappointing through the first half of the program.

Horishima had previously won two Moguls bronzes (2022-26) and now has an Olympic silver.

The third-place match saw 2021 World silver medalist Matt Graham (AUS) defeat Shimakawa, 20-15, for the bronze.

The U.S. duo of Charlie Mickel and Dylan Walczyk finished sixth and seventh.

● Skeleton: Mixed Team
Britain’s men’s gold winner Matt Weston teamed with Tabitha Stoecker and the pair were unbeatable in this first-time event at the Winter Games, with Weston’s best-of-the-day time lifting them to the win in a combined 1:59.36. They moved up from silver at the 2025 World Championships.

That was 0.17 better than the German pairing of Susanne Kreher (third-fastest woman) and Axel Jungk (second-fastest man) of 1:59.53 for silver and the bronze – just 0.01 back – for Germans Jacqueline Pfeifer and Christopher Grotheer (1:59.54). The second British team of Marcus Wyatt and Freya Tarbit was fourth at 1:59.65.

The U.S. pair of Austin Florian and Mystique Ro – the 2025 World Champions – was seventh overall (2:00.39). Kelly Curtis and Daniel Barefoot finished 10th (2:01.43).

● Ski Jumping: Women’s Large Hill (141 m)
Norway seized the first round and had the top four jumpers heading into round two: Worlds bronzer Eirin Kvandal (140.6 points), Normal Hill gold medalist Anna Stroem (136.7), Silje Opseth (131.8) and Heidi Traaserud (129.6). Favored Nika Prevc (SLO: 128.3) was fifth.

Prevc, jumping fifth to last in the final, put the pressure on with a 127.5 m jump and 143.2 points to move into the lead with 271.5 points, with the four Norwegians to follow. Traaserud and Opset both fell back to third and fourth, then Stroem, jumping next to last, uncorked a 132.0 m jump that scored 148.1 points and took the lead at 284.8.

Last up was Kvandal, whose effort was out to 133.5 m – best of the day – but scored 142.1 points, behind Prevc, but still good enough for silver, at 282.7. Sweden’s Freda Westman moved up to fourth with a big second jump and a 265.4 total.

So, Stroem swept the women’s events, including the first appearance of the Large Hill, and Prevc ended with a silver and a bronze.

The U.S. had three jumpers in, but Paige Jones scored 182.7 and was 28th. Annika Belshaw was disqualified and Josie Johnson did not start.

● Snowboard: Mixed SnowCross
Britain’s Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes won the only World Cup race in this event this season, beating Italy’s Michela Moioli and Lorenzo Sommariva.

Ditto!

The British barely won their quarterfinal over Austria (+0.02), but easily won over France in their semi. The Italians won their quarter by 0.13 and their semi over Australia by just 0.04 to make it to the final. Once there, the Brits were decisive winners, taking the gold by 0.43 over Italy, with Loan Bozzolo and Lea Casta getting the bronze for the French. Australia finished fourth.

This was only the second time for this event on the Olympic program, but Nightingale and Bankes were able to repeat their 2023 Worlds win in this event!

The U.S. team of 2022 winner Nick Baumgartner and Faye Thelen were eliminated in their quarterfinal; Nathan Pare and Stacy Gaskill did not finish in their quarterfinal race.

● Speed Skating: Women’s 500 m
Everyone sensed this was going to come down to the final pair, between defending champ Erin Jackson of the U.S. and three-time World Champion Femke Kok (NED). It did.

Beforehand, Japan’s Miho Takagi, the Beijing 2022 silver winner, put down an impressive time of 37.27 in the fourth of the 15 pairs. It took until the 12th pair for 1,000 m winner Jutta Leerdam (NED) to move ahead, winning in 37.15.

A surprise win (and time) for Italy’s Serena Pergher in the 10th pair had her third going into the last pair with Jackson and Kok. While Jackson was off well at the start, Kok had much better speed and won easily and took her expected gold in an Olympic Record of 36.49, close to her world mark of 36.09 from last November.

The Dutch 1-2 was historic: they had never won an Olympic gold or silver in this event.

Jackson’s 37.32 was good for fifth; Sarah Warren of the U.S. finished 28th in 39.19.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: Questions continue to be raised about “double touching” of the stone by some teams, but on the ice, Danny Casper’s U.S. team beat defending champ Sweden and Niklas Edin by 8-5 early on Sunday and then edged Norway, 10-8, to move to 4-2. Yannick Schwaller’s Swiss side is 5-0, with Canada (Brad Jacobs) standing second at 4-1. The round-robin continues through the 19th.

The women’s standings have Sweden’s 2018 winner Anna Hasselborg at 5-0, with the U.S.’s Tabitha Peterson’s rink at 4-1 and four-time World Champion Switzerland (Silvana Tirinzoni) at 3-1. The U.S. edged China, 6-5, on Sunday.

● Ice Hockey: In the men’s round-robin, Canada crushed France, 10-2, to finish 3-0 in Group A with a 20-3 total score. Slovakia and Finland were both 2-1 in Group B and advanced to the quarters.

In Group C, the U.S. got a first-period goal from Zach Werenski and two in the second, from Auston Matthews and Brock Faber to lead 3-0, with a 28:15 shots advantage. The win was sealed with third-period scores from Tage Thompson and a second from Matthews, at 6:46 of the period. The Germans got a score at 11:22 from Tim Stutzle, that made the final 5-1. The U.S. finished with a 37-24 shots total and a 16-5 scoring total for their three games.

The playoffs will start on the 17th with play-in matches to the quarterfinals (18th).

The women’s semifinals (USA-Sweden, Canada-Swiss) come tomorrow.

= PREVIEWS: MONDAY, 16 FEBRUARY =
(6 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Slalom
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen secured the first-ever Brazilian medal in the Olympic Winter Games in the men’s Giant Slalom on Saturday. He’s just as much a threat in the Slalom.

He won the first Slalom World Cup race in Finland in November, beating defending Olympic champ Clement Noel (FRA), and took a silver in January behind Norwegian seasonal leader Atle Lie McGrath.

McGrath has five Slalom medals this season, and teammate Henrik Kristoffersen has four, so it will be no surprise if they show up on the podium. Kristoffersen already has an Olympic Slalom bronze from 2014 and he’s the 2023 World Champion.

But there are lots of contenders. Swiss Loic Meillard won the 2025 Worlds gold and was part of the Swiss gold in the Team Combined. But teammate Tanguy Nef, who has never won a World Cup medal in his career, had the fastest Slalom in the Team Combined!

Austria has two threats: Manuel Feller and Michael Matt, who were second and third-fastest in the Team Combined Slalom, won the Worlds silver in this event in 2017, and Olympic bronzse in 2018, respectively. And while Noel won the Olympic title in Beijing, teammate Paco Rassat won twice on the World Cup circuit and is a definite medal threat.

● Bobsled: Women’s Monobob
This is the second appearance of this race on the Olympic program. The IBSF World Cup circuit in this event was dominated by 2023-24 World Champion Laura Nolte (GER) and Australia’s Breeana Walker, who led all riders with three wins. Just behind were Lisa Buckwitz (GER), a two-time Worlds bronzer and American Kaillie Armbruster Humphries, the defending Olympic champion.

Armbruster Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor of the U.S. went 1-2 at Beijing in 2022, and Armbruster Humphries won once on the World Cup circuit, as did fellow American Kaysha Love. Austria’s Katrin Beierl won three medals and was in the top five in the seasonal standings.

The favorites were in front after the first two runs, with Nolte at 1:59.12, then Meyers Taylor – on her best day of the season – at 1:59.34, followed by Armbruster Humphries at 1:59.43. Swiss Melanie Hasler stood fourth at 1:59.90 and Love was fifth at 2:00.01.

Nolte, Meyers Taylor and Love were 1-2-3 on the first run, then Armbruster Humphries won the second heat, ahead of Nolte, with Meyers Taylor fourth and Love falling back in 15th. Consistency wins and Nolte was good on both runs. The Americans will need a mistake from her to jump to gold.

● Figure Skating: Pairs
The three World Championships from 2023-25 were won by Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (twice) and Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (once). They’re the favorites, with the 42-year-old Stellato-Dudek cleared to compete after hitting her head on the ice during training on 30 January. But they did not appear in the Team Event.

China’s defending champs, Wenjing Sun and Cong Han, returned to competition for the 2025-26 season and placed third in two Grand Prix events. Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii were second at the ISU Grand Prix Final, ahead of Germans Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin. Along with Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, they’re in the next tier.

So what happened in the Short Program? Hase and Volodin were elegant and precise and scored 80.01 to lead by a considerable margin over Metelkina and Berulava (75.46) and Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud (74.60). Miura and Kihara had problems and stand fifth at 73.11, with Conti and Macii also disappointed in eighth (71.70). Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps were 14th at 66.04.

Americans Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea scored 71.87 for seventh, just ahead of teammates Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe (9th: 70.06). Both qualified for the Free Skate.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Big Air
Defending champion Eileen Gu (CHN) is back, but did not contest the event at any of the three FIS World Cup events this season. Same for Swiss Mathilde Gremaud, the 2022 bronzer, who already has a 2026 Olympic gold in Slopestyle.

This is the second appearance for this event, after its Beijing debut. During the 2025-26 World Cup, Britain’s Kirsty Muir (21) won and is back for a second Games, Finland’s Anni Karava won and was the 2025 Worlds bronze winner and Canada’s Naomi Urness won once, in her second season in World Cup competition.

Urness and China’s Mengting Liu, the 2025 Asian Winter Games winner, were the only ones to medal twice during the World Cup season. Italy’s Flora Tabanelli won the 2025 Worlds gold, but has been quiet this season; same for Swiss Sarah Hoefflin, the 2025 Worlds silver winner, who won Olympic gold in 2018 in Slopestyle.

In qualifying, Canadian Megan Oldham – the Olympic Slopestyle bronzer and the 2023 Worlds Big Air bronzer – led the field at 171.75, followed by Gu at 170.75 and Gremaud at 169.00.

No Americans advanced to the final (top 12) as Grace Henderson was 14th (139.25), Avery Krumme was 19th (125.00), Marin Hamill finished 22nd (115.50) and Reli Harwood was 23rd (101.25).

● Short Track: Women’s 1,000 m
The home crowd wants to know what 35-year-old Arianna Fontana will do. Now the owner of 13 Olympic medals (3-5-5), tied for the third-most all-time. A 14th would tie her for second, with Ole Einar Bjorndalen (NOR: Cross Country 1998-2014).

She has stiff opposition, starting with 500 m Olympic champ Xandra Velzeboer, who won this event at the 2023 Worlds, over Korea’s 2022 Olympic silver winner Min-jeong Choi and Canadian Courtney Sauralt. All three could be on the podium again.

American Kristin Santos-Griswold won this event at the 2024 ISU Worlds, over Korea’s Gil-li Kim with Fontana third. Then at the 2025 Worlds, Belgian Hanne Desmet got her first Worlds gold, beating Sauralt with Velzeboer in third.

Sauralt won three of four times on the World Cup circuit and Desmet won the other. American Corinne Stoddard won three medals in four events this season, but has crashed out twice in the Games. This is her chance for redemption.

● Ski Jumping: Men’s Team (141 m)
Austria, Slovenia and Germany won the medals in 2022, and Slovenia, Austria and Norway won the medals at the last two World Championships. Add in Japan and those are the medal favorites.

The Slovenians won last year with Domen Prevc, Anze Lanisek, Timi Zajc and Lovro Kos, with Lanisek, Zajc and Kos all holdovers from the 2023 Worlds winners. They should be favored, but Austria has three consistent stars with Daniel Tschofenig, Jan Hoerl and three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft.

Domen Prevc will be trying to add to the family trophy case again; older brothers Peter and Cene were on the Olympic silver-medal team (as were Zajc and Kos) in 2022.

= INTEL REPORT =

● Artistic Swimming ● At the World Aquatics World Cup 1 in Medellin (COL), Canada’s 20-year-old Audrey Lamothe scored two wins, winning the women’s Solo Technical at 237.9382 over Zofia Strapekova (SVK: 237.0800), and the Solo Free at 247.0625, ahead of Germany’s Klara Bleyer (236.7025).

Bleyer teamed with Amelie Blumenthal to win the Duet Technical with 275.2792 points; Russian “neutrals” Mayya Doroshko and Aleksandra Shmidt won the Duet Free at 257.2693.

The men’s Solo Technical was won by Ranjuo Tomblin (GBR: 223.8033), with the Solo Free taken by Eduard Kim (KAZ: 195.2476). The Mixed Technical final saw Isabelle Thorpe and Tomblin (GBR) win, scoring 202.9517 and they doubled back in the Mixed Free at 241.0792.

Mexico won the Team Technical, 263.2375 over the U.S. (249.8833); Kazakhstan took the Team Free at 189.8591.

● Athletics ● A first world record in the men’s Half Marathon Walk, as Japanese star Toshikazu Yamanishi – a two-time World Champion at 20 km – won in 1:20:34 at the national walk championships in Kobe.

This is a new event and Yamanishi’s mark is the first under the minimum standard of 1:21:30. Yamanishi was the 20 km world-record holder at 1:16:10 from 2025.

A plethora of hot indoor times on Friday and Saturday, with World 5,000 m champ Cole Hocker of the U.S. blazing the second-fastest mile in history – and an American Record – of 3:45.94 at the ASICS Sound Invite in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ahead of Cooper Teare (3:50.94). Hocker took Yared Nuguse’s U.S. mile mark from 2025 (3:46.63).

Hocker passed 1,500 m en route in 3:30.80, another American Record, bettering Nuguse’s 3:31.74 and the no. 3 performance in history (no. 2 performer).

Cooper Lutkenhaus, the 17-year-old phenom, won the 800 m in 1:44.03 for a world indoor U-20 record and no. 6 on the all-time list and no. 2 all-time U.S.

Hurdles star Trey Cunningham won the 60 m hurdles at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina in 7.37, another world leader and tying him for seventh-fastest in history.

At the Boston University Hemery Valentine Invitational, Elle St. Pierre won the women’s invitational mile in 4:17.83, best in the world this year and the no. 9 performance ever. She passed 1,500 m in a world-leading 3:59.33.

Britain’s Olympic 800 m champ, Keely Hodgkinson blasted the women’s 800 m in 1:56.33 at her national championships in Birmingham in a heat, then skipped the final. It’s the no. 3 performance in history (no. 3 performer) and the fastest in the event indoors since 2002!

An impressive 10 km road debut for triple Olympic women’s 1,500 m champ Faith Kipyegon (KEN), winning the Monaco Run in 29:46 on Sunday. It moves her to third on the 2026 world list and equal-15th all-time.

● Sport Climbing ● At the USA Climbing National Championships in Orlando, Florida, 2023 Worlds silver medalist Colin Duffy was an easy winner in Lead at 47+, ahead of Dillon Countryman (33+).

Ben Jennings won the Speed title (5.10), defeating Noah Bratschi, who fell. The Boulder final was held after this post went live.

Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist Brooke Raboutou won the women’s Lead at 46, well ahead of Analise van Noang (34+) and Sophia Curcio won the Speed final over Piper Kelly, 6.95 to 8.30. The Boulder final was held after this post went live.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Stolz claims second skating gold; first-ever Winter Games medal for Brazil; also, a world indoor 400 m record for McRae!

Rich Perelman

February 14, 2026

tsx pix 2024-1124 stolz, jordan nagano wcup (ISU) — American Olympic and World Champion speed skating star Jordan Stolz (Photo: International Skating Union).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
A Rosen Report Extra

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – American skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender made it to the start for her sixth Winter Olympic Games, but this time she was not a competitor.

Uhlaender was sitting in the front row of the spectator section as a guest of the Danish Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (pictured below).

Denmark was one of the 12 countries supporting Uhlaender in her appeal to be granted an entry to the Games based on competition manipulation. A Canadian coach withdrew four athletes from the final North American Cup race of the season at the last minute, costing Uhlaender the points she needed to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.

Uhlaender said she found out on 6 February, the day of the Winter Games’ opening ceremony, that she had come to the end of the appeals track.

“I honestly was at home and felt so heartbroken and disconnected from the community,” Uhlaender said during the break between heats. “No one had called from my federation to ask if I was OK or anything. So I felt really distant. And then Denmark called and they said, ‘We want to fly you to the Olympics to be a part of our hospitality team because you stood up for the right thing and it meant a lot to us and we want you to be able to cheer for the athletes you helped support.'”

At age 41, Uhlaender said she wants to prove that anyone can chase their dreams.

“My heart has been filled with inspiration, with the Olympic spirit and I’m just so happy to be here cheering on Team USA,” she said. “Because it was never about me trying to get a spot as much as it was about upholding the integrity of sport.”

For the U.S., Kelly Curtis placed 12th and Mystique Ro was 15th. In her five straight Olympics starting in 2006, Uhlaender placed sixth, 11th, fourth, 13th and sixth again.

Uhlaender said officials from the U.S. bobsled and skeleton federation called her and insinuated that she would hurt the U.S. athletes if she showed up at the start. “They said, ‘What are you doing here, and why did you bring your helmet? Are you planning to slide?'”

Uhlaender said her helmet was at the hotel. She said Curtis has “been awesome,” and Uhlaender has been giving Ro space so as not to distract her.

And yet Uhlaender admitted that watching the athletes, led by 36-year-old Olympic champion Janine Flock of Austria, take off down the new Cortina track gave her a slight feeling of “That could have been me.”

She grinned. “I think I would have done well here.”

So, is Uhlaender finally retired after a career spanning nearly a quarter century?

“We’re going,” she said, “to hold off on that for a minute.”
~ Karen Rosen

● International Olympic Committee ● The theme of the daily news briefing was the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity program, which provides support to athletes and teams to train. For the Winter Games in the current cycle (2023-26), the IOC provided scholarships – direct payments to athletes – to 449 athletes from 90 countries across six sports, at a cost of $12.2 million.

Team support was also provided to 13 teams from 12 National Olympic Committees, in curling and ice hockey; nine of those made it to the Milan Cortina Winter Games. That was another $1.2 million in support,

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Sunday’s Milan weather forecast is for cloudy skies, but comfortable temperatures of 58 F for the high and 40 F for the low. Rain is unlikely.

In Cortina, partly sunny conditions are projected, but still cold with a 26 F high and 19 F low. Winds continue to be modest at 6 miles per hour, but no rain or snow. That comes Monday.

● Scoreboard ● Norway continues at the top of the medal table, but Italy is getting close to history.

The Italian high for medals at a Winter Games is 20, from 1994 in Lillehammer (NOR), where it won seven golds. Now, after 59 out of 116 events:

● 20: Norway (10-3-7)
● 18: Italy (6-3-9)
● 17: United States (5-8-4)
● 15: Japan (3-4-8)
● 13: Austria (4-6-3)

● 13: Germany (4-5-4)
● 12: France
● 9: Netherlands
● 9: Sweden
● 9: Switzerland

The U.S. won 25 medals at Beijing 2022 and 23 at PyeongChang in 2018 and is on pace to do better than that in Milan Cortina.

● 251.5: Norway
● 223.5: Italy
● 205.5: United States
● 182.5: Austria
● 169.5: France

● 154: Germany
● 147.5: Japan
● 116: Netherlands
● 114: Canada
● 113.5: Switzerland

● 101: Sweden
● 68: China

Italy and Norway both have 46 top-8 placers so far; the U.S. has 42.

● Alpine Skiing ● Lindsey Vonn posted on Instagram that she has another surgery scheduled on her left leg for Saturday in Treviso, after crashing in the women’s Downhill on 8 February:

“It has been quite a hard few days in the hospital here. I’m finally feeling more like myself. I have a long, long way to go. Tomorrow I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well and then I can potentially leave and go back home, at which point I will need another surgery. Still don’t know exactly what that entails yet until I get some better imaging, but it’s kind of where I am right now.”

● Ice Hockey ● A Slovakian fugitive for 16 years was apprehended in Milan on Wednesday (11th) by Italian authorities after being wanted for thefts back in 2010.

He was in Milan to attend the Slovakian men’s team’s opening game against Finland, which it won by 4-1. He was detected when he checked in at a campsite outside the city. He was returned to a Milan prison to serve the remaining 11 years on his sentence. He was not named by authorities.

= RESULTS: SATURDAY, 14 FEBRUARY =
(8 finals across 8 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Giant Slalom
Motivation is a powerful driver in life and Norwegian skier Lucas Braathen, born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, lived in both countries growing up. He skied for Norway from 2019 to 2023, with 12 World Cup medals, then retired, then changed allegiance to Brazil, hen re-joined the World Cup tour for the 2024-25 season.

He just won Brazil’s first-ever Olympic medal in alpine skiing. In fact, it’s Brazil’s first medal in the Winter Games! At 25, he’ll have more chances, too.

Now going by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, he led off the first run and finished in 1:13.92, a time no one could touch and he had a big, 0.95-second lead on Swiss star Marco Odermatt going into the second run.

This time, he skied last in the order, and even with the 11th-fastest run, he managed a total time of 2:25.00 and that was enough to hold off Odermatt (2:25.58) and fellow Swiss Loic Meillard (2:26.17). Swiss Thomas Tumler (2:26.45) was fourth; the top four in the first run ended up being the first four overall.

Odermatt, on his way to a fifth straight seasonal World Cup victory, has had a pretty good Winter Games: fourth in the Downhill, bronze in the Super-G, silver in the Team Combined and now silver in the Giant Slalom. But he would have preferred another gold to go with his 2022 Giant Slalom victory.

Meillard’s bronze was his second Olympic medal, to go with his Team Combined silver.

The top U.S. finisher was River Radamus in 17th (2:27.96), also Ryder Sarchett in 25th (2:30.11); Kyle Negomir skied out on the first run.

● Biathlon: Women’s 7.5 km Sprint
You was served on Saturday as Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide, 22, had the best skiing time in the field, shot clean and got to the line first in 20:40.8 to beat France’s Oceane Michelon (20:44.6/0) and Lou Jeanmonnot (21:04.5/1).

It was the second Olympic win in a row for the Norwegians, but Kirkeeide was hardly the favorite coming in, although she had won a World Cup sprint silver behind Jeanmonnot in December. She took control on the final lap and managed to avoid a penalty for only the second time in her World Cup and major-event career! It won her an Olympic gold, after finishing 16th at the 2025 Worlds.

Michelon, 23, had two World Cup medals this season, but also shot clean and challenged for the gold, but fell just short. She was 12th in the Worlds Sprint last year. Jeanmonnot won her third Olympic medal at this Games and now has a gold (relay), silver (Individual) and bronze (Sprint).

Deedra Irwin was the top American, in 47th (22:59.5/0), with Margie Freed in 66th (23:43.2/3) and Joanne Reid in 72nd (24:01.9/1). Luci Anderson placed 79th (24:28.7/3).

● Cross Country Skiing: Women’s 4×7.5 km Relay
Sweden was the clear favorite coming in, but star Ebba Andersson fell shortly after her start on the second leg, then fell again and lost a ski and more than a minute of time until her team could get a new one on her. She passed to Frida Karlsson in eighth place, down 1:18.4.

However, Karlsson, the 10 km and Skiathlon winner had the fastest leg in the race and made up time to get the Swedes into fourth at the final pass, down 1:06.8 from the lead. Jonna Sundling “won” the final leg and moved up to second, making up 16 seconds on Norway, but falling short in silver position in 1:16:35.7.

The Norwegians were steady, with strong 3-4 legs from Karoline Simpson-Larsen and Heidi Weng to finish in 1:15:44.8 with an easy, 50.9-second margin. It was the fifth win for Norway in this race all-time and first since 2018.

Finland was a clear third in 1:16:59.6, more than 21 seconds up on fourth-place Germany.

The U.S. was fifth, with Julia Kern, Rosie Brennan, Novie McCabe and Jessie Diggins, in 1:17:37.0, with Diggins moving up from sixth on her anchor leg.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Dual Moguls
Australia’s Jakara Anthony was the Beijing 2022 Olympic Moguls winner and looked like a possible repeat winner, but finished eighth this time. With the addition of Dual Moguls in 2026, she got another shot and made the best of it.

She won her round-of-32 match easily, then took her round-of-16 test by 27-8, then edged American Olivia Giaccio by 20-15 in the quarterfinals. She then beat Moguls winner Elizabeth Lemley of the U.S. in the semis when Lemley did not finish.

That put Anthony into the final against American star Jaelin Kauf, the 2025 World Champion. Kauf had sailed through her bracket with wins by 29-6, and two wins where her opponent did not finish.

The final was close. Kauf won on the first three jumps, but Anthony won the last four and took a 20-15 win and a second career Olympic gold.

Kauf continued her excellent performance in major events, with a third Olympic silver, to go along with her 2022 Moguls and 2026 Moguls silvers.

Lemley faced off in the bronze medal final against 2018 Moguls winner Perrine Laffont (FRA) and had two excellent jumps in the bottom half of the course to win the bronze, 18-17.

Americans Tess Johnson and Giaccio ended up ranking fifth and sixth.

● Short Track: Men’s 1,500 m
The final looked to be a showdown between 1,000 m winner Jens van’T Wout (NED) and Canada’s World Champion William Dandjinou, one of the semifinal winners. But the Dutchman left nothing to chance, taking the lead at the 1,000 mark and maintaining to the finish, in 2:12.219.

Dandjinou was in the hunt until about the 1,000 mark, then fell back and it was Korea’s defending Olympic champion Dae-hwon Hwang who moved up to challenge and got the silver (2:12.304) just ahead of Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs (2:12.376). Dandjinou fell back to fifth in 2:12.639.

This was the first 1,000-1,500 m double at the Games since 2010, when Korean Jung-su Lee did it. Van’T Wout still has the 500 m to go and no one has won all three at an Olympic Games. Hwang won his fourth career Olympic medal (1-3-0)

● Skeleton: Women
Austria’s Janine Flock, the favorite off her six World Cup wins this season, came into the second day of racing leading by just 0.04. But she made sure she took home the Olympic gold by winning the third run by 0.17 over second-place Susanne Kreher (GER: 2023 World Champion) and by just 0.01 over German Jacqueline Pfeifer and 0.09 over Kreher.

So, the totals showed 3:49.02 for Flock to 3:49.32 for Kreher and 3:49.46 for Pfeifer. In fact, German Hannah Niese – the defending champion – was fourth at 3:50.17.

It’s the first-ever medal in this event for Austria for the 36-year-old Flock, who won a Worlds silver way back in 2016 and 10 years later, is Olympic champion.

The American entries, Kelly Curtis (3:52.13) and Mystique Ro (3:52.48) finished in 12th and 15th place, respectively.

● Ski Jumping: Men’s Large Hill (141 m)
Slovenia’s Domen Prevc has dominated the World Cup this season, with 11 wins and was part of Slovenia’s winning Mixed Team gold, but was just sixth in the Normal Hill event. He made up for it on Saturday.

Japan’s Ren Nikaido, the find of the season on the FIS World Cup circuit, led the first round with 154.0 points to 147.0 for Prevc. But in round two, Prevc rang up a 141.5 m jump and 154.8 total points and that was enough to win.

Prevc’s total of 301.8 won over Nikaido (295.0), with Poland’s 19-year-old Kacper Tomasiak taking a surprise bronze at 291.2, following his surprise silver in the Normal Hill event. His best in this World Cup season has been fifth. But strange things happen in the Olympic Games.

Prevc joins his older brother Peter as an Olympic medalist in this event; Peter won the silver in 2014, the only prior medal for Slovenia in this event.

Americans Tate Frantz (254.1) and Kevin Bickner (249.1) finished 19th and 20th.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 500 m
All eyes were on the 13th pair, with two-time World Champion Jordan Stolz of the U.S. facing 2025 World Champion Jenning De Boo (NED).

This is where the Olympic gold was expected to be won, and it was. Stolz had a small lead for much of the race, but De Boo got to the front coming out of the final turn and looking like a possible winner. Then, Stolz pushed hard to the line to cross first, with an Olympic record of 33.77, with the Dutchman at 33.88. De Boo fell to the ice and held his head in his hands in disbelief; they finished 1-2.

Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil, the 2021 World Champion, had been the leader, from the 10th pair, in 34.26, with American Cooper Mcleod well back at 34.90. That was going to be challenged in the 14th pair, with Poland’s Damian Zurek a medal favorite. But Zurek finished in 34.35, finishing in fourth.

American Zach Stoppelmoor was 27th, in 35.42.

Stolz’s win is the first in this event for the U.S. since Joey Cheek in 2006. He’s the first American to take the 500-1,000 double since Eric Heiden won five golds in 1980. And Stolz still has the 1,500 m – where he is the favorite – and the Mass Start still to come.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: In the men’s tournament, American Daniel Casper’s rink defeated Germany, 8-6, to move to 2-2. Switzerland is now 4-0, as Yannick Schwaller’s rink defeated 2014 champ Brad Jacobs (CAN: 3-1) by 9-5, and defending champ Niklas Edin’s Swedish team (1-3) finally won, 6-4, over China.

The normally-respectful tone of curling blew up in the match between Canada and Sweden on Friday, when Swede Oskar Eriksson accused second Marc Kennedy of a second touch of the stone after it left his hand. The match, eventually won by Canada, 8-6, came to a halt with fingers pointed and some harsh language exchanged.

World Curling felt obligated to issue a statement, which noted:

“Game Umpires are situated at the end of each sheet and physically cannot see every delivery infraction. However, when they are made aware of delivery issues, game umpires are positioned to observe the delivery for three ends. During this period of observation in the Friday evening game, there were no violations recorded.”

A warning on “language” was issued to the Canadian team.

Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg (4-0) leads the women’s tournament, but four-time World Champion Switzerland (3-1), skipped by Silvana Tirinzoni, lost to Sakaya Yoshimura’s Japan (1-3) by 7-5. American Tabitha Peterson’s squad is 3-1, defeating Yoshimura’s Japan in the late draw, 7-4.

● Ice Hockey:
In the men’s Group B, Sweden (2-0) beat Slovakia, 5-3, and Finland (2-0) crushed Italy, 11-0. In Group C, Latvia (1-1) edged Germany (1-1) by 4-3.

The U.S. men faced Denmark in the evening match, with a 1-1 tie after the first period and then 2-2 in the second. The Americans took control with a goal from Jack Eichel at 10:23 of the period for a 3-2 lead and then 4-2 when Noah Hanifin scored at 17:23. But the Danes took advantage of a partial screen against U.S. keeper Jeremy Swayman and Phillip Bruggisser scored with just three seconds left to close to 4-3, despite a 28-11 shots edge for the USA through two periods.

In the third, the U.S. extended to 5-3 on a Jake Guentzel score at 7:24 and then Jack Hughes put the game away with a goal at 14:27 for the 6-3 final. The Americans out-shot the Danes, 47-21.

The U.S. plays Germany tomorrow; group play will finish on the 15th.

In the women’s tournament, the seeding for the quarterfinals shows the U.S. meeting Sweden on the 16th, with Canada vs. Switzerland in the lower bracket.

= PREVIEWS: SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 8 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Giant Slalom
Italian star Federica Brignone has already written one of the miracle tales of this Winter Games, winning the 2025 World Championships gold in the Giant Slalom, then suffering a brutal crash in April at the Italian championships and somehow recovering enough to ski here 10 months later. She didn’t just ski, but was 10th in the Downhill and won a stunning victory in the Super-G.

So now, can she pull off another shocker, with another Giant Slalom win? Now 35, she won a Worlds Giant Slalom silver way back in 2011 and again in 2023, and has 17 career World Cup wins in this event, more than in any other. She won the Olympic bronze in this race in 2018 and silver in 2022 and needs a gold to complete her set!

While Brignone was recovering, the FIS World Cup saw two skiers dominate the event: Austria’s Julia Scheib (four wins) and New Zealand’s Alice Robinson (two wins). But defending Olympic champ Sara Hector (SWE) won the last G-S before the Games and had three other medals; she could repeat.

The U.S. has two solid entries, with 2018 Olympic champ Mikaela Shiffrin, and Paula Moltzan, a Worlds bronzer last year and a two-time Worlds medal winner this season. Shiffrin has 22 World Cup wins in this discipline, but none since her November 2024 crash in a Giant Slalom that ended her season.

● Biathlon: Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit; Women’s 10 km Pursuit
The men’s Pursuit was held five times during the IBU World Cup season, with five different winners, each of whom could win at the Games: France’s defending Olympic champ Quentin Fillon Maillet (already the Sprint gold medalist), teammate Eric Perrot (already the 20 km silver winner), 20 km Individual gold winner Johan-Olav Botn (NOR), teammate Johannes Dale-Skjevdal and Italian star Tommaso Giocomel.

Swedes Sebastian Samuelsson (2) and Martin Ponsiluoma also won World Cup Pursuit medals this season and should contend. The French will be going for a fourth straight Olympic title, with legendary Martin Fourcade winning in 2014 and 2018, before Fillon Maillet’s victory in 2022.

Norway’s lovelorn Sturla Holm Laegreid has won two bronzes so far and was the 2024 Worlds silver winner, with teammate Vetle Christiansen in third (he was the Sprint runner-up); either could figure in the medals again.

American Campbell Wright shocked with a Worlds silver in this event in 2025, and finished a creditable 12th in the Sprint.

The women’s Pursuit is more straightforward: Lou Jeanmonnot is the favorite. The French star won this event twice during the World Cup season.

But she will have company, as teammate Julia Simon won the 15 km Individual race already and won this event at the 2024 Worlds. Teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet won the 2024 Worlds bronze and then again in 2025.

Italy has two contenders in 2024 Worlds runner-up Lisa Vittozzi and Dorothea Wierer, the 2020 World Pursuit champ who also got a 2025 World Cup bronze. Maybe the most dangerous of all is Finn Suvi Minkkinen, who took three World Cup bronzes in this race.

Sweden has Beijing 2022 silver winner Elvira Oeberg back and Anna Magnusson as an under-the-radar contender.

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s 4×7.5 km relay
Sure things have been a problem at this Olympic Winter Games. For example, American gold-medal favorites Chloe Kim, Ilia Malinin, Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin have all stumbled, and those are just a few of the disappointments so far.

Not for Norwegian star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. He won six golds at the 2025 World Championships. So far, he has won the Skiathlon, the Sprint and the 10 km Freestyle. He has this relay, the Team Sprint and the 50 km Classical left … and won all those last year.

He is now in a tie for the most gold medals in Olympic history – 8 – with three fellow Norwegians and will be favored to win a ninth career Olympic Winter gold here. Consider that in the 10 km here, Norway finished 1-3-4-5. It appears Klaebo will make history; if not, it will be a huge upset.

Switzerland and Sweden were 2-3 at the 2025 Worlds, both more than 21 seconds behind the Norwegians. Based on the 10 km results, look for France as a silver-medal favorite and teams from Italy (of course), Great Britain, Sweden, Canada and the Swiss to be in contention.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Dual Moguls
Another debut event at the Games, with Canadian superstar Mikael Kingsbury the reigning World Champion – his fifth Worlds win – ahead of Japanese star Ikuma Horishima, who won the 2017 Worlds, and Australian Matt Graham, the 2021 Worlds runner-up in Duals.

They figure as favorites, but then there is Swede Walter Wallberg, who won the Worlds silver in 2023. And at the lone FIS World Cup stop so far this season, it was Canadian Julien Viel who got the win, over Horishima and Filip Gravenfors (SWE).

Kingsbury and Horishima were upset in the Moguls final by Australia’s unheralded Cooper Woods. Lightning can’t strike twice, can it?

● Skeleton: Mixed Team
This is a first-time event at the Winter Games, with one man and one woman competing and ranked by the combined time. It was held four times during the IBSF World Cup season, with Britain winning twice with Marcus Wyatt and Tabitha Stoecker. Men’s champ Matt Weston teamed with Amelia Coltman and was second once, in a race won by Germans Susanne Kreher and Axel Jungk.

Look for Britain and Germany as the favorites, with multiple challengers for the bronze, including China (Zhan Dan and Yin Zheng won a World Cup race) and 2025 World Champion Americans Mystique Ro and Austin Florian.

At the 2025 Worlds, Stoecker and Weston won the silver and Dan and Qinwei Lin took the bronze for China. Germans Hannah Niese and Christopher Grotheer won the 2024 Worlds and Kreher and Grotheer won in 2023.

At this Games, Italy cannot be counted out and Alessandra Fumagalli and Amedeo Bagnis did win a World Cup bronze this season.

● Ski Jumping: Women’s Large Hill (141 m)
Another first-time Winter Games event and on a hill size more of this year’s World Cups have been held on. Slovenia’s Nika Prevc won 11 Worlds Cup golds this season and Japan’s Nozomi Maruyama won six, so they rank as the favorites, even over Normal Hill winner Anna Stroem of Norway.

Prevc won this event at the 2025 World Championships, ahead of Selina Freitag (GER) and Eirin Kvandal (NOR) and both medalists will be fighting again for the podium. Also strong in the World Cup this season were Austrian Lisa Eder and Canada’s Abigail Strate. Both are capable of medals of any color.

But can Prevc really be beaten twice?

● Snowboard: Mixed SnowCross
This is the second time for this event on the Olympic program, famously won in 2022 by Americans Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner, over Omar Visintin and Michela Moioli of Italy.

Jacobellis is doing commentary for NBC, but Baumgartner – at 44 – is still in there, as are the Italians. Canada’s Eliot Grondin won the bronze with Meryeta O’Dine in 2022 and is clearly still dangerous.

The event was held only once during this season’s World Cup, with Britain’s Huw Nightengale and Charlotte Brooks winning over Moioli and Lorenzo Sommariva and France’s Aidan Chollet and Chloe Trespeuch.

With Josie Baff winning the women’s SnowCross, look for an Australian team with Adam Lambert as challengers as well.

● Speed Skating: Women’s 500 m
American Erin Jackson won a rousing Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022 and is back to defend. Also returning is Japan’s runner-up, Miho Takagi, who won the 1,000 m in Beijing.

But the favorite is clearly Dutch star Femke Kok. She has won the 500 m in three straight Worlds – 2023-24-25 – and won all seven World Cup races she entered this season. She proved she is in great form with her silver in the 1,000 m, her first Olympic medal.

Teammate Jutta Leerdam, the 1,000 m gold medalist, was second three times to Kok in the World Cup series, out of six races she entered. Jackson was second twice as was Poland’s Kaja Ziomek-Nogal.

Less heralded, but talented contenders will also include 2024 Worlds runner-up and 2025 Worlds bronzer Min-sun Kim (KOR) and 2025 fourth-placer Kristina Silaeva (KAZ).

= INTEL REPORT =

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman announced Friday that he will sell his talent, sponsorship and media agency, named for him, in light of the release of 2003 e-mail messages between him and convicted child sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell (GBR) in a U.S. Justice Department document dump of materials related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.

In a message to the company’s 4,000 staff, Wasserman said he was “heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks. …

“At this moment, I believe that I have become a distraction to those efforts. That is why I have begun the process of selling the company, an effort that is already underway.”

Wasserman is continuing as the Board Chair of LA28 after the Executive Committee of its Board determined, after an inquiry, that he should remain as the head of the organizing committee.

● Athletics ● A world indoor record at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas as Khaleb McRae, third at the USATF Nationals in 2025, won the 400 m first race in 44.52, breaking the World Athletics-recognized mark of 44.57 by American Kerron Clement from 2005.

The mark is inferior to the 44.49 by Canadian Christopher Morales Williams from 2024, but that time was never ratified; neither was the 44.52 by American Michael Norman in 2018.

NCAA 60 and 100 m champion Jordan Anthony, back on his college track, took the world lead in the men’s 60 at 6.43, moving him to equal-ninth all–time and equal-sixth all-time U.S. He won ahead of Tennessee junior Traunard Folson, at 6.49.

Johnny Brackins, the NCAA fourth-placer in 2025, won the 60 m hurdles in 7.47, now no. 4 in the world for 2026. And there was a surprise in the long jump, where Brackins also excels, with 110 m hurdles World Champion Cordell Tinch coming back to the event and winning at 8.29 m (27-2 1/2), a lifetime best and equal-third in the world for 2026!

Paris 2024 women’s 100 m winner Julien Alfred (LCA) shaved 0.01 off her world lead in the women’s 60, winning in 6.99 over American Jacious Sears (7.03) and Brianna Lyston (JAM: 7.07). Alfred won her heat in 7.01, a time no one else has reached this season.

American Britton Wilson, the 2022 NCAA 400 m hurdles champ, won the women’s 400 m in 50.66, now no. 3 in the world, and Olympic long jump bronzer Jasmine Moore won at 6.86 m (22-6 1/4), also moving to world no. 3 this season.

● Modern Pentathlon ● The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) named its 2025 athletes of the year and it was no surprise: Egypt’s sensational World Champions Moutaz Mohamed (21) and Farida Khalil (now 15) won both the Senior and Junior athlete-of-the-year awards.

The coach of the year was Egypt’s Yasser Hefny.

● Rowing ● The Russian Rowing Federation said Friday that World Rowing had agreed to allow Russian teams – Double Sculls and Eights – to compete as “neutrals”:

“The extended list of disciplines and tournaments that Russian rowers will be able to compete at proves that we are moving in the right direction and even the most stubborn federations can return Russian athletes back to international tournaments without any restrictions whatsoever.”

Not exactly true, given the “neutral” status.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Coventry says “Games are going really well”; Klaebo equals gold-medal record; shock fall for Malinin

Rich Perelman

February 13, 2026

tsx pix 2026-213 malinin-shaidorov hug (rosen) — U.S. skater Ilia Malinin embracing a stunned Olympic men's figure skating gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

“The Games are going really well.”

That’s International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) on Friday, reflecting her view of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games so far.

She was instantly asked, of course, about the rules over athlete expression and the disqualification of Ukrainian Skeleton rider Vladyslav Heraskevych. Coventry explained:

“I was chairing the Athletes’ Commission in 2020 and 2021 when we heard from athletes that it was really important for us to identify safe spaces for them to express themselves, and to be able to share messages with the world, of all kinds. …

“At the same time, athletes wanted to ensure that we could still provide safe spaces for them and said that if we just opened things up completely, they would potentially by parties outside of the sporting family to carry messages that they do not agree with. And how would we be able to protect them from doing that.”

Coventry said she explained to Heraskevych and his father how the regulations were developed and what they were designed to do, in a “very respectful conversation.” She said “he was very committed to his beliefs, which I can respect, right? But sadly, it doesn’t change the rules.”

