MILAN, Italy – The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo are well underway, with competition spanning across Lombardy and Northeast Italy. Events officially began on February 4th, with the opening ceremony taking place on February 6th at the Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium, featuring performances by Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini and Andrea Bocelli, and culminating in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
As of Tuesday, February 17th, Norway currently leads the medal count, followed by Italy and the United States. American viewers tuning in to the Games need to account for the significant time difference; Italy is six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time and nine hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.
Today’s schedule features a busy slate of events, kicking off with curling matches where the U.S. Men’s team will face China and the U.S. Women’s team will compete against Denmark. Medal events are scheduled in women’s snowboard slopestyle, 10km cross-country nordic combined, men’s biathlon relay, men’s and women’s speed skating team pursuit, men’s freeski big air, and two-man bobsledding. The official Olympics website provides a detailed schedule of events.
Figure skating continues to draw attention, with Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, and Isabeau Levito returning to the ice for the women’s short program. Qualification rounds are also set for freestyle skiing in women’s aerials, alongside qualification playoffs in ice hockey.
Looking ahead to Wednesday, February 18th, curling round robin sessions will continue, with both U.S. Teams facing Great Britain. The men’s hockey quarterfinals are also scheduled, with the U.S. Men’s team already securing a spot and awaiting the winner of Tuesday’s Sweden-Latvia match.
Wednesday’s medal events include women’s skiing aerials, women’s and men’s cross-country skiing team sprint, men’s snowboard slopestyle, women’s alpine skiing slalom run, women’s 4x6km relay biathlon, women’s 3,000m relay short track speed skating, and men’s 500m short track speed skating. Training sessions for Nordic combined and 4-man bobsled are also planned. Notably, Wednesday marks the final scheduled day for snowboarding and alpine skiing events.
The Games will draw to a close on February 22nd with the closing ceremony, to be held at the Verona Arena. The Paralympic Winter Games will then follow, taking place from March 6th to March 15th. According to Wikipedia, the motto of the games is “IT’s Your Vibe.”
While a comprehensive schedule is available online, organizers have noted that it remains subject to change. The Milano Cortina Games continue to unfold, offering a spectacle of athletic competition and international camaraderie.
