The twenty-fifth edition of the Winter Olympics are kicking off in Milan (Milano) and Cortina d’Ampezzo, marking the first ever Olympic Games to be co-hosted by two cities! The Games will take place from February 6th until February 22nd, covering over 110 events across sixteen sports, including the newly added Ski Mountaineering (“Skimo”), where both sprint and mixed relay races will be introduced.
While the promise of Olympic Ski Mountaineering has yet to be established, the sport has a rich history. It began as a way to travel across snowy regions such as the Swiss Alps and Scandinavia, but evolved into popular endurance races and military operations.
The sprint race consists of an ascent and descent, where competitors start on skis before removing them to conquer a set of uphill steps. The skis are then re-equipped to finish the ascent, and the skins on the bottom of the skis are removed before the final descent. Sprint races usually last between three and four minutes, making way for physically demanding and action-packed racing. For those who enjoy high-action sports like basketball or ice hockey, the sprint race is perfect to watch.
The mixed relay follows a similar format to the sprint races, but pairs one man and one woman for a total of four laps of ascents and descents. With a duration upwards of thirty minutes, this event is much more physically demanding and requires some aspect of strategy.
Besides ski mountaineering, several popular sports return for this year’s edition of the Olympic Games: snowboarding, a US favorite, will travel to the mountains of Italy, where Team USA’s Chloe Kim looks to defend her gold medal in the Women’s Halfpipe despite suffering a brutal injury just days ago. Meanwhile, curling–Europe’s emerging tactical sport–returns to the ice, where Sweden and Switzerland are the defending champions in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.
While each sport will bring plenty of excitement, heartbreak, and nerves to prideful fans worldwide, the Winter Olympics’ marquee event, figure skating, will take place from the first day until February 19th.
The U.S. figure skating team enters these games favored to claim at least four medals, which would be the first time the U.S. has achieved that level of success in 66 years. The first event will be a combined team event, in which the U.S. is expected to go toe-to-toe with Japan in a race for gold.
Reigning and two-time world champion Ilia Malinin enters his first Olympics off the back of a world record breaking Grand Prix final, and is expected to run away with the men’s title. Three-time world champion ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates return after a fourth place finish four years ago, and are looking to land on top of this year’s podium. In the women’s event, three-time national champion Amber Glenn plans to leverage her triple axel to earn a place on the medal stand. Meanwhile, her competitor and friend Alysa Liu continues her comeback after retiring four years ago and hopes to mimic the success of her last World Championships, where she won gold.
This year’s Olympics are ultimately a monumental stepping stone for the Games beyond just sport. Over 90% of the structures being used are existing or temporary structures, and also includes a record 47% of competitors being women, making it the most gender-equal Winter Games in history. The coming weeks will not only showcase elite athletic performances and inspire pride globally, but also set a new standard for a more sustainable, inclusive, and forward-thinking Olympic future.