She added, “I believe that the rules allow for there to be the safest and fairest way, right now, that we have, to allow for athletes to express themselves but keep athletes safe” and not to be used for messages they don’t believe in.

Coventry was asked about the spread-out nature of the Games and she said the athletes have been enjoying the Olympic experience, especially be able to compete in famous venues that they know from their World Cup seasons. She also enjoyed the enthusiasm of the spectators, which was widespread. In short, “really no complaints.”

For her, so far so good. It has not hurt, either, that the Italian team is on the way to a historic Winter Games performance, which the crowds have loved.
~ Rich Perelman

(Pictured above: U.S. skating star Ilia Malinin embracing a stunned Olympic men’s figure skating gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan; TSX photo by Karen Rosen.)

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Light rain is projected for Milan for Saturday, with a high of 51 F and a low of 43 F. Very little sunshine until Monday.

In Cortina, snow showers are forecast with a high of 30 F and a low of 21 F. Winds are expected to average a mild 4 miles per hour.

● Scoreboard ● Norway and Italy are at the top of the medal table after 51 of 116 events:

● 18: Norway (8-3-7)
● 18: Italy (6-3-9)
● 14: United States (4-7-3)
● 14: Japan (3-3-8)
● 12: Austria (3-6-3)

● 11: Germany
● 10: France
● 8: Sweden
● 7: Switzerland
● 7: Netherlands
● 7: Canada

Seven days in and Italy has 18 medals, against an all-time high of 20.

● 220.5: Norway
● 216.5: Italy
● 170.5: United States
● 165.5: Austria
● 147.5: France

● 131.5: Japan
● 128: Germany
● 100: Canada
● 94: Netherlands
● 93: Sweden

● 92.5: Switzerland
● 62: China
● 47: Czech Republic
● 46: South Korea
● 43: Australia

In terms of top-eight place winners, Italy leads with 44, then Norway at 41, Austria at 37 and the U.S. with 36.

● Television ● Per NBC:

“Through Wednesday, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is averaging 25.7 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, NBCUniversal Digital Platforms and Versant’s CNBC and USA Network – marking the most-watched Winter Games presentation at this point since 2014 Sochi Olympics, according to official Nielsen Big Data + Panel viewership and preliminary data from Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.”

All days have been over 20 million, with Wednesday’s coverage at 21.5 million.

Although not truly comparable – the 2026 audience measurement uses a wider Nielsen system and includes the 2-5 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. shows – the indications are that viewership is up over PyeongChang 2018 (19.8 primetime-only average) and Beijing 2022 (11.4 million). The Sochi 2014 Games drew a primetime–only average of 21.3 million.

● Figure Skating ● Questions about the judging of the Ice Dance final that saw France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron win a tight gold-medal battle with the U.S.’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates continued to linger, with the International Skating Union’s statement on Friday explaining:

“It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations. The ISU has full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness.”

In the aftermath of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games judging scandal, the scoring system in figure skating was revamped and in order to exclude clearly unrealistic scores, the highest and lowest scores for each element and program component are discarded, and then the remaining marks from the other seven (of nine) judges are averaged.

If a challenge were to be filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, it is likely to fail absent some evidence of collusion or intentional mis-scoring. The Court of Arbitration generally considers “field of play” decisions as up to the International Federation (in this case, the ISU) to deal with exclusively.

● Skeleton ● As expected, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the appeal of Ukrainian Skeleton rider Vladyslav Heraskevych, to overturn the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation’s disqualification for the use of the “Memory Helmet” in competition. The decision summary noted:

“The Sole Arbitrator, whilst fully sympathetic to Mr Heraskevych’s commemoration, is bound by rules in the IOC Athlete Expression Guidelines. The Sole Arbitrator considers these Guidelines provide a reasonable balance between athletes’ interests to express their views, and athletes’ interests to receive undivided attention for their sporting performance on the field of play. …

“The Sole Arbitrator is bound by such proportionate rules and has no means to override them.”

● Ukraine ● Heraskevych isn’t the only Ukrainian athlete using their heads – or helmets – to make a statement. Freestyle Slopestyle and Big Air skier Kateryna Kotsar and Short Track skater Oleh Handei were both told not to wear helmets with “political slogans” on them.

Both have apparently cooperated; neither has been disqualified.

● Also on TSX ● A guest column by Olympic historian and Pierre de Coubertin expert George Hirthler (USA), “The Power of a Caring Voice: Kirsty Coventry’s Stunning Global Debut,” reviewing her opening ceremony remarks in Milan.

= RESULTS: FRIDAY, 13 FEBRUARY =
(7 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)

● Biathlon: Men’s 10 km Sprint
France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet won silver in the men’s Sprint at the 2022 Beijing Games, but he took the lead early on Friday and was almost unchallenged on his way to the Sprint gold in 22:53.1 with no penalties.

He was comfortably in front of Norway’s Vetle Christiansen and lovelorn Sturla Holm Lagreid, in 23:06.8 (0) and 23:09.0 (0). The French also finished fourth with Emilien Jacquelin (23:09.0/0).

At 33, Fillon Maillet now has seven Olympic medals and golds from Beijing 2022 (Individual and relay) and Milan Cortina 2026 (Sprint and relay).

Campbell Wright of the U.S., who won the Worlds silver in 2025, finished 12th in 24:03.1 (1); Paul Schommer was 47th (25:31.3/1); Sean Doherty was 65th (26:12.6/3) and Maxime Germain was 66th (26:13.4/3).

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s 10 km Freestyle
The question coming in was: can anyone stop Norway’s amazing Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo?

No, and history is being made.

Klaebo was second for much of the race behind teammate Einar Hedegart and trailed by 0.7 seconds with 1,000 m to go. But, as usual, he had the most left in the tank and rolled to a win in 20:36.2. He had the fastest final km in the race at 2:02.5.

Hedegart also lost his lead over France’s fast-closing Mathis Desloges and had to settle for the bronze. Desloges took the silver in 20:41.1 and Hedegart finished in 20:50.2, with teammares Harald Amundsen (21:00.2) and Martin Nyenget (21:03.5) following in 4-5.

What Klaebo has done is amazing and historic. At 29, he now has 10 total medals and eight golds, equaling the most ever in Olympic Winter Games history:

● 8: Marit Bjoergen (NOR: Cross Country 2010-18)
● 8: Ole Bjorndalen (NOR: Biathlon: 1998-2014)
● 8: Bjorn Daehlie (NOR: Cross Country: 1992-98)
● 8: Johannes Klaebo (NOR: Cross Country: 2018-26)

Klaebo’s 10 total medals ranks equal-sixth all-time. And he’s not done. He won six golds at the 2025 Worlds in Trondheim (NOR) and the 50 km Classical, Team Freestyle Sprint and 4 x 7.5 km relay are all ahead and he has excellent chances in all three. Wow.

After being held from 1992-1998, the Sprint was eliminated from the Winter Games program until 2026; in the four times it has been run, Norwegians have won all four.

The top American in the Sprint was John Hagenbuch in 14th (21:41.1), with Zanden McMullen in 32nd (22:17.7), Zak Ketterson in 38th (22:28.4) and Gus Schumacher in 39th (22:30.8).

● Figure Skating: Men’s Singles
The men’s Free Skate started with three men who scored more than 100 points during the Short program: World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. (108.16), Beijing 2022 runner-up Yuma Kagiyama (JPN: 103.07) and France’s 2024 Worlds bronzer Adam Siao Him Fa (102.55). There was a wide drop-off to fourth place Daniel Grassl (ITA: 93.46).

The final group was energized by Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, who got a lifetime best of 198.64 and a total of 291.58 to take the lead. Grassl was next, with the home crowd cheering heartily, but he touched a hand to the ice once; he scored 170.25 and his total of 263.71 left him a disappointed sixth following his routine.

France’s Siao Him Fa also had an early full fall and had other errors that quieted the crowd; he added a backflip that the crowd loved. But he scored 166.72 and a total of 269.27, in sixth with two to go. That meant Shaidorov was a medalist, a first for Kazakhstan since Denis Ten’s 2014 bronze.

That brought up Kagiyama, trying to pressure Malinin, but he fell on a quad Flip early on. His score of 176.99 and total of 280.06 was deeply disappointing, but it earned the bronze, and assured Shaidorov of at least silver.

Malinin had the crowd absolutely silent at the start and until his quad Flip, and he did not attempt his patented quad Axel. He did throw in a quad Lutz, but the routine was toned down. And then he fell on a quad Lutz, and then fell again on his last jumping pass. He threw in his famed backflip, but this was a flawed routine that left him devastated, skating off the ice.

He said while waiting for the score, “it’s not easy.” The score was 156.33 for a total of 264.49 that left him in eighth. It also made Shaidorov an unlikely Olympic champion, as the only one to skate a flawless routine in the six-man final grouping.

Malinin told NBC’s Andrea Joyce afterwards, “I was not expecting that,” and said he might have been too confident coming in. He added, “I can’t process what happened,” said it was “definitely mental.”

He confessed that the Olympic Games “is not like any other competition” and “that was not the skate I wanted.” His bottom line: “I blew it. There’s no way that just happened.” He’s 21; he’ll be back.

Malinin hadn’t lost since 2023. The other U.S. skaters included Andrew Torgashev (259.06) for 12th and Maxim Naumov scored 223.36 for 20th.

Kagiyama (280.06 for silver) and Shun Sato (274.90 for bronze) and extended the Japanese men’s medal streak to five straight Olympics.

● Skeleton: Men
In the first two races on Thursday, favored Matt Weston (GBR) won both and leads at 1:52.09, 0.30 up on Germany’s 2022 silver winner Axel Jungk (1:52.39) and 0.46 on defending Olympic champ Christopher Grotheer (1:52.55). China’s Wenhao Chen was a close fourth at 1:52.68.

The third run saw Weston win by 55.63 to 55.72 over Jungk to extend his lead, with Grotheer fourth at 55.92, and Weston took the fourth heat in 55.61 to seal a clean win and the gold medal by almost a second in 3:43.33.

Grotheer and Chen went 2-3 in heat four and Jungk was fifth. Added up, it left Jungk second at 3:44.21 and Grotheer with the bronze at 3:44.40. Chen remained fourth (3:44.59).

Austin Florian was the top American, in 12th (3:46.59) and Daniel Barefoot was 20th (3:49.86).

Britain won its first-ever gold in men’s Skeleton, to go with three for the women. Germany won two medals for the second straight Games.

● Snowboard: Men’s Halfpipe; Women’s SnowCross
Japan’s 2021 World Champion Yuko Totsuka was on it from the start in the men’s Halfpipe final, ripping off a 91.00 first run and then improving to 95.00 in the second round.

The only one close, not surprisingly, was four-time World Champion Scotty James (AUS), already an Olympic bronzer in 2018 and silver winner in 2022. He scored 95.00 in qualifying, and 93.50 in the second round, but had to wait until the last jump of the day to see if he could catch Totsuka.

Japan’s Ryusei Yamada was also hot, scoring 92.00 as the leader in the first round, and teammate Ruka Hirano, the 2025 Worlds runner-up, at 90.00 in both rounds. They stood 3-4 going into the final round of jumps.

Jumping eighth in the final-round, Hirano improved to 91.00, but stayed in fourth. Yamada started 10th and flew to a 92.00 score, but remained in third and was assured the bronze. That brought up Totsuka, who did not improve. James had the last chance, but had no heroics and had to settle for a second straight silver (plus his 2018 bronze).

The Americans: Jake Pates (77.50) was eighth, Alessandro Barbieri (75.00) was 10th, and Chase Josey (70.25) was 11th.

Japan now dominates this event, with back-to-back Olympic golds and six medals across the last four Games.

Italian Michela Moioli, the 2018 Olympic winner, looked good as the women’s SnowCross races progressed. She won her round-of-16 race, then her quarterfinal and her semi and was into the final as another possible Italian star in 2026.

On the other side of the bracket, however, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, Josie Baff, was looking strong with a heats win, second in her quarter and then winning her semi over Czech Eva Adamczykova, the 2014 Olympic champ and a two-time World Champion.

Those three looked like the medal winners and in the medal final, Baff got to the lead past the halfway mark and kept it, edging Adamczykova and Moioli for the medals and winning Australia’s first medal in the event.

For Adamczykova, it completes an Olympic medal set, with a silver to go with her 2014 gold and 2018 bronze.

American Faye Thielen made the small final and finished seventh overall.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 10,000 m
This painful race had the world-record holder, the reigning World Champion and two former Olympic champions. And the winner was a 19-year-old, first-time Olympian from the Czech Republic.

After Poland’s Vladimir Semirunniy – the 2025 Worlds silver medalist – set a hard pace in the third pair, finishing at 12:39.08, the final three pairs had a hard time catching him.

World-record man and 2025 World Champion Davide Ghiotto (ITA) couldn’t keep pace with 2014 Olympic champ Jorrit Bergsma – 40 – in the fourth pair and Bergsma moved into second place at 12:40.48. Ghiotto ended up finishing sixth in 12:46.72.

That brought up 2018 Olympic champ Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN: 39) and Czech teen Metrodej Jilek, the 5,000 m silver winner but also the winner of the lone 10,000 m on the World Cup circuit this season. And Jilek was methodical, unwinding nine straight sub-30-second laps in the middle of the race and then holding on to take the lead at 12:33.43. Bloemen was well back at 13:00.01.

The final pair had Norway’s 5,000 m winner, Sander Eitrem and France’s Tim Loubineaud, the former world-record man in the 5,000 m. Eintrem was out hard early, but Loubineaud won the pair easily in 12:44.20, but could not squeeze past Bergsma for the bronze.

So, Jilek won a race that first debuted in the original Winter Games back in 1924 and he and Semirunniy are the first from their countries ever to win a medal in this distance. Bergsma completed his medal color-set, adding a bronze to his 2014 gold and 2018. Dutch skaters have won a medal in this race in 11 straight Winter Games.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: The U.S. men’s team, skipped by Daniel Casper, fell to 1-2 in round-robin play, losing to 2014 Olympic gold winner Brad Jacobs’ Canadian rink, 6-3. Round-robin play continues through the 19th.

The women’s tournament saw 2018 Olympic champ Anna Hasselborg’s Swedish rink beat the Tabitha Peterson-led U.S. team on Thursday by 9-4, but the Americans rallied on Friday to go to 2-1 with a 9-8, extra-end win over three-time World Champion Rachel Homan and Canada! Round-robin play also continues through the 19th.

● Ice hockey: Quarterfinals in the women’s playoffs started Friday, with sixth-ranked Sweden upsetting third-ranked Czech Republic by 2-0. The no. 1 U.S. faced Italy, and had only a 1-0 lead after the first, on a goal by Megan Keller at the 13:31 mark, despite a 20-2 shots edge.

The game broke open in the second, with Kendall Coyne scoring at 1:41 and 4:51 of the period for a 3-0 advantage. Laila Edwards scored 26 seconds later for a 4-0 lead and Britta Curl got a short-handed goal for the U.S. at 11:29. Hannah Bilka’s goal at 18:27 ended the period at 6-0 (with 19-2 on shots in the period).

In the third, there was no scoring and the play got physical at times. The U.S. ended with a 51-6 shots advantage and four straight shutouts. Gwyneth Phillips got the shutout in goal.

The playoffs continue on Saturday with Canada vs. Germany and Finland vs. Switzerland. The semis will be re-seeded.

= PREVIEWS: SATURDAY, 14 FEBRUARY =
(8 finals across 8 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Giant Slalom
Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt lost the Downhill to teammate Franjo von Allmen, finishing fourth and then won a bronze behind von Allmen in the Super-G.

So how about an Odermatt win in the Giant Slalom? More than reasonable; he’s the defending Olympic champion! And the 2023 World Champion, and won three Giant Slaloms this season at the FIS World Cup.

But there were other winners, like Austrians Raphael Haaser – the 2025 World Champion – and Stefan Brennsteiner and Marco Schwarz. Swiss Loic Meillard won twice this season on the World Cup circuit and has been silver-bronze in the last two Worlds.

Perhaps the most motivated skier in this event will be ex-Norwegian and now Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who won four World Cup silvers this season, two each in the Giant Slalom and Slalom. He’s hungry to win a medal for his “new” country.

Given Italy’s amazing Games so far, their best hope for a medal is likely Alex Vinatzer, who won a Worlds bronze in Slalom in 2023.

● Biathlon: Women’s 7.5 km Sprint
Like most of the women’s events, the Sprint has been mostly about France, with the last two World Championships going to Julia Simon in 2024 (she already won the Individual race in 2026) and Justine Braisasz-Bouchet, in 2025.

In fact, Simon was at the head of a French sweep in 2024, with Lou Jeanmonnot – the 2026 Individual silver winner – and Braisasz-Bouchet taking the other medals.

But another sweep seems unlikely. There are two returning medalists from 2022: Sweden’s Hanna Oeberg (silver) and Italy’s Dorothea Wierer. German Franziska Preuss and Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen went silver-bronze at the 2025 Worlds.

In the four times the Sprint was contested during the IBU World Cup season, Minkkinen, Jeanmonnot, Oeberg (twice) and sister Elvira Oeberg all won. Jeanmonnot was the most consistent, with three medals, but Minkkinin won two and both Wierer and teammate Lisa Vittozzi both won one medal. Perhaps the sleeper is Sweden’s Anna Magnusson, who took two Sprint medals early in the season, but has been quiet since.

● Cross Country Skiing: Women’s 4×7.5 km Relay
Sweden went 1-2 in the Skiathlon, 1-2 in the 10 km and swept the Sprint. No doubt, they are prohibitive favorites. They are the reigning World Champions from 2025, winning a tight race with Norway with a team of Emma Ribom, Frida Karlsson, Ebba Andersson and Jonna Sundling.

Andersson had won medals in this event in the last two Games: silver in 2018, bronze in 2022.

Norway’s depth makes them the attractive second choice, led by Skiathlon bronze winner Heidi Weng, Astrid Slind and two more top-10 finishers in the 10 km Interval Start. Germany and Finland were 3-4 at the 2025 Worlds and close, followed a couple of minutes later by the Swiss and the U.S.

Will Jessie Diggins be healthy enough to go in this race? If so, will she be close enough to have a shot at a medal?

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Dual Moguls
The U.S. went 1-2 in Moguls with Elizabeth Lemley and Jaelin Kauf, and Kauf is even better in the Dual Moguls than she is at Moguls. This is the first time the Dual Moguls has been held at the Winter Games.

How good? She’s the 2025 World Champion, edging teammate Tess Johnson in the gold-medal final, won silvers in 2019 and 2023 and a Worlds bronze in 2017. At the only FIS World Cup held this season, she led a U.S. sweep ahead of Lemley and Johnson!

Best bets to break up an American sweep start with French star Perrine Laffont, the 2018 Moguls gold winner and who just won the 2026 Moguls bronze. She also won the 2023 Worlds Dual Moguls over Kauf, with Austria’s Avital Carroll taking bronze. Japan’s Rino Yanagimoto and Anastassiya Gorodko (KAZ) figure as possible spoilers as World Cup medal winners last season; Gorodko won the Worlds bronze in 2025.

● Short Track: Men’s 1,500 m
Canada’s William Dandjinou won nothing in the 1,000 m, but is the reigning World Champion at this distance. In the World Tour season, Dandjinou won four races and one silver in six meets. He is the favorite.

But there are challengers. Teammate Steven Dubois is the Beijing 2022 runner-up, Korea’s Ji-won Park won the 2023 Worlds gold and Dutch star Jens van’T Wout – who won the 1,000 m – won the 2024 Worlds silver at this distance. China’s Long Sun won the 2024 Worlds and won one World Cup medal this season.

What about Italy? With a dreamy Games so far, surely Pietro Sighel has to be a contender. He won two World Cup bronzes this season and appears ready for more.

But all eyes will be on Dandjinou.

● Skeleton: Women
Dutch racer Kimberley Bos won the Olympic bronze in 2022 and moved up to Worlds silver in 2023 and then to World Champion in 2025. Beijing Olympic champ Hannah Niese (GER) won the 2024 Worlds bronze and four medals in this World Cup season, but teammate Susanne Kreher was the 2023 Worlds gold medalist. Canada’s Hallie Clarke won a surprise Worlds gold in 2024.

But none of these rate as favorites. Austria’s Janine Flock, 36, won the Worlds silver back in 2016, but won six medals in eight World Cup races this season, including the last three before the Games! She has to be the one to beat.

Belgium’s Kim Meylemans won once and had three medals and British sliders Amelia Coltman and Freya Tarbit each won once. All are contenders.

On the first two runs, the top five were within 0.53. Flock led run one and was second on run two with a fast close and timed 1:54.58 for a 0.04 lead on Kreher and 0.13 on second-run winner Jacqueline Pfeifer (GER).

There was a small gap back to Niese in fourth (1:54.85) and Britain’s Tabitha Stoecker in fifth (1:55.01). Tarbit was sixth and Meylemans was eighth. The American leader was Kelly Curtis in 10th (1:55.69) and Mystique Ro was 17th (1:56.36).

● Ski Jumping: Men’s Large Hill (141 m)
Slovenian star Domen Prevc was off his game in the Normal Hill final, placing only sixth, as Germany’s Philipp Raimund sprung the upset. In the Team Normal Hill final, Prevc’s teammate, Anze Lanisek was the best of the day and Prevc was close, both sailing over 100 m as Slovenia won the gold decisively.

Prevc was the 2025 Large Hill World Champion has 11 wins on the World Cup circuit this season, every one on a Large Hill. He has to be the favorite, right?

Lanisek has three wins this season and looks ready to be in the medal mix along with Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi, the 2022 Olympic Large Hill runner-up, teammate Ren Nikaido, a six-time World Cup medalist this season and Austrians Jan Hoerl – the 2025 Worlds runner-up – Daniel Tschofenig and three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft.

Raimund, of course, cannot be counted out. But this should be Prevc’s opportunity to fix his failure on the Normal Hill event.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 500 m
American star Jordan Stolz won the 1,000 m and two 500 m Worlds golds in 2023 and 2024. But this will be his stiffest test, facing 2025 World Champion Jenning De Boo and Poland’s Damian Zurek, who won the last two World Cup races prior to the Games and was second three times.

Stolz won the season title, with five wins and two seconds and a third, but will have to get a fast start and avoid mistakes to get this gold. Teammate Cooper Mcleod was a surprise Worlds bronze winner last year and will be looking for a repeat.

Japan has a contender in 2022 bronze winner Wataru Morishige, who was fourth in the seasonal World Cup, and defending champ Tingyu Gao (CHN) is back, but was only 18th in the seasonal World Cup standings. An American hasn’t medaled in this event since 2006; Stolz is trying to end that streak.

= INTEL REPORT =

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The Los Angeles City Council approved without debate on Friday a request for the LA28 organizers to “tie the allocated contingency as a percentage to the budget, and therefore increase the allocated contingency as the budget increases.”

This reflects the City Council’s continued worry about a deficit by the LA28 organizers that the City would ultimately be liable for, and requires a change in the Games Agreement between the City and the organizing committee.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

VOX POPULI: The Power of a Caring Voice: Kirsty Coventry’s Stunning Global Debut

George Hirthler

February 12, 2026

/A guest column by George Hirthler, who has been working in the Olympic world since 1989. Since then he has served as a writer/producer on ten international Olympic bid campaigns, including the winning bids of Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and LA 2028. In 2016, Hirthler published The Idealist, a fictionalized biography of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, and he is writer and producer of documentaries on Atlanta 1996 and de Coubertin. His opinions are, of course, his own alone./

Much has been made – and rightly so – about the advancement of women in Olympic sport over the last few decades. Eighteen months ago at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the world celebrated the 50/50 gender equality milestone between male and female competitors-and the Milan Cortina Winter Games almost matched that mark at 47%.

It took 130 years of Olympic history and a painstakingly gradual evolution to reach that point. But just last week, with far less fanfare, another gender-driven sea change took place when Kirsty Coventry, the first female president of the International Olympic Committee, stepped to the podium to deliver her remarks during the opening ceremony in Milan.

While it was striking to see a woman in the most powerful role in global sport, it wasn’t her gender that ultimately distinguished Coventry as a game-changer. It was her message and the humility and compassion with which she delivered it.

Coventry’s voice – not her tone, which was warm and welcoming, not her cadence, which reflected her Zimbabwe upbringing and her African roots – but her theme, which reached deeply and profoundly into the core mission of the Olympic Movement and strummed the heartstrings of the world’s yearning for harmony and unity during a time of bloody conflicts and angry divides.

The content of Coventry’s message gave the world new insights into the power, purpose and promise of the global movement she now guides. Her immediate focus was on the athletes – “This is your moment” – reminding us that the Games are only a stage and the athletes are the stars.

And then she personified the athletic feats yet to come as something far greater than sport alone:

“You’ll show us what it means to be human. To dream. To overcome. To respect one another. To care for each other. You’ll show us that strength isn’t just about winning – it’s about courage, empathy and heart … You will show the world how to live.”

Staying away from the diplomatic appeals and moral push for peace that had often marked the IOC’s ceremonial messages in the past, Coventry doubled down on the personal as universal.

She rooted the Olympic spirit-the spirit embodied in each of the athletes at Games-in the communities that nurtured their talents and lifted them toward this global opportunity.

And she used her own community as a universal proof point: “In Africa, where I’m from, we have a word: ubuntu. It means: I am because we are. That we can only rise by lifting others. That our strength comes from caring for each other. No matter where you come from, we all know this spirit – it lives and breathes in every community.”

Coventry is only 42 – the youngest IOC president since Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Games, entered the office in 1896 at 33 – but she stepped into her role with the assurance and savoir faire of a seasoned leader.

She did not have to pound the podium; she did not use any facial gestures or theatrics or modulate her voice like an actor, she simply spoke with a quiet certitude rooted in her own conviction of what is true: that the Olympic Movement and the Games it produces offer the world something rare and unique – an opportunity for everyone to join in a shared experience to celebrate the astonishingly beautiful advancement of human excellence against the backdrop of our shared history and the Olympic record books.

As a double-gold Olympic swimmer and seven-time medalist, Coventry speaks from a place of authenticity. Her identification with the athletes and the unique circumstances they each face grew deeper and deeper as she served on the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission for eight years from 2013 to 2021, emerging as a champion of their rights and needs, a qualification that put her in a strong position to run for the presidency when German Thomas Bach‘s term ended in 2025.

As she spoke of empathy and caring – of lifting each other up and showing the world how to live – Coventry called on the Olympic athletes and the broader Olympic family to embody the solidarity the world needs now: to become the reality of the hopes that the rituals and symbols of the Games have long stood for.

As the first woman to preside over any edition of the Olympic Games, winter or summer, Coventry was bound to symbolize the change so many women have been fighting for. But she brought far more to the podium last Friday night than a change of gender. In the words of her stunning opening ceremony speech, she made it clear the Olympic Movement and global sport have found a new voice – and that voice has a powerful new message of hope for our world.

Comments are welcome here.

[≡The Sports Examiner encourages expressions of opinion – we really do – but preferably based on facts. Send comments to [email protected]. We do not guarantee publication of any comment, but all comments submitted will be considered and your submission implies your agreement to publication (and light editing if needed to meet our grammatical and punctuation standards) at our sole discretion. Please include your name and hometown on any comment submitted for publication.≡]

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For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Heraskevych disqualified, wins for Ukraine; Italy stays in dreamland with Brignone, Lollobrigida golds!

Rich Perelman

February 12, 2026

tsx pix 2026-212 coventry w-reporters (quinton meyer-ioc) — IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) speaking with reporters at the 2026 Winter Games in Cortina (Photo: IOC-Quinton Meyer).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

The official announcement came through at 9:55 a.m. in Cortina:

“Skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych (UKR) has been withdrawn from the startlist of Milano Cortina 2026 Men’s Skeleton event on 12th February 2026 after refusing to adhere to IOC Guidelines on Athlete Expression.”

This culminated a dramatic back-and-forth discussion between the International Olympic Committee and Heraskevych with the IOC sending a letter on 10 February that while he was allowed to wear his “Memory Helmet” picturing images of Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia’s continuing invasion in training session, he would not be able to do so in competition.

A second letter was sent to Heraskevych on Wednesday (11th) and on Thursday, and an in-person discussion took place at the Olympic Village in Cortina. Heraskevych insisted on wearing the helmet in competition and when he came to the Cortina track, he met with IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) at 7:30 a.m. and refused to change his stance.

So, he was disqualified. In the IOC’s statement:

“The IOC was very keen for Mr Heraskevych to compete. This is why the IOC sat down with him to look for the most respectful way to address his desire to remember his fellow athletes who have lost their lives following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The essence of this case is not about the message, it is about where he wanted to express it.”

The statement noted that the IOC withdrew his accreditation for the Games. But that changed.

Coventry, who as the then-head of the IOC Athletes’ Commission helped to develop the athlete expression rules, was clearly emotional as she spoke to reporters following the meeting in Cortina (pictured above) and explained:

“I felt that it was really important to come and talk to him face to face.

“Athletes asked us to keep certain areas – the field of play, the podium and the Olympic Village – safe zones. How could we keep them safe in order to not be asked to use the field of play or the podium for something that they didn’t agree with?

“No one – no one, especially me – is disagreeing with the messaging. The messaging is a powerful message. It’s a message of remembrance. It’s a message of memory.

“It’s not about the messaging; it’s literally about the rules and the regulations. In this case – the field of play – we have to be able to keep a safe environment for everyone. And sadly, that just means no messaging is allowed.

“We could find ways where we can pay homage to his message, to his helmet, before he races. And sadly, we’ve not been able to come to that solution.”

Coventry interceded with the IOC Disciplinary Commission and asked for Heraskevych’s accreditation to be restored, and it was, so he can continue to be at the Games.

Before the final meeting with Coventry, Heraskevych posted on X his requests:

“1. Lift the ban on the use of the ‘Memory Helmet.’
“2. Apologize for the pressure that has been put on me over the past few days.
“3. As a sign of solidarity with Ukrainian sport, provide electric generators for Ukrainian sports facilities that are suffering from daily shellings.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted, in part:

“I thank our athlete for his clear stance. His helmet, bearing the portraits of fallen Ukrainian athletes, is about honour and remembrance. It is a reminder to the whole world of what Russian aggression is and the cost of fighting for independence. And in this, no rule has been broken.

“It is Russia that constantly violates Olympic principles, using the period of the Olympic Games to wage war. In 2008, it was the war against Georgia; in 2014 – the occupation of Crimea; in 2022 – the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And now, in 2026, despite repeated calls for a ceasefire during the Winter Olympics, Russia shows complete disregard, increasing missile and drone strikes on our energy infrastructure and our people.”

The Ukrainian National Olympic Committee announcement of the disqualification noted:

“The NOC of Ukraine and the national team of Ukraine have consistently supported Vladyslav in his conscious choice. The NOC of Ukraine does not see any violations in the athlete’s actions and will continue to defend the right of Ukrainian athletes to represent Ukraine on the international stage.”

Heraskevych added in the story, “We paid the price for our dignity.”

What is the impact of all this? Let’s point to these:

● Ukraine’s future depends, in large part, on winning the hearts and minds of people around the world. Heraskevych’s actions will be the emotional signature of this Winter Games and made a magnificent statement on behalf of his country.

Heraskevych’s stance recalls the climactic line from the 1983 techno-thriller “War Games,” when the computer “Joshua” considers all possible nuclear-war scenarios and states, “The only winning move is not to play.” And Heraskevych won by not playing.

He knew exactly what he was doing; at 27, this was his third Games, after he finished 12th in 2018 and 18th in 2022. And he was not going to contend for a medal in 2026. But he rose above the competition, even as he sacrificed his own place in it.

● The IOC’s stance, was right. As painful as the decision was, the ban on field-of-play messaging will, in the future, retard future attempts by others – such as Russia – to insert governmental messages into athlete uniforms or something just as clever.

● The loser is Russia, no doubt. Not in Russia, but among those who have, are and will continue to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion that began two days after the close of the 2022 Winter Games.

The 2026 Winter Games go on. Although Heraskevych was not allowed to compete, he won. Ukraine won. Looking into the future, the IOC won, too, although it may not seem like it right now.
~ Rich Perelman

● Milan Cortina 2026 updates ● Heraskevych filed an action at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday with the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s Ad Hoc division, set up for the Winter Games in Milan. He is challenging the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation’s decision to remove him from the men’s Skeleton event. If successful, he is asking to compete in separate runs.

At the morning news briefing, the organizing committee noted that 71,000 tickets were sold on Wednesday.

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Milan weather on Friday projects as cloudy again, but with a pleasant high of 59 F, then a night-time low of 44 F and likely light rain in the evening.

In Cortina, it will be 44 F for the high with clouds and some sun, down to 29 F with some light snow in the evening. Winds are projected to average about 5 miles per hour.

● Scoreboard ● A total of 44 events out of 116 have been decided, and Italy continues its amazing performance in Milan Cortina, leading all countries with 17 medals. Remember, the most the Italians have ever won in a Winter Games (in total) is 20! After six days of medal events:

● 17: Italy (6-3-8)
● 14: Norway (7-2-5)
● 14: United States (4-7-3)
● 12: Austria (3-6-3)
● 10: Japan (2-2-6)

● 9: Germany
● 8: Sweden
● 8: France
● 7: Switzerland
● 7: Canada

A better indication of team performance has to go beyond three places, so The Sports Examiner returns to our eight-place scoring, using the NCAA track & field format of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 to score each event. After three days, the top 12:

● 200.5: Italy
● 175.5: Norway
● 166.5: United States
● 161.5: Austria
● 112.5: France

● 111: Germany
● 96: Canada
● 94.5: Japan
● 87.5: Switzerland
● 87: Sweden

● 84: Netherlands
● 54: China

In terms of top-8 place winners, Italy is leading with 39, trailed by Austria (36), the U.S. (33) and Norway (32).

● Television ● NBC is not providing daily viewership data, but said the U.S. presentation “is averaging 26.5 million viewers through last night on NBC, Peacock, NBCUniversal Digital Platforms and Versant’s CNBC and USA Network – marking the most-watched Winter Games presentation at this point since 2014 Sochi Olympics, according to official Nielsen Big Data + Panel viewership and preliminary data from Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.”

● Transgender ● Swedish Freestyle Moguls skier Elis Lundholm, a female by birth but who identifies as a man, was reported as the first “transgender” athlete ever at the Winter Games.

The Associated Press noted that “The Swedish ski team said Lundholm has not undergone any gender-affirming treatment or surgery,” so that no advantage is present, and even under new proposed rules, would be eligible to compete in the women’s category as a biological female, pending a sex-screening test.

Lundholm finished 29th in the first qualifying round and 15th in the second and did not advance to the first final.

● Also on TSX ● The Los Angeles City Council introduced a resolution on Wednesday asking the LA28 organizing committee to have leaders with “integrity, accountability and respect,” in a swipe at Chair Casey Wasserman. The resolution, which has no legal impact on LA28, heads to two committees for review.

= RESULTS: THURSDAY, 12 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 7 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Super-G
American fans know Lindsey Vonn’s return to skiing as a supreme comeback story, but one which ended in tragedy.

Italian fans will remember Federica Brignone’s return as a dream come true.

Brignone, 35, and in her fifth Games, was the 2025 Worlds Super-G runner-up (and won the Giant Slalom), but suffered a bad crash with multiple fractures of her left leg at the Italian Championships in April 2025 and went through surgery and recovery, only getting back to the slopes in recent weeks.

But after a 10th in the Downhill, she was obviously ready to go and starting sixth in the order, took the lead at 1:23.41, with many more to come. But none were faster.

Austria’s Cornelia Huetter, 10th in the order , who the 2023 Worlds Super-G bronze, challenged for the lead but came up short at 1:23.93. But at least she finished. Favorites like Kira Weidle-Winkelmann (GER: no. 3 starter), Emma Aicher (GER: no. 7), Ester Ledecka (CZE: no. 8) and Sofia Goggia (ITA: no. 9) all failed to finish. Same for Downhill champ Breezy Johnson of the U.S. at no. 19.

(However, Johnson did get a prize: an engagement ring from long-time partner Connor Watkins, near the finish line after her run!)

New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, at no. 14, finished, but was eighth at 1:24.44. Finally a challenge came at no. 15, as France’s Romane Miradoli, with one World Cup medal this season, conquered the course in 1:23.82, passing Huetter and winning the silver.

It’s Brignone’s fourth career Olympic medal and she’s the defending Olympic champ in the Giant Slalom upcoming. She’s also medaled in three straight Winter Games. Huetter kept an Austrian medal streak in this event alive, now in six straight Games.

● Cross Country Skiing: Women’s Interval Start Freestyle 10 km
Sweden’s Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson went 1-3 in the 10 km at the 2025 World Championships and Karlsson and Andersson were 1-2 in the 20 km Skiathlon in Val di Fiemme.

Thursday’s Freestyle 10 km was more of the same. Karlsson got out strongly early, finishing in 22:49.2 and taking a resounding victory for her second gold of the Games.

She won by more than 46 seconds over Andersson (23:35.8), who was actually in a duel on the clock with American star Jessie Diggins. The Swede was in second place by the 8 km mark and held off the American by a little more than three seconds, as Diggins finished in 23:38.9, clutching her ribs in pain past the line. She said afterwards:

“I’m the happiest bronze medalist in the world. I’m so grateful for everyone getting me here. It’s taken a serious team effort to get to the start line and a lot of help once I got to the finish line, because I’ve been in a lot of pain.”

Overcoming doubts from her fall in the Skiathlon, Diggins won a medal for the third Games in a row, now with four total and the relays and the 50 km to come.

Novie McCabe was the next U.S. finisher, in 31st at 25:12.8, then Kendall Kramer in 38th at 25:34.9 and Hailey Swirbul in 39th (25:45.3).

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Moguls
Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury is the greatest Moguls skier of all time, with the World Cup wins record, the 2018 Olympic title and four Worlds golds. Japan’s Ikuma Horishima has won three Worlds golds. They went 2-3 at the 2022 Beijing Games, but could be expected to be gold and silver this time.

They were 1-3 in the qualifying, with Horishima the leader. And they finished 2-5 in the first final, with Kingsbury at 82.56 for second and Horishima at 80.35. In the medals final, Horishima was third in the order and put up a strong 83.44 score to take the lead, followed by defending champion Walter Wallberg (SWE), who settled for 82.40 and second place at the time.

Australia’s Matt Graham, the 2018 silver winner, was next, but scored only 80.88 and was third. That left Kingsbury and Australia’s Cooper Woods, having the competition of his life. A winner of one career World Cup medal coming in, Woods led the first final at 83.60. Another run like that would win a medal.

Kingsbury skied well and took the lead at 83.71 and looked like a gold medalist in the making. But Woods looked good too and, astonishingly, produced the same score as Kingsbury: 83.71. Even better, he won the tie-breaker on the turns scoring, 48.4 to 47.7 and won the gold medal.

Kingsbury and Horishima, just as in Beijing, were 2-3 again.

Woods, 25, won his only World Cup medal in January 2025, a Moguls silver. Now he has an Olympic gold to go with it. It’s Australia’s first win in this event since 2006. Kingsbury won his fourth straight Olympic medal (2-1-2-2) and a Canadian medal for the fifth straight Games in Moguls. Horishima’s bronze was the third straight for Japan in this event.

American Nick Page ended up seventh (75.00).

● Luge: Team Relay
With Max Langenhan and Julia Taubitz already the Singles winners, Germany was an almost-sure winner and they didn’t miss. In fact, Taubitz, Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, Langenhan and Dajara Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina each had the fastest times of the day and the result was a superb, 3:41.672 gold-medal victory.

In a sport with margins in the 1,000ths of a second, they won by 0.542 over a very good effort from Austria (Lisa Schulte, Thomas Steu-Wolfgang Kindl, Jonas Mueller, Selina Egle-Lara Kipp) in 3:42.214.

Doubles winners Italy, of course, had to be in the medals and took the bronze in 3:42.521, followed by Latvia (3:42.759).

The U.S. finished fifth in 3:42.776, with Ashley Farquharson again third fastest among the women’s segment and Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa second-fastest in the men’s Doubles. Both Jonny Gustafson and Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby were fifth-fastest in their turns.

● Short Track: Men’s 1,000 m; Women’s 500 m
The final was a tactical affair, with favored 2025 Worlds silver medalist (and quarterfinal and semifinal winner) William Dandjinou (CAN) leading, but into the final lap, Jens van’t Wout (NED), the 2026 European champ, attacked and got to the front.

Dandjinou was then passed from behind and into the final turn by China’s Long Sun and Korean Jong-un Rim as van’t Wout and Sun went to the line together. But the photo showed van’T Wout by a toe at 1:24.55 and Sun in silver position at 1:24.58. Rim won the silver at 1:24.72 and Dandjinou was left out of the medals in fourth.

This was a shocker, especially for Dandjinou to be left off the podium. It’s also the first Dutch gold in this event and only its second medal in the men’s 1,000 m in the 10 times it has been held.

A dream day for Italy continued into the final of the women’s 500 m, as 12-time Olympic medalist and two-time defending champion Arianna Fontana – in her sixth Games – made it to the medal round, against two stars each from Canada and the Netherlands.

But there was no doubt about the winner in the final. Dutch star Xandra Velzeboer – the favorite, who had set a world record of 41.399 in her semifinal – started inside, took the lead and extended it right to the finish to win decisively in 41.609. No doubt whatsoever.

Fontana was in second position and could not challenge, but she held off Canada’s Courtney Sauralt, who was trailing her closely throughout the final lap. It was close, but Fontana took silver in 42.294 to 42.427. Selma Poutsma (NED) finished fourth in 42.491. American Kirsten Santos-Griswold crashed in the B final and ended up ninth overall at 1:08.444.

The amazing Fontana won her 13th career Olympic medal – the most ever in Short Track – an tied her with speed skater Ireen Wust (NED: 2006-22) for no. 3 all-time among Winter Games total medal winners. For the Dutch, it’s the first gold ever in this event after silvers in the last two Games.

● Snowboard: Men’s SnowCross; Women’s Halfpipe
This was the sixth running of the men’s Snowboard Cross in the Winter Games, after Seth Westcott (USA) won the first two and then Pierre Vaultier (FRA) won in 2014 and 2018. Could 2022 champ Alessandro Hammerle (AUT) make it two in a row … again?

Hammerle qualified seventh and in the round-of-16, he beat Jake Vedder and Cody Winters of the U.S. to win heat seven. He was second to Beijing ‘22 runner-up Eliot Grondin (CAN) in the quarters and moved into semifinals.

