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2026 Winter Olympics: New Events, Neutral Athletes, and Medal Showdown

2/7/2026

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Center

Olympic Athletes Compete

The 2026 Winter Olympics will take place in Milano Cortina, Italy, from February 6 to 22, featuring 92 countries and nearly 3,000 athletes.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete as Individual Neutral Athletes due to their countries' bans.
New events, including ski mountaineering, will debut at these Games, which are the first co-hosted by two cities.
Team USA aims to improve on its fifth-place finish in 2022, with medal contenders like Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn.
Norway is favored to lead the medal count, continuing its historical dominance in the Winter Olympics.

Right

Athletes Auction Medals

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina face higher costs as gold and silver medals are valued at $2,300 and $1,400, up from the Summer Olympics in 2024.
The rise in medal value has prompted Ryan Lochte (Olympic swimmer) and Greg Louganis (Olympic diver) to auction their medals.
The Games will award 735 Olympic medals and 411 Paralympic medals.
The opening ceremony is set for February 6, 2026.

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Olympic Athletes Compete

The 2026 Winter Olympics will take place in Milano Cortina, Italy, from February 6 to 22, featuring 92 countries and nearly 3,000 athletes.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete as Individual Neutral Athletes due to their countries' bans.
New events, including ski mountaineering, will debut at these Games, which are the first co-hosted by two cities.
Team USA aims to improve on its fifth-place finish in 2022, with medal contenders like Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn.
Norway is favored to lead the medal count, continuing its historical dominance in the Winter Olympics.

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