2026 Winter Olympics

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Let the Games Begin
Winter Games Open With Flair
UPDATED
Feb 6, 2026 5:15 PM CST

Winter Games Open With Flair

World events echo briefly during ceremony in Italy

(Newser) - As declared by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, the Milan Cortina Olympics officially are open. The pomp during the opening ceremony Friday including tributes to da Vinci and Dante, Puccini and Pausini, Armani and Fellini, pasta and vino, and other iconic tastes of Italian culture. And loud cheers met Mariah Carey'...

Olympic Course Terrifies Even the Best Skiers
Olympic Course Terrifies
Even the Best Skiers
2026 Olympics
Feb 6, 2026 3:45 PM CST

Olympic Course Terrifies Even the Best Skiers

Top racers will endure 90mph speeds, ice-slick turns, and brutal jumps this weekend

(Newser) - Olympic organizers see the Stelvio as a postcard for Italian alpine tradition. The men who will hurl themselves down it this weekend are more likely to call it what former US racer Steve Porino does: "the gray ribbon of death." The men's downhill at the Milan Cortina...

Canadian Singer Faces Backlash Over Team USA Ad

One writer accused Tate McRae of 'treason'

(Newser) - Canadian singer Tate McRae has landed in an unlikely cross-border squabble after starring in a new NBC spot hyping Team USA for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. In the ad , McRae asks a talking white owl how to get to Milan to meet Team USA for the opening ceremony,...

WADA May Probe Odd Claims of Penis Injections in Ski Jumping

Claims involve genital injections to manipulate suit measurements for lift

(Newser) - A doping agency that usually worries about blood samples is now fielding questions about something far stranger: alleged penis injections in Olympic ski jumping, the Guardian reports. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says it will examine claims, first reported by German tabloid Bild, that some male jumpers are artificially enlarging...

Olympic Hockey Game Postponed After Outbreak

US beats Czech Republic after norovirus delays Finland-Canada women's game

(Newser) - A stomach bug has sidelined an Olympic hockey matchup. A norovirus outbreak on Finland's women's team has forced the postponement of Thursday's game against defending Olympic champions Canada, officials said, after 13 Finnish players were either sickened or placed in isolation. Olympic organizers called moving the game...

7 US Athletes to Watch at the Olympics

Among them: speed skater Jordan Stolz, who's aiming for 5 golds

(Newser) - The Olympics are underway and among the talented pool of US athletes competing across 32 sports are a figure skating "god" with insane odds of winning gold, a young speedskater with a shot at five medals, and a legendary skier pushing on despite a banged-up knee. Seven US athletes...

Mary Carillo Steps In to Host Olympic Opening Ceremony

Veteran Olympic commentator replaces Savannah Guthrie amid search for missing mother

(Newser) - Mary Carillo is stepping into one of NBC's highest-profile Olympic roles under unusually somber circumstances. NBC announced that the veteran sportscaster and former pro tennis player will replace Savannah Guthrie as co-host of the opening ceremony for the Milan Olympics, airing Friday, USA Today reports. Guthrie withdrew from Olympic...

First Winter Olympics Event Was Halted Within Moments

Curling matches resumed after a brief power outage in Cortina

(Newser) - The Winter Olympics got underway Wednesday with the first curling matches in Cortina, Italy, but came to a halt only moments later because of a power outage. Officials briefly paused the matches at the historic curling stadium when the lights dimmed and flickered. Curlers kept sliding on the ice to...

21K Athletes Ask IOC to 'Ski Fossil Free'

Norwegian skier, filmmaker Nikolai Schirmer hands IOC petition on banning fossil fuel ads at Games

(Newser) - Norwegian skier Nikolai Schirmer on Wednesday handed the International Olympic Committee a petition signed by more than 21,000 professional athletes and others who want to stop fossil fuel companies from sponsoring winter sports. Schirmer delivered the "Ski Fossil Free" petition to the IOC's head of sustainability, Julie...