Same result: Grondin over Hammerle in the second semi and both moved on to the medal final with Aidan Chollet (FRA) and Jakob Dusek of Austria.

Dusek had a win over Grondin on the World Cup circuit and Grondin had beaten Hammerle in the 2025 Worlds final, but this time Hammerle closed hard after the final jump and got to the line first by 0.03 over Grondin in a repeat of the 2022 finish, with Dusek third for an Austrian 1-2.

It’s the first time one country has won two medals in this event.

American star Chloe Kim was going for a third Olympic gold in the women’s Halfpipe and led the qualifying at 90.25.

She let the field know she wasn’t going to be easy to beat, jumping no. 12 in the order in the first round and taking the lead at 88.00. That easily surpassed Japan’s two-time Worlds bronze winner Mitsuki Ono (85.00) for the best of the first round. Neither improved in round two, but Japanese teammate Rise Kudo stayed in third but improved to 81.75.

The decisive third round exploded at no. 7, when 17-year-old Korean star Ga-on Choi burst into the lead at 90.25 after two poor jumps. Japan’s Sara Shimizu scored 84.00 to move to fourth, then Kim got to go as the final jumper, standing in silver position. After a good start, she fell in the middle of the pipe and skidded out, leaving the Korean teen with the gold.

It was Korea’s first medal in the event. Kim’s silver continued the U.S. streak of winning a medal in every one of the eight editions of this event at the Olympic level.

The other Americans competing among the snow drifts in Livigno were Bea Kim, eighth at 77.00 and Maddie Mastro, 12th at 5.50.

● Speed skating: Women’s 5,000 m
Coming into Thursday, Italy had never won a medal in the women’s 5,000 m. But continuing the dream-like state of the Azzurri at the 2026 Winter Games, it was another gold, and a second for 3,000 m winner Francesca Lollobrigida.

There were only 12 skaters in the race and the medal possibilities were in the final three. The fourth pair saw Dutch star Merel Conijn take the lead at 6:46.27, beating Sandrine Tas (BEL: 6:46.47) to stand 1-2.

The fifth pair had Lollobrigida and Norway’s 3,000 m silver winner Ragne Wiklund and the Italian won the battle by 6:46.17 to 6:46.34 and they stood 1-3 going into the final race.

That had Canadian star Isabelle Weidemann, the 2022 silver medalist, against legendary Czech star Martina Sabilkova, now 38, and while a four-time medal and two-time champion in the event, was not a contender this time. Weidemann won easily in 6:50.08, with Sabilkova well back at 7:07.08 in 11th.

So, Lollobrigida gets a second gold at the Games, while Conijn earned silver, moving up from bronze at the 2025 World Championships. For Wiklund, this was also Norway’s first-ever medal in this event.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: On the second day of the men’s tournament round-robin, Yannick Schwaller’s Swiss rink clubbed the Danny Casper’s U.S. rink, 8-3. Defending champ Sweden and Niklas Edin lost their second straight match, this time to Bruce Mouat and Britain, 6-3.

In the loss to the Swiss, U.S. alternate Rich Ruohonen – a lawyer from Minnesota – was substituted in and at age 54, he became oldest-ever U.S. Winter Olympian. He’s a couple of years up on figure skater Joseph Savage, who was 52 at the 1932 Lake Placid Games.

The women’s tournament started and American Tabitha Peterson’s squad defeated 2024 Worlds bronzer Eun-ji Gun (KOR) by 8-4. Four-time World Champion Silvana Tirinzoni’s Swiss team won by 7-4 over Italy and Silvana Constantini.

● Ice Hockey: The men’s tournament continued with the U.S. on the ice for the first time, in Group C, facing Latvia. After a 1-1 first period, the Americans got in gear with three goals, from Brock Nelson at the 10:38 mark, then Tage Thompson on a power play at 17:35 and Nelson again 2:13 later for a 4-1 edge going into the final 20 minutes.

The Americans got a final goal on a power-play score by Auston Matthews at 2:35 of the third and finished with a 5-1 win. Connor Hellebuyck handled 17 of 18 Latvian shots while the U.S. took 38.

Women’s pool play finished as Canada shut down Finland, 5-0, so the U.S. won Group A at 4-0 and 20-1 in goals-against. The quarterfinals start Friday and will pit the U.S. and Italy (2-2), Canada (3-1) and Germany (3-1), Sweden (4-0) vs. the Czech Republic (1-3) and Finland (1-3) against the Swiss (1-3). The semis will be re-seeded.

= PREVIEWS: FRIDAY, 13 FEBRUARY =
(7 finals across 6 sports & disciplines)

● Biathlon: Men’s Sprint
Either a Norwegian or a German has won this race in 11 of 12 prior Olympic editions, but in 2026, don’t count out the Italians!

Tommaso Giacommel already has a Mixed Relay silver and was sixth in the 20 km. Moreover, he won this event twice on the IBU World Cup circuit and had another silver besides. But he will have to deal with 20 km winner Johan-Olav Botn (NOR), the new star of the men’s side of the sport in just his second year on the tour. He also won a Sprint, back in December.

Norway’s Sturla Holm Lagreid was the 2024 World Champion in this event and just won the 20 km bronze. He got himself into trouble by publicly announced how sorry he was after cheating on his girlfriend of the past six months … three months ago, telling NRK television:

“Six months ago, I met the love of my life and the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. Three months ago, I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her.”

The now-ex-girlfriend, who wishes not to be identified, told Norwegian paper Verdens Gang:

“It’s hard to forgive. Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world. I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it. We have had contact, and he is aware of my opinions on this.”

Lagreid said later he knew he was “dropping a bomb,” and “then we’ll see what happens. I have nothing to lose. I am already hated by her, and I hope that maybe it can make her realize how much I love her.”

He added later:

“I had the gold medal in life. I am sure there are many people who will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her. Sport has come second these last few days. Yes, I wish I could share this with her.

“I hope that committing social suicide might show how much I love her. I’m taking the consequences for what I’ve done. I regret it with all my heart.”

If his emotions are in check, he’s a contender; beyond Botn, teammates Vetle Christiansen, Martin Uldal and Johannes Dale-Skjevdal all won World Cup Sprint medals this season. French stars Quentin Fillon Maillet (2022 Olympic silver) and Eric Perrot, the 20 km runner-up, are in the mix for sure.

American hopes for a first-ever Olympic biathlon medal are on Campbell Wright, who stunned with a Worlds silver in the Sprint in 2025. Swede Sebastian Samuelsson gets close among all the others, but he will not be a surprise on the podium

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s 10 km Freestyle
Can anyone stop Norway’s amazing Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo? Anyone?

Klaebo won the Skiathlon and the Sprint and now looks for a third gold in an event which has not been held since the 1998 Games. It was won twice by Norway’s Bjorn Daehlie, who just happens to be the all-time leader in Olympic cross-country golds with eight and 12 medals overall. Klaebo now has seven and is trying for a gold-medal tie.

Klaebo, by the way, won this event at the 2025 World Championships, on the way to six golds there.

He will get pushed by teammates Martin Nyenget, bronze winner in the Skiathlon, Einar Hedegart, a two-time World Cup winner at 10 km, and Mattis Stenshagen, who won two 10 km World Cup races as well. In fact, Norwegian entries won all six 10 km World Cup races so far this season.

The best contenders from elsewhere appear to be Finland veteran Iivo Niskanen and France’s Jules Lapierre. The best American will likely be Gus Schmacher, who won a 5 km World Cup on 31 December.

● Figure Skating: Men’s Singles
The men’s Free Skate starts with three men who scored more than 100 points during the Short program: World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. (108.16), Beijing 2022 runner-up Yuma Kagiyama (JPN: 103.07) and France’s 2024 Worlds bronzer Adam Siao Him Fa (102.55). There was a wide drop-off to fourth place Daniel Grassl (ITA: 93.46).

Malinin won the World titles in 2024 and 2025 and is a prohibitive favorite, expected to throw as many as seven quadruple jumps into his routine, including the quad Axel, which only he has completed in competition.

Kagiyama, who stands 5-3, is solid: Worlds silver winner in 2021-22-24 and bronze in 2025 and if Malinin were to fail badly, he would be in a position to launch a major upset. But that is not expected; Malinin was off his game in the Team Event, but said he overcame his Olympic jitters in the Short Program:

“I did not think it would be that heavy. I thought that I could come into this like any other competition, but honestly I definitely underestimated it.

“Now that I’ve gotten three performances under Olympic ice, I think that I’ve really tamed the Olympic ice.”

By the way, the highest score ever at an Olympic Games was American Nathan Chen’s 332.60 and Chen has the highest score on record at 335.30 in 2019. Malinin’s best is 333.81 from February 2025 and he owns five of the top-10 scores ever.

Malinin scored an unbelievable 238.24 in June of 2025 for the highest Free Skate ever. Just so you’re ready for it.

● Skeleton: Men
Despite having a special, aerodynamic helmet disqualified by the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation, British riders Matt Weston (5) and Marcus Wyatt (2) won all seven World Cup races this season. In the two races Wyatt won, Weston was second. He’s the favorite.

Beyond the British pair, Beijing 2022 winner and three-time World Champion Christopher Grotheer (GER) is back, as is Axel Jungk, the silver medalist. Italy has a contender as well in 2023 Worlds runner-up Amadeo Bagnis, who won two late-season silvers behind Weston in January. Mostly overlooked, but one of the most consistent riders this season has been China’s Zheng Yin, with three World Cup bronzes and ranked no. 2 on the seasonal points table.

In the first two races on Thursday, Weston won both and leads at 1:52.09, 0.30 up on Jungk (1:52.39) and 0.46 on Grotheer (1:52.55). Fourth now is China’s Wenhao Chen (1:52.68); Wyatt was seventh in 1:53.21. American Austin Florian was 13th at 1:53.54.

● Snowboard: Men’s Halfpipe; Women’s SnowCross
Australia’s Scotty James won Olympic bronze in 2018 and silver in 2022. He’s a four-time World Champion, including in 2025 and on Wednesday, put down a 94.00 first qualifying run and went home.

He’s the favorite. Two others scored 90-plus: Japan’s 2021 World Champion Yuto Totsuka (91.25) and Ryusei Yamada (90.25), a World Cup winner last December. In fact, Japan qualified all four riders for the final, including 2025 Worlds silver winner Ruka Hirano (87.50) and defending Olympic champ Ayumu Hirano (85.50), who also won silvers in 2014-18.

They all are in the medal mix, along with Australia’s Val Guseli (86.75), the 2023 Worlds silver medalist, and American Alessandro Barbieri, fourth in the qualifying at 88.50.

Two more Americans, three-time Olympian Chase Josey (76.50) and second-time Olympian Jake Pates (75.50) also qualified in 11th and 12th.

The women’s SnowCross will look familiar to Olympic watchers, with 2018 Olympic champ Michela Moioli (ITA) and silver winner Julia Pereira de Sousa Mabileau (FRA) back, as well as 2022 runner-up Chloe Trespeuch (FRA).

Pereira won one of the three FIS World Cups this season, along with serious medal contenders Charlotte Bankes (GBR), the 2025 Worlds runner-up and France’s Lea Casta. Australia’s Josie Baff, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, should be a medal contender as well.

But can Moioli, 30, ride the home crowd to another Olympic gold? She is the most decorated in the field, with not only her 2018 Olympic gold, but is the reigning World Champion from 2025 and has been a Worlds medalist in five of the last six editions. She will be hard to beat.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 10,000 m
This is a rarely-contested event any more, and held only once on the World Cup tour, in the skating hotbed of Heerenveen (NED), in December.

There, Czech star Metrodej Jilek got a lifetime best of 12:29.63 to handle the field, including 2022 Olympic bronzer Davide Ghiotto (12:33.37), France’s former 5,000 m world-record holder Tim Loubineaud (12:36.61), Norway’s 5,000 m winner Sander Eitrem (12:41.34) and the 2014 Olympic winner, 40-year-old Jorrit Bergsma (NED: 12:45.46).

That race also had 2018 Olympic champ Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN: 12:51.21) in seventh, behind American Casey Dawson (12:48.42).

Ghiotto is the reigning World Champion from 2023-24-25, the world-record holder (12:25.69) and in front of a roaring home crowd, figures as the favorite.

= INTEL REPORT =

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters on the sidelines of an owners meeting that he is optimistic about MLB players participating in the 2028 Games:

“I sense a lot of momentum towards playing in L.A. in 2028. I think we are going to get over those issues. I think people have come to appreciate that the Olympics on U.S. soil is a unique marketing opportunity for the game. I think we had a lot of players interested in doing it and, you know, I feel pretty good about the idea [that] we’ll get there.”

Participation in the 2028 Games will have to come in agreement with the MLB Players Association. It was reported that the 2028 All-Star Break would be extended to 9-21 July, with the Olympic tournament scheduled for 13-19 July, at Dodger Stadium.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LANE ONE: IOC disqualifies Skeleton racer Heraskevych over “Memory Helmet,” giving a victory to Ukraine

Rich Perelman

February 12, 2026

tsx pix 2026-212 heraskevych-ukr site 750 — From the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee’s announcement of the disqualification of Vladyslav Heraskevych, on 12 February 2026 (Image: Ukrainian NOC Web site).

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≡ HERASKEVYCH DISQUALIFIED ≡

The official announcement came through at 9:55 a.m. in Cortina:

So, he was disqualified. In the IOC’s statement:

The statement noted that the IOC withdrew his accreditation for the Games. But that changed.

Coventry, who as the then-head of the IOC Athletes’ Commission helped to develop the athlete expression rules, was clearly emotional as she spoke to reporters following the meeting in Cortina and explained:

“I felt that it was really important to come and talk to him face to face.

“No one – no one, especially me – is disagreeing with the messaging. The messaging is a powerful message. It’s a message of remembrance. It’s a message of memory.

“We could find ways where we can pay homage to his message, to his helmet, before he races. And sadly, we’ve not been able to come to that solution.”

Coventry interceded with the IOC Disciplinary Commission and asked for Heraskevych’s accreditation to be restored, and it was, so he can continue to be at the Games.

Before the final meeting with Coventry, Heraskevych posted on X his requests:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted, in part:

The Ukrainian National Olympic Committee announcement of the disqualification noted:

Heraskevych added in the story, “We paid the price for our dignity.”

What is the impact of all this? Let’s point to these:

Heraskevych’s stance recalls the climactic line from the 1983 techno-thriller “War Games,” when the computer “Joshua” considers all possible nuclear-war scenarios and states, “The only winning move is not to play.” And Heraskevych won by not playing.

● The IOC’s stance was right. As painful as the decision was, the ban on field-of-play messaging will, in the future, retard future attempts by others – such as Russia – to insert governmental messages into athlete uniforms or something just as clever.

The 2026 Winter Games go on. Although Heraskevych was not allowed to compete, he won. Ukraine won. Looking into the future, the IOC won, too, although it may not seem like it right now.

Rich Perelman
Editor

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LOS ANGELES 2028: L.A. City Council introduces resolution asking LA28 to have leaders with “integrity, accountability and respect”

Rich Perelman

February 11, 2026

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ L.A. CITY COUNCIL SPEAKS ≡

On Wednesday morning, the LA28 organizing committee’s Executive Committee of its Board of Directors released a statement announcing that it had “determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. [Casey] Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.”

The Los Angeles City Council had a quick reply via its Wednesday meeting, with a resolution introduced by member Monica Rodriguez and seconded by Imelda Padilla, that expressed a different sentiment.

After a series of nine recitals, the proposed resolution reads:

“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Los Angeles City Council reaffirms its
commitment to the core values of the Olympic movement, including excellence, respect, integrity, accountability and transparency in leadership as the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games belong to the people of Los Angeles; and

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council expresses concern regarding the potential conflict between the Olympic movement’s values and Casey Wasserman‘s association with the Epstein files, and calls for a thorough and transparent review of his involvement in the ongoing investigations into these matters; and

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council urges the LA 28 Organizing Committee, and the International Olympic Committee, to ensure that all leadership roles are held by individuals who consistently reflect the Olympic movement’s commitment to integrity, accountability, and respect for all people; and

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council pledges to work collaboratively with
community leaders, sports organizations, and stakeholders to ensure that the 2028 Games in Los Angeles serve as a global model of fairness, justice, and honor;

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be distributed to the LA28 Organizing Committee, the International Olympic Committee, and all relevant parties involved in the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The proposal was assigned for review to the Council’s Ad Hoc Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations committees, neither of which has a meeting currently scheduled.

The Council’s resolution has no direct impact on LA28 and is not binding; the LA28 Board statement noted that, “[w]ith the assistance of outside counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, a review was conducted of Mr. Wasserman’s past interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” in which Wasserman “fully cooperated.”

Whether LA28 will make part or all of its Board review of the situation available to the City is yet to be determined.

Torched.la has been keeping a running list of public officials calling for Wasserman to resign. Rodriguez and Padilla are among them, along with Hugo Soto-Martinez, Eunisses Hernandez, and Nithya Raman, a mayoral candidate in June. That’s five out of 15 City Council members; Mayor Karen Bass has said the question is up to the LA28 Board, which has now spoken.

Per the LA28 Web site, its 35-member Board does not include any current L.A. City Council members, but has a host of current and former athletes and the four U.S. members of the International Olympic Committee, Anita DeFrantz, Allyson Felix, David Haggerty and Gene Sykes. According to the City-LA28 Games Agreement from 2021, the City has not less than six designees (1/6th) on the Board.

Observed: While the City Council can’t fire anyone at LA28, a private, non-profit corporation, it is interesting that Rodriguez’s resolution did not call for him to be removed as LA28 Chair. It could have.

Although unlikely to be passed, at least as presently constituted, that would have made a stronger statement and garnered more headlines for those Council members who object to Wasserman’s continuing tenure.

It is also true that LA28 has expended significant time and effort to develop and adopt a lengthy series of commitments to the City on environmental, sustainability, local hiring and procurement measures for the Games, designed to benefit – as much as can be targeted – in-City businesses and residents.

Will how the City proceeds against Wasserman impact the organizing committee’s enthusiasm for its long list of promises in areas which have very little to do with the actual staging of the Games?

Moreover – and this element of the Games Agreement between the City and LA28 is rarely remembered by Council members – that 80% of any surplus from the Games will be moved to a “new and private entity” created by LA28 and governed by a board “exclusively comprised of an equal number of individuals designated by each of (x) the OCOG [LA28] … and (y) the City.”

Funds from this surplus, must, by agreement with the International Olympic Committee “be used for the general benefit of sport and youth in the Host City and the Host Country.” How will the Council’s actions now impact that project if the LA28 efforts result in a substantial surplus?

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: IOC asks Heraskevych not to wear his “Memory Helmet”; NBC says 42 mil. saw Sunday; U.S.’s Stolz golden in 1,000 m!

Rich Perelman

February 11, 2026

tsx pix 2025-113 stolz, jordan (us speedskating) — American star Jordan Stolz, now the Olympic men’s 1,000 m gold medalist! (Photo: US Speedskating).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

Politics and sports have clashed again, this time in Cortina d’Ampezzo, with Ukrainian Skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych determined to wear his “memory helmet” with images of slain Ukrainian athletes on it.

Heraskevych has worn the helmet in training and has written continuously on his X account, including:

● “I want to thank everyone for all the support we’re receiving. There really is an incredible amount of it.

“For me, the sacrifice of the people depicted on the helmet means more than any medal ever could – because they gave the most precious thing they had. And simple respect toward them is exactly what I want to give.”

● “Tomorrow [12th] the skeleton competitions at the 2026 Olympic Games begin. But instead of preparing for the starts, we are forced to fight for the right to compete in the ‘Memory Helmet.’

“Let’s return to the topic of the IOC’s double standards. A similar situation occurred with the Israeli skeleton athlete: at the opening ceremony, he appeared wearing a kippah (which he had announced in advance on his social media), on which were written the names of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed by terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. In other words, the athlete literally placed the memory of the fallen on his head to honor them.

“I honestly don’t understand how these two cases are fundamentally different. The IOC rules are the same for opening ceremonies, medal presentations, and competition venues. Why such treatment towards Ukrainians?

“The ‘Memory Helmet’ must be allowed in competitions.”

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams (GBR) spoke at length about the issue at the morning news briefing:

“We will contact the athlete today, and we will reiterate the many, many opportunities he has to express his grief. As we discussed before, he can do so on social media, in press conferences, in the mixed zone. So we will try to talk to him about that and try to convince him.

“We want him to compete. We really, really want him to have his moment. That’s very, very important. We want all athletes to have their moment, and that’s the pint: we want all athletes to have a fair and level playing field.”

Adams noted that the Guidelines on Athlete Expression were approved by 4,500 athletes and emphasized that the “clean” field of play is “what the athletes want:

“They want that specific moment, on the field of play, to be free of any distraction.

“He can, and we would encourage him, to express his grief. We feel his grief. We expressly want him to do that. But, you know, in the end, let me be clear: it’s not the message, it’s the place that counts.

“And that, for us, and not actually for us; we are, in this, in sense, in a back seat. It’s the message of the athletes, the athletes that reiterated to us, time and time again. There are 130 conflicts going on in the world; we cannot have 130 different conflicts featured, however terrible they are. We cannot have them featured during the field of play, during the actual competition.

“So, we would beg him: we want you to compete.”

The IOC has offered Heraskevych the opportunity to wear a black armband during his races and Adams added that he wants him to “express your understandable grief before and after the competition.” He said it’s best for “people to talk to people” to find a resolution.

The IOC formulated the rules through a lengthy consultation with athletes, but when it comes down to it, as Adams said, it’s about people. Any decision on a possible disqualification would ultimately, he said, would eventually be up to the IOC.
~ Rich Perelman

● Milano Cortina 2026 Update ● The organizing committee said it sold 77,000 tickets across 12 sports on Tuesday.

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Thursday weather in Milan is expected to have some rare sunshine, with pleasant temps of 52 F (high) and 41 F for the low. There’s a 25% chance of at least some rain.

In Cortina, some snow is expected again, with a high of 33 F and a low of 24 F. Winds are not expected to get much about 5 miles per hour.

● Scoreboard ● Norway continues at the top of the medal table, but suddenly, there is home Italy as well. After five days of medals and 35 of 116 events:

● 13: Norway (7-2-4)
● 13: Italy (4-2-7)
● 12: United States (4-6-2)
● 8: Germany (3-3-2)
● 8: Austria (2-5-1)

● 8: Japan (2-2-4)
● 7: Switzerland
● 7: France
● 6: Sweden
● 4: Canada

A better indication of team performance has to go beyond three places, so The Sports Examiner returns to our eight-place scoring, using the NCAA track & field format of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for each event. After five days, the top 12:

● 160: Italy
● 154: Norway
● 143.5: United States
● 124.5: Austria
● 100: Germany

● 92: France
● 87.5: Switzerland
● 73.5: Japan
● 64: Sweden
● 54: Canada

● 46: Netherlands
● 36: China

Italy is having not a great Games, but is in dreamland, at least so far.

● Television ● NBC reported a big audience following the NFL Super Bowl LX broadcast on Sunday:

“Sunday’s Primetime in Milan and Milan Prime presentation averaged 42 million viewers, marking NBCUniversal’s largest Winter Games audience since Day 2 of the 2014 Sochi Olympics (a span of 53 event days) and an increase of 73% over the corresponding 2022 Beijing Olympics show (24.3 million) which followed Super Bowl LVI.”

Olympic Broadcasting Services chief Yiannis Exarchos (GRE) spoke about the host coverage of the Games, noting that 25 drones, including 15 first-person-view (FPV) drones, are being used.

Working with the International Federations, the drones are always staged behind the athletes, never in front. Multiple tests were done, with athletes, prior to the Games, to ensure safety:

“All the pilots that we use, for each FPV drone we have a pilot and a spotter – a person sitting next to them – who really guides them about any situations in the environment, because the pilot himself is wearing goggles, like you wear in VR, and this is the way they pilot this piece of equipment. It’s not possible to pilot if you’re just looking at them.”

He added:

“It may seem like a simple flight, but there has been a lot of preparation – years.”

He also note the noise generated by the drones, explaining that while there are 860 cameras covering the Games, there are more than 1,800 microphones! It impacts viewers more than athletes, who are wearing helmets in outdoor events.

● Doping ● It was reported that two Korean cross-country skiers – Da-som Han and Eui-jin Lee – were disqualified for the use of fluorinated wax, prohibited for three years, for environmental reasons.

● Russia ● The International Olympic Committee is pushing hard to separate sport and politics, at least to give athletes an opportunity to compete irrespective of what the governments of their countries do.

That is allowing Russian and Belarusian youth and junior athletes to be welcomed back into international competitions by some federations. But that does not mean that Russian Sports Minister – and President of the Russian Olympic Committee – Mikhail Degyarev believes anything the IOC is saying.

He told VK Video’s Central Channel on Tuesday:

“What is sport? It’s, generally speaking, a permanent war and battle, meaning it’s a competition between people, between capabilities, between countries, between countries’ strengths. Therefore, of course, it’s considered politics. This nonsense that sport isn’t politics is untrue.”

Interesting, especially as he tries to end the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee.

● Alpine Skiing ● American star Lindsey Vonn underwent a third surgery after her Downhill crash last Sunday and posted on Instagram:

“I had my 3rd surgery today and it was successful. Success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago. I’m making progress and while it is slow, I know I’ll be ok.

“Thankful for all of the incredible medical staff, friends, family, who have been by my side and the beautiful outpouring of love and support from people around the world. Also, huge congrats to my teammates and all of the Team USA athletes who are out there inspiring me and giving me something to cheer for.”

● Figure Skating ● To be young and talented! American star Ilia Malinin after his brilliant Short Program scored 108.16 to take a five-point lead after some struggles in the Team Event and spoke about his Olympic experience so far:

“I did not think it would be that heavy. I thought that I could come into this like any other competition, but honestly I definitely underestimated it.

“Now that I’ve gotten three performances under Olympic ice, I think that I’ve really tamed the Olympic ice.”

He added more later on being at the Games:

“It felt different than any other competition. Sometimes it still overwhelms you, and I definitely felt that in the Team Short Program.

“Going into this individual event, I decided to try different strategies. Really just try to calm things down and not get too excited, enjoy my time on the ice, and try as hard as I can. …

“I felt really comfortable today. I definitely wanted to take a different approach as opposed to the Team Event. I think I just went out there and that Olympic atmosphere really blew me away… I got maybe a little too excited.”

● Snowboard ● A crash by Australian rider Cam Bolton, 35, in SnowCross training on Monday got worse when his neck pain rose and he was eventually hospitalized.

Competing in his fourth Games, it turned out that he has two fractures in his neck and was transported to a hospital for treatment. He was joined by his wife; Australian chef de mission Alisa Camplin said:

“Cam wanted to make his teammates understood what was happening and that he was fine and doing well and being looked after well.”

= RESULTS: WEDNESDAY, 11 FEBRUARY =
(8 finals across 7 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Super-G
Swiss Marco Odermatt may be the best skier in the world, having won the FIS World Cup seasonal title four times in a row. But right now, no one is beating his teammate, Franjo von Allmen.

Von Allmen completed a sweep of the speed medals, winning the men’s Super-G on Wednesday from the no. 7 starting position, sweeping down the Stelvio course in 1:25.32, to take the lead from American Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the Beijing 2022 silver medalist.

Odermatt came at no. 10 and raced well, but his time of 1:25.60 was third and he stayed there are those three were not challenged during the rest of the day. France’s Nils Allegre was fourth – from the no. 1 position – at 1:25.63 and the top six finishers all came from among the first 10 starters.

Sam Morse of the U.S. was 23rd (1:27.12) and Kyle Negomir was 26th (1:28.62); River Radamus did not finish his run.

Von Allmen joins a select group of two others who have won three Alpine golds in a single Games: Toni Sailer (AUT) in 1956 in Cortina (!) and France’s Jean-Claude Killy, in 1968. They each won three individual events; von Allmen has the Downhill and Super-G and the Team Combined. Odermatt is not done, however, as he is the defending Olympic champ in the Giant Slalom.

Cochran-Siegle is the first to win back-to-back silvers in this event; American men have won five Super-G silvers out of the 12 times it has been run, plus two bronzes. Amazingly, Cochran-Siegle has just one Super-G World Cup medal in his career, from December 2020.

● Biathlon: Women’s Individual (15 km)
A year ago, France’s Julia Simon dominated the field on the way to a nearly-40-second win in the IBU World Championships women’s Individual Race. Last October, she was found guilty of using the credit card of teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet in 2022 to run up a bill of between €1,000-2,000, received a three-month suspended sentence and a fine of €15,000 (€1 = $1.19 U.S.).

She was suspended for six months by the French ski federation, with three months suspended, allowing her to compete in the Milan Cortina Games.

On Wednesday, she won the Olympic 15 km Individual Race in 41:15.6 with one penalty, more than 53 seconds up on teammate Lou Jeanmonnot (42:08.7/2) and Bulgaria’s surprise bronze winner, Lora Hristova (42:20.1/0).

Margie Freed was the top American, in 21st (44:19.9/1) with Deedra Irwin in 34th (44:57.6/3) and Joanne Reed finishing 68th (48:08.7/4). Luci Anderson was 84th in 50:40.8 (8).

Simon, 29, won France’s first gold in this event and Jeanmonnot won the third silver for France in this event (and second in a row). Hristova won Bulgaria’s first biathlon medal since 2002 and hadn’t finished higher than 23rd in a World Cup race.

● Figure Skating: Ice Dance
In the fourth and final group on Wednesday, Italy’s two-time Worlds medal winners Charlene Guignard and Macro Fabbri gave a crowd-pleasing performance, but with some small errors, that scored 125.30 points for a 209.58 total and the lead.

Canada’s 2023 Worlds bronze winners Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were emotional and sensual in their routine, performing brilliantly and scoring a lifetime best by more than six points at 131.56 and taking the lead at 217.74, assuring them of at least an Olympic bronze.

American World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates were next, trailing 90.18 to 89.72 and skating to an instrumental version of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it, Black,” were technically elegant and flowed across the ice with expressive choreography that wowed the crowd.

The judges loved it and scored it a seasonal best of 134.67 and Chock and Bates took the lead with 224.39 in total.

Then came the Rhythm Dance leaders, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, with Cizeron half of the 2022 Beijing gold-medal team. Together on the ice less than a year, they became instant challengers. They skated to selections from “The Whale,” also a slower tempo and moved gracefully together with impressive artistry and choreography. They were rewarded with a seasonal best of 135.84 and the gold medal, with a 225.82 total.

Cizeron repeats as Olympic champ and is the first to win with two different partners. He’s won medals now in the last three Games.

Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik scored a lifetime best 206.72 and placed a very creditable fifth, and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko realized 197.62 points for 11th.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Moguls
This was the 10th running of this event in Olympic competition and American skiers had medaled in six of the first nine. Make it seven of 10.

Coming in with a decorated squad that included 2022 silver winner Jaelin Kauf, and seven World Cup medals this season, the American qualified two to the medal final: Kauf and Elizabeth Lemley. Olivia Giaccio and Tess Johnson barely missed in placed 9-10.

The qualifying leader and clear favorite was Australia’s Jakara Anthony, the defending champion and winner of three of four World Cup events this season. She was the final competitor, but ahead of her, PyeongChang 2018 champ Perrine Laffont (FRA) put up a 78.00 score that was promising, but hardly unbeatable.

Fifth in the order was Lemley – 20 – who had the no. 2 score in qualifying and she put up a strong total of 82.30, to take the lead. Only Anthony had scored higher, in the qualifying. Japan’s Hinako Tomitaka also scored 78.00, but was behind Laffont on the tie-breaker.

Then came Kauf in the seventh position and she got her highest score in the Games, at 80.77 for second behind Lemley, with only Anthony to go. But there was no storybook ending, as Anthony slipped and ended up eighth at 60.81.

That left Lemley as Olympic champ for the U.S., its third after Donna Weinbrecht in 1992 and Hannah Kearney in 2010. Kauf won silver for the second time in a row – never done before – and gave the Americans their first 1-2 in this event in Olympic history.

● Luge: Men’s and Women’s Doubles
This was a more than little crazy.

The men’s Doubles had Americans Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa in the lead after the first of two runs, with a track record of 52.482. What? Three-time defending Olympic champs Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER) were in fifth and out of the medals. What?

The second run was epic, with Wendl and Arlt rolling through in 52.593 and taking the lead. Teammates Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller, clear medal contenders in fourth, were slower in 52.690 and were second and likely out of the medals.

Third-place Italians Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner, completely unheralded before the Games, were standing third and raced well, finishing in 52.587 and took the lead, passing the Germans, with two sleds left.

Austria’s Thomas Steu – Olympic bronzer in 2022 – and Wolfgang Kindl were next, sitting in second and managed a 52.669, slower than the Italians and now second, waiting for the Americans.

Mueller and Haugsjaa did not have the same magic as the first run and their 52.811 left them in sixth place overall. Creditable, but not what they wanted.

Instead, it was Italy in gold (1:45.086), then Steu and Kindl for silver (1:45.154) and Wendl and Arlt for bronze (1:45.176), with the top 11 sleds separated by less than one second. Mueller and Haugsjaa finished in 1:45.293 and Zach Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander were eighth in 1:45.467.

No Italian sled had won since 1994 and it was Italy’s third Luge gold overall, for a pair which did not win a World Cup medal this season. How did they do it? Home cooking on a new track; said Rieder, “After our many training runs, we were able to use our home advantage.”

The women’s Doubles debuted in Cortina, and it was quite a show, with the home team completing an unlikely sweep.

Unlike the men, Italians Andrea Votter and Marion Oberhofer were dominant. They had won a World Cup medal this season – a bronze – and set a track record in the first run at 53.102, taking an 0.22 lead on Germans Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina (53.124), with Austrians Selina Egle and Lara Kipp in third (53.193).

Those three were separated from the field and rolled to the medals. The Italians had the fastest second run as well and won gold in 1:46.284, more than a second ahead of Eitberger and Marschina (1:46.404) and Egle and Kipp (1:46.543). Impressive, very impressive.

The U.S. had Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby in fifth at 1:47.565, placing fifth and seventh in their two runs.

When the new sliding track was built on an incredibly tight timeline, many did not see it finishing in time for the Games. Absolutely no one saw an Italian sweep of the luge Doubles coming.

● Nordic Combined: Individual Normal Hill (107 m)
For a discipline under pressure to stay in the Games, the best possible outcome of the Gunderson 107 m jumping/10 km race was a close finish with three different countries winning medals.

Bingo!

The jumping leader was Estonia’s Kristjian Ilves and Austria’s Thomas Rettenegger, but they weren’t the favorites. In the skiing, three men came up to separate and go for the medals: seasonal leader Johannes Lamparter (AUT), Norway’s second-ranked Jens Oftebro and surprise Finnish challenger Eero Hirvonen.

Hirvonen finally dropped back, posting the fastest ski time and had to settle for third (30:01.9), while Oftebro, who started 28 seconds behind, won a tight finish with Lamparter, 29:59.4 to 30:00.4 (including their handicaps). It was the first Olympic medal for all three and the first Norwegian win since 1998!

There were five countries with finishers in the top 10. The U.S. finished 17th and 18th with Ben Loomis (33:38.4) and Niklas Malacinski (33:39.1).

● Speed Skating: Men’s 1,000 m
There was no doubt about the favorite: world-record holder and two-time World Champion Jordan Stolz of the U.S.

And all eyes were on the 14th pair, pitting Stolz and 2025 World Champion Jenning De Boo (NED). And Stolz won a tight battle, coming from 0.37 down at the 600 m mark but getting an Olympic Record 1:06.28 to win by a half-second (1:06.78) and earn his first Olympic gold medal.

De Boo was a very clear second, with China’s 2024 Worlds runner-up Zhongyan Ning, winning the 12th pair, third in 1:07.34. Poland’s Damian Zurek, in the 15th and final pair, managed 1:07.41, but was fourth.

American Conor Mcdermott-Mostowy finished ninth in 1:08.48, skating with Ning, and Cooper Mcleod was 19th (1:09.31). Stolz’s win ended a U.S. drought in this event; Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick went 1-3 in Vancouver in 2010 for the last American medals.

Stolz will be busy; this is only the beginning, with the 500 m, the 1,500 m and the Mass Start ahead. But this is a very good start.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: The men’s tournament started with Bruce Mouat’s British rink beating China, 9-4. Danny Casper’s U.S. squad beat the Czech Republic, 8-7, Canadian star Brad Jacobs, the 2014 Olympic winner, defeated Germany, 7-6 and in a mild upset, Italy and Joel Retornaz edged defending champs Sweden and Niklas Edin, 7-6.

● Ice Hockey: The men’s tournament started, with Slovakia upsetting Finland, 4-1 before 11,025 at the Santa Giulia arena. Canada and the U.S. will play their first games on Thursday. Sweden dominated Italy, 5-2, in the second match.

= PREVIEWS: THURSDAY, 12 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 7 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Super-G
This could be another good day for Italy, with Downhill bronzer Sofia Goggia having won a gold and silver on the World Cup circuit this season. She will be inspired by teammate and 2025 Worlds runner-up Federica Brignone, who had a terrible crash in April 2025 and has been recovering, but competed in the Downhill, famously finishing 10th. A medal from Brignone is hard to imagine, but in an Olympic Games, dreams sometimes come true.

There are others with plans for the podium, including New Zealand star Alice Robinson, who also has a World Cup gold and silver. Emma Aicher (GER) is coming off her Downhill silver and won a World Cup Super-G in January. And what about Downhill champ Breezy Johnson of the U.S., who won a World Cup bronze in the last Super-G before the Games?

There are contenders lurking elsewhere, like Swiss Malorie Blanc, who won that last pre-Games Super-G on 31 January and Czech Ester Ledecka, who won this race in a huge upset in 2018, and failed to reach the medal round of her Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom event. Defending silver medalist Mirjam Puchner (AUT) was 11th in the Downhill.

● Cross Country Skiing: Women’s Freestyle 10 km
Ordinarily, this should be a strong event for three-time Olympic medalist Jessie Diggins of the U.S., who is an excellent Freestyle skier and the 2023 World Champion at 10 km, but who suffered bruised ribs from her early fall during the Skiathlon. Her efficiency is in question.

Sweden went 1-3 in the 10 km Classical at the 2025 Worlds, with Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson, who were silver and gold, respectively, in the Skiathlon. The fastest in the second 10 km – Freestyle – were Karlsson, Norway’s Heidi Weng (the bronze winner), Diggins, Andersson and Austria’s 2022 bronze winner Teresa Stadlober. Consider those the medal favorites.

Norway has added contenders including Karoline Simpson-Larsen and Astrid Slind and Swede Moa Ilar, with medals in four of six World Cup 10 km races (1-2-1) is not to be ignored.

Everyone will be looking at Diggins and asking, “is she healthy?”

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Moguls
Another crown for the king? Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury owns the records for the most World Cup wins, has four Worlds golds and Worlds medals and was the 2018 Olympic winner. But he was second to Swede Walter Wallberg in 2022.

Neither has dominated on the World Cup circuit. Kingsbury won his only medal of the season – a gold – in January at home at Val St. Come. Wallberg earned a silver in December in Finland.

Instead, Japanese veteran Ikuma Horishima, a three-time Worlds gold medalist and the 2022 bronzer, won two of the four World Cups this season and was second in another to Australia’s Matt Graham, the 2018 Olympic runner-up and the 2019 and 2023 Worlds runner-up.

There are only three medals to be shared among those four and American Nick Page (two World Cup bronzes this season), Sweden’s Filip Gravenfors and Canada’s Julien Viel are all capable of upsetting the script.

● Luge: Team Relay
This will be the fourth edition of the Team Relay and German teams have won the first three. Austria and Latvia have medaled twice and Canada once. Yes, they are all contenders again, with the Germans the prohibitive favorite.

At the 2025 Worlds, it was Germany, Austria and Latvia for the medals again.

It was a bit more mixed during the World Cup season, with five races and “only” three German wins. Italy and Austria won once each and the U.S. earned two bronzes and could contend, if everything goes well.

But with Max Langenhan and Julia Taubitz already the Singles winners, it is going to be a tall order to beat the Germans.

● Short Track: Men’s 1,000 m; Women’s 500 m
These races pick up with the quarterfinals after the heats on the 10th. The men’s 1,000 m has really been about Canada and 2025 World Champion Steven Dubois and silver winner William Dandjinou.

But they did not dominate the ISU World Tour races in this distance, Italy’s Pietro Sighel, the 2025 Worlds bronze winner, won one World Tour and was second and third in others. Korea’s Jong-on Rim won two medals and veteran Dae-heon Hwang won a bronze. Shaoang Liu won an Olympic bronze for Hungary in 2022 but now skates for China and took two medals this season.

And Dutch veteran Jens van’t Wout is simply dangerous, having won the European title in 2026. But the Canadians figure to be the ones to beat and the strategies are being built around handling them.

The women’s 500 m is mostly whether Dutch World Champion Xandra Velzeboer can stay upright. She won three of four World Tour events this season, but crashed in the Mixed Relay and cost a medal. She is a clear favorite, but Canada again will challenge with Courtney Sauralt, who won a World Tour 500 m this season.

American Corinne Stoddard was a strong medal contender, but crashed out in the heats. Teammate Kirsten Santos-Griswold was the star of the 2024-25 season, but has been hampered by injuries. If she is right, she can skate with anyone.

All of this ignores – at one’s peril – the two-time defending Olympic champ, Italy’s Arianna Fontana, who just won a 12th career Olympic medal in the Mixed Relay. She and Velzeboer are both in quarterfinal no. 1. Two-time Olympic bronzer Kim Boutin of Canada is also back to try for a third medal in this event.

● Snowboard: Men’s SnowCross; Women’s Halfpipe
The men’s Snowboard Cross favorites have to start with defending champion Alessandro Hammerle (AUT) and Canada’s silver winner Eliot Grondin from 2022, with Grondin winning the 2025 Worlds gold and Hammerle third.

But neither of them won any of the three World Cup races this season, as Jonas and Adrian Chollet (FRA) were 1-2 in Italy in December, Austria’s Jacob Dusek won over Grondin in China in January and Australian Adam Lambert won the second race in China, beating Hammerle in the final.

Lambert won medals in all three races and has to be a medal contender; American Nathan Pare, a first-time Olympian, won a bronze in the final pre-Games race in China. A surprise?

The women’s Halfpipe was considered a foregone conclusion for U.S. star Chloe Kim, a two-time Olympic champ, but she has been nursing a shoulder injury in late January. She has been cleared to compete, but no one will know how fit she is until she starts.

