2026 Winter Olympics - discussion thread

[TopTort777]

You also have this skating (figure, speed, short-track) and snowboarding. Actually, they have interesting line-up of sports, though of course most of them are really experienced by those countries which have winter season.

Few words on short-track. Netherlands isnt the most snowy country and in winter period it is usually warm there, but their athletes are always good at short-track. Especially chicks. China also perform good on short-track. China also are stable in getting gold-silver medals in ice skating. I dont remember ayn Olympic games where China took zero medals in ice skating.

It is rather cold now in Europe, however, during Olympic Games weather forecast for Milan is +5 degrees and more, and rainy Hope weather did not spoil winter games.

[LTU_btc]

It is rather cold now in Europe, however, during Olympic Games weather forecast for Milan is +5 degrees and more, and rainy Hope weather did not spoil winter games.

In Milan there will be only indoors sports like ice hockey, figure skating, short track and etc, while outside sports events will be held about 400km away from Milan in Cortina d'Ampezzo where it's cold enough and full of snow. So, weather shouldn't be a problem.

How do you like the design of 25th Winter Olympic Games medals? Words plain and simple were the first that came to my mind. You can read more about medals @ https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/brand/medals. Year 2022 Beijing medals looked much cooler due to more details.

It's very simple indeed. I just hope it won't become rusty after few weeks or month like it happened with Paris 2024 medals.

[TopTort777]

How do you like the design of 25th Winter Olympic Games medals? Words plain and simple were the first that came to my mind. You can read more about medals @ https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/brand/medals. Year 2022 Beijing medals looked much cooler due to more details.

It's very simple indeed. I just hope it won't become rusty after few weeks or month like it happened with Paris 2024 medals.

Lol. I have never heard or read that Summer Olympic Games 2024 medals become rusty with time or they were made poor quality.

Search lead me to https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/32817922/olympics-medals-athletes-send-back/. Indeed they look unpreventably and I would also ask for replacement. Medalists hold them for many years, and if after only one month they look so crappy, then I cant imagine how they would look in 20 years. Even chocolate medals are more long lasting that those real Olympic medals

[aioc]

In 18 days we will be witnessing another great sports event - The 25th Winter Olympic Games. The event will take place in Italy and will be held from 6th to 22nd of February 2026. Those who love to watch opening ceremony dont forget to turn on your TVs February 6. This year 92 countries will compete for medals. UAE are having debut in Winter Olympic Games.

It's been 9 years since I last watched the Winter Olympics. That was the time we, as a tropical country, sent athletes to two Winter Olympics; this opened my eyes to the excitement of the Winter Olympic events.
We do not have a representative this year, but I'll still watch the opening and some events, like alpine skiing, one of the hardest and most fun to watch.
I hope in the future we can have another representative and so are other countries on tropical regions, oympics are open for everyone.

[mcdouglasx]

It would be interesting to see how this affects betting. To be honest, I've never bet on these kinds of events, only on hockey, so many sports will probably generate high odds, although with few realistic expectations due to how unpredictable some of them will surely be. Also, with hockey, and with the participation of NHL stars, we might see balanced matches with a high volume of bets.

[Daniel91]

Thanks for this update, in my country we hardly hear about winter Olympics and I believe that the reason is because we don't have winter in Africa, but I'm surprised to see OP mention UAE which is a tropical country. I didn't know much of the winter games except for skiing, and the first time I heard and saw bobsleigh, was on a movie about a Jamaican team, but I don't remember the name of that movie but I immediately loved the game. I will put interest in this winter Olympics, hopefully I'll watch some bobsleigh and see updates on other games especially that skiing from mountain tops.

Rich countries like the UAE can offer citizenship and other benefits to foreign athletes who are talented and good at their sports and have a chance to win a medal for their new country.
This is already common practice in many Olympic sports such as handball, weightlifting, martial arts such as Taekwondo and biksa, Table Tennis, etc.
In this way, even countries "without snow" can also achieve sporting success in winter sports 

[TopTort777]

Rich countries like UEA can afford to have snow delivered from Alpes to make their athletes train But dont confuse being a citizenship and living in country. Nothing stop same UAE citizen to live 24/7/365 in snowy country and train every day. I think a lot of athletes do that. If you dont have snow at home, live where snow is if you have passion and talent

[yahoo62278]

I enjoy watching The Olympics whether it is the summer or winter games. Really enjoy the bobsledding, curling, luge, ski jumping, speed skating, and snowboarding. The only bad thing about the games are timezone differences and having to set up the DVR to record the games that happen when I am sleeping.

[julerz12]

I hope we have a representative at the Winter Olympics this coming Winter. Our country is in the tropical zone, but in 2014, we had one representative, and in 2018, we had two.

And this time in 2026, we have...drum roll please...still two. 
Tallulah Proulx (only 17 years old BTW) and Francis Ceccarelli (22 years old) will both be competing in Alpine skiing.

