In today’s newsletter…

1. Leading Off: The Olympics officially kick off today

2. American Athletes to Watch: One of the Games’ biggest favorites is figure skater Ilia Malinin

3. International Athletes to Watch: An Italian skier could get a home medal

4. By the Numbers: Team USA is projected to win 12-13 goal medals

5. Overtime: What to watch in the Olympics

1. Leading Off

The Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics officially open today, bringing together roughly 2,900 athletes from more than 90 countries across 116 medal events in 16 sports. Norway enters as the clear favorite to win the most golds, with Germany and the United States close behind.

Familiar rivalries will shape much of the action: The U.S. and Canada clash again in hockey, Switzerland and Norway will duel in Alpine skiing, and Japan and Team USA renew their snowboarding rivalry.

In Alpine skiing, Mikaela Shiffrin aims to extend her record as the most successful World Cup skier, while Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt looks to add to his multiple overall World Cup titles. Snowboarding’s halfpipe will showcase the U.S.’s Chloe Kim chasing a historic third consecutive Olympic gold, with Japan’s reigning champion Ayumu Hirano also looking to repeat.

Figure skating features American Ilia Malinin, who is the reigning world champion, first skater to land a quad axel in competition, and one of the biggest favorites of the Games. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa will be looking for an upset.

Men’s ice hockey marks the return of NHL players for the first time since 2014, led by Canada’s Connor McDavid and Team USA’s Auston Matthews. The women’s tournament is anchored by the same rivalry, with Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin and the U.S.’s Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter continuing one of international sports’ fiercest matchups.

While some preliminary events have already started, the Games officially kick off with the Opening Ceremony airing live at 2 p.m. ET on NBC today, followed by a primetime broadcast at 8 p.m.

2. Americans to Watch

Ilia Malinin arrives as the reigning two-time World Champion and four-time U.S. national champion, having made history as the first skater to land a quadruple axel in competition. His record-breaking free skate scores this season have made him the heavy favorite for gold in Milan.

In snowboarding, Chloe Kim looks to make history as the first athlete to win three consecutive Olympic halfpipe titles. Despite recovering from a shoulder injury, Kim has remained at the top of the World Cup standings, pushing the boundaries of the sport with tricks like the cab double cork 1080. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Alessandro Barbieri has emerged as a rising star, becoming the youngest rider to land a triple cork 1440 and securing multiple World Cup podiums this season.

On the alpine slopes, Mikaela Shiffrin enters as the most successful World Cup skier of all time, boasting over 100 career victories and aiming to build on a dominant season. Just days before the Games, 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn suffered a ruptured ACL and additional knee damage in a World Cup downhill crash. Despite the injury, Vonn plans to race in the women’s downhill and possibly the Super-G in her fifth Olympics.

The ice rink will feature Hilary Knight also in her fifth appearance. Knight is the most decorated player in IIHF Women’s World Championship history. Joining her is newcomer Laila Edwards, who has quickly become a key presence on defense. On the men’s side, Brady Tkachuk returns as a four-time NHL All-Star known for his physicality, while veteran goalie Connor Hellebuyck provides stability between the pipes.

In freestyle skiing, Alex Ferreira looks to upgrade his Olympic medals after winning silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022. He’s currently on top of the World Cup rankings. Sliding sports feature skeleton racer Mystique Ro, who earned silver at the 2025 World Championships and is a strong medal hopeful thanks to her explosive starts.

Finally, American speed skating sensation Jordan Stolz dominates sprint distances with multiple World Cup titles and record-setting performances, making him one of the most anticipated athletes to watch in Milan.

3. International Athletes to Watch

Marco Odermatt (Switzerland) has dominated men’s alpine skiing with four consecutive World Cup overall titles and multiple discipline globes in giant slalom and super-G. He’s one of the top contenders for Olympic gold on the demanding Italian slopes. Italy’s Sofia Goggia returns to compete on home snow as the 2018 Olympic downhill champion and a multiple World Cup downhill winner.

Japan arrives in Milan with elite medal threats across multiple disciplines, led by figure skaters Yuma Kagiyama, a two-time World silver medalist who owns some of the highest technical scores in men’s skating this quad, and Kaori Sakamoto, the 2022 World Champion and one of the most consistent podium contenders in the women’s field. In snowboarding, Ayumu Hirano enters as the reigning Olympic halfpipe champion and a multiple-time X Games gold medalist.

Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud stands out in freeskiing as a consistent World Cup podium regular and 2022 Olympic silver medalist in ski slopestyle. Her versatility across slopestyle and halfpipe events keeps her in the medal conversation.

Germany’s Elena Myers and Johannes Ludwig lead the luge charge for their country, with Myers climbing the World Cup standings and Ludwig aiming to match his men’s singles Olympic title from Beijing. Both are strong contenders on the fast, technical Cortina track.

In biathlon, Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Røiseland arrive as two of the most decorated athletes of the past decade, combining for multiple Olympic gold medals and more than 20 World Championship titles.

Russian speed skater Valeriia Vasnetsova enters the Games as the world record holder in the women’s 1,000 meters. She has posted the top season times in multiple international meets this winter, putting her at the center of the sprint medal race.

Finnish ski jumper Janne Läspä is having a breakout season that included his first career World Cup podium and several finishes inside the top 10 at major international events. He’s Finland’s top-ranked jumper, aiming to beat the traditionally dominant programs from Austria, Germany and Norway.

4. By the Numbers

Most Gold Medals

Most Total Medals

USA Gold Medals

Men’s Ice Hockey Gold

Women’s Ice Hockey Gold

Women’s Downhill Gold

Women’s Slalom Gold

Women’s Singles Figure Skating Gold

Men’s Singles Figure Skating Gold

Speed Skating Men’s 500m Gold

Men’s Snowboard Cross Gold

Women’s Slopestyle Gold

5. Overtime

Italy is six hours ahead of the Eastern time zone in the U.S., so about half of the live coverage will be after-hours here. Events will start at around 3am ET and go through about 6pm. NBC is airing 12 hours of Olympics coverage per day, while Peacock will cover every sport. The network will show the biggest sports of the day during its Primetime in Milan coverage from 8pm-11pm ET each night.

You can see the full schedule on NBCOlympics.com. Here is the day-by-day breakdown of when gold medals will be won and the athletes to watch over the next two weeks.