The U.S. has won this event five of the seven times it has been held, with Kim the only repeat winner. The star of the World Cup season, however, has been Korean Ga-on Choi, 17, who won three of the five events so far. As always, Japanese stars Mitsuki Ono – a two-time Worlds bronze winner – and Beijing 2022 bronzer Sena Tomita, and Rise Kudo.

Americans won two World Cup medals this season, with Madeline Schaffrick taking a silver in January and Bea Kim (no relation) taking a bronze in December. They’re both at the Games.

Chloe Kim had no trouble in the qualifying, ripping off a 90.25 on her first run and going home. Sara Shimizu (JPN: 87.50) was second and American Maddie Mastro impressed with a 86.00 on her second run.

● Speed skating: Women’s 5,000 m
Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida won an emotional Olympic 3,000 m gold on her birthday on 7 February, over Ragne Wiklund (NOR) and Valerie Maltais (CAN). Can she double her pleasure?

A year ago, it was Lollobrigida winning the Worlds 5,000 m over Wiklund, but with Merel Conijn (NED) third. Those four are in the mix again, along with Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann, the 2022 Beijing silver winner.

Recovering from a viral infection which kept her out of the 5,000 m, homage must be paid to Czech star Martina Sabilkova, now 38, who won Olympic golds in this event in 2010 and 2014, was second in 2018 and bronze in 2022. She owns 10 World Championships golds in this event. She still ranked eighth in the ISU World Cup Distance standings this season, but said Wednesday that while she will race, she won’t be competitive.

A dark horse? Try Nadezhda Morozova (KAZ), in the top five in three of five World Cup distance races this season.

= INTEL REPORT =

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The Executive Committee of the LA28 Board of Directors issued a statement Wednesday morning, that after a detailed inquiry, Casey Wasserman should continue as the Chair of the organizing committee. More here.

● Athletics ● An audacious Grand Slam Track bankruptcy reorganization plan was filed that proposes to pay 85% of debts owed to athletes, but just 1.5% owed to vendors and aims to create a new, Michael Johnson-led entity for a future circuit. More here.

At the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet in Belgrade (SRB), Bulgaria’s 2025 European Indoor champ Bozhidar Saraboyukov took the world lead in the men’s long jump at 8.45 m (27-8 3/4), beating Olympic champ Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE: 8.27 m/27-1 3/4).

American Roger Steen, the 2025 Worlds runner-up, won the men’s shot with a world-leading mark of 22.07 m (72-5), his best ever indoors.

Swiss 800 m star Audrey Werro, the Diamond League final winner, took the women’s 800 m in a world-leading 1:57.27, moving her to no. 8 on the all-time indoor list, with a national record.

Poland’s Jakub Szymanski won the men’s 60 m hurdles in 7.43, moving to no. 2 in the world for 2026, winning easily over Paris 2024 silver winner Daniel Roberts of the U.S. (7.57). Italian sprinter Zaynab Dosso, the 2025 Worlds silver winner, went to no. 2 in the world for 60 m at 7.02.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LOS ANGELES 2028: Organizing committee Board ExCom says Wasserman should continue as LA28 Chair

Rich Perelman

February 11, 2026

tsx pix 2026-203 wasserman, casey III ioc session — LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman addressing the 145th IOC Session in Milan, Italy on 3 February 2026 (IOC video screen shot).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ WASSERMAN STAYS ≡

The statement came through at 10:55 a.m. Wednesday from the LA28 organizing committee:

“After meeting on Wednesday, February 11, the Executive Committee of the Board issued the following statement:

“‘LA28 takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and our Board is committed to thoroughly reviewing any concerns related to the organization’s leadership.

“‘With the assistance of outside counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, a review was conducted of Mr. Wasserman’s past interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Mr. Wasserman fully cooperated with the review.

“‘We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.

“‘Twenty-three years ago, before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell’s deplorable crimes, Mr. Wasserman and his then-wife flew on a humanitarian mission to Africa on Epstein’s plane at the invitation of the Clinton Foundation. This was his single interaction with Epstein. Shortly after, he traded the publicly-known emails with Maxwell.

“‘The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.’”

While there have been calls from multiple elected officials for Wasserman to resign, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that the decision was up to the LA28 Board of Directors.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

ATHLETICS: Audacious Grand Slam Track bankruptcy plan pays 85% to athletes, 1.5% to vendors and creates new, Michael Johnson-led entity

Rich Perelman

February 11, 2026

tsx pix 2024-1201 grant slam trk-johnson — Grand Slam Track founder Michael Johnson (Photo: Grand Slam Track).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ GRAND SLAM TRACK ≡

After the cancellation of its fourth meet last June, Grand Slam Track sent letters to its hundreds of creditors, asking them to take 50 cents on the dollars and indicting there was “an outside party” interested in acquiring Grand Slam Track, but only if “debt-free.”

It appears the machinery is now being arranged to make that happen.

A brutal and clever plan to settle the financial affairs of Grand Slam Track and start over with a clean slate has been filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, outlining a complicated and stunning plan.

Please follow this carefully; it’s complex:

● “The Debtor has insufficient assets to provide recoveries to its creditors and acknowledges that unfortunate reality and the burden on its creditors.

● “Nevertheless, as forecasted by the Debtor, the Debtor has been negotiating with interested parties to provide the Debtor with funding in order to give some recoveries to its creditors and put its creditors in a better position than they would be in under a liquidation of the Debtor.

● “To that end, the Plan provides for the continuation of the Debtor’s operations through the Reorganized Debtor through a transaction whereby an entity to be formed and owned and controlled at least in part by Michael Johnson (or his designee) (the “Plan Sponsor”) will pay cash to the Debtor’s estate in an amount sufficient (after application of the Debtor’s Cash on hand) to

“(i) pay or otherwise satisfy in full Allowed administrative, secured, and priority claims,

“(ii) fund the Distributions to holders of Claims in Classes 3A and 3B as set forth herein (totaling more than $6 million),

“(iii) fund the Pro Rata Distribution to holders of general unsecured claims in Class 3C as set forth herein, and

“(iv) fund a reserve for the Reorganized Debtor and the Plan Administrator, as the case may be, to consummate the Plan and close the Chapter 11 Case (collectively, the “New Value Contribution”) and, in turn, the Plan Sponsor will receive 100% of the new equity interests in the Reorganized Debtor, with equity interests in the Debtor to be cancelled.”

Digging further into the filing, the plan proposed does this:

● Winners Alliance, the for-profit arm of the Professional Tennis Players Association, which has already invested $13.0 million into Grand Slam Track and an additional $2.305 million in bankruptcy costs, “will provide all or part of the exit financing for the Plan Sponsor.”

That’s the money to pay off the existing debt, identified in the reorganization plan as $31.4 million.

● But only a fraction of that amount is proposed to be paid. According to the proposed plan, payments would be made:

(1) To fund the $2.35 million in bankruptcy loans from Winners Alliance, $5.0 million in Winners Alliance loans and $34,300 in “Priority Non-Tax Claims.”

(2) Fund $6.0 million of the $7.0 million owed to athletes (Class 3A: 85.7%).

(3) Fund $82,000 out of $97,000 owed for “Allowed Critical Vendor Claims” (Class 3B: 84.5%).

(4) Fund $200,000 out of $12.9 million in “Unsecured Vendor Claims” (Class 3C: 1.55%).

In rough terms, that means about $13.7 million out of $31.4 million of Grand Slam Track’s debt (43.5%) would be paid and the rest would be vaporized in the bankruptcy process.

Who is the “Plan Sponsor” to pay these amounts? That would be “an entity to be formed in connection with the Plan, which shall initially and at least in part be owned and controlled by Michael Johnson (or his designee),” with Winners Alliance stated to be the source of the funds.

The next hearing on the plan is scheduled for 11 March, with a further hearing scheduled for possible approval of the plan on 16 April.

A vote of the creditors is required and the document states that failing approval of the plan, a Chapter 7 liquidation would bring the unsecured creditors possibly even less, but would certainly bring the athletes less.

Observed: In essence, the 64-page plan pays off most of the athlete debt, pays essentially nothing to everyone else (including Johnson, who is personally owed $2.2 million for a $2 million loan and expenses) and starts fresh.

This is both brutal and clever. It gets Grand Slam Track into the position its unnamed investor wants, to start debt-free, and Winners Alliance is clearly ready to play along, spending more millions.

Would anyone want to help a second version of Grand Slam Track without being paid in advance? Even then?

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: IOC notes criteria for keeping a sport Olympic; U.S. wins five medals among the chaos; 12th career medal for Italy’s Fontana

Rich Perelman

February 10, 2026

tsx pix 2026-210 owg-fontana-italy mxd rly (rosen) — All smiles for Italy in the Short Track Mixed Relay, with Arianna Fontana (fourth from left) winning a 12th career Olympic medal! (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) said last week that her working group on the Olympic program is creating a set of metrics to help evaluate the place of sports in the Olympic and Winter Games.

At Sunday’s media briefing in Milan, IOC Sports Director Pierre Ducrey (SUI) explained further, in the context of the future of the Nordic Combined, for which women were controversially not added for the 2026 Winter Games. Ducrey explained:

“When it comes to Nordic Combined, I think we look at it in a way that these [2026] Games will provide us a lot of information.

“When we assess a sport, not necessarily Nordic Combined – any sport – what do we look for?

“We look for universality, we look for spread of excellence at the top, we look for is this sport being watched – in the Games, outside the Games – there are a lot of elements being used, which again, are not specific to Nordic Combined. We apply the exact same criteria to all sports.

“It just turns out that this particular discipline has had challenges in the past. I think it’s been communicated , both on the men’s and women’s side, so we just want to make sure that we take a very good look – in detail – at how much the sport has moved forward since we made the decision for 2026.

“When we decided on the women for 2026, you know in ‘21 there had only been one World Championship, with a lower number of athletes. Now the sport has evolved further, so we want to make sure we take all the criteria I just mentioned and inform those that have to make the decision.”

Coventry’s prior comments and Ducrey’s raise the issue of sports that have been in the lower tiers of popularity according to the IOC’s measurements in recent Games. For the 2016-2020 Games, these included canoeing, equestrian, fencing, handball, hockey, sailing, taekwondo, triathlon and wrestling, along with modern pentathlon and the new (as of 2016) sports of golf and rugby sevens.

IOC member Karl Stoss (AUT), who is leading the Olympic Program working group, was clear during his IOC Session presentation, “we will not be able to make everyone happy,” and added, “our responsibility is clear: to ensure the Olympic sports program is balanced, relevant and forward-looking and sustainable.”

Ducrey gave a little more perspective on what Stoss meant.
~ Rich Perelman

● Rosen Report ● A full review of a wild day in Short Track, and a bad day for American star Corinne Stoddard, among others, on soft ice on Tuesday.

● Rosen Report II ● An emotional Short Program for American skater Maxim Naumov, remembering his parents while qualifying for the Olympic final.

● Also on TSX ● In its massive spending bill signed into law last week, the U.S. government authorized funds for transportation assistance for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Games. It even had funding for the World Anti-Doping Agency, but with strings attached!

● Milan Cortina 2026 ● The organizing committee said in the morning news briefing that it sold 56,000 tickets across nine venues on Monday.

Spokesman Luca Casassa explained that the problem of some medals and ribbons becoming detached at the top has been taken up with the Italian Mint – which made them – and anyone with an issue can turn them in for a quick repair and return.

The International Olympic Committee decided that Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych will not be allowed under the political neutrality rules to wear a special helmet which commemorates those lost during the Russian invasion of the country with pictures of about 20 individuals, but will be allowed – as an exception – to wear a black armband instead.

Heraskevych has worn the helmet during training and promoted it on his social channels, but will not be able to wear in competition. Said IOC spokesman Mark Adams (GBR): “We feel this is a good compromise in the situation,” maintaining a “safe space” in the competitions.

Milan Cortina 2026 food and beverage director Elisabetta Salvadori explained that the dining halls of the Olympic Villages include 600 seats in Milan, 400 in Cortina and 400 in Predazzo, preparing about 4,500 meals a day in Milan and about 4,000 in Cortina and 3,000 in Predazzo. The ice hockey players eat the most and the lines are longest – surprise? – at the pasta and pizza stations!

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Some sunshine is expected for Milan on Wednesday (11th), with temperatures up to 55 F for the high and a 41 F low, with the warming trend continuing through Friday.

In Cortina, winds are expected to be light, with overcast conditions and a high of 43 F. Temps will dive to 25 F overnight, with some light snow moving in late.

● Scoreboard ● A big day for Norway moved them into the lead in the overall medal table, through 27 of 116 events:

● 12: Norway (6-2-4)
● 11: Italy (2-2-7)
● 8: Japan (2-2-4)
● 7: United States (2-3-2)
● 6: Germany (3-2-1)

● 6: Sweden (3-2-1)
● 5: Switzerland
● 5: Austria
● 3: France
● 3: Canada

The U.S. had a five-medal day, but no golds (0-3-2).

● 141: Norway
● 124: Italy
● 89.5: Austria
● 87.5: United States
● 74: Germany

● 69.5: Switzerland
● 68.5: Japan
● 64: Sweden
● 49: France
● 43: Canada

● 31: Netherlands
● 29: China
● 29: Czech Republic

The Italians have put up an impressive 25 place winners (1-8) in just the first three days of medal competitions.

● Television ● Criticism of television announcers is nothing new; commentary on what is said on television inspired a site called “Awful Announcing” – focusing on U.S. television – way back in 2006!

But the performance of RaiSport director Paolo Petrecca at the Milan Cortina opening ceremony on Friday might be a new low. Among the gaffes, he identified Italian actress Matilda De Angelis as American star Mariah Carey, said IOC chief Coventry was the daughter of Italian President Sergio Mattarella and failed to recognize most of the hugely-popular men’s and women’s world champion volleyball teams who carried the Olympic Torch in the stadium and marched it outside for its eventual lighting at the Arco della Pace.

He had opened the telecast as being from the Stadio Olimpico – which is in Rome – instead of the San Siro, the iconic Milan stadium.

It was so bad that RaiSport pulled Petrecca from the closing ceremony announce team and the RaiSport staff issued a statement on Monday that included:

“From today at 5 p.m. and until the end of the Games – we read in a note – we are withdrawing our signature from services, connections and commentaries while we wait for the company to finally become aware of the damage that the director has caused: to the viewers who pay the license fee, to Rai as a company and to the entire editorial staff who are working as always with passion on this great event.”

The RaiSport union’s statement included:

“Dear colleagues, for three days we have all been embarrassed, no one excluded, and through no fault of our own. It’s time to make our voices heard because we are facing the worst performance ever by RaiSport during one of the most anticipated events of all time, the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. …

“This is not a political issue , as some would have us believe, but a question of respect and dignity for public service. Starting today at 5 p.m., we have requested that a union statement be read on all Olympic news programs and on the Mattina Olimpica and Notti Olimpiche programs.”

And it ended explaining that after the end of the Games, “we will implement the three-day strike mandate that the editorial staff voted for after the director’s editorial plan was twice rejected.”

Awful announcing, indeed. De Angelis made fun of the “mix-up” with Carey, writing on her Instagram page, “Please, call me Mariah.”

● Figure Skating ● U.S. skater Amber Glenn came to a resolution concerning using “The Return” by Canadian singer Seb McKinnon (CLANN), explaining in a statement:

“The issue of music rights can be complex and confusing. Seems like there was a hiccup in that whole process. I’m glad we cleared things up with Seb and I look forward to collaborating with him.”

Glenn had been using the song in routines for about two years, but McKinnon found out about it only in the context of the Winter Games and publicly questioned the use of his music without his direct consent.

A handful of usage incidents have come up for Olympic skaters, including Spain’s Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate and Russian “neutral” Petr Gumennik.

Another hiccup was during the Team Event medal ceremony, where the podium was covered by a non-skid material rather than a soft cover, and the teams came out in their skates, without covers.

So, there were incidents of minor damage to some skates, with the organizing committee stating:

“During the Figure Skating Team Event medal ceremony, the anti-slip surface of the podium caused some damage to the athletes’ skates.

“To minimise the impact of the damage to athletes’ preparations and in agreement with [International Skating Union], Milano Cortina 2026 has made a skate-sharpening service available and offered an additional training session to the impacted National Olympic Committees. We also understand that some [National Olympic Committees] have offered their services to the impacted athletes from other countries in a true example of the Olympic spirit.”

● French Alps 2030 ● It was reported that chief executive Cyril Linette will be dismissed by organizing committee chief Edgar Grospiron, with a meeting of the Executive Board on Tuesday evening. A national governmental committee hearing from the organizers is scheduled for 25 February.

= RESULTS: TUESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 8 sports & disciplines)

Charles Dickens immortally wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” as the opening line of his 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities. That’s what happened to Team USA on Tuesday, in a wild swing of emotions throughout a chaotic of triumph and despair. Check it out.

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Team Combined
A shocker. An absolute shocker. Olympic Downhill champion Breezy Johnson of the U.S. led off with a leading mark of 1:36.49 and handed off to the greatest Slalom skier of all time, Mikaela Shiffrin. Same as at the 2025 World Championships, where the pair won gold.

This time, she had trouble and finished 15th in the Slalom segment and left the American pair in fourth place and out of the medals. Said Shiffrin:

“I’m careful not to make excuses but it comes from a lot of different variables.

“It is a sport of fine margins and a lot of variables. This kind of thing happens more often than not in training where it’s like I don’t quite feel comfortable enough and there’s a certain amount of luck when it goes right.

“But there’s also a feeling that I’m going to work to achieve for the Slalom race coming up.”

Meanwhile, Austria’s Ariane Raedler was a surprise second in the Downhill and even with a 10th-place Slalom finish for Katharina Huber, they won the event with a combined time of 2:21.66. Likewise, German Kira Weidle-Winkelmann was sixth in the Downhill, but new star Emma Aicher won the Slalom and they grabbed the silver in 2:21.71.

The second American team of Jackie Wiles (fourth in the Downhill) and Paula Moltzan figured to be in the medal mix and Moltzan’s fourth in the Slalom brought them the bronze in 2:21.97. The Austrian pair of Cornelia Huetter and Katharina Truppe were expected to compete for gold, but finished fifth and 13th and ended up fifth. It didn’t happen only to Shiffrin.

The other American teams included Keely Cashman and A.J. Hurt in 15th overall (2:24.90) and Isabella Wright did not finish the Downhill.

● Biathlon: Men’s Individual
Norway’s new star, Johan-Olav Botn, a three-time winner on the World Cup circuit in only his second season, shot clean and won his first Olympic medal in his first Olympic race in 51:31.5.

That was 14.8 seconds up on France’s Eric Perrot, the 2025 World Champion, who crucially missed a shot on the second segment and took silver in 51:46.3.

They were both well ahead of the rest of the field, with Norway’s Sturla Holm Lagreid – the 2021 World Champion – taking bronze in 52:19.8 (1), with the next-closest competitor more than 48 seconds behind. Defending champ Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) was eighth.

Botn signaled to the sky at the line, remembering teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who passed in December in a hotel in Lavaze (ITA). The U.S. had Campbell Wright in 27th (56:53.9/2), Paul Schommer in 44th (58:00.4/1), Maxime Germain in 67th (1:00:44.9/3) and Sean Doherty in 80th (1:02:16.8/6).

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s and Women’s Sprint
Another shocker. But not for Norway’s all-conquering Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who won his second gold of the Games in 3:39.74, his third straight win in the Winter Games! No one has ever done that before and Norwegians have now won five of the seven men’s Sprints ever held.

What came after was hard to believe: American Ben Ogden, who had been second in the qualifying, won his quarterfinal and was a close third in his semi. In the final, he was the only real competitor for Klaebo and finished second in 3:40.61 for his first Olympic medal!

Ogden, 25, had won a total of two FIS World Cup medals in his career – both bronzes – and none this season. Now, he’s the second American man to ever win an Olympic cross country medal, after Bill Koch’s 30 km silver way back in 1976! What?

Norway picked up the bronze with Oskar Vike at 3:46.55.

The women’s Classical Sprint climaxed a Swedish progression on the podium. Stina Nilsson won in 2018, then Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist went 1-2 in 2022. This time it was a sweep, with Linn Svahn – a World Cup winner this year – winning in 4:03.05, ahead of Sundling (4:04.64) and Dahlqvist (4:07.88). It’s the first-ever medals sweep in this event, men or women.

American Julia Kern made the final and finished sixth in 4:43.41. Jessie Diggins, more of a distance racer now, and still suffering from bruised ribs from her fall earlier, was eliminated in her quarterfinal.

● Curling: Mixed Doubles
Sweden’s brother-sister team of Isabella and Rasmus Wrana were the last ones to make it into the playoffs in Cortina, but they stood highest on the podium with a final-end win over Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin of the U.S., 6-5.

The U.S. had a 1-0 lead after the first end and the Swedes came back with two in the second. It was 4-3 for Sweden at the end of six and then the Americans struck – as they did in the semis – with two points to take a 5-4 lead into the final end.

But the Wranas were keen to respond and Isabella’s final shot scored two in the eighth and got the gold, 6-5. It was Sweden’s first gold in the event and the first medal for the U.S., the 2023 World Champions.

Defending champions Italy won the bronze over Britain, 5-3, as Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosauer scored single points in the first, third, sixth and eighth ends. They are the second two-time medalists in the event.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Slopestyle
Norway’s Birk Ruud came in as the favorite, after winning the Worlds golds in Slopestyle in 2023 and 2025, after winning the Big Air gold at the Beijing 2022 Games.

He wasted no time putting the pressure on the rest of the field, sailing out to an 86.28 score on his first run and daring anyone else to beat him. No one could.

In fact, only three skiers managed scores in the 80s. Switzerland’s 2021 World Champion, Andri Ragettli, was second after the first round at 78.65, but American Alex Hall – the defending champion – fired up to second place at 85.75 in the second round, with Ragettli still in third.

Rudd wasn’t close on his second run, scoring 45.08, but in the third round, New Zealand star Luca Harrington, the 2025 World Champion in Big Air, moved up to third at 85.15. Hall went for broke but could not execute and scored only 8.03. Ruud had to sweat out six more riders, but then flew down his final run in celebration.

It’s Norway’s second win in this event in four times it has been held at the Games; the U.S. has won the other two and Americans have won medal all four times (and seven of the 12 awarded all-time).

Americans Konnor Ralph (66.76) and Mac Forehand (55.93) finished ninth and 11th.

● Luge: Women’s Singles
Germany had won this event seven straight times in Olympic competition, and that didn’t change in Cortina.

Julia Taubitz, the 2021 and 2025 World Champion, set the track record at 52.550 on her second run and entered day two as the leader by 0.61 over teammate Merle Fraebel. Taubitz left absolutely no doubt and won the third and fourth runs and was a dominant winner in 3:30.625.

Behind her was more chaos. Fraebel had a horrible third run, ranking 20th and even with a second-place final run, finished at 3:32.172 and opened the door for others. Latvia’s Elina Bots – who won no World Cup medals this season, but already a surprise third on the first day – didn’t miss her chance and ranked fourth and sixth on her two runs and won silver in 3:31.543, 0.918 seconds behind Taubitz.

Italy had a shot at bronze with Verena Hofer starting the day in fourth place, and she ran well, placing fifth and seventh on her two runs for a 3:31.645 total. But American Ashley Farquharson – in her second Games – was on fire on Tuesday, running third overall on her third run to move into bronze medal position. And a fourth-place finish on her last run meant she won the bronze in 3:31.582. She said later:

“I feel amazing. This feels unbelievable. I still feel a little bit like I’m dreaming,”

“It was the first time that I felt competitive at the Olympics, so it was a lot of managing my emotions and making sure that I was ready to perform at exactly the right time. I feel like I did a very good job. And I really, really put my game face on and threw down. When I came into the outrun and I saw the [number] one, I knew that I [was] guaranteed a medal. It seriously felt like I was dreaming. It did not feel real.”

This was only the second U.S. medal ever in this event, after Erin Hamlin’s bronze in Sochi in 2014. It was the first ever for Latvia! And, eight in a row for Germany.

The U.S. also finished 12th with Emily Fischnaller (3:33.035) and 14th with Summer Britcher (3:33.553).

● Short Track: Mixed Relay
Chaos was the right word to describe this event in Milan as the Short Track program got going.

American star Corinne Stoddard fell in the quarterfinals, but managed to tag teammate Kristen Santos-Griswold and the U.S. qualified into the semis. In the first semi, home favorite Italy, powered by six-time Olympian Arianna Fontana, won in 2:37.482, but Dutch star Xandra Velzeboer crashed and they ended up third in 2:53.319 and into the non-medal B final.

Semi two had Canada, another favorite, who won in 2:39.607. But Stoddard crashed again, possibly due to what the skaters said was soft ice, and the Americans were fourth in 2:53.341, and into the B final.

Italy, with Fontana, Elisa Confortola, Pietro Sighel and Thomas Nadalini, won the expected tight final from Canada, 2:39.019 to 2:39.258, giving Fontana a third career Olympic gold and her 12th career medal (3-4-5), the most ever in Short Track. Olympic super-statistician Dr. Bill Mallon noted that the 12 medals moves to equal-4th all-time on the Winter Olympic medal standings and third among women, with only Marit Bjorgen (NOR: 15) and Ireen Wust (NED: 13) ahead of her. And Short Track is only getting started.

The Dutch felt the worst of all, winning the B final in an Olympic Record of 2:35.537, which would have won the gold. The U.S. finished fourth (2:57.160) with Andrew Heo, Brandon Kim, Santos-Griswold and Julie Letai replacing the despondent Stoddard.

● Ski Jumping: Mixed Team (107 m hill)
This was the second time this event has been in the Games, first in 2022 in Beijing, with Slovenia – with Peter Prevc on the team – winning over Russia and Canada.

This time, the Slovenian team had younger members of the Prevc family on the hill in Predazzo in Domen and Nika and they did not disappoint. Teamed with veteran Anze Lanisek and Nika Vodan, the Slovenians were balanced, made no mistakes and piled up 1,069.2 points to win easily over 2025 World Champions Norway (1,038.3) and Japan (1,034.0). Lanisek was especially impressive, the only one to score more than 140 points on both of his jumps: 140.7 and 142.0, top score of the day.

The U.S. team of Annika Belshaw, Jason Colby, Paige Jones and Tate Frantz made the final – a nice achievement – and finished seventh with 932.9 points.

Elsewhere:

● Figure Skating: The men’s Short Program brought two-time World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. back to the ice, and after ranking second in the Short during the Team Event, he left no doubt, scoring a sensational 108.16 points – his second best of the season – to lead Beijing 2022 runner-up Yuma Kagiyama (JPN: 103.07) and France’s 2024 Worlds bronzer, Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA: 102.55).

Italy’s Daniel Grassl was a distant fourth at 93.46, and the U.S. also qualified Andrew Torgashev (8th: 88.94) and Maxim Naumov (14th: 85.65) to the final.

Malinin’s program included a quad Flip and quad Lutz-Triple Toe Loop combo and all of his elements received strong execution scores. Yes, he also threw in an outrageous backflip. He remains the favorite for the gold in a couple of days.

● Ice Hockey: The U.S. and Canada met in group play, and the Americans – who won all four games in the Rivalry Series in 2025 by a combined score of 24-7 – started fast with a goal from Caroline Harvey at 3:45 of the first period, followed by a Harvey assist in a goal at 17:18 for Hannah Bilka. A strong effort held Canada to just four shots, while the U.S. had 11.

More of the same in the second, as a quick Canadian penalty led to a power-play goal for Kirsten Simms just 1:18 into the period for a 3-0 edge. It was 4-0 at the 13:00 mark with another goal for Bilka and the U.S. ended the period with an 11-6 shots edge.

The final period saw a fifth U.S. goal, from Laila Edwards at 11:53 of the period for the 5-0 final, with the Americans out-shooting Canada, 33-20. The U.S. will win the group at 3-0; Canada has a game to play against Finland on the 12th.

It’s the biggest win for the U.S. against Canada since its 10-4 victory on 10 December 2025 in Edmonton and its first shutout against them since a 1-0 overtime win in the group stage of the 2024 IIHF World Championship.

= PREVIEWS: WEDNESDAY, 11 FEBRUARY =
(8 events in 7 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Super-G
He may have finished “only” fourth in the Downhill, but have no doubt that Swiss star Marco Odermatt is the Super-G favorite. He’s the 2025 World Champion. He’s won the seasonal World Cup title three seasons in a row. He has two Super-G wins on the FIS World Cup circuit this season.

But he is not invincible. Teammate Franjo von Allmen, the Downhill winner, has three World Cup medals this season. Downhill runner-up Giovanni Franzoni (ITA) also has a World Cup win, as does Austria’s Vincent Kreichmayr, who just shared a Team Combined silver with Odermatt’s Swiss pair. Austrian teammates Raphael Haaser (2025 Worlds silver), Stefan Babinsky and Marco Schwarz all have World Cup medals this season.

If you’re looking for a surprise, your candidates could be Norway’s Fredrik Moeller or Czech Jan Zabystran or Swiss Alexis Monney, each one-time medalists during the World Cup season.

American hopes are on Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who surprised with an Olympic silver in Beijing in 2022.

● Biathlon: Women’s Individual (15 km)
France ruled women’s biathlon in 2025, winning three of the five World Championships races, including Julia Simon’s impressive win by almost 40 seconds in the Individual Race, plus a third-place finish for Lou Jeanmonnot, who broke open the Olympic Mixed Relay for France on Sunday, with Simon on anchor.

They have to start as medal favorites, but in the sole edition during the IBU World Cup season, it was veteran Italian star Dorothea Wierer, 35, who won it; she’s also the 2020 World Champion in this event. Same for teammate Lisa Vittozzi, the 2023 Worlds bronze winner and 2024 World Champion in this race.

Sweden has Hanna Oeberg, who won this event at the 2018 PyeongChang Games but has been better at the shorter distances more recently. And what about Finland’s emerging stars Suvi Minkkinen and Sonja Leinamo?

Lots of contenders, but all eyes will be on what is expected to come down to a France vs. Italy showdown. In the Olympic history of the event, France has one total medal and Italy has none.

● Figure Skating: Ice Dance
This event is expected to be a fight between World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. and the French paid of ex-Canadian Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, the Beijing 2022 Olympic champion with former partner Gabriella Papadakis, and a five-time World Champion.

A flawless routine gave the French a small 90.18 to 89.72 lead after the Rhythm Dance, so the Free Dance will be the decider. Chock and Bates and Cizeron have dominated the event for more than a decade:

Papadakis/Cizeron:
● Worlds gold in 2015-16-18-19-22
● Worlds silver in 2017

Chock/Bates:
● Worlds gold in 2023-24-25
● Worlds silver in 2015
● Worlds bronze in 2016-22

Beyond the top two are familiar Worlds medal winners, starting with Canada’s sassy Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, Worlds bronzers in 2023 and silver winners in 2024 and 2025, and Italy’s elegant Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, silver medalists in 2023 and bronze in 2024. They are third (86.18 for the Canadians) and fifth (84.28 for the Italians) heading into the Free Dance.

In between and with a clear shot at a medal are Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (84.28), who won the 2025 Worlds bronze. In sixth are Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, who could envision a medal with a brilliant performance … and some mistakes by those ahad of them. This should be great.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Moguls
There will be a familiar look to this event, with 2018 Olympic champion Perrine Laffont (FRA) also the 2025 World Champion. Australia’s 2022 Olympic winner, Jakara Anthony, however, has to be the favorite after dominating the FIS World Cup this season, winning three of four events.

The U.S. will have a big say, with Jaelin Kauf back after an Olympic silver in 2022, and Tess Johnson (2), Olivia Giaccio (4) and Elizabeth Lemley (1) all winning World Cup medals this season.

Not to be overlooked as the silver and bronze winners from the 2025 Worlds, Japan’s Hinako Tomitaka and Canadian Ashley Schwinghammer. But they will have their hands full with Anthony, Laffont and the Americans.

● Luge: Men’s and Women’s Doubles
The women’s Doubles will debut in Cortina, but as with the men, the winners will likely speak German.

During the FIL World Cup season, 2022 and 2023 World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER) dueled with Austria’s 2024 and 2025 Worlds winners Selina Egle and Lara Kipp, with each winning three times.

Just behind them has been Germany’s Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina, bronze winners at the 2025 Worlds, who medaled in six of seven races this season. Not to be counted out, however, is the American pair of Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby, the 2024 Worlds bronze winners, and home favorites Andrea Votter and Marion Oberhofer, World Cup medal winners this season.

The men’s Doubles is about who can prevent Germans Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt from a fourth straight Olympic gold! They won three World Cup races this season and … they were the last three prior to the Games!

They have no room for mistakes, however, and will be challenged by Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume, the 2025 Worlds silver winners, and German Toni Eggert, five times the World Champion with Sascha Benecken, but now with Florian Muller and twice World Cup medalists this season.

Austria has two medal-contender sleds, with Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schopf (four World Cup medals) and Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl; Steu won Olympic bronze with Lorenz Koller in 2022.

The U.S. has two competitive sleds, starting with World Cup winners in Lake Placid, Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa and veterans Zach Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander, who won a silver in Park City.

● Nordic Combined: Individual Normal Hill (107 m)
Under pressure to put on a good show that preferably would have three different countries win the three medals, this starts with jumping off the 107 m hill and follows with a 10.0 km cross-country skiing race, using a staggered start based on the jumping standings.

Defending champion Vinzenz Geiger (GER) is back, but is perhaps one of four favorites. During the World Cup season, seasonal leader Johannes Lamparter (AUT), Geiger, Norway’s Einar Oftebro and younger brother Jens Oftebro all won races in this format, with Lamparter winning twice.

They could take up all the medals, but Austrian brothers Steffen and Thomas Rettenegger and Germany’s Julian Schmid cannot be counted out. A German has won this race thrice in a row and four of the last five; Norway’s last win came in 1998 (!) and an Austrian has never won.

● Speed Skating: Men’s 1,000 m
The Dutch have won this race three times in a row in Olympic competition – including the still-dangerous Kjeld Nuis in 2018 – but the question is about American ace Jordan Stolz. In his second Games at age 21, he was the 500-1,000-1,500 m World Champion in 2023 and 2024, but was under the weather in 2025 and went 2-3-2 in those three races,

So, three years and 9-for-9 in Worlds medals, but Stolz is looking for gold now and is the favorite. He won all five races at this distance during the World Cup season and at times looked not just unbeatable, but unapproachable. Stolz has the world record of 1:05.37 set in the thin air of Kearns, Utah’s Olympic Oval in 2024 and that’s not likely to fall, but Stolz seems to have no limits when he is at his best.

Challengers? Yes, starting with the Dutch and 2025 World Champion Joep Wennemars and silver medalist Jenning De Boo, whose best event is the 500 m. Same for Poland’s Damian Zurek, second in three World Cups in the fall.

Fellow American Cooper Mcleod is an outside medal threat on his best day and German Finn Sonnekalb should not be a surprise if he shows up as a medal threat.

= INTEL REPORT =

● REMEMBERING ● Sad to report that long-time Olympic-sport executive Keith Ferguson, 67, passed away on 3 February 2026, from complications related to heart surgery

Ferguson’s introduction to the Olympic Movement was with the organizing committee for the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival in Oklahoma City. He was with the U.S. Olympic Committee as its Director of Bid Administration and International Events from 1989-2005 and later the chief executive of USA Climbing from 2008-12 and USA Taekwondo from 2016-17.

He spent 10 years with RFD TV in Tennessee and Texas as Executive Vice President, developing their sports programming.

● ATHLETICS ● USA Track & Field announced that the 2026 national championships will be held in New York, at Icahn Stadium at Randall’s Island Park from 23-26 July.

It’s the first time since 1991 for the USATF meet in New York, at this site, which seats 5,000. It will be the first time since 2019 that the meet will not be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, which had hosted five in a row.

● SWIMMING ● SwimSwam.com reported that “USA Swimming will not send a team to the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. A spokesperson said that the decision came down to Junior Team resource allocation and prioritization.”

The pool competitions in Dakar (SEN) are slated for 1-6 November, for athletes aged 14-17, also conflicting with the U.S. school schedules for the fall.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT II: U.S.’s Naumov qualifies for Olympic final while remembering his parents, lost in the AA5342 crash

Karen Rosen

February 10, 2026

tsx pix 2026-210 owg naumov, maxim (rosen) — American Olympian Maxim Naumov looking skyward at the close of his Short Program routine at the Milan Cortina 2026 Games (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

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≡ ROSEN REPORT II ≡

MILAN, Italy – It’s called men’s Singles, but Maxim Naumov was sure he had company on the ice as he moved through his Olympic Short Program routine.

“I felt almost like a hand on my back pushing me forward,” he said, “and just feeling my parents guiding me from one element to another, and just kind of keeping me grounded.”

His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, who were also his coaches, were killed on 25 January 2025, when their flight home aboard AA5342 collided with a U.S. Army helicopter following the national championships. Among the 67 casualties were 28 skaters, coaches and family members.

Naumov went home before his parents, the 1994 World Pairs Champions who had stayed in Wichita, Kansas, for a developmental clinic.

He continued skating to honor his parents and achieve the family’s dream of competing in the Olympic Games. Each skater was introduced on the Milano Ice Skating Arena video screen with a quote or motto, and Naumov’s said, “Mom and Dad, this is for you.”

As he skated to Chopin’s “Nocturne No. 20,” Naumov said he felt “almost like a chess piece on a chess board… unlike any other feeling I’ve ever felt.”

And this was unlike any other performance. Naumov posted a season-best score of 85.65 points, markedly better than his previous season high of 76.71.

The 24-year-old qualified for the final in 14th place, while teammate Ilia Malinin leads following the short program with 108.16 points.

Starting with a quad Salchow, Naumov then landed a triple Axel and a triple Lutz-triple Toe Loop combination with no deductions.

“It’s almost like I closed my eyes,” Naumov said, “and I opened them again, and I was on my knees at the end and just looking up and saying, ‘Man, look what we just did.'”

In the “kiss and cry,” Naumov kissed a photo showing his parents holding his hands on the ice when he was a little boy.

“This competition was so different,” said Naumov. “Usually I’m a little jittery and kind of rush a little bit, and I felt none of that here. The calm, the stillness, the confidence. I tried to lean as much into that as I possibly could. And man, it worked to be able to just have 2 minutes and 50 seconds to show what you’ve been working on for 19 years.”

Naumov is grateful for the support from the figure skating community. “I just hope that I made everyone proud,” he said. “And the job’s not finished. One program is down. We have one more to go.”

And he hopes his journey will resonate with others. “You know tragedy and very difficult times will unfortunately happen to all of us at a certain moment in your life,” Naumov said. “I just hope that my story can empower or inspire somebody to continue to push themselves onward, because that’s what we can do. That’s what we have to do.”

In the year since the tragedy, Naumov said the hardship and difficulty have taught him about himself and contributed to his growth as a human being.

Besides feeling his parents’ presence, Naumov was asked to imagine what they would have said to him in this moment.

“Well, I know for a fact that my mom wouldn’t have been here watching that’s for sure,” he said. “She never liked to watch me in person. She would always be refreshing the scores thing and making sure that she’s on top of it, but nervous out of her mind, but supporting me in her own way always.

“My dad would be right next to me and giving me the biggest hug and just saying, ‘I’m proud of you.'”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT: Soft ice leads to bad day for U.S. Short Track star Corinne Stoddard

Karen Rosen

February 10, 2026

tsx pix 2026-210 owg stoddard falls relay (rosen) — U.S. Short Track star Corinne Stoddard falls onto the ice during the Mixed Team Relay (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

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≡ THE ROSEN REPORT ≡

MILAN, Italy – Soft ice led to some hard falls by short track speed skaters, with three by American medal contender Corinne Stoddard.

She was eliminated from the 500 meters and the second of her two falls in the rounds of the Mixed Team Relay knocked the U.S. out of a chance for the A final.

Stoddard wasn’t alone, however, in her misery. Xandra Velzeboer also fell in the Mixed Team Relay semifinals, costing the Netherlands a medal. The Dutch, who already held the Olympic record, lowered it in the B final. However, a rule change prevents B final teams from earning a medal.

Julie Letai replaced Stoddard in the B final and she fell, too. The fifth-ranked U.S. team wound up in eighth place overall.

Andrew Heo of the U.S. said the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena is “definitely kind of softer than what we’re used to. I think it’s just the amount of people that are in the arena right now and it’s pretty hot.”

The 9,700-seat arena was nearly full.

Heo said softer ice doesn’t allow skaters to push into it. “It just kind of breaks out from under you,” he said.

American skater Brandon Kim wondered if sharing the arena with figure skating made a difference in the make-up of the ice.

“It was a little bit hard to stay on your feet,” he said, “but I guess we did the best we could given the circumstances.”

Stoddard’s very bad day began barely six minutes into the Short Track competition at the Milan Cortina Games. In heat three of the women’s 500 meters, she went out aggressively and was leading the 4 1/2-lap race when China’s Xinran Wang overtook her.

Stoddard, ranked No. 3 in the world, responded by moving inside, briefly edged into the lead and promptly wiped out with two laps to go.

The American’s crash into the boards also took out Rika Kanai of Japan and Arianna Sighel of Italy while Wang cruised alone to the finish line. In Short Track parlance, this is known as “chaos.”

Kanai recovered for second, but Stoddard slipped again as she tried to restart her race and eventually finished fourth.

“You could see that she had an insane amount of speed,” Letai said. “She potentially has the highest speed out of anyone out here right now, so if her main problem is having too much speed, that’s a good problem to have and hopefully that’s something we’ll be able to fix.”

A glum Stoddard walked through the mixed zone without speaking to reporters after stopping for NBC Sports. A spokesperson for US Speedskating said her ankle is a “little bit swollen.”

“Ice is different at every venue,” Letai said. “It’s also different we have a lot of people in the crowds now, the temperature is up. It was already kind of a soft-ice situation, so now it’s even softer and I think that’s why multiple races… a lot of ruts in the ice. And then we’re going at these top speeds and you need something to hold you, so if it’s too soft, it’s not there.”

“Everyone’s on the same ice,” she added. “We’ll figure it out.”

Stoddard’s chance for redemption in the Mixed Team Relay took another unfortunate turn when she fell in the quarterfinals, but still managed to tag teammate Kristen Santos-Griswold.