Still, even though we only have these two to represent the Philippines, I'm pretty sure the Filipino community abroad will flock to Milan, Italy, just to support them. That's how enthusiastic we are about supporting our athletes.

Sources: [1] [2]

[coin-investor]

I hope we have a representative at the Winter Olympics this coming Winter. Our country is in the tropical zone, but in 2014, we had one representative, and in 2018, we had two.

And this time in 2026, we have...drum roll please...still two. 
Tallulah Proulx (only 17 years old BTW) and Francis Ceccarelli (22 years old) will both be competing in Alpine skiing.

Still, even though we only have these two to represent the Philippines, I'm pretty sure the Filipino community abroad will flock to Milan, Italy, just to support them. That's how enthusiastic we are about supporting our athletes.

Sources: [1] [2]

Thank you for this Kabayan. Compared to Martinez back then, where there is too much noise on our entry, maybe because that was our first time, Ceccarelli is a pure Filipino but adopted by Italians, so if he ever wins a medal, he deserves to be honoured and given incentives like all the Filipino athletes here.

We may not have snow here in the country, but we do have competitive spirits. I hope the mainstream media here will also cover this event where our kababayans compete.

[aoluain]

I always try and catch some of the sports at the winter games but I wouldnt know all that much about
the different disciplines. My country has been competing since 1994 and we have never won a medal!
Winter sports is not a big thing because we just dont get the weather and its not in our culture.

At least because its in Italy this time around it will be similar times to here so I get to possibly see more.

[UmerIdrees]

I enjoy watching The Olympics whether it is the summer or winter games. Really enjoy the bobsledding, curling, luge, ski jumping, speed skating, and snowboarding. The only bad thing about the games are timezone differences and having to set up the DVR to record the games that happen when I am sleeping.

Wow, I am surprised by your love for the games that you even record the games to watch later while you're sleeping. Well, I think even if you do not record, you can still watch those games on some YouTube channels. Even if they don't show the full matches, you may get the highlights for every games available online.

My country hasn't been actively participating in the Olympics, but I do love to see so many sports. Our national TV will broadcast Olympics games throughout the day and I am more keen to calculate which country gets the most medals  

[yahoo62278]

I enjoy watching The Olympics whether it is the summer or winter games. Really enjoy the bobsledding, curling, luge, ski jumping, speed skating, and snowboarding. The only bad thing about the games are timezone differences and having to set up the DVR to record the games that happen when I am sleeping.

Wow, I am surprised by your love for the games that you even record the games to watch later while you're sleeping. Well, I think even if you do not record, you can still watch those games on some YouTube channels. Even if they don't show the full matches, you may get the highlights for every games available online.

My country hasn't been actively participating in the Olympics, but I do love to see so many sports. Our national TV will broadcast Olympics games throughout the day and I am more keen to calculate which country gets the most medals  

The Olympics are the best of the best. It's exciting to watch the greatest athletes in the world bust their asses to represent their countries. I don't really care about the medals, I just like to see the competition and drive that these young athletes show.

I also feel like it's a time where countries set aside their differences to compete and root their athletes on but who knows, maybe they still hold a deep level of hate or anger towards another nation. Just glad it doesn't ruin the games if so.

[TopTort777]

Sadly, hate and anger towards other nations are presented on every Olympic Games or World Championship. Athletes still cant accept defeat, show disrespect due to skin color, mix politics with sport.

Slowly I see major casinos adding Olympics in betting section. There are not much of a variety, but still better than nothing. Also I have checked several events, and there are almost no bets with odds less than 2. Which means there is no obvious favorite; everyone have chances to win. That is cool.

[Daniel91]

I enjoy watching The Olympics whether it is the summer or winter games. Really enjoy the bobsledding, curling, luge, ski jumping, speed skating, and snowboarding. The only bad thing about the games are timezone differences and having to set up the DVR to record the games that happen when I am sleeping.

Wow, I am surprised by your love for the games that you even record the games to watch later while you're sleeping. Well, I think even if you do not record, you can still watch those games on some YouTube channels. Even if they don't show the full matches, you may get the highlights for every games available online.

My country hasn't been actively participating in the Olympics, but I do love to see so many sports. Our national TV will broadcast Olympics games throughout the day and I am more keen to calculate which country gets the most medals  

The Olympics are the best of the best. It's exciting to watch the greatest athletes in the world bust their asses to represent their countries. I don't really care about the medals, I just like to see the competition and drive that these young athletes show.

I also feel like it's a time where countries set aside their differences to compete and root their athletes on but who knows, maybe they still hold a deep level of hate or anger towards another nation. Just glad it doesn't ruin the games if so.

Unfortunately, the Olympic Games are no longer what they used to be.
True, pure amateurism has almost disappeared from all sports and today everything comes down to business and money.
In some Olympic sports, the best professional athletes, such as boxers, no longer compete because it is no longer financially worthwhile for them.
In ancient Greece, they used to declare an "Olympic truce" because of the Olympic Games, but today that is no longer the case. The Olympic spirit has been lost.