The 2026 Winter Olympics kicked off on Feb. 4 in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Thousands of athletes from 93 different countries will be competing to bring their nation one of the greatest achievements obtainable in sports: a gold medal.
St. Louis has a rich history with the Olympics, as the first ever Games in the United States were held in the city. There are currently five athletes from St. Louis competing this year across all events. A breakdown of some of the most popular sports at the Winter Games follows.
Figure skating
One of the most watched and anticipated sports during the Winter Games is figure skating. At the beginning of this year, the top American skaters fought for their spot on the 2026 Olympic team in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in St. Louis.
Many prominent skaters qualified for the 2026 Olympics here, including Aslya Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito. This trio, commonly referred to as the “blade angels,” joined other skaters Ilia Malinin, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who had already qualified.
There are multiple events within figure skating, including women’s and men’s singles, ice dance, pair skating and the team event. The team was the first figure skating competition of the games, with select members of each country competing in different programs or routines.
Ice dancing duo Chock and Bates finished first in their event, followed by a second place finish for Alysa Liu in the short program, third for Amber Glenn in the free skate and first place for Ilia Malinin, who made history as the first person since Surya Bonaly of France in 1998 to land a backflip on one skate.
Hockey
Another popular sport held at the Olympics is women’s and men’s hockey. The U.S. women’s hockey team opened its Olympic run with an unbeaten streak in the group stages, including a 5-0 win against Canada, marking the first time Canada’s women’s team has been shutout in its history at the Olympic Games.
The shutout against Canada was not the only achievement U.S. hockey has made so far, as forward Laila Edwards became the first Black woman to play and score for the U.S. at a senior national level.
Hannah Bilka, a Professional Women’s Hockey League player for the Seattle Torrent, has scored four goals so far across the competition, the highest on Team USA. St. Louis native Joy Dunne has collected two goals as well. The U.S. women’s hockey team is favored for gold after their strong performance in group play.
On the men’s side, 2026 marks the first year since 2014 that players from the National Hockey League will be able to participate in the Olympic Games. Notable figures on Team USA include team captain Auston Matthews and two sets of brothers, Jack and Quinn Hughes, as well as Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, who are also St. Louis natives.
The men’s team started their gold medal campaign off strong with a 5-1 win against Latvia, with Matthews, Brock Nelson and Tage Thompson scoring goals.
Although the Canadian men’s team has a strong lineup led by Olympic Gold medalist and NHL legend Sydney Crosby, Team USA remains hopeful and in contention for the gold.
Skiing and snowboarding
In the Winter Games, sports that typically do not have much viewership, like snowboarding and alpine skiing, are elevated to a larger audience.
Olympic snowboarding has several events, similar to figure skating. Both women and men athletes compete in contests like parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross, which include the competitors racing through a track against each other and the clock to come out on top.
Another notable event is the snowboard halfpipe, which specifically tests an athlete’s tricks and skills. Chloe Kim, two-time gold medalist for Team USA, walked away from the final with silver, continuing her medalling streak in her third Winter Games appearance.
Lindsey Vonn is another well known American Olympic athlete and alpine skier. A week before the opening ceremony, Vonn announced she had torn her ACL, leaving fans unsure of her participation in the rest of the events. She persisted through the injury in her run for gold, but during her first appearance in competition, Vonn suffered another scary crash, ending her 2026 campaign.
Fellow American alpine skier Breezy Johnson has picked up where Vonn left off, winning gold in the downhill race.
Team USA has performed well across the board early on in the games, earning seven gold, 11 silver and six bronze with plenty more action sure to occur across the next few days.
The Olympics will continue until Feb. 22 as athletes battle to bring home the gold for their country.