Team USA advanced to the semifinals when disaster struck again. This time, Stoddard started on the outside and skated cleanly in her first leg. The U.S. was in second place when Stoddard began her second leg. As soon as she surged into first place, she fell again, tripping the South Korean skater behind her.

Stoddard would not return to the ice. The U.S. team substituted Letai, who crashed into the padding on the second of her two outings.

“Out of nowhere I just didn’t adjust to the ice conditions properly and I think you’e seen, the more speed that you have on the ice right now, the harder it is to keep it together,” Letai said.

Italy did keep it together for the gold in the A final as star Arianna Fontana won her 12th medal, third gold, in her sixth Olympics.

But the Netherlands had the faster time. “It’s tough to take,” said Jens Van’t Wout. “The record doesn’t mean anything; we had it already. We showed we were the fastest, but you don’t buy anything with that.”

He said he has been having blade troubles and called the ice “really tricky right now.”

“There have been some weird falls and people slipping around,” he said. “I don’t know if the ice is a little dirty.”

Stoddard will return for the 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000-meter relay.

“We’re all proud of Corie,” Letai said. “I think she’s handling everything the best that she can. Everyone knows she’s super strong; this isn’t going to change anything like that. She’s still a super intimidating competitor. She still knows what she can do. She knows that she’s one of the best out there, so I’m excited she has another chance to show that early this week.”

Four years ago at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, Stoddard also fell in her first race. She crashed so hard into the boards during the 500 that her knee hit her face, breaking her nose. She was medically cleared to continue skating.

This time, “At least she didn’t break her nose,” Heo said, “so we’re all happy about that.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

U.S. CONGRESS: Massive spending bill has money for 2028 Olympics transport, 2026 World Cup transport and the World Anti-Doping Agency (maybe)

Rich Perelman

February 10, 2026

tsx pix 2025-303 us capitol (senate side) wiki-scrumshus — North wing of the U.S. Capitol, containing the Senate Chamber (Photo: Wikipedia via Scrumshus).

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≡ ANALYSIS & OBSERVATIONS ≡

The 567-page “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026” – also known as H.R. 7148 – became Public Law 119-75 on 3 February with the signature of U.S. President Donald Trump.

It allocated billions of dollars for military and civilian programs, and touched on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic & Paralympic Games and even the long-running fight between the U.S. Congress and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

So, here’s what happened:

FIFA World Cup 2026:
The bill, of course, only allocated funding for the 11 U.S. sites for the tournament starting in June. A push from Representatives and Senators from the 10 involved states – California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington – resulted in a little more than $100 million for transportation only.

And the grants will not simply be doled out equally to each World Cup city:

● “[T]he Secretary shall make $100,250,212 available for grants to transit agencies for costs related to eligible planning, capital, and operating expenses for equipment and facilities in support of matches or other public events held in domestic host cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026.”

● “Provided, That the Secretary shall apportion such amounts not later than 30 days after enactment of this Act so that the transit agencies in each of the domestic host cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026 are each entitled to receive an amount equal to:

“(1) 70 percent of the total amount apportioned multiplied by a ratio equal to the FIFA estimated stadium capacity of the host stadium at the time of apportionment divided by the total FIFA estimated stadium capacity of all host stadiums at the time of apportionment; and

“(2) 30 percent of the total amount apportioned multiplied by a ratio equal to the number of matches to be held in the host stadium divided by the total number of matches to be held in all host cities in the United States.”

This means that Dallas, with AT&T Stadium at about 94,000 capacity, will get the most money and transit authorities around Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, at about 65,000 each, will likely get the least.

Because the money is coming from the Department of Transportation, “amounts made available in this section are available for the planning, capital, and operating expenses of transit agencies for hosting matches or other public events held in domestic host cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026″ and nothing else.

Olympic & Paralympic Games 2028:
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Agency has been asking the Federal government for up to $3.2 billion in support for the Olympic period in 2028 and had gotten nothing from either the Biden or Trump Administrations, until now. Finally, in the Department of Transportation allocation:

● “[T]he Secretary shall make $94,316,766 available for transportation assistance, including assistance with transit planning, capital projects, and operating assistance, for surface, commuter, and public transportation systems necessary to support the mobility needs of the international quadrennial Olympic and Paralympic events.”

● “Provided, That such assistance shall be for any eligible entity … that serves or supports service to a venue that is part of the 2028 international quadrennial Olympic or Paralympic events.”

● “Provided further, That such assistance may be provided through direct grants or cooperative agreements for which the Federal share shall not exceed 80 percent, with the exception of assistance for a supplemental public transportation bus system which shall be no less than 90 percent.”

So, Metro has to come up with some other funding to add to the Federal support, and can share this amount with regional operators who provide 2028 transport support services. That should present no difficulties.

World Anti-Doping Agency:
The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy is the government entity which has paid the U.S. dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency, but has not paid for 2024 or 2025. The bill does pay for what appear to be the 2025 dues, but only on conditions which the Congress has insisted on in the wake of the Chinese mass-positives incident from January 2021:

● “[U]p to $3,700,000 for the United States membership dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency …”

● “That the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall, not fewer than 30 days prior to obligating funds under this heading for United States membership dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency, submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a spending plan and explanation of the proposed uses of these funds.”

● “Provided further, That such plan shall include the results of an audit of the World Anti-Doping Agency to be conducted by external anti-doping experts and experienced independent auditors that demonstrate the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Executive Committee and Foundation are operating consistent with their duties.”

WADA has already said it does not need to be audited any more than it already is.

Observed: The transport grants for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be welcomed, but are short of what was hoped for, especially for the L.A. Metro Transportation Agency.

However, Metro badly needs this money to secure parking and maintenance lots for the 2028 Games period and has been told that funding was needed by mid-year 2026. Now it will get some Federal support, as it has said it needed. But it will need more.

As far as the WADA allocation, any cooperation from it on the audit required by the bill is unlikely. And WADA President Witold Banka (POL) said in remarks in Milan last week, “I wish we could have this money, [U.S.] contributions, but WADA is financially very stable, so this is not the biggest problem.”

Sounds like nothing will happen fast there.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: IOC happy with Milan Cortina organizers; Vonn stable after surgeries; U.S. in curling Mixed Doubles gold game!

Rich Perelman

February 9, 2026

tsx pix 2026-209 leerdam at dutch house (rosen) — This is what “NOC Houses” are for: Dutch star Jutta Leerdam cheered at the TeamNL Huis in Milan! (TSX Photo by Karen Rosen).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

The seal of approval from the International Olympic Committee to the Milan Cortina organizers came Monday at 11 a.m. local time, as IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) said at the morning news briefing:

“From an operational standpoint, the system is stable

“And it really matters, when on day three, and this was today, the IOC President [Kirsty Coventry] is able to say, ‘no more coordination meetings. It’s pretty rare that it happens day three, and that allows everyone to attend to what we’re here for, and that’s sport. So, congratulations for this [organizing] team.”

He noted that there are no “systemic” issues, but there are problems – here and there – and “problems, yes, but we have an team which is amazingly responsive, and when I say the team, it is not only Milano Cortina, but it is also all the authorities that have to contribute to smooth operations.”

He also repeated praise from IOC Athletes’ Commission members on the strong attendance so far and the enthusiasm of the spectators at the venues. The organizers noted that 62,000 more tickets were sold Sunday at the nine sites in operation and 127,000 through the first three days (two competition days) and more than 1.2 million in total so far.

Once again, German and American media had questions on the exchange between Freestyle Halfpipe skier Hunter Hess and U.S. President Donald Trump. Hess said in a Friday briefing, “It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now. It’s a little hard, there’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t.

“Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

Hess added on his Instagram page on 7 February, writing: “I love my country.
“There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better. One of the many things that makes this country so amazing is that we have the right and the freedom to point that out. The best part of the Olympics is that it brings people together, and when so many of us are divided we need that more than ever. I cannot wait to represent Team USA next week when I compete.”

Trump bashed him on his own platform on Sunday, in part: “U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics.”

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee told The Associated Press, “The USOPC stands firmly behind Team USA athletes and remains committed to their well-being and safety, both on and off the field of play,” and is monitoring social media platforms for abusive and potentially harmful messages.

The quadrennial Winter Games are going well, but politics is a 24/7/365 sport.
~ Rich Perelman

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Cloudy skies are projected, with cooler temperatures of 49 F for the high and 43 F for the low. There is no rain in the forecast until next week.

In Cortina, cloudy and cold is projected with a high of 29 F and low of 21 F. Also, no snow until Thursday (maybe).

● Scoreboard ● Italy continues at the top of the medal table, even without a podium on Monday:

● 9: Italy (1-2-6)
● 7: Japan (2-2-3)
● 6: Norway (3-1-2)
● 5: Switzerland (3-1-1)
● 4: Germany (2-1-1)

● 4: Austria: (1-3-0)
● 2: eight tied

The U.S. is one of those with two medals (2-0-0); this is through 18 of 116 events.

● 94: Italy
● 73: Norway
● 65.5: Austria
● 62.5: Japan
● 59.5: Switzerland

● 40: Germany
● 39.5: United States
● 37: France
● 31: Canada
● 24: Czech Republic

● 24: Sweden
● 23: China

The Italians already have an impressive 19 point-scorers in this Games. Austria is second with 17, then Norway with 13.

● Television ● NBC said its Saturday coverage of the Games averaged 28.5 million viewers across NBC, USA Network, CNBC and the streaming platform Peacock, the “most-watched Winter Games presentation since 2014 (Day 10 of 2014 Sochi Olympics), according to preliminary data.”

Streaming accounted for 4.1 million viewers. The audience was almost double the 14.8 million for the same day of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

● Alpine Skiing ● Following her crash 13 seconds into her women’s Downhill race, American star Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to a Cortina hospital for immediate treatment, then to Ca’Foncello Hospital in Treviso and had surgery. Per the hospital: “In the afternoon, she underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize the fracture sustained in her left leg.”

Reuters reported that a second procedure was undertaken to “prevent complications linked to swelling and blood flow.”

Vonn, 41, competed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, sustained in a January crash in Switzerland, but she successfully completed two training runs prior to the Olympic Downhill. She wrote on Instagram:

“Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.

“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.

“Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.”

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● American driver Kris Horn had his appeal to race in the Two-Man competition turned down by the Appeals Tribunal of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation because he did not meet the races requirement.

IBSF rules require placements in eight total IBSF races during the 15 1/2-month qualifying period and placed in at least five of the eight on two different tracks. Horn ranked in four races and crashed out of the others he entered, and had his appeal dismissed.

So, although Horn helped the U.S. achieve two quota slots for the Games, he won’t be able to race himself. The Associated Press noted that the U.S. has always had at least two sleds in all 21 prior Olympic Two-Man events.

● Figure Skating ● Three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn won a Team Event gold with the U.S. squad on Sunday, then was the subject of criticism by Canadian artist Seb McKinnon (CLANN), who posted on X:

“So just found out an Olympic figure skater used one of my songs without permission for their routine. It aired all over the world … what? Is that usual practice for the Olympics?”

Glenn had been using McKinnon’s “The Return” in routines for two years – without incident – but the Olympics is, of course, different. Glenn left Milan to go to a training site to prep for the women’s competition later in the Games.

Music rights and figure skating have been a recent issue since 2014 when rules were changed to allow music with vocals and the International Skating Union has neem trying to develop a rights-clearance solution, as have third parties. But it’s a clouded issue, and continues so.

= RESULTS: MONDAY, 9 FEBRUARY =
(5 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Team Combined
In its first Olympic appearance, matching a Downhiller and Slalom racer from the same country, no appeared able to stop the Swiss combo of Downhill champion Franjo von Allmen and Tanguy Nef. Or for that matter, the second Swiss team of superstar Marco Odermatt and Loic Meillard.

No one did. Von Allmen was surprisingly only fourth after the Downhill portion, but the fresh Nef won the Slalom and the two timed 2:44.04 and won the event comfortably as the no. 1 Swiss team.

In a sport where 1,000ths of a second make the difference, Switzerland 2 – Odermatt and Meillard – were 0.99 back at 2:45.03, with Meillard unable to catch their countrymen on the Slalom leg after Odermatt had been third in the Downhill.

Their time, however, only tied them with the Austria 1 pair of Vincent Kriechmayr and Manuel Feller (2:45.03) and they shared the silver.

The second Austrian team of Raphael Haaser and Michael Matt were a very close fourth in 2:45.06.

The U.S. pair of Kyle Negomir and River Radamus timed 2:47.34 and finished 19th.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Slopestyle
China’s superstar Eileen Gu won two golds at the Beijing 2022 Games, but had to settle for silver in the Slopestyle, thanks to Swiss Mathilde Gremaud, a two-time World Champion since.

So, Gu was happy to lead the first round at 86.58, with Gremaud second at 83.60 as the only flyers to exceed 80 points. But in round two, Gu couldn’t land her new “disaster” trick and scored just 23.00. But Gremaud performed perfectly – one of her best ever, she said later, and scored 86.96 to take the lead.

No one else was close and Canada’s Megan Oldham, a three-time Worlds medalist, improved in the final round at 76.46 to move from fourth to third and secured the bronze by the time Gu and Gremaud came up in the final round.

Gu missed on “disaster” again and abandoned the run, so Gremaud celebrating, adding the Swiss flag to her bib and sailed down the run on the way to her second straight gold medal. She’s now won silver-gold-gold in the last three Games in this event and made it three straight Swiss wins, after Sarah Hoefflin’s 2018 victory.

Teen Avery Krumme, the lone U.S. finalist, finished 11th at 52.40.

● Ski Jumping: Men’s Normal Hill (109 m)
German Philipp Raimund, on fire during the World Cup season with five medals, led the first round at 135.6 points, ahead of surprising Valentin Foubert (FRA: 134.6) and Kristoffer Sundal (NOR: 132.9). Favorite Domen Prevc was eighth at 130.6.

The second round was chaotic as well, but not for Raimund. A six-time World Cup medalist, but never a winner, Raimund, 25, upped his game and scored 138.5 points on the final jump of the event to win easily at 274.1. He’s previously won just two silvers and four World Cup bronzes.

Behind him, Poland’s Kacper Tomasiak, 19, and a winner of two World Cup medals – both this season – got off a strong jump at 107.0 m and scored 137.9 points and moved him into second for his first international medal. Wow.

Japan’s Ren Nikaido, expected to contend, moved from sixth to third with an excellent second jump of 106.5 m and 134.9 points for a 266.0 total. But he only tied for the bronze with another surprise, Austria’s Gregor Deschwanden, 34. He hadn’t won a World Cup medal since 1 January 2025, but was fourth after the first round and moved up to third, scoring 133.2 for a 266.0 total and a share of third.

Foubert slid to fifth, Prevc finished sixth, and defending champ Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan was eighth. PyeongChang 2018 champion Andreas Wellinger (GER) was 17th. The American finalists included Jason Colby (20th: 252.3) and Tate Frantz (251.9, tied for 21st). Kevin Bickner did not make the final.

● Snowboard: Women’s Big Air
Japan’s Kokomo Murase, the 2025 World Champion, took the first-round lead at 89.75, barely ahead of Seungeun Yu (KOR: 87.75), with 2025 Worlds runner-up Reira Iwabuchi (JPN) well back in third at 82.75.

Mari Fukada (JPN), the 2025 Worlds bronze winner, fired up in round two at 85.00 to get back into contention and then 2022 Olympic silver winner Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL) won the second round at 88.75.

That left seven real contenders for medals in the third round, with the two best scores of the day counting. Fukada fell out of contention as the no. 3 starter, scoring only 30.00 for a 115.00 total. Sadowski-Zynnott, fifth in the order, sailed to a good 83.50 mark and totaled 172.75 for the lead.

Iwabuchi fell out of contention at no. 6, scoring only 20.50 and finishing 11th. Sadowski-Synnott was still in the lead when Murase came up at no. 11, but she responded brilliantly, scoring 89.25 and taking the lead at 179.00 with only Yu remaining. But she did not improve and stayed at 171.0 and settled for the bronze.

Sadowski-Synnott now has medals in all three Games in which Big Air has been held, going 3-2-2; she’s also the defending Olympic champ on Slopestyle. Murase moved up from bronze to gold and now has both Olympic and Worlds golds.

Two-time gold medalist Anna Gasser (AUT), who has said she is retiring, had a rough day, finishing eighth (121.25).

● Speed Skating: Women’s 1,000 m
It came down to the 15th and final pair with defending Olympic champ Miho Takagi (JPN) and Dutch star Jutta Leerdam, the 2022 Olympic runner-up and two-time World Champion, trying to overhaul Femke Kok (NED), the seasonal World Cup winner.

Kok set an Olympic Record of 1:12.59 in the 13th pair against American Brittany Bowe, the 2022 Olympic bronzer and a three-time World Champion (1:14.55).

Leerdam – with fiance Jake Paul cheering in the stands – pushed hard in the middle of her race and got away from Takagi and sailed across the line in 1:12.31, winning the gold and taking Kok’s Olympic Record. Takagi closed well and finished in 1:13.95, taking the bronze from Bowe, who skated superbly, but ended up fourth in her best shot at an individual medal.

Fellow American Erin Jackson, the 2022 500 m champ, also skated well and finished sixth overall in 1:15.00.

The crowd, heavily clad in orange – Dutch fans – cheered wildly, as a Dutch skater won a medal in this event for the sixth straight Games, and won for the fourth time in the last eight. It’s Leerdam’s first Olympic gold, to go with five Worlds golds.

Elsewhere:

● Figure Skating: The Ice Dance competition got going with the Rhythm Dance, and French contenders-for-gold Laurence Fournier Beaudry and 2022 Olympic champ Guillaume Cizeron was on early and were brilliant, scoring 90.18, by far the leader.

Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the two-time Worlds silver medalists, were more than enthusiastic, mugging for the judges right in front of their scoring positions and bringing the crowd with them, scoring 86.18 to stand second before World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. took the ice as the final pair.

Dancing to Lenny Kravitz’s “Fly Away,” the precision and technical merit was outstanding and had the crowd roaring at the finish, with a huge smile for the married couple. They were second in the technical scoring by 0.40 and ended up at 89.72, in second place.

Britain’s 2025 Worlds bronze winners Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson scored 85.47 for fourth overall, ahead of two-time Worlds medalists Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (ITA: 84.28). Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were sixth in 83.53.

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the U.S. placed 11th at 78.15.

● Ice Hockey: The U.S. got some sharp goaltending early against an aggressive Swiss team from Gwyneth Philips, who was replaced at the end of the second period by Ava McNaughton, and the two combined for a 5-0 shutout that moved the American record to 3-0, at the top of Group A.

The U.S. went up at the 6:04 mark in the game on a Haley Winn goal, then Joy Dunne scored at 14:08 of the second for a 2-0 lead.

The U.S. offense was in gear, but the Swiss managed 15 shots in the first two periods, to 37 for the Americans. In the third, the U.S. poured it on with goals from Hannah Bilka (11:17), Alex Carpenter (16:34) and Caroline Harvey (17:42) for the 5-0 final.

Canada was in action against the Czech Republic in its second match, and dominated with a 5-1 win to move to 2-0, with a 4-0 blitz in the first period.

The Americans and Canadians will renew their rivalry on Tuesday to decide the winner of Group A.

= PREVIEWS: TUESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY =
(9 finals across 8 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Team Combined
This may be a re-run of the 2025 World Championships, when American Downhill winner Breezy Johnson teamed up with superstar Mikaela Shiffrin to win the Worlds women’s Team Combined .

Then, Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami (now injured) and Wendy Holdener took second and Austrians Stephanie Venier and Katharina Truppe won bronze. In Cortina, the Swiss have 2022 Olympic Downhill champ Corinne Suter – she was 14th on Sunday – to pair with 2025 World Slalom champ Camille Rast. Holdener is back for the Slalom, this time with Jasmine Flury on Downhill.

Truppe is back for Austria and will combine with Downhill co-fourth-placer Cornelia Huetter, so the podium could look much the same as the 2025 Worlds.

Another contender: Germany’s Downhill runner-up, Emma Aicher is good at the Slalom too and she will take the Slalom duties with Olympic ninth-placer Kira Weidle-Winkelmann handling the Downhill.

Countries can enter more than one team and the U.S. could have another medal possibility with Downhill co-fourth-placer Jackie Wiles and Paula Moltzan in the Slalom. The Downhill is held first, in the morning, followed by the Slalom in the late afternoon.

● Biathlon: Men’s Individual
France has the defending Olympic champ in Quentin Fillon Maillet returning, but a better bet might be teammate Eric Perrot, the 2025 World Champion and winner of the last two World Cup races (both 15 km) just before the Games.

He will have to deal with Norway’s new star, Johan-Olav Botn, who won three World Cup races, and teammates Vetle Christiansen and Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, who also won golds. Given the success of the home team, however, the most dangerous man on the course might be three-time World Cup winner Tommaso Giacomel, who has the most World Cup wins this season, with four, plus two silvers … and the World Championships silver in 2025.

The U.S. has never won an Olympic medal in this sport and has high hopes for 2-year-old Campbell Wright. Born in New Zealand, he was a 2022 Olympic for the Kiwis, but then switched to the U.S. and stunned everyone with Worlds silvers in 2025 in the 10 km Sprint and 12.5 km Pursuit. Is this history waiting to happen?

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s and Women’s Sprint
The second step in Norwegian star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo’s run at a possible six gold medals – he won six at the 2025 World Championships – is the Classical Sprint. He’s already the Sprint winner from 2018 and 2022 and the only man to win the event more than once.

During the 2025-26 World Cup season, the Classical Sprint was held four times and he won all four. Moreover, Norwegians won seven of the 12 medals available, so there are other possibilities.

It’s hard to see Klaebo losing, but medals will be sought by World Cup medalists like Jules Chappez (FRA: 2023 Worlds bronze), Swede Edvin Anger and American Gus Schumacher. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino has won the last two Olympic silvers, but is a better Freestyle than Classical skier (and won two World Cup medals in the Free Sprint). Finland’s Lauri Vuorinen won the Worlds bronze in 2025.

The women’s Sprint is not a foregone conclusion at all. The Beijing 2022 medal winners, Swedes Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist and American Jessie Diggins all figure to be in the fight and Sundling won the 2025 Worlds in this event, over Norway’s Kristine Skistad and Nadine Faehndrich (SUI).

During the World Cup season, the four Classical Sprints were won by Skistad, Johanna Hagstroem (SWE), Finn Jasmi Joensuu and Swede Linn Svahn. Swedes Sundling, Emma Ribom and Swiss star Faehndrich all won medals. If you’re looking for an emerging star, how about German Laura Gimmler, runner-up to Svahn in the last Sprint before the Games?

Diggins didn’t win a Sprint medal in the World Cup this season, but irritated after falling in the Skiathlon, she is dangerous.

● Curling: Mixed Doubles
Monday saw the end of the round-robin play with 2021 Worlds winners Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat leading at 8-1, followed by defending champs Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosauer (ITA: 6-3) and the U.S. pair of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, the 2023 World Champions (6-3). Sweden’s brother-sister combo of Isabella and Rasmus Wrana were fourth at 5-4.

In the semis, Britain and Sweden were 3-3 through five ends, but Wrana and Wrana stunned with a five-point sixth end to take an 8-3 lead and added one in the seventh for an upset, 9-3 win and a spot in the gold-medal final.

Italy and the U.S. were tighter, with big ends through the first four with two for Italy in the first and third and two and three for the Americans in ends two and four. The U.S. got two more in the sixth for a 7-5 lead, but the defending champs stormed back with three in the seventh for an 8-7 lead and huge cheers from the home crowd. In the eighth, Dropkin’s final shot pushed the Italian stones away, then Constantini’s stone moved Dropkin’s away. But the U.S. had the hammer and Thiesse’s shot rolled the red stone away for two points and a 9-8 win.

Italy had beaten the U.S. in the morning, 7-6, in the final series of round-robin matches, but the Americans got even, helped by their own cheering section in Cortina.

It will be the first medal for the U.S. in Olympic Mixed Doubles; Sweden (Almida de Val and Oskar Eriksson) won bronze in 2022. The U.S. won the round-robin match, 8-7.

● Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Slopestyle
Beijing 2022 Big Air champion Birk Ruud (NOR: 81.75) led the men’s qualifying, and 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.

At the 2025 Freestyle Worlds, Ruud won gold in Slopestyle for the second time, but was chased by Forehand and Hall for the medals. Hall, although just 27, has vast experience and owns Worlds Slopestyle bronzes from 2021 and 2025.

There are other contenders, such as Swiss Andri Ragettli (the 2021 World Champion), Austria’s 2019 World Junior champ Matej Svancer and New Zealand’s Luca Harrington, the 2025 World Big Air gold medalist.

● Luge: Women’s Singles
Germany has won this event seven straight times in Olympic competition and has gone 1-2 in six of those seven Games. After the first day … same.

Julia Taubitz and Merle Fraebel went 1-2 at the 2025 Worlds and Taubitz has won gold or silver in six straight Worlds. Fraebel won twice, and won the first run on Monday in 52.590, with Taubitz second at 52.638. Then Taubitz got going with a track record of 52.550 in the second run and Fraebel had to settle for second at 52.659.

So after two of four runs, Taubitz leads at 1:45.188 to 1:45.249, a healthy 0.61-second edge.

It was further back for third and a surprise for Latvia’s Elina Bota, fifth and third in her two runs for a 1:45.683 total, ahead of home favorite Verena Hofer (ITA: 1:45.743).

American Ashley Farquharson – 12th in 2022 a World Cup bronze winner this season – is in a medal-contending position in fifth at 1:45.796, racing to fourth and seventh-place finishes in her two runs.

Fellow U.S. slider Emily Fischnaller (nee Sweeney) stood eighth at 1:45.872, but Summer Britcher, a two-time World Cup winner this season, had a bad start on her first run and was 15th, then 13th on her second. She’s 12th overall at 1:46.614.

● Short Track: Mixed Relay
This will be only the second appearance for the 2,000 m relay, with China winning the 2022 edition, ahead of Italy and Hungary.

The event was held four times during the World Cup season, with four different winners: China, Canada, South Korea and The Netherlands. The Dutch (1-2-0), Canadians (1-0-2) and Koreans (1-1-1) were the all consistent, with three medals each in the four races.

That makes those three the medal favorites, but China and the U.S., especially with stars Andrew Heo, Corinne Stoddard and Kristen Santos-Griswold expected to race.

But this has been Canada’s year in Short Track, led by William Dandjinou and Courtney Sauralt and they will be hard to beat.

● Ski Jumping: Mixed Team (109 m hill)
This is the second time this event has been in the Games, first in 2022 in Beijing, with Slovenia – with Peter Prevc on the team – winning over Russia and Canada.

In 2026, there are double the number of Prevcs ready to jump, with men’s star Domen and younger sister Nika, already the Normal Hill silver medalist. They placed second and first in the two World Cup events this season, adding Timi Zajc and Nika Vodan.

In both events, Japan won gold and bronze, with men’s stars Ryoyu Kobayashi and Ren Nikaido, women’s revelation Nozomi Maruyama and either veteran Yuki Ito or Sara Takanashi. But Norway won the Worlds gold, with Anna Stroem, the Olympic Normal Hill winner, plus stars Eirin Kvandal and Johann Andre Forfang and Marius Lindvik.

Those three teams figure as medal favorites, but Austria, with women’s star Lisa Eder, Jan Hoerl and three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft are certainly contenders, as is Germany, with Normal Hill gold winner Philipp Raimund and Selina Freitag leading the squad.

Will Domen and Nika join older brother Peter Prevc as Olympic champ?

= INTEL REPORT =

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Olympic fans probably also knew that the NFL Super Bowl took place on Sunday and the 2027 title game will be at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Taking advantage of the high profile, LA28 and the National Football League issued a new emblem with an NFL football crossing the “A” in LA28, promoting the first-time inclusion of flag football in the Olympic program.

The design brings together NFL, LA28 and International Federation of American Football (IFAF) marks in a single design.

● Athletics ● No more USATF New York Grand Prix.

Listed on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold calendar for several months, USATF instead announced Monday that Texas A&M’s Cushing Stadium will host the “USATF Lone Star Grand Prix” on 6 June instead.

The other USATF Grand Prix meet will be held the following week at USC’s 3,000-seat Loker Stadium on 13-14 June.

A world-leading 8.39 m (27-6 1/2) for Italian 2025 World Champion Mattia Furlani and Bozhidar Saraboyukov (BUL) at the Meta Moselle Athelor meet on Sunday. It’s a national indoor record for Saraboyukov.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT: U.S. challenged, but Malinin’s clutch Free Skate clinched gold in nail-biting figure skating Team Event

Karen Rosen

February 8, 2026

tsx pix 2026-208 owg oshea-kam victory stand (rosen) — U.S. Pairs skaters Danny O’Shea and Ellie Kam embrace on the victory stand for the Olympic figure skating Team Event medal ceremony (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE ROSEN REPORT ≡

MILAN, Italy – Evan Bates had some advice for his U.S. teammates before the medal ceremony Sunday in the Olympic team figure skating event.

“He’s like, ‘Guys, be careful,’” said pairs skater Danny O’Shea. “‘There’s real gold in there and they’re malleable. Don’t be jumping around and hit it on things. I dented mine right away.’”

This is the second gold medal for Bates and Madison Chock, his wife and Ice Dance partner, but the first they received immediately after their competition. Japan was in a similar situation with the country’s second straight silver medal, while Italy won the bronze for its first Olympic team figure skating medal.

At the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, a doping controversy engulfed Kamila Valieva and the Russian Olympic Committee team, with the U.S. and Japanese teams as collateral damage.

The medal ceremony was delayed. Months went by.

By the time the case concluded, the U.S., which originally won the silver medal, was bumped to first place, with Japan second and the ROC team third.

Because the International Olympic Committee wanted the American and Japanese skaters to have a real Olympic victory ceremony, they finally received their medals about 18 months later at the summer Games in Paris.

The three-day competition that concluded Sunday at the Milano Ice Skating Arena was more of a nail-biter than the Beijing event. Thanks to a masterful performance by Chock and Bates in their Free Dance Saturday, the U.S. entered the final three segments leading Japan by 44-39.

Then the Japanese whittled away at the margin.

Two-time world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the Pairs free skate for 10 points with O’Shea and Ellie Kam placing fourth to garner seven points.

That meant Japan trailed by just two going into the women’s event, which figured to be a duel between three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto and Amber Glenn, the 2024-25 Grand Prix Final champ.

While Sakamoto turned in a lovely performance to win, Glenn made some mistakes – including a turn out of her signature triple Axel – and finished behind Anastasia Gubanova of Georgia.

The score was tied at 59.

Glenn hung her head in despair; even Madeline Schizas of Canada, who wound up fifth, was buoyed by someone calling out, “I love you like maple syrup.”

“I felt guilty,” said Glenn, who made her first appearance on Olympic ice.

Everything now depended on Ilia Malinin.

“I felt like I left so much pressure on him and he’s already under so much pressure being hailed as ‘Quad God’ and all that,” Glenn said. “I couldn’t imagine what that’s like. And he stepped up like we all knew he would. I’m just really grateful.”

Malinin, who said he only gave “50 percent” while placing second in the short program a night earlier, was pumping his fist as he came out of the tunnel.

The Quad God landed five quadruple jumps, although he again did not attempt his patented quad Axel. As always, his backflip was a crowd-pleaser en route to his score of 200.03 points.

“I was more nervous watching Ilia than I was skating myself,” said O’Shea.

Malinin had no illusions about how much pressure rested on his shoulders. “The deciding factor was going to be my skate,” he said.

Yet the 21-year-old also viewed the assignment as an opportunity to “recalibrate” following his short program and prepare for the individual event.

“It really came down to the energy, the support, the passion for my whole team supporting me, cheering me on,” he said.

Japan had a strong skater, too. Shun Sato replaced Yuma Kagiyama for the Free Skate. Although he performed a season-best, he fell short with 194.86 points.

“It really took every single point for us to do it today,” O’Shea said. “I love that it was the closest-fought team event ever. That’s a really cool thing to be part of that shows you how great figure skating’s going.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: U.S. scores amazing Downhill gold by Johnson, then Malinin clinches skating Team Event win

Rich Perelman

February 8, 2026

tsx pix 2026-208 malinin, ilia team evnt free (rosen) — American star Ilia Malinin during his gold-medal-winning Team Event skate at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

(For a round-up of weekend competitions in other sports; see the “Intel Report” section at the bottom of this post.)

= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

Italian athletes are already enjoying a great Olympic Winter Games, winning nine medals (1-2-6) through the first two days. The most Italy has ever won at a Winter Games is 20 in 1994 and it looks like they may sail past that quickly.

So, how much is “home cooking” worth at a Winter Games? Often, quite a bit, but not always (!). In terms of the history, let’s look at the home-team performance starting with the 1998 Nagano Games, since the 1992-1994 change-over in cycle skews the results for those Games:

● 1998 Nagano: Japan went from 5 medals in 1994 to 10 (+100%)
● 2002 Salt Lake City: U.S. from 13 to 34 (+162%)
● 2006 Turin: Italy from 13 to 11 (–15%)
● 2010 Vancouver: Canada from 24 to 26 (+8%)
● 2014 Sochi: Russia from 13 to 29 (+123%, after 4 doping disqualifications)
● 2018 PyeongChang: Korea from 8 to 17 (+113%)
● 2022 Beijing: China from 9 to 15 (+67%)
● 2026 Milan Cortina: Italy from 17 to ?

It must be noted that the number of events in the Winter Games has been enlarged from 61 in 1994 to 116 in 2026, which also has an impact in terms of medals won. But home cooking has a real impact.
~ Rich Perelman

● Milan Cortina 2026: Security ● A march by as many as 10,000 protesters in Milan on Saturday against the environmental impact of the Winter Games and the U.S. turned violent as a much smaller group tried to reach the Santa Giulia hockey arena and threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles. Italian police responded with tear gas and a water cannon to keep them way from the site. Six arrests were made by the police.

Milan Cortina 2026 spokesman Luca Casassa said at Sunday’s media briefing that (per the simultaneous interpreter):

“We believe that sport is also based on dialogue, but everything has to be carried out within certain limits and it has to be respectful at all times. Anything that turns into violent demonstrations is not part of this, and I would like to thank the police forces, law enforcement agencies for handling beautifully these demonstrations.”

● Rosen Report ● The Rosen Report takes you inside the U.S. figure skating team as they battled and finally won the Team Event on Ilia Malinin’s clutch Free Skate. You’ll find it here.

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Cloudy skies are forecast for Milan, with a Monday high of 53 F, turning to sunshine in the afternoon and then a low of 42 F.

In Cortina, it will be mostly cloudy with a high of 39 F and a low of 24; winds are expected to average about 5 miles per hour. Snow is predicted for Thursday.

● Scoreboard ● Just two days in and the medal count after 13 of 116 events:

● 9, Italy (1-2-6)
● 6, Norway (3-1-2)
● 4, Japan (1-2-1)
● 3, Austria (1-2-0)
● 3, Germany (1-1-1)

● 2, United States (2-0-0)
● 2, Czech Rep. (1-1-0)
● 2, France (1-1-0)
● 2, Sweden (1-1-0)
● 1, six tied

● 1. 88.0, Italy
● 2. 73.0, Norway
● 3. 49.5, Austria
● 4. 35.0, Japan
● 5. 31.5, United States

● 6. 30.0, France
● 6. 30.0, Germany
● 8. 24.0, Czech Republic
● 8. 24.0, Switzerland
● 8. 24.0, Sweden

Just two days in, the home Italians have already enjoyed 17 places in the top eight!

● Television ● NBC announced preliminary data on the Milan Cortina opening ceremony on NBC and Peacock, averaging 21.4 million U.S. viewers, 34% more than for the 2022 Beijing opening.

This was a combined total of the live broadcast and the primetime version, vs. the 15.9 million from 2022. The streaming component was 3.0 million; more comprehensive data will be available on Tuesday.

= RESULTS: SUNDAY, 8 FEBRUARY =
(8 finals across 7 sports and disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Women’s Downhill
There were a lot of stories in this race, beginning with no. 3 starter Federica Brignone, the Italian star who crashed last April and fought her way back to the slopes for this race against considerable odds.

She finished in 1:37.29, settling into second place. The next stage in the drama came with the no. 6 starter, American Breezy Johnson, the reigning World Champion, who had no Downhill World Cup medals this season and one in the Super-G.

But Johnson was superb and rushed down the slope in 1:36.10 and that was going to be a medal-contending time.

German Emma Aicher, a two-time World Cup winner this season, followed at no. 10 and moved into second at 1:36.14, just 0.04 behind Johnson. No. 11, Austrian Cornelia Huetter, also a World Cup medalist this season, moved into third at 1:36.96. American star Lindsey Vonn, at 41 one of the most talked-about comebacks for this Games, started at no. 13, but her Olympic dream was shattered with a crash just 13.4 seconds after her start, requiring her to be airlifted off the course and taken to a hospital.

Two racers later, it was Italian star Sofia Goggia on the course, the 2018 gold winner and 2022 runner-up and she skied beautifully, with a slight mistake in the second half and finishing in 1:36.69 and into third place.

Goggia’s run ended the top group, but there were contenders left, notably American Jackie Wiles at no. 17. Also a World Cup medal winner this season, she raced through the course and scared the podium, but had to settle for fourth – in a tie with Huetter – at 1:36.96. The final American, Isabella Wright, was 21st at 1:38.85.

The U.S. Ski Team posted that “Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.”

Johnson, meanwhile, won the first American medal of these Games and repeated her gold-medal performance from the 2025 Worlds, also on 8 February! She said:

“I still can’t believe it yet, I don’t know when it will sink in. I knew I had to push, go harder than I did in training. I had to be super clean and felt like I did that. But I knew the speeds were good so I hoped it would be enough.”

She is now a World Champion and Olympic Champion and has yet to win a FIS World Cup race. Johnson is the first American to win the women’s Downhill since Vonn in 2010 in Vancouver.

Goggia now has a full set of Downhill medals: gold in 2018, silver in 2022 and bronze in 2026.

● Biathlon: Mixed 4 x 6 km Relay
The second Olympic appearance of this event figured as a showdown between France and Italy, and it was, with the French winning in 1:04:15.5 with seven combined penalties. It was close until the third leg, when Lou Jeanmonnot, a four-time Worlds relay gold medalist, took an 18.9-second edge on Italy’s Dorothea Wierer and broke the race open.

Julia Simon was also faster by 6.6 seconds than Italian anchor Lisa Vittozzi and crossed with a 25.8-second win, with the Italians second in 1:04:41.3 (5). Germany was an easy third over Norway, 1:05:20.8 (4) to 1:05:52.7 (8). The French moved up from silver to gold from 2022.

The U.S. was 14th in 1:07:43.2 (14), with a team of Maxime Germain, Campbell Wright, Deedra Irwin and Margie Freed.

● Cross Country Skiing: Men’s 20 km Skiathlon
Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo has the possibility of six gold medals in the 2026 Games and he got off – with some difficulty – to a golden start.

He trailed teammate Martin Nyenget by a half-second at the 10 km mark and they were joined by Hugo Lapalus and Mathis Desloges of France, and Lapalus was in the lead at the 16.6 km mark. But Klaebo got to the front with 1.2 km left and managed to get across first in 46:11.0.

He was two seconds up in Desloges (46.13.0), with Nyenget taking the bronze in 46:13.1 in a lean at the finish. Lapalus fell back to fifth (46:15.3). Gus Schumacher of the U.S. was 24th (48:27.5), Hunter Wonders was 31st (49:02.1 and Zak Ketterson was 43rd in 50:23.5.

Klaebo, 29, now has eight Olympic medals (6-1-1) and now has a day before the Classical Sprint on the 10th. Norway has won this event now six times out of the 10 times it has been held.

● Figure Skating: Team Event
The U.S. started the day with a 44-39 lead on Japan, but that was narrowed in the Pairs as two-time World Champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the Free Skate at 155.55 points with the U.S. duo of Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea fourth, scoring 135.36. That closed the score to 51-49 for the Americans.

Next was the women’s Free Skate, with three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) winning at 148.62, ahead of Georgia’s Anastasia Gubanova (140.17) and a disappointed Amber Glenn of the U.S., in third at 138.62; she lost execution points on her first three jumps. So, the score was knotted at 59-59 going into the men’s Free Skate.

The men’s Free Skate was the decider, with World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. going fourth and 2025 Worlds sixth-placer Shun Sato (JPN) last. An emotional performance from Italy’s Matteo Rizzo scored a seasonal best 179.82 and he was rapturously mobbed by his teammates in what turned out to be the bronze-medal-clinching skate. It was Italy’s first medal in the event and the first time anyone other than Canada, the U.S. and Russia have won a medal in the Team Event.

Malinin was smiling during his warm-up, but was all business on the ice, performing with a restrained fury, including five quadruple jumps – with a slip that had two hands on the ice on one of them – that still scored 200.03 to take the lead.

That left Sato, whose best-ever score was 194.02 from earlier this season, skated brilliantly, with excellent technical execution. Sato scored 194.86, scary close to Malinin, but just short.

So the Americans, who moved up from second to first in 2022 after the disqualification of Russian Kamila Valieva to a doping charge, won gold on the ice in 2026. The U.S. has medaled in all four editions of this event: 3-3-1-1.

The U.S. finished at 69 points to 68 for Japan, then 60 for Italy, 56 for Georgia and 54 for Canada.

● Luge: Men’s Singles
Germany’s Max Langenhan came in as the 2024 and 2025 World Champion, but had a mixed record on the FIL World Cup circuit this season. He was unstoppable in Cortina.

He led the first day with track records of 52.924 and 52.902 in the two races and he improved two more times in the final two heats, getting track records of 52.705 in race three and then 52.660 in race four to win convincingly in 3:31.191! It’s Langenhan’s first Olympic medal and the third win by a German racer in the last four Games.

Just as steady in second was 2023 World Champion Jonas Mueller, second after the first day and faster in both of Sunday’s races to total 3:31.787 for the silver. Third and fourth also did not change from Saturday, as Roland Fischnaller (ITA) maintained his bronze-medal position in 3:32.125 and Latvian Kristers Aparjods was fourth (3:32.612). The spread, across four races, from first to third was just 0.934 seconds!

American Jonny Gustafson finished 11th (3:34.32) and Matthew Greiner was 20th (3:35.872).

A German – west or East or combined – has won this race 12 times in 17 runnings in Olympic history.

