Previewing Milano Cortina 2026's biggest storylines

You're listening to TheOlympics.com Podcast, special for Melano Cortina 2026. It's our final episode of TheOlympics.com podcast ahead of Melano Cortina 2026. And on this pod we're bringing you some, I stress just some, we did our best, of the biggest stories to watch at the Winter Games next month. Nick McCarvel here with you as we reach the very final stretch before nearly 3,000 athletes from around the globe are set to descend on the Italian Alps making an Olympic return to the country for a first time in 20 years. I'm joined in this episode by myOlympics.com colleague ZKGO, who heads up our live blog team during the games and possesses the gold standard of Olympic IQ no matter the sport. Before we get to ZK and those big stories, I want to give you just a tease of an Olympic.com exclusive we recently had with three time Olympic snowboard champion Sean White. The Winter Sport legend spoke to another member of our team, Annie Fast, on a wide range of topics which you can read all about on the site. Annie and Sean spoke at length about the future of his sport, snowboarding, and also hit on what he's excited for at Milano Cortina, including the comeback of Lindsay Vaughn, Freesky Great Eileen Gooh, and Sean's love of figure skating. Here Sean White on the Magic of the Games, and why it's so special for the athletes themselves. It's just the fact that there's so many people tuning into watch, and you're just on this world stage. I just don't think we draw an audience currently within the sport to compare to what the Olympics brings. And when you're there, which I didn't realize until later on, you're really representing your country. You're really there representing more than just you. And so I remember, I think it was in Korea, I want to say, I had won the gold medal, and they're like, oh, this is the 100th gold medal for the United States. Having my medals a part of the total in history medal out for America. That was such a special number 100. I was happy it worked out, but yeah, it was just something special. And people are so thrilled to, you know, and proud. And so you're really kind of that element is there. And you really feel like a team, you know, other other disciplines and competitions in the sport. It's like very unique. It's your, you're, you're, or I should say more of an individual situation where it's your training. I'm here doing this, this, this, and I always send you get to the Olympics in your life. You're rooting for the hockey team. You're rooting for the curlers. You're rooting for the, you know, the, the Bob sled, everybody that's there, we're all like rocking the same uniforms. And it's just like there's this like glow, this buzz, this like warmth and excitement to that competition. It's unlike any other event. So I'm really thrilled to see the faces of the newcomers, see the, the, the, the, hopefully, stoics calm, you know, calm, you know, focus, laser focused of some of the athletes that have been before and just take it all in. But there's nothing like that sort of, you know, buzz and, and feeling at other competitions. So you can find more from that interview with Sean White on Olympics.com. Now let's get to our Milano Cortina 2026 preview with Zed Kego. This is the Olympic Games like you've never heard them before. This is the Olympics.com podcast. Let's dive in actually to a space that you and I are quite comfortable with. And that's the figure skating, which I think is a lot of people's favorites. Obviously during the Olympic Games, I was just at the US Olympic trials. The US championships a couple of weeks ago in St. Louis, Missouri. I think I'm pretty comfortable saying Zed Kee that Team USA is as strong as it's ever been. Ilya Malin is the two time in Raining World Champion. He hasn't lost internationally in over two years. And among Amber Glenn, Raining World Champion, Alyssa Liu and Isabella Vito. You've got probably the strongest US women's team in two generations. That's not to mention Madison Chalken, Evan Bates are the multi-time Raining World Champions in ice stands. What are you looking out for in the skating circuit? Yeah, it's difficult to look past Team USA in those three events. So maybe all the attention, not all, but a lot of the attention we could put on pairs because, you know, we're looking at the comeback of the Raining Olympic Champions. So we're winging and Han Song from the People's Republic of China into what is and what has shaped out to be a pretty stacked pairs field throughout the season, which didn't look like it was going to be the case right after Beijing 2022. So when Tui and Han decided that they were going to take a break, you know, you just need to look at the Grand Prix Series this year, where out of six stops in the Grand Prix Series, we had five different pairs champions. Wow. Which, you know, I remember speaking to Minerva Fabian Haaser and Nikita Volodyne in Finland, the German pair. Minerva was saying it's great. You know, everyone was saying, oh, there's not going to be a lot of competition in reality. There is. So I'm really interested to see how the old shakes out. They're not the only returning Olympic champions we've seen in ice stands that you see their own for Francis back with his new partner, Lawrence Bonet, Volodyne. Yes, it's going to be very intriguing to see how, especially Sui and Han, because during the Grand Prix Series, they didn't. They were not one of the five teams that won one of those six Grand Prix. So where are they? What the level is that? Because we know in dance