Team USA Names Its Flagbearers
Team USA Names
Its Flagbearers
Feb 3, 2026 3:17 PM CST

Team USA Names Its Flagbearers

Speedskater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca will do the honors at Olympics

(Newser) - Speedskater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca will be the US flagbearers for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, per the AP .
  • Jackson, 33, is the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal at a Winter Games. She won in Beijing in 2022.
  • Del
...

Vonn 'Confident' She Will Ski in Olympics Despite Injury

41-year-old ruptured her ACL in a crash last week

(Newser) - Lindsey Vonn says she is "confident" she can compete at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics beginning this week despite the left knee injury she sustained in a crash four days ago. Vonn said on Tuesday she "completed ruptured" her ACL, per the AP . But after three days of...

Vonn Had One Knee Replaced, Just Hurt the Other One

Injury raises doubts about Olympics, but 41-year-old says she knows something about comebacks

(Newser) - Lindsey Vonn's planned Olympic comeback suffered a jarring setback on Friday in Switzerland, just seven days before the Milan Cortina Games open in Italy. The 41-year-old American ski champ crashed in a World Cup downhill at Crans-Montana after losing her balance coming out of a jump on the second...

There's an Olympic Skeleton Controversy Afoot

Katie Uhlaender, a skeleton veteran, claims Canada tried to manipulate the system

(Newser) - Katie Uhlaender thought she'd raced her way into a sixth Olympics; instead, she's on the outside asking for a rule change. The 41-year-old US skeleton veteran says she was effectively knocked out of contention for the Milan Cortina Games after a Lake Placid qualifying event earlier this month...

Italy Condemns ICE Role in Olympic Security

Interior ministry indicates US plan will not be allowed amid intense backlash

(Newser) - Milan's leader says ICE agents aren't welcome in the city following reports that they'll have a role in US security at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics kicking off next week. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the reports Tuesday, per CNN , saying ICE would have a "security...

7 US Athletes Are Olympians for the 5th Time

US team names the 232 athletes on Winter Games roster

(Newser) - The US team released its 232-athlete roster for the Milan Cortina Olympics on Monday, a lineup that includes Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn and bobsledders Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor, who are among the seven Americans making their fifth trip to the games. Other five-timers are hockey player Hilary Knight,...

A Castle Wall Once Touched by da Vinci Is Exposed

In honor of the Milan Cortina Olympics

(Newser) - In honor of the Milan Cortina Olympics, Milan cultural officials are for a brief time only allowing visitors access to a long-hidden wall and ceiling painting by Leonardo da Vinci while restoration work is underway. The vast painting of a pergola covered with intertwined flowering branches inside Milan's Sforza...

In the World of Speedskating, This Has Never Been Done

Olympic speedskaters will compete for gold on a temporary indoor rink

(Newser) - No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink—until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games, reports the AP . In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought...

4 Start, 1 Ends a Wild Team USA Bobsled Run
4 Start, 1 Ends a Wild
Team USA Bobsled Run
VIDEO
Jan 12, 2026 9:28 AM CST

4 Start, 1 Ends a Wild Team USA Bobsled Run

An accidental solo run in St. Moritz ends without serious injuries

(Newser) - It's a good thing US bobsled driver Kris Horn has a history as a brakeman. As USA Today reports, his knowledge came into play Sunday when his three teammates failed to make it into the sled during a World Cup run in St. Moritz, Switzerland, sending Horn hurtling alone...

Skater Who Lost Parents in Crash Makes Olympics

Maxim Naumov makes the cut at US Figure Skating event

(Newser) - Maxim Naumov will head to his first Olympics less than a year after losing both of his parents —who doubled as his coaches—in a plane crash over Washington, DC. On Sunday, US Figure Skating named the 24-year-old to the three-man team for the 2026 Milan Games, alongside Ilia...

Guard Dies During Freezing Shift Near Winter Olympics Site

Worker, 55, found dead during -12C overnight security shift

(Newser) - A worker assigned to guard a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympics venue in Cortina d'Ampezzo has died during an overnight shift in subzero conditions, prompting calls for a full investigation, the Guardian reports. Italian authorities said the 55-year-old man was on duty Thursday night when temperatures fell...

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