● Snowboard: Men’s and women’s Parallel Giant Slalom
After two golds in a row in the women’s Parallel Giant Slalom in 2018 and 2022, it was anticipated that the Czech anthem would be played for star Ester Ledecka, easily the top qualifier, with teammate Zuzana Maderova second.

The Czech anthem was indeed played, but not for Ledecka.

She was stunningly eliminated in the quarterfinals, by Austrian star Sabine Payer, twice a World Cup gold winner this season. And Payer then dispensed with Italy’s two-time World Cup winner, Lucia Dalmasso, to reach the final.

On the other side of the bracket, Maderova breezed into the semis and won by 0.45 over Italy’s Elisa Caffont, then crushed Payer in the final by 0.83 for the third straight gold for the Czechs. Delmasso won the bronze in the all-Italian third-place race, 0.11 up on Caffont. It was the first Italian medal in this event since 2002.

The men’s race had another defending champion, Austria’s Benjamin Karl, who qualified third-fastest and was a smart medal choice. He squeezed by in his round-of-16 race against home favorite Maurizio Bormolini by 0.03 seconds, then slid past countryman Andreas Prommegger (+0.12) in the quarters.

Karl then beat 2022 silver winner Tim Mastnak (SLO) in his semi by 0.24 and faced 37–year-old Sang-kyum Kim (KOR) in the final. Karl managed a win by 0.19 and won his second straight gold, only done once previously by Swiss Philipp Schoch in 2002 and 2006! He also now has medals in four Winter Games: PSG silver in Vancouver, a Parallel Slalom bronze in 2014 and now golds in 2018 and 2022. He celebrated by ripping off his shirt and flexing to the crowd!

Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov won the bronze over Mastnak in a photo finish at the line, the first-ever Snowboard medal for Bulgaria!

● Speed Skating: Men’s 5,000 m
There was little doubt that Norway’s Sander Eitrem, the world-record holder, was the favorite and so all eyes were on pair no. 9, where he was skating with Czech Metodej Jilek (19), a two-time World Cup winner this season.

Eitrem was ready and skated evenly to a dominant 6:03.95 win and the Olympic Record, shattering Swede Nils van der Poel’s 6:08.84 from Beijing in 2022. Jilek, for his part, stayed strong throughout and his time of 6:06.48 moved him into second place with only one pair to go.

But that pair included former world-record man Tom Loubineaud (FRA), but this wasn’t his best day and while he won his race, his time of 6:11.15 placed him only fifth. Instead, the bronze went to emerging Italian star Riccardo Lorello, the 2025 European silver medalist, who won the third pair in 6:09.22, which held up for a medal.

His teammate, Davide Ghiotto, the 2025 Worlds 10,000 m winner, was the nearest challenger, in the eighth pair, timing 6:09.57, good for fourth. American record holder Casey Dawson, skating in the eighth pair, finished in 6:11.88 and was eighth.

Eitrem is the first Norwegian winner of this race since the iconic Johan Olav Koss won it in 1994. Absent from the podium were the Dutch, who had won a medal in this event in 10 straight Games.

Elsewhere:

● Curling: In the Mixed Doubles, the round-robin won’t finish until Monday, but the four playoff teams are set.

Britain’s 2021 World Champions, Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, finished at 8-1 and led the qualifying. The U.S. team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, the 2023 Worlds winners, are 6-2 with a match to play, ahead of defending champion Italy (5-3) and Sweden (5-4). The U.S. and Italy will play tomorrow to sort out the seedings, with the semis starting Monday evening.

● Ice Hockey: The women’s tournament grinds on with the U.S. at 2-0 in Group A and Canada playing its first game on Saturday and blanking the Swiss, 4-0. The U.S. and the Swiss play on Monday, while Canada faces the Czech Republic.

American star and captain Hilary Knight tied the U.S. record for most career goals at an Olympic Games with 14 in the 5-0 win over Finland. Natalie Darwitz (2002-06-10) and Katie King (1998-2002-06) also had 14.

The Americans and Canadians will play on Tuesday (10th) and then Canada will finish group play with the delayed match against Finland on the 12th. Playoffs start on the 13th.

= PREVIEWS: MONDAY, 9 FEBRUARY =
(5 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Team Combined
This is a new event, matching a Downhiller and Slalom racer from the same country.

Can anyone stop the Swiss? Franjo von Allmen already won the Downhill and Loic Meillard has been a consistent World Cup Slalom medalist this season.

France has defending Olympic Slalom king Clement Noel and Norway has Atle Lie McGrath in the Slalom, but no Downhill stars to ensure a medal. Perhaps home favorites Italy might be in position for another medal after a 2-3 in the Downhill from Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris and hope for the best in the Slalom.

The U.S. can pick from Ryan Cochran-Siegle or Kyle Negomir or Bryce Bennett in the Downhill and River Radamus in the Slalom for a possible upset.

● Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Slopestyle
Defending champion Mathilde Gremaud (SUI) led the qualifying, but will have to fight off China’s Eileen Gu once again, the 2022 Olympic runner-up and second in qualifying.

Those two look solid for medals, but there are more challengers, such as Britain’s Kirsty Muir, who won a World Cup gold this season, three-time Worlds medalist Megan Oldham and 2025 Worlds runner-up Lara Wolf (AUT).

Unheralded American Avery Krumme, 17, qualified fourth with a solid second run. She’s never won a World Cup medal; perhaps her first podium comes at the Olympic Games?

● Ski Jumping: Men’s Normal Hill (109 m)
Defending Olympic champ Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) is back and has two wins on this year’s FIS World Cup circuit, but all eyes will be on another Prevc: Domen. His older brother Peter won an Olympic silver in this event in 2014 in Sochi (RUS), and younger sister Nika just won the women’s Normal Hill silver.

Domen, 26, has dominated the World Cup this season with 11 wins, including the last four in a row! But he could be upset by a countryman, Anze Lanisek, a Worlds bronze winner and a three-time World Cup himself this season.

Kobayashi’s teammate, Ren Nikaido has made great strides this season, with seven medals and one win and is a definite medal threat. Then there are the Austrians: Daniel Tschofenig (two wins), Stefan Kraft (three-time World Champion) and Jan Hoerl, who won two medals at the 2025 Worlds, and Germans Philipp Raimund (five World Cup medals this season) and Felix Hoffmann (four medals). All could land on the podium.

● Snowboard: Women’s Big Air
This will be the third time for this event in the Winter Games and two-time winner Anna Gasser (AUT) is back to keep it all to herself.

The rest of the podium is back from 2022, with silver winner Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL) and Japan’s third-placer Murase Kokomo, also the 2025 World Champion. Kokomo’s teammates, 2025 Worlds runner-up Reira Iwabuchi and bronzer Mari Fukada are clear contenders as well.

Youth will be served by Britain’s Mia Brookes – 19 – a World Cup winner this season, and the 2023 World Champion in Slopestyle.

Sadowski-Synnott (172.25), Murase (171.25) and Brookes (167.00) were the top qualifiers.

● Speed Skating: Women’s 1,000 m
Dutch skaters have won this event four times, tied for the most ever in Olympic competition and are in position to make it five. Stars Femke Kok and Jutta Leerdam ranked 1-2 on the ISU World Cup circuit in the event this season, with Leerdam winning three of the four races she contested and Kok finishing 2-1-3-2-3 to take the seasonal title.

Leerdam won the Olympic silver in Beijing in 2022 and has two Worlds golds in the event from 2020 and 2023. Kok is stronger in the 500 m, but won the 2025 Worlds silver in the 1,000.

But standing in their way is defending champ and two-time World Champion Miho Takagi (JPN), who won once and was second twice in her four World Cup races.

American Brittany Bowe – the 2022 Olympic bronzer and a three-time Worlds winner in 2015-19-21 – ranked third in the World Cup standings and figures as a contender for bronze, and teammate Erin Jackson, the 2022 Olympic 500 m winner, is also in this race, but is only an outside contender for a medal (but with the speed to surprise for sure).

= INTEL REPORT =

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Finland-based OURA, maker of the OURA Ring was named the Team USA and LA28 exclusive provider of continuous health and fitness tracking devices.

This is in the Official Supporter category, the third tier of the LA28 domestic sponsorship program, and is the 13th company in that level.

● Athletics ● At the World Athletics World Indoor Gold meet in Karlsruhe (GER), Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell, the 2025 Worlds 800 m runner-up and 2024 Paris 1,500 m bronzer, grabbed the world 1,500 m lead in 4:00.04, out-dueling Ethoipia’s Birke Haylom (4:00.88).

American Grace Stark, the 2025 Worlds 100 m bronze winner, moved to no. 2 in the world in the women’s 60 m hurdles, winning in 7.86. World women’s high jump leader, Olympic champ Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) won the women’s high jump at 2.01 m (6-7). Italy’s Larissa Iapichino, the 2025 Euro Indoor winner, took the women’s long jump at 6.84 m (22-5 1/4).

Dutch 400 m hurdles star Femke Bol made a very successful debut in the 800 m in Metz Moselle Athletor meet in France, winning in 1:59.07, now no. 5 in the world for 2026. It’s her recorded mark at the distance.

At the Woo Pig Classic in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Olympic 100 m women’s champ Julien Alfred (LCA) won in 7.00 to take the women’s world lead in the 60 m.

A U.S. (Atlanta Track Club) team of Clay Pender, Luke Houser, Luciano Fiore and Sean Dolan set a world record for the men’s indoor 4×800 m at the Penn Classic in Philadelphia on Friday (6th), running 7:10.29 and winning by more than 12 seconds.

The old mark was 7:11.30 from 2018 from another U.S. squad, set in Boston.

Norwegian distance star Jakob Ingebrigtsen confirmed he had surgery in the U.S. on his left Achilles after a flare-up in January of an April 2025 injury that dogged him during the season. He wrote on Instagram:

“My Achilles tendon is absolutely fine and has been for many months – it is the sheath around it that has been causing the issue and unfortunately it has not been able to recover properly.

“The sheath has been ruined and covered in scar tissue, which is what we have gone in and removed. So the surgery by itself is not that big, which is why the recovery time is somewhat short. Hopefully I am not going to be out for very long but it is necessary for me to be healthy again. So don’t be concerned – it’s not as bad as it seems.”

● Cycling ● Italian star Elisa Longo Borghini won her third title at the UCI Women’s World Tour UAE Tour – and second straight – winning the final stage on Sunday after Dutch star Lorena Wiebes had won the first three flat stages.

Wiebes had an 18-second lead on the field coming into Sunday and Longo Borghini was 30 seconds back in 35th place. But Sunday’s race on 156 km had a significant uphill finish and the Italian broke away and won by 12 seconds over fellow Italian, Monica Trinca Colonel, in 4:13.04.

Wiebes was 54th, finishing 8:46 behind and ended up 40th. Longo Borghini and Trinca Colonel were 1-2 at the end in 13:06:32 and 13:06:48.

● Fencing ● Italy swept the medals at the FIE women’s Epee World Cup in Wuxi (CHN), with Giulia Rizzi taking the final from 2023 Worlds silver winner Alberta Santuccio, 15-9, for her fourth career World Cup gold. Two-time World Champion Rossella Fiamingo won the bronze.

The Team title went to host China, with a 45-35 win over Korea.

● Judo ● A huge field of 488 judoka from 78 countries gathered for the IJF World Tour Paris Grand Slam in France, with the home team getting first-day wins from Paris 2024 bronze winner Shirine Boukli in the women’s 48 kg class and two-time Olympic medalist Sarah Cysique at 57 kg. Two-time Olympic bronzer Romaine Dicko won the women’s +78 class on Sunday.

Japan saw World Champion Takeshi Takeoka win at 66 kg on Saturday, then ran the table on Sunday, winning the men’s classes at 81 kg (Yuhei Oino), 90 kg (Goki Tajima), 100 kg (Dota Arai) and +100 kg (Kanta Nakano).

Olympic champions taking golds were Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ Distria Krasniqi (KOS) in the women’s 52 kg division and Rio 2016 Olympic winner Rafaela Silva (BRA) in the women’s 63 kg.

● Rugby Sevens ● The fourth stage of the HSBC Sevens Series was in Perth (AUS), with Fiji and Australia taking the men’s pools at 3-0 each, and New Zealand and Australia sweeping through their women’s pools.

The playoffs saw Fiji continuing through to the men’s final, but lost to South Africa, 21-19. Australia won the bronze over New Zealand, 12-10.

The women’s final was another AUS-NZL showdown, this time convincingly won by the Kiwis, 29-7. France took the bronze over the U.S. women, 21-14.

● Wrestling ● Cohlton Schultz won the only medal for the U.S. in Greco-Roman at the United World Wrestling Ranking Series in Zagreb (CRO), taking a silver in the final against seven-time World Champion Riza Kayaalp (TUR), losing by 7-1.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT: U.S. figure skating star Malinin upside down in Olympic debut in Team Short Program in Milan

Karen Rosen

February 7, 2026

tsx pix 2026-207 malinin, ilia team event (rosen) — World Champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S., in his opening pose for the Team Event Short Program at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE ROSEN REPORT ≡

MILAN, Italy – Ilia Malinin was upside down in his first appearance on Olympic ice Saturday.

The American became the first figure skater to legally perform a backflip at the Winter Games since 1976, but the “Quad God” left out his even more famous signature move.

Malinin decided it was in his best interests to skip the quadruple Axel, a jump no one else in the world can do. Uncharacteristically, he also landed in second place in the men’s short program portion of the Olympic team event.

“I’m pretty happy with what I did because that’s only 50 percent of my full potential,” said Malinin.

If that’s 50 percent, imagine what he can do when he goes full bore in the individual event.

Although Malinin, 21, has a place in his short program for the quad Axel – in combination with a triple toe-loop – he opted for a quad Flip by itself and a quad Lutz-triple Toe Loop combo. He was marked down for under-rotating his quad Lutz and his flying sit-spin did not receive maximum value.

“I wasn’t even expecting to go out there and win the competition,” Malinin said. “That was not my goal with the team event. My team event was to focus on myself and how I feel just overall.”

He’ll get another chance to assess that Sunday night. Malinin will be the U.S. representative in the men’s Free Skate, the last event to determine the team medals. Team USA had the option to put in another male skater and Malinin said he needed to “talk about it with a lot of people” and decide if it is “going to be worth it for me.”

Apparently, it is.

The U.S. has medaled in every team event since it was added to the Olympic program in 2014.

The Americans won the gold in Beijing following the controversial disqualification off Russia’s Kamila Valieva, but had to wait more than two years to get their medal ceremony.

Team USA enters the final three rounds with 44 points, followed by Japan with 39 and host team Italy with 37.

Malinin received a huge ovation when he stepped onto the ice as the final male skater, after Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, had just scored 108.67.

Malinin’s 98.00 was well off the 115.10 he garnered with this program at the U.S. Championships last month. “Of course, it wasn’t the perfect, ideal 100-percent skate like I wanted to have,” he said, “but for the standard I set myself today, I think I did that.”

Will he break out the quad Axel or save it for the individual event, which starts Tuesday? Malinin is the gold-medal favorite.

“It’s a lot of pressure and it’s honestly something that I’ve expected to do coming to these Olympics,” said the two-time reigning world champion. “But overall I just need to pace myself correctly, put myself in the right mindset not to think about that pressure and really just come out here and do what I need to do.”

Four years ago, Malinin was just 17 when he placed second at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. However, U.S. Figure Skating has the discretion to choose the Olympic team and left Malinin home while Vincent Zhou, who had placed third, and veteran Jason Brown, who was fourth, went to Beijing

Malinin said that snub motivated him. The son of two Olympic skaters from Uzbekistan has not lost in more than two years and did seven different quad jumps in the 2025 Grand Prix final.

Malinin is also determined to make figure skating a crowd-pleasing sport again, hence the back flip. After American Terry Kubicka did a backflip in the 1976 Olympics, the move was seen as too dangerous and banned. Surya Bonaly of France did unauthorized backflips in the 1990s and the trick was legalized again in 2024.

“Once I do that backflip, everyone’s like screaming for joy and they’re just out of control,” Malinin said. “I think it’s something that’s really bringing back the popularity of the sport.”

Because the backflip is so well-known, Malinin said it can bring in the non-figure skating crowd as well.

The Milano Ice Skating Arena was nearly full Saturday, with “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz in a front-row seat.

The crowd clapped along to some of the more energetic routines, and so did the skaters in their team boxes.

Before he finally achieved his lifelong dream of skating in the Olympics, Malinin watched his chief rival Kagiyama perform his program.

“I was so inspired,” the American said. “He looked like he was enjoying every single moment. I’m so happy for him. It’s so unreal that all of us come out here on this Olympic stage and really feel so much energy, so much excitement just from this Olympic feeling.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Record ticket sales for a Winter opening; Chock & Bates brilliant in Team Free Ice Dance as U.S. leads

Rich Perelman

February 7, 2026

tsx pix 2026-207 chock-bates team free dance (rosen) — U.S. Ice Dance stars Evan Bates and Madison Chock at the start of their Team Event Free Dance in Milan (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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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

● 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.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026 Review & Preview: Winter Games opens with Italian style in Milan and the mountains, with four parades and two cauldrons!

Rich Perelman

February 6, 2026

tsx pix 2026-206 owg op cer 3 (rosen) rings fire — The Olympic Rings on fire in the San Siro for the opening of the Olympic Winter Games in Milan (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

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= MILAN CORTINA 2026 =
From Lane One

The theme of the Milano Cortina Games is “Armonia” or “Harmony” and the opening ceremony had very comfortable conditions at 47 F at the start at 8 p.m. in Milan’s famed 79,179-seat – and mostly full – San Siro stadium.

The program, directed by veteran Olympic ceremonies producer Marco Balich (ITA) – who also did the Turin 2006 Winter Games opening – opened with a gloriously-choreographed opening dance to salute the neoclassical history of Italy and transitioned into a colorful salute to iconic Italian composers Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioachino Rossini and to the history of Italy through costumed characters representing ancient Rome, fashion, food, literature, architecture and more.

American singing star Mariah Carey got a huge roar from the crowd as she sang “Nel Blu, dipinto di Blu” in Italian, followed by her “Nothing Is Impossible.”

Italian President Sergio Mattarellla and International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) entered next, followed by the Italian flag and the national anthem, sung by Italian star Laura Pausini, with scenes intercut from a simultaneous ceremony in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

A “City and Mountain” segment gave way to two flying rings that came together on the stage to symbolize the unity of the Games in multiple locations and after two people descended from the rings to the stage, three more rings appeared to magically form … the Olympic Rings high above the stage. This isn’t the first time this has been done, but it was well executed, leading to a mane of fireworks.

The parade of athletes followed, with Greece first of course, at the 40-minute mark of the show. The great innovation of this ceremony was the parade not just in Milan, but at the mountain sites in Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo as well, allowing everyone to march if they desired. A total of 92 teams came in, equaling the largest number of nations in a Winter Games from 2018 in PyeongChang (KOR); there were 91 at Beijing 2022.

There was a huge cheer for Ukraine in the San Siro, which was invaded by Russia two days after the end of the 2022 Winter Games in China. Russia has 13 athletes at the Milan Cortina Games as “neutrals.”

And the U.S. got a hearty cheer when its massive squad entered with speed skating gold medalist Erin Jackson in the stadium, and bobsledder Frank Del Duca in Cortina. There were some jeers when the screen showed U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.

France followed as the next Winter Games host and then the Italian team, raucously welcomed in the San Siro. The march took 93 minutes, a half-hour more than the allotted 63:23; it always runs long.

A “time travel” segment across the history of the Winter Games led to the protocol aspects:

● Milan Cortina 2026 organizing committee chief – and International Olympic Committee member – Giovanni Malago (ITA) offered an emotional welcome, including:

“Tonight, this unique celebration means so much to me because I know how hard we have all struggled to make this happen. To be honest, the road has not been without challenges…

“However, like the entire team of Milano Cortina 2026, I was determined never to give up because, simply, I love my country, I love sport and I love the Olympic Movement.”

And he added:

“The co-ordination of so many different bodies in the pursuit of one dream has been a powerful expression of this country’s ability to deliver such a complex project.

“So, I would like to say grazie to the Italian people. Grazie to the thousands of volunteers who will make these Games so special. And grazie to all who will compete and take part in this historic spectacle.

“I have never been as proud to be Italian as I am tonight. To the athletes: this is your time.”

● Coventry’s remarks reflected her time as a five-time Olympic athlete, including:

“So first, be proud. Be proud of how far you have come. And now, take it all in. Enjoy it. Enjoy every second. Over the next two weeks, you’re going to give us something truly special.

“So let these Games be a celebration of what unites us – of everything that makes us human.

“This is the magic of the Olympic Games: inspiring us all to be the best that we can be – together. Tonight, we are grateful to our gracious hosts, the Italian people, who set this spectacular Olympic stage with such passion and care.”

Mattarella then opened the Games in Italian to a roar from an adoring crowd.

The torch lighting protocol, opened by legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, with the torch walked into the stadium as he sang. During his brilliant, choir-backed performance, the torch was handed to a group of three Italian athletes, then to a second group of three, who walked it out of the stadium!

A promotion-of-peace segment followed, leading to the entry of the Olympic Flag, in both Milan and Cortina, carried by eight individuals honored as promoters of peace in the San Siro, including Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade and marathon superstar, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge.

The Olympic Anthem was rendered by Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, accompanied by Chinese pianist Lang Lang, then the Olympic Oath was taken in Cortina by two athletes – Italian curler Stefania Constantini and luger Dominik Fischnaller – plus two coaches and two judges.

A segment on the “Armonia” for the future, led to the return of the Olympic Flame, outside the stadium, and in Cortina. The procession finally led to the Arco della Pace in Milan and Italian alpine heroes Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba lit the expanding cauldron, patterned after Leonardo da Vinci’s knots.

In Cortina, Italian alpine star Sofia Goggia – competing in these Games – lit the cauldron at the Angelo Dibona Square, with both sites to host the flame during the Games.

It was a 3 1/2-hour program, of which the march took 1 1/2 of those hours.

But the ceremony had lots of drama, the messages of peace which are so dear to the Olympic Movement and enough drama, effects and theatrics to be entertaining and thoughtful. A great, fun and enjoyable start.
~ Rich Perelman

● Opening Ceremony notes ● The organizing committee said 1,200 volunteer performers were part of the ceremony, from ages 10 to 70, aided by 70 hairdressers and 110 make-up artists. Some 1,400 costumes were created

NBC’s coverage was anchored by Terry Gannon, but without “Today Show” anchor Savannah Guthrie due to her mother’s kidnapping. Mary Carillo replaced her, and Halfpipe superstar Shaun White – the triple Olympic gold medalist – brought a fun element to the program.

● Il Tempo Olimpici ● Weather in Milan is expected to clear on Saturday, with a high moving up to 53 F, then a low of 40 F in the evening.

In Cortina, overcast conditions are forecast Saturday, but no snow and a high of 41 F, going down to 23 F in the evening. Light winds are expected, but this should not interfere with the skiing.

● Ice Hockey ● Finland’s women’s norovirus situation is improving, with team General Manager Kimmo Oikarinen telling The Associated Press, “We still have nine players isolated, but we strongly believe we will play tomorrow [against the U.S.]. It is getting better. Forfeit is the last thing we want to do. I don’t believe we will go there. I do not see that happening.”

● Ski Jumping ● “This wild rumor started off a few weeks ago from pure hearsay. There has never been any indication, let alone evidence, that any competitor has ever made use of a hyaluronic acid injection to attempt to gain a competitive advantage.”

That’s International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) spokesman Bruno Sassi (BRA) to The Associated Press, shutting down a German report that genital injections had been tried to create an advantage. OK, over.

● Olympic Winter Games: Future ● The organizing committees of the next two Olympic Winter Games – French Alps 2030 and Utah 2034 – signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday morning in Milan, to share best practices and expertise.

Utah 2034 also signed a similar agreement with the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regions, that will focus on sustainability, access to sport, and the legacy of Olympic venues.

= RESULTS: FRIDAY, 6 FEBRUARY =

No medal events yet, but competitions were held in curling, figure skating and ice hockey:

● Curling: Great Britain and the U.S. moved into the lead in the Mixed Doubles round-robin, with Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, the 2025 Worlds silver winners, now at 5-0 and the American pair of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin – the 2023 World Champions – at 4-0.

The U.S. dropped Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant to 3-1 with a 7-5 win on Friday, thanks to three points in the seventh end. Britain and the U.S. face off on Sunday.

● Figure Skating: The U.S. got off to a solid start in the Team Event on Friday, led by World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who won the Rhythm Dance at 91.06, ahead of France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron (89.98).

Two-time Pairs World Champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (JPN) were easy winners in the Short Program, scoring 82.84 to 77.54 for European champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava (GEO). Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea of the U.S. placed fifth at 66.59, with a fall, but lost only a point in the overall standings.

Japan’s three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto was the winner of the women’s Short Program, scoring 78.88 to 74.90 for 2025 World Champion Alysa Liu of the U.S., with Lara Naki Gutmann (ITA: 71.62) third.

All together, the U.S. scored 25 points to 23 for Japan and 22 for Italy, with the top five teams to advance to the final. In the qualifying, only the men’s Singles remains for tomorrow, with the U.S. fielding World Champion Ilia Malinin.

● Ice Hockey: In the women’s pool play, Switzerland defeated the Czech Republic, 4-3, in Group A in a shoot-out after a 3-3 tie in regulation and overtime. The Swiss are now 1-0 and the Czechs are 0-2. Canada, whose game with Finland was delayed due to the Finnish team suffering from the norovirus, opens Saturday with the Swiss. The U.S. will play Finland, assuming they are healthy.

In Group B, Japan scored twice in the third to edge France, 3-2.

In case you were wondering, yes, they are playing at the new Santa Giulia arena! Italy played before 9,356 on Thursday, and beat the French by 4-1.

Elsewhere:

● Alpine Skiing: Yes, Lindsey Vonn completed a training run today for the women’s Downhill and is now eligible to ski on Sunday. Coming back from a crash at Crans-Montana (SUI), Vonn timed 1:40.33 for the 11th-fastest run on Friday. Fellow American Jackie Wiles was fastest of all at 1:38.94 and 2025 World Champion Breezy Johnson was sixth at 1:40.05.

= PREVIEWS: SATURDAY, 7 FEBRUARY =
(5 finals across 5 sports & disciplines)

● Alpine Skiing: Men’s Downhill
If you believe the results of the 2025-26 FIS World Cup, then the favorites are Swiss stars Marco Odermatt and Franjo von Allmen. Odermatt, the current men’s super-skier, has won the last four World Cup seasonal titles and is on his way to a fifth. He’s won three of the six Downhills this season and von Allmen, the 2025 World Champion, has won the other two.

But there are others and the fearsome Streif course in Bormio can produce a catastrophe for anyone. Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr was the 2021 Worlds Downhill winner and has a silver in this year’s World Cup. Italian upstart Giovanni Franzoni has a World Cup Downhill win this season and two other medals. American Ryan Cochran-Siegle has a Downhill silver and bronze; the last American medalist in this event was Bode Miller in 2010 (bronze).

● Cross Country Skiing: Women’s 20 km Skiathlon
The Skiathlon has only been held once in the 2025-26 FIS World Cup season and American star Jessie Diggins won it in Trondheim (NOR), over Heidi Weng (NOR) and Swede Ebba Andersson. They’re all contenders this time, and Andersson is the two-time Worlds winner in the event in 2023 and 2025.

Swedish teammates Frida Karlsson (two Worlds silvers in this event) and Jonna Sundling (2025 Worlds bronze) are sure contenders and Austria;s 2022 Olympic bronzer Teresa Stadlober is not to be counted out. A latecomer to the World Cup medal list is Finn Johanna Matintalo, who won the final World Cup race, a 20 km Mass Start, on 25 January.

● Ski Jumping: Women’s Normal Hill
No doubt about the favorites in Predazzo off the 109 m hill: 20–year-old Slovenian star Nika Prevc and Japan’s Nozomi Maruyama.

Prevc, the younger sister in the ski jumping Prevc family, has won 13 times on the FIS World Cup circuit, including six in a row in January. Maruyama, the find of the 2025-26 season, won the first three events of the year and three more since. But there are other contenders, such as Norway’s Eirin Kvandal, a 2025 Worlds bronze winner and two-time World Cup winner this season, and Austria’s Lisa Eder, who has one win, but five silvers and two bronzes!

A longer shot would be Canada’s Abigail Strate, who won three medals in the last five World Cup before the Games.

● Snowboard: Men’s Big Air
The three World Cup events this season were won by China’s defending Olympic champ Yuming Su (2) and Japan’s qualifying leader, Hiroto Ogiwara (1). Japanese teammate Kira Kimura won two silvers and American Oliver Martin won a bronze.

Japan has four finalists and all are contenders, with Ryoma Kimata the 2025 World Champion and Taiga Hasegawa the silver winner and 2023 World Champion. A sweep is possible!

● Speed Skating: Women’s 3,000 m
The sentimental favorite is Italian birthday girl Francesca Lollobrigida, who turns 35 and comes in as the 2025 World 5,000 m champion, but her best was only fourth on the ISU World Cup circuit this season.

Norway’s Ragne Wiklund won the Long Distances World Cup title, winning medals each time and finishing 3-2-1-2-1 and won the 2023 Worlds 3,000 m gold. She’s a slight favorite, but will have to deal with Dutch star Joy Beune, the 2025 World Champion, ahead of ageless (she’s 38) Martina Sabilkova (CZE), the 2010 Olympic champion and a six-time Worlds winner at this distance. She was fifth three times in this season’s World Cup races.

Beijing 2022 bronze winner Isabelle Weidemann (CAN) figures as a contender as she had two World Cup silvers during the season. And do not count out Dutch star Marijke Groenewoud, a Mass Start superstar with three World titles, who won the 2024 European gold in this event.

Competitions continue in curling Mixed Doubles, the figure skating Team Event, Freestyle Slopestyle qualifying, ice hockey and the men’s Singles in luge.

= INTEL REPORT =

The Winter Games may be on, but that hardly interests the summer-sport federations, with world-level events this weekend in cycling, fencing, judo, rugby, wrestling and, of course, track & field.

● Athletics ● The fourth World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold tour was in Madrid (ESP), with American shot star Jordan Geist equaling his own world lead at 22.04 m (72-3 3/4). That beat Olympic bronzer Rajindra Campbell (JAM: 21.94 m/71-11 3/4) and Roger Steen of the U.S. (21.88 m/71-9 1/2).

Spain’s home favorite 800 m star Mohamed Attaoui took the world lead in the men’s 1,000 m in 2:14.52, a European record , and no. 3 all-time! He finished well ahead of countryman Mariano Garcia (2:16.40). Portugal’s Paris Olympian Agate de Souza took the world lead in the women’s long jump at 6.97 m (22-10 1/2)

Spain’s Enrique Llopis moved to no. 2 in the world in the men’s 60 m hurdles, winning in 7.45, with American Jamal Britt third in 7.51. Alaysha Johnson of the U.S. was second in the women 60 hurdles in 7.90, losing a photo finish to Laeticia Bapte (FRA) in the same time.

Charity Hufnagel of the U.S. took the women’s high jump at 1.96 m (6-5).

The Karlsruhe (GER) indoor is the next Gold-level meet, on Sunday.

● Football ● Now this is getting spicy. The town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, in which Gillette Stadium is located, said it will not issue the required license for this summer’s FIFA World Cup matches unless a $7.8 million bill for security for the event is picked up by someone else. The deadline to issue the license is 17 March; seven matches – including a quarterfinal – are scheduled for the site.

Said Bill Yukna, Foxborough Select Board Chair, “It’s not up to the Town of Foxborough to support or pay for any of this. As our chiefs are the ones responsible for the security and safety of the facilities, their needs need to be met or this cannot be an event that moves forward.”

Paige Duncan, the Foxborough Town Manager added:

“Foxborough supports the World Cup and wants to be a successful host community. However, the taxpayers of Foxborough cannot and will not be responsible for funding an international sporting event. We believe it is reasonable and appropriate that FIFA and/or event partners provide the funding necessary to support the public safety and operational requirements that come with hosting these matches.”

The reply from the Boston Host Committee: “We are working closely with FIFA, the stadium, and the town of Foxboro to reach an agreement.” The U.S. government appropriated $625 million for security related to the FIFA World Cup event in 2025; there are 11 U.S. sites for the event.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: WADA chief wants U.S. dues, but is fiscally stable without; Richardson, Coleman plead not guilty; Paris champ Khelif will box again?!

Rich Perelman

February 5, 2026

tsx pix 2025-1202 banka, witold (wada) — World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka (POL) (Photo: WADA).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Although the opening ceremony comes Friday, competition continued at the Winter Games in three sports, and there were a lot of other things going on.

¶ Curling: Round-robin play in Mixed Doubles was on in Cortina, with Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat (GBR) and Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant off to 3-0 starts and the American pair of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin at 2-0.

The Americans edged Norway, 8-6, and got past Switzerland, 7-4. Round-robin play continues through the 9th.

¶ Figure Skating: The Team Event will start on Friday with the women’s Short Program, the Pairs Short Program and the Rhythm Dance.

The U.S., defending champions after the long process to disqualify Russia after the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, will field two World Champions in Alysia Liu in the women’s competition and Madison Chock and Evan Bates in Ice Dance. The 2024 U.S. Pairs champs, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea will contest in Pairs.

The men’s Short Program and the Free Dance come on Saturday and the event will finish on Sunday. The U.S. is the unquestioned favorite, with Japan also in the mix and Canada perhaps in best position for the third medal.

¶ Ice Hockey: U.S. players were not aware that Vice President J.D. Vance was on hand for their 5-1 opening win over the Czech Republic, with star forward Hilary Knight saying afterwards, “Oh, I didn’t know. We’re dialed in on the game.”

Kendall Coyne Schofield echoed, “I had no idea they were here. I’m sorry. We’re in the game when we’re there, so I think our focus was on the ice.” Forward Joy Dunne was more excited: “Very cool. It was an unreal fan base today. Really cool on both sides. You just love to play in that environment.”

Asked about the postponement of the Canada-Finland game due to a norovirus breakout with the Finnish squad – the U.S.’s next opponent – Coyne Schofield said, “I think there’s always something that goes around … when people get together. I think it’s just staying vigilant and washing our hands, doing what we can. But I’m not fully aware.”

In Thursday’s other games, Sweden sailed past Germany, 4-1, and Italy swamped France, 4-1. The Canada-Finland game was rescheduled to 12 February because of a norovirus outbreak affected 13 Finnish team members.

¶ Snowboard: Canadian star Mark McMorris was released from the hospital after his Wednesday Big Air training crash and will skip that event in order to prepare for the Slopestyle event in which he is a three-time Olympic bronze medalist. He wrote on Instagram:

“Fortunately, things are looking good for slopestyle, so I’m staying positive and shifting my focus there. Huge thanks to the incredible medical staff who took great care of me, and to everyone who reached out with so much love and support.”

In the Big Air men’s qualifying, Japan’s Hiroto Ogiwara (20) led the men’s field at 178.50 with defending champ Yuming Su (CHN) fourth (172.75). American Oliver Martin is in the final in ninth place (167.50). Jake Canter did not qualify, in 15th (160.25) and Sean FitzSimons was 25th (136.00).

¶ Fair Play: The International Olympic Committee and the International Fair Play Committee announced that “nominations for the Milano Cortina 2026 Fair Play Award are officially open.

“The search for the ultimate act of sportsmanship is a global effort, and entries are invited from National Olympic Committees, International Federations, athletes and coaches, plus the public watching the Games, on site and globally.”

Nominations can be made here. The process of selection:

“After the end of the Games, a jury composed of representatives from the CIFP, the IOC and members of the international media will shortlist the most impactful moments. The global public will then be invited to vote for the winners, with the final results announced shortly after.”

The Milan Cortina award has a special significance as Italian bobsled legend Eugenio Monti was the first recipient of the award for his sportsmanship at the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck (AUT).

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● At a Milan news conference, WADA chief Witold Banka (POL) said there is no need for more audits of his agency, as demanded in a bill now moving through the U.S. Congress:

“I don’t know any other international organization with such strong auditing mechanisms, so I think there are no obstacles for our friends from U.S. to fulfill their duties and pay the contributions.”

But Sara Carter, the head of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, which pays the American dues, told The Associated Press, “The United States will not be bullied or manipulated into paying dues to WADA until such [an audit] is achieved.”

The U.S. has withheld dues of more than $3.6 million per year for both 2024 and 2025, but Banka said, “I wish we could have this money, [U.S.] contributions, but WADA is financially very stable, so this is not the biggest problem.”

WADA Director General Olivier Niggli (SUI) explained the status of Russia, still considered non-compliant:

“The current ban is not related to anti-doping. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency still does not have compliance status, but for a different reason. In particular, we are continuing the judicial process and discussion of Russian legislation, which needs to be amended to comply with the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling. So there are other elements that are still in the process of being resolved.

“RUSADA works in Russia, we maintain contacts with them, and we have a working relationship.”

In terms of timing, Niggli said “The timeframe may be similar [to the end of the war in Ukraine], or it may be different, we are following our process.”

● Athletics ● U.S. sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of speeding at more than 104 miles per hour on a road in Winter Park, Florida. She said that a back tire was under-inflated and that she did not means to be going so fast.

Her partner, Olympic sprinter and 2019 World men’s 100 m champ Christian Coleman was also arrested at the scene for trying to help her and had a “glass smoking device: in his car. He also pled not guilty.

World Athletics has declined to ratify the sensational 56:42 half marathon by Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) from Barcelona (ESP) in 2025 as a world record.

Specifically, the presence of the lead car in the race was seen as a pacing aid for Kiplimo, although there are no specific rules on separation between vehicles and runners. Thus, the record reverts to 57:30 for Yomif Kjelcha (ETH) in 2024.

Another Kenyan sanction from the Athletics Integrity Unit, this time four years for 13:00.38-26:43.98-58:45 man Benard Kibet Koech, “from 10 June 2025 for Use of a Prohibited Substance/Method (ABP case).” In this case, blood manipulation was identified as the reason for the abnormalities in his medical data.

● Biathlon ● International Biathlon Union President Olle Dahlin (SWE) told the Russian news agency TASS that Russian federation reinstatement has a long path:

“[W]e previously had an action plan to return the Russian Biathlon Union to the IBU as a full member. We’re talking about 12 criteria. So there’s a lot to do here, too, in various areas, and, at least in the area of anti-doping, it’s extremely important for us to stay up to date with the latest developments.

“This program is still relevant, but the war in Ukraine is at the forefront.”

● Boxing ● Algerian Olympic women’s 66 kg boxing gold medalist Imane Khelif told CNN that she wants to continue her career in the ring. That includes taking a sex-screening test as required now by World Boxing:

“Of course, I would accept doing anything I’m required to do to participate in competitions.

“They should protect women, but they need to pay attention that while protecting women, they shouldn’t hurt other women.

“I’m not transgender. I’m a woman. I want to live my life. Please do not exploit me in your political agendas.”

Khelif and Yu-ting Lin (TPE: 57 kg) won Paris golds, but were accused of being ineligible by the International Boxing Association, the former governing body for Olympic boxing. The new World Boxing organization was approved by the IOC to run the sport in 2025 and has adopted an eligibility for the women’s category that requires a screening test for the Y chromosome, found in men.

● Cycling ● Two-time World Track Championships silver medalist Martha Bayona Pineda (COL) has been suspended for 18 months for “whereabouts” failures of three missed tests in a 12-month period.

The Keirin runner-up at the 2017 and 2023 Worlds will be ineligible through 22 October 2026 due to time served; the sanction can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

● Sport Climbing ● Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw, the 2024 women’s Olympic Speed gold medalist, said she will retire at the end of the 2026 climbing season.

She owns the women’s world record at 6.03 seconds , but at 32, she wrote on Instagram:

“For a long time, I knew how I wanted to say goodbye to the world of sport in this role. On top. On my own terms. My own way. And now, as I turn 32, that day has come.

“I’d like to tell you that the 2026 season will be my last competitive season in the World Cup and European Championships. Just a few final starts and then this chapter comes to a close.. Sport will always remain an important part of who I am, even though my role will gradually change. There will be time to tell that story.”

● Wrestling ● American men’s Freestylers made a big impression at the first United World Wrestling ranking series event of 2026, the Zagreb Open in Croatia, with tournament golds for Paris Olympic silver man Spencer Lee at 57 kg, Austin DeSanto at 61 kg, David Carr at 74 kg, Parker Keckeisen at 86 kg, and Stephen Buchanan at 97 kg, beating Iranian star and 2016 Olympic champ Hassan Yazdani at 97 kg!

The U.S. also won silvers by Dean Hamiti at 79 kg, Trent Hidlay at 92 kg and Wyatt Hendrickson at 125 kg. The women’s and Greco-Roman tournaments are continuing.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026/ROSEN REPORT: American women’s hockey opens with 5-1 win over Czech Republic before pro-U.S. crowd

Rich Perelman

February 5, 2026

tsx pix 2026-205 owg usa-cze hockey (rosen) — The scene at the Milano Rho arena as the U.S. women defeated the Czech Republic, 5-1 (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ USA WOMEN 5, CZECH REP. 1 ≡

MILAN, Italy – It’s been eight years since a U.S. women’s hockey team heard this much cheering or saw as many American flags at a Winter Olympic Games.

And the players hope this tournament will bring other echoes of 2018, specifically a gold medal.

On the day before the Opening Ceremony, Team USA kicked off its 2026 campaign by dominating the Czech Republic 5-1 at the Milano Rho Arena.

“It was amazing to hear the fans cheer and the momentum swings, the chants (of U-S-A, U-S-A),” said captain Hilary Knight, playing in her fifth Olympic Games. “It’s just so much fun. It really goes to show that you miss that. To be back in a best-on-best tournament with fans in the crowd, it’s special.”

After the Americans defeated perennial rival Canada 3-2 in PyeongChang, their neighbors to the north regained the upper hand in Beijing four years later. Due to the pandemic, no spectators from outside China were allowed, not even friends and family.

But on Thursday night, 3,766 spectators flowed into the Fiera Milano complex, walking down an incredibly long concourse with one moving sidewalk after another. Once inside the arena, they seemed to be releasing energy that has been pent-up for four years.

“That game just had so much buzz,” said Britta Curl-Salemme, making her Olympic debut, after being an alternate for Beijing in 2022.

Knight, 36, said the first game is always the hardest for the team, and with her experience she should know.

