The 2026 Winter Olympics are set to begin this Friday, Feb 6, at 1 p.m., starting with the opening ceremony. The games will conclude on the Feb. 22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
The events in the Winter Olympics include alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, nordic combined, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding, speed skating, among others.
Normal West’s most anticipated events are the three skiing events (alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and freestyle skiing), snowboarding, figure skating, and hockey.
“Skiing is very fast-paced and unique compared to most sports,” Freshman Grayson Sparks responded.
The most accomplished U.S. cross-country skier in history will be making a return to the 2026 Olympic Games. Jessie Diggins finished with a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Games and is looking for gold this year.
Snowboarding is another event many are looking forward to.
“Snowboarding looks like [the athletes] have a good time,” Junior Grant Marvel stated.
In 2022, the U.S. took home medals in four snowboarding events, three of those being gold. Austria is a huge rival for the U.S. in all snowboarding categories.
The United States is sending the largest Winter Olympic team with 232 athletes attending. This represents the U.S. strength across all sports.
Figure Skating is one of the most popular Winter sports for the U.S. team. Sending 3 top athletes in the world: Illia Malinin, world champion, Alysa Liu, Women’s World Champion, and Amber Glenn, three-time U.S. National Champion.
“Ice skating…I think it incorporates the skill of ice skating, but also dance and gymnastics,” Superintendent Kristen Weikle explained.
Olympic Hockey has long been one of the winter sports, appealing to the eye when watching the fast-paced quarters.
“I like hockey because it is quick-paced and easy to watch, and my favorite part is when they get in fights, it is a super entertaining sport overall.” Senior Savannah Steers said.