U.S. women’s captain Hilary Knight speaking to reporters on 5 February 2026 (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

“Everyone did extremely well and I think for us it’s just simplifying the Games,” Knight said. “Everyone’s played hockey for decades, right? So at this point everyone’s battle-tested and knows what our role is and is out there executing.”

This team also has 12 Olympic rookies, some still in college, who are being tested in Milan. Joy Dunne scored a goal in her first Olympic game.

“Our first-timers really stepped up and it was just awesome to see them get on the board and just have a great game to kick off their Olympic experience,” said Kendall Coyne Schofield, who is playing in her third Games.

Hayley Scamurra, playing in her second Games, had two goals, while Knight and Alex Carpenter, also in her third Games, scored the others.

Carpenter opened the scoring in the first period. “When we let teams hang around, things can get dicey,” she said, “so I think a big thing for us is putting our foot to the pedal pretty early.”

The fifth goal, by Scamurra, was not cheered quite as loudly as Carpenter’s because the American scoring had become almost expected vs. the Czechs, who had only 14 shots on goal to Team USA’s 42.

“It was a testament to her craft and her workload today that she was able to convert on pretty much everything that touched her stick,” Knight said. “I was hoping she’d get a third, to be honest. She’s so diligent, she’s strong, she’s fast, she’s physical and she’s pretty explosive. She kind of checks every box for a hockey player.”

The Americans will have to carry this momentum throughout the tournament, which concludes Feb. 19.

Team USA took the gold in the inaugural women’s Olympic hockey appearance in 1998, then Canada won four straight crowns. Following that U.S. victory in 2018, Canada was back on top with a 3-2 win in Beijing. The Canadians have never missed a gold-medal game, while the U.S. won the bronze in 2006, also in Italy, and Canada beat Sweden 4-1 in the most lopsided Olympic final.

“We’re a confident group,” said Coyne Schofield, who said all of the American hockey teams have adopted Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” as their anthem.

“I think this team is just special top to bottom,” added Cayla Barnes, who is also an Olympic three-timer. “Everyone is selfless, puts the team first and is willing to do a job, whatever the job that is, and be great at it.”

Knight said she did not know that the official U.S. government delegation, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, was in attendance.

“We’re America’s team in the best way,” she said. “And through positivity and trying to inspire through sport, we just hold onto that. And whatever political climate’s going on, we’re just trying to have a positive impact through our play and show up and represent our country to the best of our ability. Because we are proud Americans and there’s great unity that we can find through sport together.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

OLYMPIC GAMES: IOC to review sports program again; “we will not be able to make everyone happy”; Swiss 2038 bid gets boost from On

Rich Perelman

February 5, 2026

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ INTEL REPORT ≡

Wednesday’s second day of the 145th IOC Session offered some key glimpses into the future of the Olympic Games, especially the selection of sports on the program.

In an important presentation on the progress of the IOC’s working group on the Olympic program, IOC member Karl Stoss (AUT) reported to the Session:

“We are reviewing the size of the Games, the mix of sports and disciplines, options for new additions and a clearer process for changes. We also look at potential crossover between summer and winter sports, and in second stage, we will look at how the Games fit within the global sports calendar.”

He noted that the working group has met six times and has concentrated on a better understanding of the “costs and revenue associated with changes to sports and disciplines of the Games” and the creation of a process to review the program after each Games, along with actual evaluation criteria. A framework to evaluate requests for added sports must also be developed.

The immediate issue is the program for French Alps 2030, which will be the next Games for which the program must be concluded.

Looking to the future, Stoss gave his warning:

“We know we will not be able to make everyone happy. But our responsibility is clear: to ensure the Olympic sports program is balanced, relevant and forward-looking and sustainable, and we thank you for your input, your trust and your understanding.”

So, the smaller sports are once again on the hot seat, with the key words “relevant and forward-looking and sustainable.”

But the terms of engagement are yet to be fixed.

The summer Games selection process review was reported on by summer Games Future Host Commission head Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (CRO), who said that the discussions so far point to a process which has “clear criteria, documented procedures and more regular updates for both IOC members and for interested parties would build legitimacy and guard against perceptions of favoritism.”

She underlined that the discussions with IOC members and others reflect a desire for clear timelines to be created, and she proposed a new level of interaction with the Future Host Commissions between the current two levels of “continuous dialogue” and “targeted dialogue.”

A third level – in between the two – would create a “short-listing of a limited number of interested parties with advanced projects for deeper evaluation.”

Consultations with the IOC members showed that the main things are still important: venue and village plan, the sports program, financial guarantees and the “added value of prior experience in hosting multi-sport events,” as well as sustainability. And IOC members must be more involved.

More transparency in the process should also include the public reporting of those bids in “continuous dialogue” with the IOC for future Games.

She also noted that those bidders which are unsuccessful must be recognized as well to maintain interest and reinforce their interest in the Movement.

The International Olympic Committee created a new form of “Privileged Dialogue” with the Swiss bid for the 2038 Winter Games and IOC Future (Winter) Hosts Commission chief Stoss told the IOC Session on Wednesday that the Swiss has completed a master plan for the Games.

The Swiss government is now considering it and will confirm whatever its financial and regulatory support by June 2026 with a target of approval from the Swiss Parliament in December 2026. If all in line, the IOC could start a “Targeted Dialogue” process at the end of 2026 and a formal election could be made as early as April 2027.

Stoss said the Program Commission considers the Swiss concept as “much improved,” as the concept of using existing sites is maintained, but now with three clusters and three villages, that would host 80% of the athletes. This is far less dispersed than the original plan.

On Thursday, the Swiss bid got a significant boost from its first private partner, the Swiss-based sportswear brand On, which has pledged CHF 20 million ($25.704 million U.S.) to assist the Swiss 2038 bid.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

INT’L OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: IOC releases 2025 financial statements, showing near $650 million in revenue, assets up to $6.97 billion

Rich Perelman

February 5, 2026

tsx pix 2021-515 olympic rings at IOC 750 — Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the International Olympic Committee

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ IOC FINANCIALS ≡

The International Olympic Committee’s 2025 financial statements were released on Wednesday and showed the lowest revenue total since 2020. It had a loss for the year.

But the IOC’s total assets rose to $6.969 billion from $6.120 billion at the end of 2024 and its reserves are now at $4.907 billion, up from $4.880 billion at the end of 2024.

In truth, not that much happened.

The financial report showed a quiet, post-Olympic Games year for the first time since 2017 and it’s against that backdrop that the IOC’s finances have to be evaluated. Revenues for the past 10 years, including the confusing COVID period show:

● 2016: $3.518 billion (Rio Games)
● 2017: $523.4 million
● 2018: $2.206 billion (PyeongChang Winter Games)
● 2019: $695.5 million

● 2020: $623.8 million (Tokyo Games postponed)
● 2021: $4.162 billion (Tokyo Games)
● 2022: $2.363 billion (Beijing Winter Games)
● 2023: $902.1 million

● 2024: $4.415 billion (Paris Games)
● 2025: $650.0 million

The IOC states that it does not include television rights revenue until the year in which a Games is held and that revenue is matched against the delivery of the event paid for. Respecting this protocol, the IOC’s “off-year” revenue of $650.0 million for 2025 is better than the non-Games year of 2020 ($623.8 million) and much better than the post-Games year of 2017 ($523.4). It’s also not far away from the 2019 total of $695.5 million.

But the IOC also lost money, with total operating expenses of $981.4 million, an operating deficit of $331.4 million and a total loss of $39.6 million thanks to investment income of $291.9 million. Where did the money go?

● $358.3 million (36.5%): Federations, national committees, organizers
● $218.2 million (22.2%): Olympic Solidarity, grants
● $191.9 million (19.6%): Promotion of the Olympic Movement
● $213.0 million (21.7%): Administration

So, that’s 78.3% distributed to various groups around the world and the rest for administration and internal operations.

The IOC often touts that it re-distributes 90% of its income to the Olympic Movement, but a TSX analysis in 2025 showed that for the 2021-24 quadrennial – not including the Tokyo 2020 TV rights shown in the 2024 financials – the IOC passed out 64.9% of its revenue, with the remainder to reserves and administration.

Among those expenditures were payments to support the World Anti-Doping Agency ($23.62 million), International Council of Arbitration for Sport ($9.38 million) and the International Paralympic Committee ($2.00 million). In terms of the Olympic Channel and the IOC’s digital reach, $126.75 million was spent in 2025.

Against a promised total of $1.335 billion, the IOC advanced the LA28 organizing committee a significant amount of $381.7 million in 2025.

As for direct payments to athletes, the 2025 financials showed $10.261 million for Olympic Scholarships and another $3.568 million for team grants. Of course, some funds sent to National Olympic Committees and International Federations also ends up going to athletes, but under the direction of those entities.

The IOC also has significant revenue already booked for the future, having previously announced commitments for:

● $7.5 billion for 2025-28
● $6.9 billion for 2029-32
● $4.0 billion for 2033-36

For a non-Olympic year, the IOC’s finances were solid but not spectacular. That performance is already under discussion in one of the working groups now considering the future of revenue for the IOC and the Olympic Movement in a changing media and business environment.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026: U.S. V.P. Vance and family and Secretary Rubio attend U.S. women’s 5-1 opening win over Czech Republic

Rich Perelman

February 5, 2026

tsx pix 2026-205 vance at usa-cze II (rosen) — U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and family taking in the USA-CZE women's hockey match on 5 February 2026 (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ USA ICE HOCKEY OPENER ≡

/With reporting from Karen Rosen in Milan/The American women, at least the co-favorite for the gold medal at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games, opened with a clear, 5-1 win over the Czech Republic at the Milano Rho Arena before a noisy house and some special guests.

Those would be U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and his family and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio – wearing a USA flag sweater – and other American officials, along with a significant security detail.

The Americans took control right away, out-shooting the Czechs by 14-3 in the first period, with Alex Carpenter getting the only goal at 15:55, with assists to Megan Keller and Laila Edwards.

The U.S. attack really got into gear in the second, with scores from Joy Dunne at 3:13 of the period, then Hayley Scarmurra at 4:36 for a 3-0 edge. The Czechs got one back at 8:37 as Barbora Jurickova scored after a flurry of action in the U.S. end, but at 17:50 of the period, the U.S. went up 4-1 in a Hilary Knight goal and the issue was essentially decided.

Second-period shots favored the U.S. by 17-6.

The third was quieter, with a second goal for Scarmurra at 4:22 of the period for the 5-1 final. The Czechs got a late penalty, the only one of the period and the U.S. had an 11-5 edge on shots for a 42-14 total for the game.

Aerin Frankel stopped 13 of 14 Czech shots for the U.S. in goal.

Attendance was listed at 3,766 for the 5,700-seat venue, with plenty of NHL-style music, with a pro-U.S. crowd that sang along with “Sweet Caroline” during the second intermission. (Vance and Rubio shown below at the game; TSX photos by Karen Rosen.)

Rubio left with about nine minutes left and the Vance family with about six minutes to go in the third period.

The Americans will face Finland in its next game on the 7th, depending on the situation with the Finnish team (see below).

In the other opening matches, Sweden eased past Germany, 4-1, and home Italy rolled over France by 4-1.

The scheduled Canada vs. Finland match was posted due to a norovirus outbreak on the Finnish team that affected as many as 13 players. An IOC-Int’l Ice Hockey Federation-Milan Cortina 2026 statement noted:

“The decision was taken following consultations with medical professionals after cases of norovirus were identified within Team Finland.

“It was made collectively and in accordance with established health and safety principles, with the health and well-being of players, team staff, officials and all tournament participants as the highest priority.”

That game has been rescheduled for 12 February.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: Milan Cortina starts with curling! Coach says Vonn should be OK for Sunday’s Downhill; Grand Slam Track gets $2.35 million loan

Rich Perelman

February 4, 2026

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Games have started!

As is normal, some of the team sports get going prior to the formal opening and curling opened in Cortina d’Ampezzo, despite an electrical issue that lasted for about three minutes, but was resolved, no doubt impacted by as much as eight inches of snow outside.

But the Mixed Doubles got going with four matches, as Sweden stomped South Korea (10-3), Britain edged Norway (8-6), Canada doubled up the Czech Republic (10-5) and the Swiss needed an extra end to defeat Estonia, 9-7, in nine.

Curling, ice hockey and qualifying in snowboard Big Air will be held on Thursday; the opening is on Friday.

NBC announced that “Today Show” anchor Savannah Guthrie will not be part of the network’s announce team for the Friday Olympic Winter Games opening, as the search continues for her 84-year-old mother, Nancy, who has been reported missing from her Tucson, Arizona home.

Veteran correspondent Mary Carillo, who is working on her 17th Olympic assignment, will join Terry Gannon on the opening call.

Milan Cortina 2026 organizing committee head Giovanni Malago told his fellow International Olympic Committee members on Tuesday, “The journey has lasted almost seven years and it has not been without hardships and obstacles.

“But what still lies before us is certainly the most challenging part of the journey. We are facing days and nights of pure passion, excitement and tension which we will never forget. Starting from the Opening Ceremony and the lighting of the two cauldrons, a first in Olympic history, we are preparing to embrace the world in the name of sport and its values.”

Chief executive Andrea Varnier explained further:

“From a complex initial framework, I believe we have built a resilient and credible Olympic project. Many people say that Italians are exceptionally good at arriving at the last minute, at delivering important goals right on the finish line. This may sometimes be true, and it can even tickle someone’s pride, but it is a stereotype that I have never accepted. A stereotype that provokes a deep sense of frustration in me and in my closest collaborators.

“Major projects require planning, discipline and accountability. And where we could, whenever we were in control, we applied this clear business principle. That said, there are moments when an organization must operate under emergency conditions, and the Games of Milano Cortina 2026 are certainly one of those cases. With extremely tight timelines and limited resources that must be identified, secured and mobilized rapidly, we worked under constant pressure coming from all sides. Yet, on the most critical and problematic issues, the organizing committee has always responded with determination and energy. The entire Milano Cortina 2026 team has consistently risen to the challenge.”

He noted that the sponsorship program was a considerable achievement, explaining “Going from 3 to 56 in less than 3 years, despite very difficult market conditions.”

On the venues:

“[A]mong the most demanding challenges I would highlight two in particular. The Sliding Center in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the Ice Hockey Arena in Santa Giulia in Milan both delivered to the organizing committee quite literally at the final breath, at the very edge of every available deadline, and with very difficult working conditions, as you are all well aware of.

“Nevertheless, both venues will be outstanding for the Games, and we really hope they will remain as a tangible legacy for the communities. Among these challenges, however, it is equally important to recall another major achievement. The completion, without any disruption and within the perfect planned timeline, of another significant daring venue, the Milano Ice Park at Rho Fiera, where we will stage speed skating and hockey with a very different solution compared to the Candidature project, highly sustainable and with a potential long-lasting legacy. A clear demonstration that even under pressure, complex projects can be delivered with stability and vision.”

NBC, in a facts-and-figures post, noted that it will have about 1,000 staff in Italy to work on the Winter Games, but 1,600 at its broadcast center in Stamford, Connecticut, producing its 700+ hours of content on broadcast and cable and 2,500 hours of streaming coverage.

As is usual in arenas these days, the Milan Cortina venues have restrictions on multiple items that cannot be brought in for Games events, including “megaphones, vuvuzelas, air horns, loudspeakers, or musical instruments” as well as “folding chairs, mats, tents, frisbees.”

The Russian news agency TASS also noted “Flags (current and historical), and other items that may be associated with, countries whose athletes are allowed to participate exclusively as individual neutral athletes” are also banned.

● Alpine Skiing: American star Lindsey Vonn has been doing training exercises and her coach, Chris Knight, told The Associated Press on Wednesday:

“I’m pretty confident that she can still pull off this dream. I’ve got no doubts in my mind that this is going to be OK.”

“She’s been doing box jumps, she’s trying everything out, loads and stresses and things like that to just see where she’s at and see how she feels and she’s pulled up great from everything. No swelling, no pain.”

Vonn crashed at Crans-Montana (SUI) last week, tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. The scheduled Thursday Downhill training session was canceled due to heavy snow in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

At the men’s Downhill training in Bormio, Norway’s Fredrik Moeller crashed and injured his left shoulder. He was airlifted off of the mountain and taken to a nearby hospital.

Fellow Norwegian star and two-time Olympic medalist Aleksander Aamodt Kilde announced he will not compete in Cortina, saying in a statement, “I have done everything I possibly could to be ready for the Olympics, but my mind and body are not performing the way I need them to.”

He suffered a bad crash in January 2024 and only returned to the FIS World Cup in December of 2025.

● Bobsled & Skeleton: The latest fight in Skeleton is over helmets, specifically a helmet design used by British racers, with the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) holding that the design does not comply with its rules.

A hearing will be held at the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s temporary Milan venue on Thursday with the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association asking for rulings that the helmet is not only compliant, but “that the Team GB helmet is proven to be safer and more beneficial to athletes’ health and safety than any other helmets being used.”

● Snowboard: A crash during Wednesday night Big Air training in Livigno required Canada’s 2021 World Champion Mark McMorris, 32, to be taken away on a stretcher. He is a three-time Olympic bronze medalist in Snowboard Slopestyle.

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Last week, the State of California-owned Exposition Park in Los Angeles – home to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and other facilities – noted that a $96.5 million funding proposal was included in the State’s initial Fiscal 2026-27 budget.

Another $1.04 million will come from the Federal government, with the money used for upgrades for accessibility, improved public safety and modernizing infrastructure. The budget is, of course, yet to be approved.

● Asian Games ● After Saudi Arabia returned the 2029 Asian Winter Games over delays in its massive NOEM project, the Olympic Council of Asia named Almaty (KAZ) as the replacement host.

● International Olympic Committee ● At the IOC Session, popular veteran member Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP) – the runner-up in last March’s Presidential election – was re-elected for a second term as an IOC Vice President.

Also elected to the IOC Executive Board were Ingmar De Vos (BEL, head of the International Equestrian Federation), Jae Youl Kim (KOR, head of the International Skating Union) and Neven Ilic (CHI, head of Panam Sports).

Also elected as an IOC member was former badminton Olympian – and now coach – Soraya Aghaei Haji Agha from Iran, the first-ever woman to serve as an IOC member from that country. There are now 107 IOC members, of which 43 are Olympians and 48 are women.

● Anti-Doping ● In his remarks to the IOC Session, World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka (POL) noted that a total of 298 prosecutions of Russian athletes for doping have resulted from the agency’s efforts against the Russian state-sponsored doping program from 2011-15.

● Athletics ● The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware approved a loan of $2.35 million to Grand Slam Track by existing lead investor Winners Alliance, to be used through the bankruptcy process and not to repay any of its $40.8 million of debt.

This loan now has priority before all other debt in the case and will be used to pay for the reorganization costs through 17 April 2026.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced that Canadian vaulter – and Paris 2024 Olympic bronze winner – Alysha Newman has been provisionally suspended for “whereabouts” failures as of 3 February. No further details were provided.

In an interview with Track & Field News, Olympic and World Championship shot put king Ryan Crouser said he plans to retire after the 2028 season and is looking into performance coaches and expanding his World Shot Put Series.

● Football ● FIFA chief Gianni Infantino (SUI) has drawn a furious response to his comments that the ban on Russian teams – at least at the youth level – has achieved nothing, with Ukrainian sports minister Matvii Bidnyi telling Sky News:

“Gianni Infantino’s words sound irresponsible – not to say infantile. They detach football from the reality in which children are being killed.

“War is a crime, not politics. It is Russia that politicises sport and uses it to justify aggression. I share the position of the Ukrainian Association of Football, which also warns against Russia’s return to international competitions.

“As long as Russians continue killing Ukrainians and politicising sport, their flag and national symbols have no place among people who respect values such as justice, integrity, and fair play.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

UTAH 2034: International Olympic Committee thrilled with organizing progress, asks for “no planning” but “innovation”! Wow!

Rich Perelman

February 4, 2026

tsx pix 2026-203 bullock, fraser II ioc session — Utah 2034 President Fraser Bullock at the 145th IOC Session (IOC video screen shot).

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≡ IOC SESSION REPORT ≡

This never happens. Never. Ever.

The International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi (SUI) told the Utah 2034 Winter Games organizers during his comments to the 145th IOC Session about the organizing committee’s progress:

“Think about innovations, think about the legacy, think about elevate, but let’s not plan.”

Wow.

But there are good reasons for him to say that.

Utah 2034 President Fraser Bullock, during his report to the Session, explained that the staff includes just 12 people, but that the “Podium34″ fund-raising effort from the Utah business and philanthropic community, had reached $250 million.

In previous U.S. organizing committee start-ups, the first issue is raising enough funds to stand up a small team to begin the process of planning the Games. Further, no corporate sponsorship sales are available for the 2034 organizers until 2029, following the 2028 Los Angeles Games. But the Utah 2034 team vaporized that issue, creating a program to assemble support from private-sector sources within the state.

The response, announced last September, was stunning, with all-private-sector commitments of $200 million through 2034. The initial goal of $200 million was raised to $300 million, and Bullock explained that the total commitments have now reached $250 million!

It’s also noted that the Utah 2034 venue plan calls for no new venues to be built, and will be the beneficiary of renovations to existing sites used for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games and possible new facilities that may show up before 2034. Utah 2034 has already talked about a revolutionary concept of an “Athlete Family Village” to provide better, direct support for relatives of the competitors at the Games, usually a responsibility of an athlete’s National Olympic Committee.

So, when Dubi was asked for comments about the IOC staff view of the status of the 2034 effort, he enthusiastically offered comments perhaps never before heard at an IOC Session by an IOC staff member:

“You go to Salt Lake City, up in the mountains, Utah Olympic Park. You visit Delta Center. You go to Solider Hollow. The venues are better than they were 20 years ago. It’s outstanding, what you have done over time.

“I think it’s a testament of the love that this community has for the Olympic Games and for Olympism.

“And if one ever doubts about the power of transformation of the Olympic Games, let’s go back to Utah. And this is what we do. And when we go there, we are really hosted by a community …

“It is truly extraordinary.”

He closed with this:

“We have all the conditions for these Games to be outstanding. The only thing I urge Utah 2034 to do is not to start planning for these Games. Think about innovations, think about the legacy, think about elevate, but let’s not plan. We don’t need to do it at this stage.”

Stunning.

And there was a hint of more Winter Games in Utah, as International Skating Union President Jae Youl Kim (KOR), added in the question-and-answer session:

“We’ve started talking about the rotational model and this is something that Salt Lake City could be a great model, where we would actually make the rotation model a reality.”

The 2002 Winter Games was a huge success. So, Utah 2034 is coming and perhaps, Utah again in 2046 or 2050? It’s under discussion.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026: Imagine running into Jordan Stolz’s mom and dad on an airplane bound for Milan!

Karen Rosen

February 4, 2026

tsx pix 2026-204 stolz, jane and dirk (krosen) — Jane and Dirk Stolz, in New York’s JFK Airport, on the way to the Milan Cortina Winter Games (TSX photo by Karen Rosen).

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≡ MEET MR. & MRS. STOLZ ≡

The road to the Olympics isn’t just for athletes. Their parents often come along for the ride, and just like their globe-trotting kids they must adapt to adversity.

While Jane and Dirk Stolz were caught in a nearly 24-hour delay at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport due to mechanical issues Tuesday night, they had one pleasant surprise.

Walking down the concourse, they noticed a car advertisement playing at every gate. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I’ve got to get a selfie with this,’” Jane said. “Here’s my son on every single billboard.”

Their son is Jordan Stolz, who could become the first speedskater to win five gold medals since Eric Heiden in 1980. Jordan, 21, is a medal favorite in the 500 m, 1,000 m, 1,500 m and Mass Start and is a candidate to skate in one of the early rounds in team pursuit (skaters in the prelims earn any subsequent medal).

Dirk said the Olympics were in the back of his mind when he shoveled the snow off the frozen pond in their Kewaskum, Wisconsin backyard so Jordan, 5, and his sister Hannah, 7, could skate.

“It was a little bit of a goal to make an Olympic team,” Dirk said.

Jane was initially hesitant.

“I didn’t let them do that at first because I was afraid they would fall in,” Jane said. “It was spring-fed, so I had them wear life vests when they were on there.”

They wore old hockey skates on a straightaway, but then Dirk used his all-terrain vehicle to make an oval.

Jane said Jordan told the kids at school, “I’m going to the Olympics.'”

For better ice, they made the drive to the Pettit Ice Center in a West Allis. That could take anywhere from 50 to 75 minutes.

One day an announcer at the center asked Jordan if he wanted to be a national champion.

Jordan replied, “What’s that?” The announcer said it was the fastest skater in the country.

“He’s like, ‘Yeah,’ and they high-fived,” Jane said. “Dirk and I were skating behind him and we looked at him kind of chuckling and he turned around and said, ‘I’m not kidding. Your kids are really good and they’re really determined. They never get tired and they don’t complain. It’s going to take time and it’s going to take money.’ We’re like, “OK, that’s what we would like if they want to do it.'”

Jordan won his first national title at age 9 and quickly progressed through the ranks.

“He’s got an uncanny feel for the ice,” Jane said. “He can feel what it’s doing and what his feet need to do to get what he needs to go out of it.”

He grew up hunting and fishing, but never ventured into the traditional ball sports like baseball, basketball or soccer. At age 14, he took up cycling and hopes to be a professional cyclist, with that sport and speedskating sharing similar qualities.

Hannah, who will arrive in Milan before Jordan competes, left the sport at age 16 to pursue her passion in avian taxidermy.

Because Jordan enjoyed pack skating, he originally competed in both Short Track and long-track speedskating. At the Short Track trials for the 2020 Youth Olympic Games, Jordan crashed, going up in the air and landing on his knees. He couldn’t race the rest of the weekend and from that point concentrated solely on long track. At the Youth Olympics in Lausanne, he finishing fifth in the 500 m at age 15.

Two years later, Jordan was making a name for himself as the next U.S. speedskating phenom, skating an impressive 34.99 in the 500 at age 16.

“That was a big eye-opener,” Jane said.

He made the Olympic team in 2022 and was considered a medal contender.

But with the Beijing Winter Games taking place during Covid restrictions, Dirk and Jane could not go to China to support him.

“That was just a disaster,” Dirk said. “Very, very disappointing. Everybody’s working to try to make an Olympic team and we can’t even go.”

Jordan wound up 13th in the 500 m and 14th in the 1,000 m.

“I just figure without mom and dad there,” Dirk said, “by himself, 17 years old, nutrition was an issue over there, I kind of figured it was not going to go real well.”

Jordan, who is fueled by moose burritos, Alaskan salmon, halibut and steak, did not thrive on the meals in the Beijing Olympic Village, even sending a photo of a duck head to his parents.

So far he hasn’t had much to report about the food in Milan, but his parents are bringing him a humidifier. Jane keeps tabs on his skating blades with a tracking app. It is usually used for pets so the blades look like cat heads on her phone.

Jane and Dirk, who now spend half the year in Alaska, are as unflappable as their son when approaching the competition.

“People are like, ‘Aren’t you so excited?'” Jane said. “I said, ‘I suppose when we get there and we see all the Olympic stuff we’ll be excited. Right now I feel like we’re just going to the World Cup. We just got back from Germany. Two weeks before that we were in the Netherlands. I feel like we’re going to one in Italy now.”

While Jordan is garnering more and more attention in the U.S. due to NBC’s promotions, he is already a superstar in the Netherlands, where speedskating is one of the top sports.

“Everybody sees Jordan’s face on their news every night, and then us sometimes,” Jane said.

She was sitting in a Dutch coffee shop “all tired and scruffy looking” after a flight and a woman approached her. Jane thought she needed help with her luggage, but the woman said, “Are you Jordan’s mom?”

He’s also popular in Japan and spent a month training there. A Japanese film crew came to Wisconsin and asked to see the pond.

“The ice started making noises,” Jane said. “Guys were running in every direction and I was running away from them. They didn’t go back on the ice after that.”

Jordan hasn’t skated on the pond in four years because it would ruin his blades, but he fishes from a boat or the bank.

Now he’s on the world’s biggest ice.

Because Jordan has raced in front of more than 10,000 fans in the Netherlands, he is used to a large crowd.

“To him, it’s just another race,” Dirk said. “He’s been doing it forever. The only thing that really changes is the scenery and the big drama about it.“

Jordan also handles media with aplomb. Before Beijing, NBC spent nine hours at their house and Jordan explained how he wanted to influence the next generation of skaters.

“I’m thinking, ‘the next generation? You’re 17. You act like you’re 30,” Jane said. “His answers were so mature and so thoughtful, I was so proud.”

After the setback in Beijing, Jordan took the skating world by storm with world titles in the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 m. He was recovering from pneumonia when he took home three medals at the 2025 Worlds and this year has dominated the World Cup with 16 wins. He is the world-record holder in the 1,000 and also holds American records in the 500 and 1,500.

Dirk, who retired as a deputy sheriff, has attended every World Cup this season, while Jane, who retired from her job as a dental hygienist, just missed one in November. Jane films all of Jordan’s races, which allows her to zoom in and see what she can’t with the naked eye. Jordan then asks for her phone so he can watch his performance.

After the Olympics, they will go back to the Netherlands where Jordan will attempt to win the world All-Round title, which means he will skate all distances including the 10,000 m.

Back in 1980, Heiden won every Olympic event from the 500 to the 10,000 m and Jordan often texts with him.

If Jordan matches his medal haul, Jane said might show some uncharacteristic emotion, “I’d probably cry on that one,” she said. “People say, ‘Oh you guys never scream and yell.’ I’m like, ‘Well, inside we’re happy.'”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

INT’L OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Coventry says Olympic program, venue spread are being examined; media questions LA28 leadership at news conference

Rich Perelman

February 4, 2026

tsx pix 2026-204 coventry, kirsty ioc conf — International Olympic Committee Kirsty Coventry at her 4 February 2026 news conference (IOC video screen shot).

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≡ COVENTRY NEWS CONFERENCE ≡

Following the close of the 145th Session of the International Olympic Committee in Milan (ITA) earlier in the day, IOC President Kirsty Coventry took questions at the Main Media Centre for the Milan Cortina Winter Games for about 45 minutes, many of which were about what the future of the Olympic Games might look like:

● About moving sports from the Olympic to the Olympic Winter Games: “What I have asked the Olympic Program Commission is to really look at things with a complete, fresh, new piece of paper: if we were setting up this organization, what would it look like today?”

The Commission has received a lot of feedback from the IOC members and other stakeholders and now it has to be sorted out: “We don’t have any fixed, specific idea on sports.”

● On moving up the dates of the Winter Games due to climate issues: Coventry noted this was discussed with the membership today and “nothing has been decided. … This is a recommendation that was given by a member,” notably concerning the Winter Paralympic Games, which follow in March and could be impacted.

● On a possible Winter Games rotation of host sites with dependable winter conditions, Coventry said it was not discussed, but is now ripe for consultations with the International Federations, National Olympic Committees, athletes, broadcasters and others.

● On the size of the Olympic Games: “I do think we’re at a point where we realize we’ve gone from 10,500 athletes to having over 11,500 athletes in L.A. [in 2028]. And I think even the Brisbane team shared with us that would not be a possibility for them in 2032, right.

“So I think we’re at a really good crossroads right now to be able to analyze that, and again, this was a big topic of discussion in the consultations and the workshop today in and around the Olympic program. But also the complexity that that has, because it has ripple effects, right? …

“One thing that is standing out is that as soon as we start adding venues … that’s when you start adding complexities and costs. So, again, how do we look at it collectively, was really the question. … We know that for Brisbane, we’re not going to have 36 sports.”

● On the wide dispersal of venues in the future: “I think we’re really experiencing a little more spread-out Games here, for the first time. And we have put number of things into place in order to capture all the data and I think we’re going to learn a lot.

“We heard today and actually spoke about this exact thing in the member’s workshop this afternoon. That we took the decision to have a more spread-out Games to try and be more sustainable for many different reasons, climate being one of them. And venues, not having new venues, right, but we are seeing that there is a little bit of impact on [National Olympic Committees] because of the spread-ness, right? I guess it’s maybe shifted a little bit different responsibilities to some of the different stakeholders, which has made it a little bit harder for them. …

“So, how now to we weigh this up? What’s the priority? How are we going to find the balance between a spread Games, in order for sustainable reasons, and does that shift complexities to other stakeholders? How can we balance that out?”

● On the status of the Swiss bid for 2028, Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) said no one else is being spoken to at present, but if the appropriate plan and guarantees do not come through, bidding will be re-opened. Dubi said there were interested sites in Europe and Asia.

Coventry was also asked about the doping-friendly Enhanced Games, and replied that “I think as the IOC we’ve been pretty clear with our Movement that safeguarding of athletes and athlete’s health and well-being has been a priority and that is the stance that we will continue to take.

“There are many different sports competitions around the world that abide by different rules and regulations and they are free to continue to do that. But for us in the Olympic Movement, we will continue to ensure the safety of our athletes.”

Although the Winter Games are in Italy – the first curling matches took place on Wednesday – there were lots of questions about the U.S. Asked about Italian protests against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Coventry said:

“I hope that the opening ceremony is seen by everyone of an opportunity to be respectful towards each other,” and pointed to the experience of the Olympic Village, “the best reminder of how we all should be,” with athletes mixing with each other freely and respectfully.

“For me, I hope that the opening ceremony will do that and be a reminder to everyone of how we could be, and that’s what I think these Games will also bring.”

She was asked about what she hoped to achieve when she meets U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the opening on Friday; she didn’t mention the American delegation in her response:

“I hope that the opening ceremony for everyone watching is a really good showcase of possibilities, of inspiration, of a nice reminder of how we could act towards each other and how we can do that respectfully.”

She also spoke about the impact of the Olympic torch relay, now coming into the Milan area, and the pictures and videos of “the faces of the inter-generational fans that are coming out and watching the flame and being excited, and that I think is what the Games represent. And so I hope anyone that’s watching can feel that energy and excitement and that passion and can be invigorated by it.”

One reporter posited “there’s an aura of scandal around the leader” of the LA28 organizing committee, Chair Casey Wasserman and noted that the LA28 organizers did not speak with media in the mixed zone after their Session presentation on Tuesday. Coventry replied:

“Casey has put out his statement; I have nothing further to add on that, and I didn’t know they didn’t come through the mixed zone and speak to you, so when I see them, I’ll tell them to find you guys and have a little chit-chat.”

Asked directly if Wasserman should be removed:

“I think as we said before, Casey has put out his statement; there’s really nothing else for me to add. From the IOC point of view, the [organizing committee] and how they are structured is not something that we are going to get involved into.”

And for people who are still protesting the Games or other issues in Milan:

“The Games are a place where people are reminded of the best of humanity and what that looks like, they can be inspired and so I hope that more and more people can feel that sort of magic, of what I think of as the Olympic Games and what the Games bring. Hopefully everyone starts feeling that as we get closer to the opening ceremony.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: Vonn says she will race in Sunday’s Downhill; L.A. City Council approves LA28 temp works ordinance; L.A. Metro finally get Fed 2028 funds!

Rich Perelman

February 3, 2026

tsx pix 2019-124 vonn, lindsey 750 (us ski) — U.S. skiing star Lindsey Vonn (Photo: US Ski & Snowboard).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● American skiing star Lindsey Vonn posted a clear answer on Instagram on Tuesday to the question of whether she will race in the Olympic Downhill in Cortina:

“Well… I completely tore my ACL last Friday. I also sustained a bone bruise (which is a common injury when you tear your ACL), plus meniscal tears but it’s unclear how much of that was there previously and what was new from the crash.

“This was obviously incredibly hard news to receive one week before the Olympics. I really appreciate everyone giving me time and space to process what happened and find a way forward.

“After extensive consultations with doctors, intense therapy, physical tests as well as skiing today, I have determined I am capable of competing in the Olympic Downhill on Sunday. Of course I will still need to do one training run, as is required to race on Sunday, but… I am confident in my body’s ability to perform. Despite my injuries my knee is stable, I do not have swelling and my muscles are firing and reacting as they should. I will obviously be continuing to evaluate with my medical team on a daily basis to make sure we are making smart decisions but I have every intention of competing on Sunday.

“I know what my chances in these Olympics were before this crash, and even though my chances aren’t the same now, there is still a chance. And as long as I have a chance, I will not lose hope. I will not give up! It’s not over yet!”

Vonn won the Olympic women’s Downhill at the Vancouver 2010 Games, and also owns bronze medals from the 2010 Super-G and the 2018 Olympic Downhill. The Cortina Downhill is on 8 February; she did not say whether she will race the Super-G, which is on 12 February.

For Sunday, however, if she is feeling good, she will be dangerous.

Five-time U.S. Skeleton Olympian Katie Uhlaender lost her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to intervene due to Canadian manipulation of the final North American Cup race in Lake Placid, New York on 11 January that cost her ranking points and a place in the Winter Games.

She followed up on X, posting “I’m disappointed that nothing is being done again. I am currently exploring my options. But I’m fighting for the right thing, as this action hurt a whole field of athletes. Not just me” and “So no one has jurisdiction? Who does?”

The answer to the last question is the International Olympic Committee, which owns and the Games and can do what it wants. But the IOC has already said the issue is up to the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), which has already turned Uhlaender down.

Time is running out.

The U.S. Olympic flagbearers for Friday’s opening will be speed skating gold medalist Erin Jackson and bobsled driver Frank Del Duca, selected by a vote of U.S. athletes conducted by the Team USA Athletes’ Commission.

Jackson won the Beijing 2022 Olympic women’s 500 m gold and is back to defend that title and contest the 1,000 m. Del Duca is part of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) and a sergeant in the U.S. Army, stationed in Lake Placid, New York.

The Milan Cortina 2026 organizers said Tuesday that 1.2 million tickets out of a total of 1.4 million available, have been sold so far.

The International Testing Agency reported that 92% of the athletes at the Milan Cortina Winter Games have been tested at least once, with 7,100 tests made on 2,916 athletes with 90% of the tests in the six months prior to the Games.

Of the total athlete population, 63% were tested according to recommendations identifying the athlete as an individual who should be tested in advance of the Games, emphasizing the intelligence aspect of ITA’s pre-Games program.

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● World Gymnastics issued a statement following the Swiss Federal Tribunal’s instruction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to consider all available evidence in the appeal of American gymnast Jordan Chiles regarding the Olympic women’s Floor Exercise bronze medal. It included:

“World Gymnastics was not aware of the existence of this specific additional evidence during the original proceedings. It had nevertheless already recommended that the proceedings should not be rushed, in order to ensure that the decision could be taken on the basis of a complete evidentiary record. World Gymnastics welcomes the fact that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will now be able to reassess the case on a more complete evidentiary basis, in the interest of reaching a materially correct decision for all athletes concerned.

“With regard to the identified lack of a reliable in-competition mechanism to verify compliance with the inquiry time limit (one minute at the time), World Gymnastics notes that the Paris 2024 competition was the first time such an issue had arisen in respect to this specific aspect of the inquiry procedure.

“Drawing the lessons from this unfortunate experience, World Gymnastics has since implemented an improved inquiry process. The new system provides clear, real-time traceability for officials and stakeholders. It is designed to prevent a recurrence of the difficulties encountered at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The Los Angeles City Council approved, by 13-1 vote, an ordinance to exempt temporary 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games-related projects from planning and zoning requirements of the City’s Zoning Code in preparation for the Games.

This is in parallel to what was done to assist the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Games, giving the LA28 organizing committee a faster path to approval of temporary works related to the execution of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The new ordinance does not eliminate building and safety approvals, but the lengthy planning and zoning reviews.

Council member amendments centered on the installation of digital signage in residential areas, with a proposal to have the City share in “net new revenue” from digital ad boards installed under the ordinance.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Agency finally got some 2028 Games funding from the Federal government.

A $94.3 million grant, plus $9.1 million out of a $100 million fund for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, were included in the H.R. 7148 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, which was signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

The $94.3 million is far short of the originally-requested $3.2 billion, but are the first Federal funds delivered specifically for the 2028 Games. The money will be used for Games Enhanced Transit System, including advance service planning, initial leasing costs for land, design for temporary bus facilities and station experience enhancements, plus engineering on other elements of the 2028 transit system.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said Tuesday, “I think Casey Wasserman needs to step down.” as the Chair of the LA28 organizing committee.

“Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028.”

The comment followed last week’s release of million of pages of documents from the U.S. Justice Department related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Personal e-mail messages from 2003 between Wasserman and convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell (GBR) were included in the release; Wasserman apologized in a statement for having had any contact with them.

In a State of the City address on Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass mentioned the 2028 Olympic Games only in passing, but took a swipe at FIFA’s World Cup ticket pricing once again:

“As we prepare for the U.S. Women’s Open, the FIFA World Cup, and soon after, the greatest Olympic and Paralympic Games in history – we will continue to focus on the fundamentals. The things that shape how a city feels to the people who live here and the millions who will visit. …

“[I]n 2028, we welcome the world on an even grander scale — as we host the Olympics for the third time and the Paralympics for the first time in history. That is an extraordinary opportunity. And it is a serious responsibility.

“When the world looks at LA, they won’t just see venues. They will see our values, the diversity of our people, and all that our neighborhoods offer, including our restaurants and food trucks, our stores, and our cultural richness.”

As for this summer’s World Cup:

“Now let me be clear though: these moments will not belong only to those who can afford the seats. Have you seen how much they cost? Well they’re going to belong to all of us because that’s why I’m so excited to announce today that we will host more than 100 watch parties and events throughout every city council district, every city council district during the World Cup, and they will all be free, and they will all be open to the public.

“Because I want Los Angeles to know, when we say games for all, we mean for all of you, because everyone here should participate, and every neighborhood should benefit when these games come to our city.”

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● Reporting to the IOC Session, the Brisbane 2032 organizers reported that their first sponsor will be announced in the second quarter.

For 2028, an “Australia House” will be created , for the first time since the Sydney 2000 Games, but with no details announced as yet.

● Olympic Winter Games 2034: Utah ● A major boost to the Utah 2034 organizing committee of the 2034 Winter Games came Tuesday with the confirmation of whole-hearted support from the Utah-headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Introduced in an event at the Milan Foreign Press Association, the announcement included:

“During the event, Bishop Sean Douglas, Second Counselor in the Church’s Presiding Bishopric, read a statement outlining a broad commitment to support the success of the 2034 Games. These include a significant financial donation, access to Church-owned real estate known in Salt Lake City as Block 85 for use as an official Olympic venue, and the use of additional land for parking adjacent to proposed Olympic sites.

“Bishop Douglas also noted that members of the Church will be encouraged to serve as volunteers, consistent with the Church’s long-standing emphasis on service, hospitality and strengthening families.”

Block 85 in downtown Salt Lake City has been identified as the site for Freestyle and Snowboard Big Air events and a Medals Plaza.

● Athletics ● Another fast indoor 800 m at the Czech Indoor Gala in Ostrava, with Belgian star Eliott Crestan – the 2025 Worlds indoor silver medalist – winning in 1:43.83 over Poland’s Maciej Wyderka (1:44.07) and Mark English (IRL: 1:44.23) to move to no. 4 on the all-time indoor list.

Hungary’s Attila Molnar got a European indoor record of 45.01 in the men’s 400 m and no. 3 on the 2026 indoor world list, and Pole Jakub Szymanski won the 60 m hurdles in 7.48, equaling his season best and no. 2 world list spot. World Champion Mattia Furlani (ITA) won a duel with Olympic champ Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE), 8.30 m (27-2 3/4) to 8.23 m (27-0). American Jordan Geist won the men’s shot at a world-leading 22.04 m (72-3 3/4).

Italy’s women’s sprint hope Zaynab Dosso moved up the equal-third on the 2026 World indoor list with her 7.09 win in the women’s 60 m and Dutch 400 m star Lieke Klaver took the world lead with a 51.00 victory.

Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom grabbed the world 1,500 m by winning in 4:00.62 over teammate Saron Berhe (4:01.23). Pole Pia Skrzyszowska got the world lead in the 60 m hurdles at 7.78 in her heat and then won the final in 7.80 for the no. 2 time this season, trailed by American Alaysha Johnson (7.88).

● Figure Skating ● The International Skating Union announced a partnership with Swiss-based Aiving for its digital “Jump Tracker,” a small device which wraps around a skate and offers real-time data online about a jump.

The goal is to advance training success and prevent injury. It is already in use by more than 200 skaters in 10+ countries; it will be offered for public sale later this year. What was not mentioned is that the use of such a device in judging is … inevitable.

● Skating ● The International Skating Union circulated a notice that national federations are required to report sanctions of all kinds – except doping, handed through a separate channel – to the ISU to ensure the sanctions are properly administered everywhere, to ensure safety:

“Any provisional suspensions, suspensions or other sanctions imposed at the national level are of critical interest to the ISU if the nature of the allegations have an international impact or could extend to areas outside of the jurisdiction of an ISU Member and into the wider jurisdiction of the ISU. In such cases, the ISU needs to be informed of such sanctions and to know the nature of the allegations in order to determine whether a reciprocal suspension (ISU Code of Ethics Article 7.6) or any other action is warranted.”

And this is a requirement, not a request:

“ISU Members are obliged to inform the ISU about non-[doping] suspensions or other sanctions of international level Skaters, Coaches, Athlete Support Personnel, Officials, and other relevant individuals, by their ISU Member, their national Safe Sport organization, their NOC [National Olympic Committee] or the criminal or civil courts in their country. Related publicly available decisions or reference documents should be provided.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LOS ANGELES 2028: IOC confident in LA28’s progress, as organizing committee expands; Wasserman promises, “we will deliver”

Rich Perelman

February 3, 2026

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≡ LA28 IOC SESSION REPORT ≡

“I want to emphasize my confidence and the confidence of the Coordination Commission in what we have seen with LA28 with their planning, revenue generation, their growth and their ambition.”

That’s the bottom line view of the International Olympic Committee’s Los Angeles 2028 Coordination Commission Chair Nicole Hoevertsz (ARU) at the IOC Session in Milan (ITA) on Tuesday.

A 47-minute LA28 presentation was opened by U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee President Gene Sykes, who addressed in direct way any concerns about the U.S. government’s support of the Games, as well as the preparedness of the organizing committee:

“L.A. is not just preparing to host the Games. It is preparing to host the world. LA28 has a very clear plan, very strong governance and an unprecedented amount of private investment.

“We’re advancing forward with optimism and discipline. Just as importantly, LA28 is doing so in close alignment with the IOC, grounded in the shared priorities around the athlete experience, sustainability, innovation and global engagement.

“At a time when reassurance matters, let me be clear: the United States remains fully committed to the independence, the integrity and the global mission of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement. We understand the responsibility that comes with hosting the world. We embrace it, with humility, with respect, and preparation. …

“Their leadership is steady, collaborative and deeply intentional. …

“They are not only on track, they are trying to set a new standard for how future Games can engage their communities, elevate athletes and inspire the world. They want to be trusted partners for the IOC, as well as steadfast champions for athletes and architects of something that should endure well beyond 2028.”

LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman offered an energetic message of commitment to the task of putting on the 2028 Games:

“Through times of challenge and change, the Olympics have endured as a beacon of hope and human achievement. And I promise you all today, LA28 will be no different, just 892 days from now.

“Together, we will welcome the world to a safe and secure environment, one that celebrates the very best of sport and humanity. An environment built on innovation, sustainability and inclusion and one that leaves a lasting impact on communities long after the Games come to an end.

“Of course, the L.A. Games will not happen in a vacuum. The world is complicated and unpredictable. Conflicts within and among nations ignite, and are resolved. We are not naive to this reality. We take it seriously and will face it head-on.

“But I argue, it’s exactly because of these challenges, the world needs a strong Olympic Games more than ever. Rather than focus on what is frightening, let’s focus on the opportunity this moment presents. The opportunity to undeniably establish the Olympics as the singular, unifying force for the world.

“Because here’s the truth: the world does not need another reason to fight with each other. It needs a reason to come together.”

He closed with:

“When the moment arrives, LA28 will be eager to meet it. We will proudly host the largest peacetime gathering in human history, defined by confidence, readiness and accountability, and anchored in an Olympic Games that meet the moment we’re living in: an athletes-first Games, rooted in community, designed to elevate performance and celebrate the very best of human achievement.

“We will meet this moment with our values front and center: unity, respect and excellence. Not as lofty ideals or principles to pay lip service, but as commitments we live up to every single day, between now and 2028. And we will deliver.”

LA28 chief executive Reynold Hoover received a warm reception to a detailed review of what has been achieved so far, notably to the 1.5 million-plus registrations by potential ticket buyers from 175 countries, with Hoover noting that it “made one thing clear: that the world is ready for the LA28 Olympic Games.”

As for the organizing effort:

“Today I can say with confidence, we are building momentum, we are adding talent, sport experience and voices from across the Olympic Movement to a team that is rising to the moment. Over the last year, the momentum has translated into real progress.

“Our team has grown to more than 600 people and will approach 1,000 by the end of the year.”

He added that beyond the UCLA main village, there will also be three satellite villages and 30 training sites. He also introduced an important new initiative: the launch of the LA28 VisaLink program, working in concert with the U.S. State Department to help navigate travel to the U.S., with a dedicated visa assistance team already in place within LA28.

As for 2026, Hoover noted LA28 would introduce its mascot, unveil its Cultural Olympiad program, the “Look of the Games” and more. And a lot more testing:

“In terms of operational readiness, we are moving from planning to proving through comprehensive testing and readiness programs across every venue zone. We’ve conducted joint operational planning sessions with our local, state and Federal partners, and we are launching a comprehensive, organization-wide training program this year.

“Table-top and functional simulations will begin this quarter and continue through 2028, stress-testing everything from Games and sport operations to medical response and emergency planning, logistics to transportation.

“As you can see, we are validating our plans and training today, so when the world arrives in L.A., we will be ready.”

Hoevertsz’s view from the Coordination Commission standpoint, praised LA28 for listening to the group’s recommendations and “we have full trust in you and your entire team.”

She expressed confidence in the budget and the budgeting process and commented on the ticket pricing, which she said “goes from the very affordable to very premium, which your unique market can bear. Our ambition is full stadia, as we are in Paris.” Wasserman reiterated that one million tickets will be available for $28 and two-thirds of all tickets will be priced under $200.

Test events are slated for the summer of 2027 through June of 2028.

There were the typical International Federation questions of why isn’t everything completely ready now and worries about visas for spectators, but in general a positive reception to the LA28 report by the IOC membership.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

INT’L OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Coventry rings the bell for change and a thorough review of Olympic sports and events, to open the 145th IOC Session

Rich Perelman

February 3, 2026

tsx pix 2026-203 coventry, kirsty ioc session (video) — International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) in her opening address at the 145th IOC Session (IOC video screen shot image).

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≡ 145th IOC SESSION ≡

“The world is changing faster than ever. Expectations of us are changing too. The needs of athletes, partners and fans are evolving – and so must we. That’s what our Fit for the Future process is all about.”

Change was an important theme as International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ITA) opened the first business day of the 145th IOC Session in Milan (ITA). She signaled that changes are not only coming, but must be coming. From her remarks:

● “As we set the course for our future, we will face difficult decisions and conversations. That’s part of change. Not everyone will agree on every issue — and that’s okay. What matters is that we all work toward what is best for the Olympic Movement as a whole, not for individual or short-term interests.”

● “If we want to stay strong, we have to push our own boundaries. We have to be honest about what works and sometimes, more importantly, what doesn’t. And when we make mistakes, we need the courage to say: we’ll do better next time.”

● “We have to make sure the Games remain inspiring for young people everywhere – that they reflect their values, their sense of authenticity, and their search for something genuine.

“This means finding the right balance between tradition and innovation, between stability and flexibility. It means we have to look at our sports, disciplines and events, with fresh eyes – to make sure that we are evolving with our times. And we must recognise that any evolution will affect all of us: athletes, federations, NOCs, organisers, fans and others.

“Through Fit for the Future, we are creating the space to have these conversations openly and respectfully, to listen to every voice, and to make decisions that serve the long-term interests of the Games as a whole. I know these discussions can be, and potentially will be, uncomfortable, but they are essential if we want to keep the Games strong for generations to come.”

● “I know change isn’t always easy. As every athlete knows, evolving, growing and pushing the limits can feel uncomfortable at first. But I also know how deeply everyone here cares about the future of our Movement. I’ve seen the team spirit, the passion, and the sense of purpose that drive you – that drive us all. That’s what will carry us forward as we evolve together and strengthen the organisation we love so much.”

Coventry, who was previously a government minister in her native Zimbabwe, also emphasized what the IOC is not:

“We are a sports organisation. We understand politics, and we know we don’t operate in a vacuum.

“But our game is sport.

“That means keeping sport a neutral ground — a place where every athlete can compete freely, without being held back by the politics or divisions of their governments. In a world that is increasingly divided, this principle matters more than ever. It is what allows the Olympic Games to remain a place of inspiration, where the athletes of the world can come together and showcase the best of our humanity.

“But this also means focusing on what we do best. We cannot be all things to all people. The Olympic Games, and the values they represent, are our greatest asset. Of course, sport plays a wider role in health, inclusion, and education — and we will continue to support this. But our first responsibility is to keep the Games strong and meaningful, so that they remain a source of hope and inspiration for generations to come. That’s where our strength lies. That’s what makes us different. And that’s what the world needs from us.”

Coventry promised in her election campaign to help energize all of the IOC members and noted:

“As we move forward, I want us to build on that strength — to make sure every Member has the opportunity to contribute fully, and to help shape our future together. Being an IOC Member today is about more than a title. It’s about bringing your experience, your passion, and your voice to the table — staying close to the athletes, to sport, and to society. It’s about being an advocate for the power of sport as a force for good in our lives, and helping our Movement evolve while staying true to its values.”

Observed: Taken on its face, her comments rang the bell to re-examine the Olympic “sports, disciplines and events, with fresh eyes.”

That should send a shiver down the spine of every International Federation chief – many of whom were in the room – whose sports survive essentially on the quadrennial Olympic television rights share from the IOC. Should the Olympic Games include sports which really cannot support themselves without IOC funding?

She also signaled the coming re-integration of Russia and Belarus, to make sport “a place where every athlete can compete freely, without being held back by the politics or divisions of their governments.” This will come only in stages, as Russia continues its war against Ukraine without pause, and also means that any sanctions effort against Israel for its retaliation against the 7 October 2023 invasion by Gaza’s Hamas government, are unlikely to receive any support.

Further, Coventry’s comment also indicate that the inexhaustible efforts of now-Honorary President Thomas Bach (GER) to forge ties with other international organizations, especially those related to the United Nations, will be relaxed a bit, at least for now.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

SPOTLIGHT: A Veteran U.S. Sled Hockey Team is Ready to Extend Historic Paralympic Gold-Medal Streak in Italy

Rich Perelman

February 3, 2026

usopc pix 2026-202 sled hockey (usa hockey) — The World Champion United States team following the 2025 Para Ice Hockey World Championship (Photo: USA Hockey via Micheline Veluvolu)

★ The Sports Examiner is delighted to present this important contribution from our patron, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, with a focus on American Paralympic stars. Opinions expressed are those of the USOPC. ★

The U.S. is the only team in Paralympic sled hockey history to repeat as champions. In Italy, the Americans will play for their fifth gold in a row.

By Bob Reinert
Red Line Editorial

The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team will head into the Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 in March looking to extend a historic run.

At the 2014 Sochi Games, the U.S. became the first sled team to ever repeat as champions at the Paralympics. Four years ago in Beijing, the Americans won their fourth straight gold medal.

Declan Farmer has played on three of those gold-winning teams and he led the U.S. in scoring at the 2018 and 2022 Games. Ever since he joined the national team in 2012, the Tampa, Florida, native has tallied 420 points, by far the most in team history. Teammate and fellow three-time Paralympic gold medalist Brody Roybal is second on the list with 279 points.

With the chance to extend Team USA’s dominant Paralympic run, Farmer reflected on what playing for the national team means to him.

“I think there’s not too many Olympic or Paralympic teams that have ever gone five straight across five different Games in team events, so that’s pretty cool,” Farmer said. “The guys who played on previous teams, they set the tone for us. They did a lot to grow sled hockey and Paralympic sport in the U.S. We’re working hard and trying to keep that going.”

Farmer’s not wrong. No team in Winter Olympic or Paralympic history has ever won five straight golds. Canada and the Soviet Union have each won four golds in a row in men’s hockey, while the Canadians have also won four straight golds in women’s hockey.

Now heading into his fourth Paralympics, Farmer, 28, said the experience never gets old.

“Every time is different,” he said. “Each time, there’s a different team. It feels different. And the culture’s constantly evolving and changing for the better.”

Farmer pointed out that this year’s team features the lowest turnover from a previous Paralympics since his 2014 debut. Only four players will skate in their first Games this time around.

“And they’re four great young players, so it’s definitely exciting to get them in,” Farmer said. “They’re all extremely deserving. And I think they’ll be contributors, as well. For any team to have success, you need the young guys to come in and be difference-makers and ‘X’ factors. They all have the talent to do that.”

Among them is 19-year-old Kayden Beasley of Coats, North Carolina, who only found the sport in 2019 at 12 years old. According to Farmer, that’s late for an elite player.

“He’s like the most talented player I’ve ever seen, probably,” Farmer said. “He just learns quickly. He just has really good fundamentals for someone who hasn’t spent a lot of total time on the ice and played with other good players.

“He works hard, too. He has a great hockey IQ [and] incredible skills. He’s just going to be an awesome player.”

Beasley said he’s looking forward to making his Paralympic debut.

“It will be really cool to be over there,” he said. “It’s a tough sport because there’s a limited number of [roster] spots. You’ve got to grind for it. I think we’re looking pretty good now that we’ve got the final roster down.”

Playing on a roster full of veterans, Beasley has tried to absorb pointers from teammates with Paralympic experience, such as Farmer. Beasley said he’s received a lot of feedback from his teammates, and every player on the roster, no matter the level of experience, has pushed one another to get better as they prepare for the Games.

Brett Bolton of Rockledge, Florida, Liam Cunningham of River Falls, Wisconsin, and Landon Uthke of Albert Lea, Minnesota, join Beasley as first-time Paralympians on the sled team. Cunningham is the youngest player on the team, as he’ll turn 18 on 5 March, one day before the Opening Ceremony.

So far this season, Team USA is undefeated and won the championship at the International Para Hockey Cup in October and the Para Hockey Cup in December. Even so, Farmer thinks there’s a lot the Americans can improve on heading into the Games.

“We won all our games this season, but I don’t think we were great in our most recent tournament in Canada,” Farmer said. “Sometimes, that’s a good thing. I kind of like coming off of a bad tournament because it gets us focused up on the things that were not great, and it kind of exposes our weaknesses as a team so we’re able to kind of stay motivated.

“I think it was good for us to build off of that. You want room for improvement, for sure.”

Farmer is eager to see fans in Italy since they were absent from Beijing in 2022 due to the pandemic.

“It’s so exciting,” he said. “It’s going to be great to have friends and family back there watching us. It’s going to be cool to share that experience with them.”

What the fans likely will see is a Paralympic hockey tournament that’s more competitive than in the past. The U.S. and Canada remain the undisputed powerhouses, but other nations are closing the gap.

Farmer pointed out that the U.S. has had to grind out one-goal wins against Czechia and China in recent years, and Italy has beaten Czechia and will have home-ice advantage.

Members of the U.S. team have encouraged parity in the sport and have held camps and clinics in different countries to help grow the game globally. However, when the puck drops in Italy, the Americans will be ready to extend their golden streak.

“Everyone’s in pretty good shape,” Farmer said. “We do a pretty good job of managing rest and recovery and balancing that with hard training days. I think everyone’s feeling really good and trying to peak at the right time.”

Bob Reinert spent 17 years writing sports for The Boston Globe. He also served as a sports information director at Saint Anselm College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.com on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

For more, please visit the USOPC Paralympic Educational Hub.

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For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

LOS ANGELES 2028: LA28 organizers announce six football preliminaries sites in California, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Tennessee

Rich Perelman

February 3, 2026

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≡ 2028 FOOTBALL CITIES ≡

The long-awaited announcement of the 2028 Olympic football cities, for preliminary matches came on Tuesday, with six recently-built sites spread around the U.S.:

● Columbus, Ohio: ScottsMiracle-Gro Field (20,371) ~ opened 2021

● Nashville, Tennessee: Geodis Park (30,000) ~ opened 2022

● New York, New York: being built in Etihad Park (Queens: 25,000) ~ opening 2027

● San Diego, California: Snapdragon Stadium (35,000) ~ opened 2022

● San Jose, California: PayPal Park (18,000) ~ opened 2015

● St. Louis, Missouri: Energizer Park (22,243) ~ opened 2022

All six of these sites are or will be home fields for Major League Soccer teams and are sized accordingly.

All of the 2028 Olympic football matches for men and women will be played at these sites through 22 July, with the men’s and women’s semifinals at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on 24-25 July and the medal matches on 27-28-29 July.

The assignments of matches to pools and brackets – the teams are not known yet – will be made before LA28’s tickets sale opens in April. The actual team match-ups will not be known until the Olympic Draws in 2028. The football program includes 16 women’s teams for the first time and 12 men’s teams.

The spread of football matches across the U.S. for Olympic competitions follows a long-standing Olympic format, including for the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, which had games at the Rose Bowl, at the old Stanford Stadium, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland and Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

For the Atlanta 1996 Games, football was played “locally” at Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia in Athens, but also in Birmingham, Alabama (Legion Field), Miami, Florida (Orange Bowl), Orlando, Florida (Citrus Bowl) and RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.

With these announcements, the only venue questions still left open are the routes for the cycling road races and time trials, the track & field marathons and walks and the triathlon. The cycling road races, marathons and triathlon will start at Venice Beach; the walks locations have not been disclosed yet.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

PANORAMA: World Athletics wants Grand Slam Track to pay debts; Infantino says national bans don’t work; cycling airbags?

Rich Perelman

February 2, 2026

tsx pix 2022-331 infantino, gianni fifa congress — FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) at the 72nd FIFA Congress (Photo: FIFA video screenshot)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The International Olympic Committee named the flagbearers for Friday’s opening ceremonies in Milan and Cortina, with eight in Milan and two in Cortina:

Milan:
● Tadatoshi Akiba (JPN): Mayor of Hiroshima from 1999-2011
● Rebeca Andrade (BRA), two-time Olympic gymnastics champion
● Maryam Bukar Hassan (NGR), 2025 U.N. Global Advocate for Peace
● Nicolò Govoni (ITA), Nobel Peace Prize nominee in 2020, 2023
● Filippo Grandi (ITA), U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from 2016-2025
● Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), two-time Olympic marathon champion
● Cindy Ngamba (Refugee Team), first Refugee Olympic gold winner
● Pita Taufatofua (TON), first Tongan Olympian at Olympic & Winter Games

Cortina:
● Franco Nones (ITA), 1968 Olympic cross country skiing champion
● Martina Valcepina (ITA), three-time Olympic Short Track medalist

The opening will actually take place in four locations, with athletes marching in Milan, Cortina, Bormio and Livigno.

Ukrainian Skeleton racer Vladislav Geraskevich told a Ukrainian media outlet that “The IOC contacted us regarding the Olympic Games, asking us not to stage any protests at the Games.

“Let’s just say they contacted the Ukrainian side about possible protests.”

Canadian Pairs star Deanna Stellato-Dudek, 42, one half of the 2024 World Champion team with Maxime Deschamps, suffered a injury during training and will be held out of the figure skating Team Event in Milan.

Her status remains questionable for the Pairs competition during the Games, where she and Deschamps are strong medal contenders.

Local furor over the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in Italy, including protests drummed up by left-wing parties over the weekend, led to a change in name for the hospitality facility set up in Milan by the U.S. Figure Skating Association, US Speedskating and USA Hockey.

What had been called the “Ice House” has been changed to the “Winter House” to avoid any confusion or unwanted attention. These U.S. federations set up their own venue for the 2026 Games since the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is not staging its own site.

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● A change in the management of the LA28 cultural program, with veteran organizer Dwayne Jones named – but not publicly announced – last November as the Senior Vice President, Cultural Olympiad and Stakeholder Events.

Jones has been with LA28 for its entire life, joining the LA2024 bid in 2016 as a Strategic Event Consultant after a very successful stint with the Special Olympic World Games Los Angeles 2015, where he was the Vice President, Special Events, Celebrity Engagement and Entertainment.

Enthusiastic, endlessly engaged and high energy, Jones eventually became the head of the LA 2024/2028 Director, Special Events and moved over to the organizing committee. He was Senior Director for Experiential Engagement and Protocol, then Vice President, Events and Engagement and now the senior staff person for the Cultural Olympiad, while still wearing his special-events hat.

Nora Halpern continues as the LA28 Executive Director of the Cultural Olympiad, now reporting to Jones.

● International Olympic Committee ● One of IOC President Kirsty Coventry’s fans from her actions during her first year in office is Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) President Rob Stull of the U.S., also a first-term leader of his federation.

Speaking to reporters during an online session last week, Stull explained:

“One of the wonderful things about Kirsty Coventry and her Presidency is she’s very open. From my experience – very limited experience – but my experience is that she takes the podium and she doesn’t have a predisposition, she doesn’t have an answer in her head before she asks the question.

“She really wants your opinion, whoever you are, whatever stakeholder you are. She’s really trying hard to get the answers from the opinions of all these various Olympic stakeholders, because the Olympic Movement – the Games – are the biggest social movement on the planet, and I think she’s doing a wonderful job, in terms of gathering information and being very, very careful with the direction she going, based on gathering information from all possible sources.

“My hat’s off to her, I think she’s doing a great job.”

Stull’s relationship with the IOC is crucial as his federation continually fights to maintain its spot on the Olympic program, now incorporating obstacle racing and even the International Federation for obstacle into the UIPM, with an approval vote coming in March.

● Athletics ● The Associated Press reported a statement from World Athletics, repeating its stance that Grand Slam Track must pay off debts of more than $40 million for its 2025 season before thinking about more meets in the future:

“It is unconscionable that efforts would be made for Grand Slam Track to restart in 2026 without the settlement of outstanding financial obligations to athletes, vendors and service providers.

“It is paramount that athletes who competed in good faith and vendors and service providers are treated fairly and paid.”

World Athletics itself is owed $25,000 for a “data feed license agreement.”

Ethiopian runners dominated the annual Dubai Marathon, with 2024 African Games men’s 10,000 m champion Nifret Melak making his marathon debut with a 2:04:00 win, now no. 42 in the all-time list and fastest in 2026.

He finished way in front of runner-ups Yasin Haji (ETH: 2:05:52) and Rwanda’s John Hakizimana (2:06:04 national record).

Ethiopian women finished 1-13, with Anchinalu Dessie Genaneh winning in a lifetime best and world-leading 2:18:31 in her third career marathon, all of which are wins. Muliye Dekebo (2:18:43 lifetime best) and Fantu Worku (2:19:08) were 2-3.

Two breakthrough performances on Friday and Saturday at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University on Friday and Saturday, starting with Britain’s Isabelle Boffey, 25, storming to the lead on the final lap over U.S. outdoor 800 m champ Roisin Willis to take almost two seconds off her lifetime best and win in a world-leading 1:57.43 to 1:57.97. Boffey’s best had been 1:59.30 outdoors coming in; she’s now no. 8 all-time indoors!

Willis got an American Record, crushing Ajee’ Wilson’s 1:58.29 from the 2020 Millrose Games.

On Saturday, New Zealand’s Sam Ruthe – born on 12 April 2009, so he’s 16! – won the men’s mile in a world-leading 3:48.88! Figuring in Sunday’s Millrose results, he’s now no. 12 all-time indoors with a world U-18 best and took almost five seconds off his best of 3:53.83 outdoors on 24 January at home in Wanganui! Belgian Pieter Sisk was second in 3:50.31.

● Boxing ● World Boxing hired former long-time World Archery Secretary General Tom Dielen (BEL) as its new Secretary General, beginning this month.

He served World Archery from 2005-25 and ran for the federation presidency, but was unsuccessful and then left the organization. He brings a wealth of knowledge of the Olympic Movement, especially in major event operations and extensive contacts that can aid the new boxing organization.

● Cycling ● The Management Committee of the Union Cycliste Internationale announced a series of important changes from its 29-30 January meeting in Belgium, starting with the development of a review of the “economic model” of road cycling, the economic engine of the sport:

“To this end, the UCI will consult the concerned parties in the coming days, inviting them to put forward their vision for the future. This consultation will be addressed to all cycling families (the CPA, AIGCP and AIOCC), as well as to all individual stakeholders, asking them to share their expectations and proposals regarding the evolution of the current organisational model (calendar, race formats, internationalisation, broadcasting, economic model, sustainability, solidarity within the sporting pyramid, etc.).

“Following feedback from stakeholders, the UCI will hold discussions with these actors and with all partners necessary for the success of this project. Only together and united, under the authority of the UCI, can a more appealing model for all stakeholders be developed.”

Significant safety changes may also be coming:

“[T]he UCI has decided to launch a call for expressions of interest concerning the development of airbags for cyclists, with the aim of protecting them in the event of a crash. This initiative primarily targets manufacturers or laboratories working on such airbags, in order to define with them a framework and standards to be adopted to enable the development and use of airbags in cycling, as well as cycling textile equipment manufacturers, in order to explore the integration of airbag solutions into clothing, and to discuss and propose solutions for enhanced protection of cycling clothing.”

Airbags? Wow.

● Football ● FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) told Britain’s Sky News that national bans don’t work:

“Should we consider lifting sanctions on Russian teams? We definitely must do so. At least at the youth level. Because this ban has achieved nothing; it has only generated more frustration and hatred.”

It was also reported that Infantino believes that FIFA needs to create a statutory provision that it should never again ban any country from playing football because of the actions of its political leaders.

FIFA World Cup fan sites in the Los Angeles area were announced last week, with the “FIFA Fan Festival” at the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 11-15 June, but without further details.

The Los Angeles World Cup 26 Fan Zones were also announced with nine sites running from one to four days between 18-21 June for the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles with the final ones at the Pomona Fairplex and West Harbor in San Pedro on 18-19 July. No details on the programming were provided.

● Taekwondo ● The World Taekwondo Council, meeting in the UAE, ignored the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Summit and granted full re-integration to all Russian and Belarusian athletes:

“Following the IOC’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian youth athletes to participate in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games under their national flags, the Council decided on January 31 to permit Russian and Belarusian junior and senior athletes to compete under their respective national flags. Existing restrictions remain unchanged, however, meaning international sports events may not be organized in Russia, and accreditation will not be issued to government officials from Russia and Belarus.”

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026: Court of Arbitration for Sport slams door on Uhlaender appeal, rules it has no jurisdiction to consider arguments

Rich Perelman

February 2, 2026

tsx pix 10918 court of arb for sport 750x500 — The Court of Arbitration for Sport, in Lausanne (SUI).

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≡ KATIE UHLAENDER APPEAL ≡

“The CAS Ad hoc Division has ruled that it has no jurisdiction to consider an application by Skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender (USA) against Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS), coach Joe Cecchini and the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (IBSF). The results of the 11 January 2026 IBSF North American Cup Race (the “Race”) and Skeleton qualification places for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (2026 OWG) remain unchanged.”

Uhlaender appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Saturday, trying to obtain an added place in the women’s Skeleton event at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, following a maneuver by the Canadian team at the final North American Cup race in Lake Placid, New York on 11 January to reduce the number of Olympic ranking points available in order to help one of their athletes qualify for the Winter Games.

Uhlaender lost an appeal to the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation’s Interim Integrity Unit, but another appeal to the IBSF Appeals Tribunal was more successful in terms of a condemnation of the actions by the Canadians, but the Tribunal said it had no ability to change the outcome as concerned ranking points.

Per the CAS statement:

“In her application, Ms Uhlaender requested CAS to determine whether the decision to withdraw four athletes from the Race was in violation of the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions. Ms Uhlaender also requested that full ranking points be awarded for the Race, which may affect the selections for the 2026 OWG.”

But, on technical grounds, Uhaelder’s appeal was rejected:

“A hearing was held on 1 February 2026 where the CAS Ad hoc Division Panel carefully considered the evidence and the submissions. In its Award, the CAS Panel noted that the CAS Ad hoc Division for the 2026 OWG has been established to resolve disputes only insofar as they arise during the 2026 OWG or during a period of 10 days preceding the Opening Ceremony (on 6 February 2026).

“As a result, the dispute must have arisen by 27 January 2026 at the earliest in order to fall within its jurisdiction. Considering the chronology of the events between Ms Uhlaender and the Respondents, the CAS Panel concluded that the latest date on which the dispute arose was 23 January 2026, on which date the IBSF Appeals Tribunal issued its decision. Consequently, the application fell outside the jurisdiction of the CAS Ad hoc Division Milano Cortina 2026.”

Uhlaender, a five-time Olympian, appears to have exhausted all appeals and will not race in Cortina. The IBSF for its part, has indicated it will look into future rules changes to keep such a situation from happening in the future.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MILAN CORTINA 2026: International Olympic Committee Session opens at La Scala; Coventry says “The athletes cannot wait.”

Rich Perelman

February 2, 2026

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) at the opening of rhe 145th IOC Session (Photo: IOC via Quinton Meyer).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ IOC SESSION OPENS ≡

The 145th Session of the International Olympic Commission opened at the famed Teatro La Scala in Milan, with remarks by IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Italian National Olympic Committee President Luciano Buonfiglio and organizing committee President Giovanni Malago.

Malago offered what he sees as the essence of the Games:

“Milano Cortina 2026 is a global event, that promotes sport, its values and its unique ability to bring people together. It is also an extraordinary showcase of Italian excellence and culture, art, landscape, quality of life, the craftsmanship that defines us and our longstanding tradition of hospitality.”

Coventry struck the happy tone of an athlete ready to compete, as she was in five Olympic Games as a swimmer:

“La Scala represents the Italian spirit: a deep love of the arts and life, of human creativity, of blending tradition and innovation. It is the same spirit that will now embrace the world’s best winter sports athletes as they prepare to make their Olympic dream come true.

“It has been a long journey – sometimes a bit bumpy, like every Olympic journey – but it is truly wonderful to be here, among our Italian partners and friends. And they have become family.

“Over the past few days, we have seen the excitement building everywhere. Today we got to spend some time in the Olympic Village. The athletes cannot wait. They are so excited. The first athletes are moving into the Villages across Italy. And they have a special sparkle in their eye. You can feel the anticipation, but you can feel the excitement even more.

“Everyone you meet cannot wait for the Games to begin. There is definitely an Olympic vibe building in the streets of Milano, in Cortina, and in all host regions and more specifically in the hearts of the people across the country.”

And after she met some of the Italian athletes getting ready to compete in a home Games, she added, “Remember to leave a few medals for the other teams – this is a little remark I passed on to them today.”

The ceremony, of course, included musical performances that honored La Scala’s cultural landmark status, performed under the baton of Musical Director Riccardo Chailly and featuring Gioachino Rossini‘s “Sinfonia,” from La gazza ladra and the aria “Resta immobile” from Guglielmo Tell, and Giuseppe Verdi’s “Prelude” from Macbeth and the aria “Pietà, rispetto, onore” from Act IV, performed by star baritone Luca Salsi.

For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

MEMORABILIA: Amazing RR Auction has a Milan Cortina 2026 torch (!) and 2004 LeBron James and Michael Phelps accreditations among 340 items!

Rich Perelman

February 2, 2026

tsx pix 2026-201 rr auction moscow 1980 stadium torch — The cannot-fail Moscow 1980 stadium torch, one of just 20 made and on offer from RR Auction (Photo: RR Auction).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement. ★

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

The Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games hasn’t started yet, but you can bid on one of the Games torches now, at RR Auction’s winter sale which ends on 19 February.

The 340 lots cover the sublime to the slightly ridiculous and include 34 high-end items with estimated sales prices of $10,000 or more:

● $150,000: Moscow 1980 “Stadium Torch”
● $100,000: Athens 1896 champion’s silver medal
● $40,000: Athens 1896 second place bronze medal
● $40,000: Oslo 1952 Winter gold medal (ice hockey) on plaque
● $30,000: Lake Placid 1932 Winter bronze medal and diplomas

● $30,000: Tokyo 1964 gold medal (fencing)
● $30,000: Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter torch
● $30,000: Tokyo 2020 silver medal (judo)
● $30,000: Paris 2024 bronze medal (canoeing)
● $25,000: Los Angeles 1932 gold medal (with box)

● $25,000: Innsbruck 1964 Winter gold medal (speed skating)
● $20,000: Sapporo 1964 Olympic Winter torch
● $20,000: Sapporo 1964 Winter gold medal (speed skating)
● $20,000: Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter torch and safety lamp
● $20,000: Nagano 1998 Winter bronze medal (ski jumping)

● $20,000: Turin 2006 Winter silver medal
● $20,000: Rio 2016 silver medal (judo)
● $15,000: Athens 1896 original invitation letters (3)
● $15,000: 1904 St. Louis participation medal
● $15,000: Melbourne 1956 Olympic torch

● $15,000: Cortina 1956 Olympic Winter torch
● $15,000: Mexico City 1968 gold medal (volleyball)
● $15,000: Mexico City 1968 gold-silver-bronze medals set
● $15,000: Innsbruck 1964 Winter gold medal (ice hockey)
● $15,000: Albertville 1992 Winter bronze medal

● $15,000: Paris 2024 Olympic torch
● $12,500: Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic winter torch
● $10,000: 40-plus Olympic participation medals from 1896-2010
● $10,000: Antwerp 1920 gold medal (shooting)
● $10,000: Chamonix 1924 Winter bronze medal

● $10,000: St. Moritz 1948 Winter IOC President badge
● $10,000: Munich 1972 gold medal
● $10,000: Sydney 2000 silver medal (baseball)
● $10,000: Turin 2006 Winter silver medal (unawarded)

What’s so special about that Moscow torch? The description explains:

“During the 1980 Moscow Olympics, a little-known special solid-fuel stadium torch—produced in only 20 examples—was introduced for cauldron-lighting ceremonies in Moscow, Leningrad, Minsk, and Kiev. Unlike the standard liquid-gas relay torch used by the thousands, this stadium variant was engineered for absolute reliability: its pyrotechnic fuel burned in any weather, even underwater, and its construction avoided the fragile upper aluminum section of the standard model. …

“The consistent use of the special torch in these stadium ceremonies reveals the Organizing Committee’s concern with eliminating any risk of flame failure at the decisive moment. Whereas the regular relay torch could be extinguished by heavy weather, the solid-fuel stadium torch guaranteed a robust, wind- and rain-proof flame for the public lighting of the cauldron.”

Having a Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games torch on auction prior to the opening ceremony of the Games is a unique achievement and the first to be offered at auction! It has received 21 bids so far and that total will go higher.

Perhaps the most unusual items are three unissued file copies of Athens 2004 Games accreditation badges for ex-U.S. President George Bush, basketball star LeBron James (in his first Games) and swim icon Michael Phelps, in his second Games. Each is estimated to go for $2,000 and all have had multiple bids so far!

Also up for sale is a Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Greek lighting ceremony Priestess Dress and Sandals, estimated to go for $2,000 and how about a Sports Emmy Award, originally honoring NBC feature producer Nicolas Worth for his work on the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games broadcast (also projected at $2,000). Wow.

And this auction also offers a completely unique collection of 39 Olympic-related men’s ties that once belonged to the late Canadian member of the International Olympic Committee, James Worrall. If you need some ties – there are also a pair of Olympic Team Canada suspenders – it’s a bargain at an estimated price of just $200.

The first bidding deadline is 7 p.m. Eastern time on 19 February, after which only registered bidders can compete for items.

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

For information about advertising and sponsored posts, please contact us here.

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VOX POPULI: A Moral Compass for LA28: Competence, Trust, and the City We Choose

Nick Patsaouras

February 1, 2026

[Nick Patsaouras was president of the Southern California Rapid Transit District during the 1984 Olympic Games, and parts of this comment are drawn from his 2024 book, The Making of Modern Los Angeles (ORO Editions). His opinions, are, of course, solely his own.]

Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics before, so let’s reflect on what those Games mean to everyone. The Olympics are not “just sports.” The Olympic Games are a stress test of civic competence, public trust, and the kind of city we intend to be.

Let’s start by remembering. I wrote about the 1984 Summer Olympics in my book, The Making of Modern Los Angeles. The 1984 Games were a turning point: heavy reuse of existing venues, a disciplined organizing culture, and a business model that treated sponsorship and television revenue as a financial engine rather than an afterthought. LA Metro’s predecessor agency worked with Caltrans and ran extensive park-and-ride and express bus service that successfully moved large crowds to venues. In our civic mythology, these outcomes are inseparable from the leader who drove them: Peter Ueberroth, a businessman-operator who made cost discipline and revenue realism part of the plan. There was an operating surplus and the LA84 Foundation emerged thereafter.

But the modern Olympic era also teaches a second lesson: success on the field and success in governance are not the same thing. Since the late 1970s, the Olympics have grown into a mega-event powered by commercialization and global media, yet repeatedly shadowed by scandals that damage the Olympic brand and, more importantly, the people caught inside it. We’ve seen the Games entangled in geopolitics (the 1980 Moscow boycott and the 1984 Soviet-bloc boycott), shaken by bid-process corruption (the Salt Lake City scandal and subsequent reforms), compromised by systemic doping (the World Anti-Doping Agency findings on Russian state manipulation), scarred by catastrophic athlete-abuse failures (the USA Gymnastics crisis and Larry Nassar), and forced to reckon with security threats (Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park bombing). This wider history is the context in which we should judge LA28-not with cynicism, but with sober eyes.

So where do we stand with the 2028 Summer Olympics right now? The organizing committee, LA28, continues to emphasize a privately funded operating model, drawing revenue from sponsorships, ticketing, licensing, hospitality, and a major contribution from the International Olympic Committee. LA28 has also moved into visible public-facing milestones: ticket registration opened in mid-January 2026, with Reuters reporting very high early demand, and the committee has publicly described a structured “ticket draw” process. On the commercial side, Reuters reported that by December 2025 LA28 had surpassed $2 billion in domestic sponsorship revenue, alongside a projected budget of just under $7 billion. Operational leadership has signaled a shift toward delivery mode-logistics, security coordination, and execution discipline. All of that sounds like momentum. And it is.

But momentum does not guarantee legitimacy. The Olympics arrive with a built-in trust problem: residents worry about cost overruns, disruption, and promises that dissolve after the cameras leave. In Los Angeles, that skepticism is not paranoia; it’s lived experience. Which is why leadership credibility matters so much.

That brings us to the uncomfortable January 2026 headline. The Los Angeles Times reported that newly-released “Epstein files” included personal emails from 2003 between LA28 chair Casey Wasserman and sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein. The article reported that Wasserman expressed regret and apologized for any association.

This is exactly the sort of reputational shock that can become a civic distraction … or a civic test. The question is not whether Los Angeles “cancels” someone (a performative ritual that poorly substitutes for governance). The question is whether the institutions around the Games respond in a way that increases public confidence: clear disclosures and clear accountability about how decisions are made and how money flows.

And that is why our city needs to follow a steady moral compass. We need to be less interested in winning the daily outrage cycle and more interested in raising the standard of public judgment. Here is a more practical, civic-oriented approach:

● First, keep the focus on shared problems, not factional talking points. The Olympics will pressure housing, transit, public safety, and basic city services. We should ask simple, demanding questions that any Angeleno can understand: what must be true by summer 2028 for everyday life to feel better, not merely “Olympics-ready”? What will be measured, by whom, and on what schedule?

● Second, insist on virtues in leadership-prudence, justice, courage, and temperance: not just “vibes.” Prudence looks like conservative budgeting and honest risk registers. Justice looks like equitable distribution of burdens and benefits across neighborhoods. Courage looks like confronting special interests when their demands conflict with public purpose. Temperance looks like resisting fear-mongering and over-promising.

● Third, make the public conversation educational. Slogans don’t really help. What residents really need is more like a clear map: which agencies control which levers, what does “privately funded” cover, and which costs land on local government even when the organizing committee is privately financed. Security and transportation planning are always a tangle of jurisdictions and budgets. Buses were central to the 1984 mobility success, a key historical reference point for today’s “transit-first” ambitions for 2028.

● Finally, anchor the discussion in history. The 1984 Olympics are still a part of the city’s larger civic story. That’s the right frame: the Games are less like a two-week festival and more like a mirror. They reveal whether we can govern large systems with competence and fairness, and whether we can tell the truth to ourselves while doing it.

Los Angeles can afford to be a little starry-eyed by definition. But we don’t want to be jaded. If we hold LA28-and ourselves-to reasonably clear and measurable commitments, and a higher standard of civic character, the 2028 Games can be more than a spectacle. We can reflect a disciplined demonstration that this city still knows how to do hard things: together.

Comments are welcome here.

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For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!