with Cizuron, Volodyne, Volodyne. They've come back and they've more or less plotted in where Cizuron left off. It's going to be super fascinating. I mentioned the American women so strong in singles throwing Sakamoto Kauri, the Japanese skater. She won a trio of world titles before Alyssa Lou snatched it from her last year. It's going to be her farewell from the games. And yeah, you mentioned Guillem Cizuron back in the ice dance. It's just going to be fascinating to see. Do you think from your broad Olympic hat that you're able to wear? Do you think Elia Malinin is as favorited as any athlete in any sport at these Winter Olympic Games? It's hard to pick another athlete who, because you look at the other big names in Veta Commerce, Michaela Schifferin or Doren Stoltz, they have challengers. And you look at Elia Malinin and his nearest challenger is maybe 40 points behind him. So it is really hard to look at anyone else as being such a strong gold medal favorite heading into Milano, I think. Yeah, 40 points is a lot, by the way, in figure skating. Just as if you weren't sure. Let's turn our attention to the hockey, both the men and the women, the big news, obviously on the men's side is the return of the NHL. We haven't seen NHL players since sochi 2014. How does that shift the world order? How does that sort of change the landscape in men's hockey when we add back the NHL superstars? I think everyone's really excited about the NHL is coming back, not least the NHL is themselves. I think we have to put it in perspective that obviously in 2018 and 2022, we didn't have NHL players, but we still have very successful men's hockey tournaments. The absence of the NHL didn't diminish those tournaments in the sense of they would do is still Olympic tournaments just as many Olympic tournaments before have been played with our NHL players. But there is no doubt that the NHL is the strongest league in the world and having that their players in Milano is going to make a difference. And immediately you look at the teams which have found the podium in the last couple of Olympics without NHL players. The teams like Germany winning silver in 2018 and Slovakia winning bronze in 2022. And suddenly they only have maybe seven, eight, 12 out of the 25 players playing in the NHL and you look at Canada, the US Sweden, who have all 25 of their roster playing in the NHL. We have to mention that the Rink isn't international size. We're not playing on the same size Rink as we did in 2018 and 2022. We're playing on smaller Rink, which the NHL players will be more used to it is slightly different from NHL standards, but they are going to be more used to this Rink size than most of the players who don't play in the NHL. So K, you always come with the factoids. I love it. That is going to make a difference, I think. And obviously, certainly crossby returning for a chance at a third Olympic gold medal. He's not the only one on team Canada. This teammate, Drew Daly, on defense, also played with him in 2010 and 2014. So both of them are going to their third gold medal. Team USA coming in, they want their first Olympic gold since the miracle and ice. They won the World Championships. and the lone World Championships for the first time in over 90 years in 2025. So they're coming in ready to go, raring to go and actually for the first time in a long time, capable of challenging Canada. So that's going to be really interesting. So I think while we look at USA against Canada and the men obviously that's not to roll out Sweden and Finland who also have many NHLers in their teams, it's also realistically going to be USA and Canada and the women. The big question is, well they meet in the gold medal match, it's very hard to see them not to. I think it would be a shock if they didn't both make it to the championship match. Historically, that has only ever happened once where one of the teams didn't make the Olympic final since women's hockey came in. So yeah, it is maybe the greatest rivalry in women's hockey. It has always been and I'm watching to see if Finland, Switzerland, Czechia can pull something up, but it is very hard to look across USA Canada. Yeah, the Americans and Canadians in women's hockey, they've split the seven Olympic games previously. Those gold medals, five to the Canadians, two to the Americans. I ask you about Ilya Malin and being the most favorite. I think this is probably one of the most intense, the greatest rivalries that we're going to see in all of Malin and Cortina is USA Canada in the women's ice hockey. Let's go from women's ice hockey to the women's slopes and a couple of Americans who are just absolute mega stars in Lindsey Vaughn and Michaela Schifrin, two very different stories here. Obviously, Schifrin looking for redemption after Beijing at 2022. Several stumbles there left without an individual medal. Whereas Lindsey Vaughn, we hadn't seen her in six years, comes back with a bionic knee. She's got a couple world cup wins this season. ZK, it feels like both of them are certainly contenders not only for the podium in their respective events, but for Olympic gold. Yeah, I think that's fair to say. Schifrin's a really strong year. She actually had a six event winning streak, failing back to last season in Slalom on the World Cup. So before she was finally knocked off the top. So she's in really good form. S is one who, as you mentioned, has two wins this season. So much so that she actually came out and said maybe the Olympics isn't the ending point. Maybe she's going to go on an entry at least try to get to the World Cup finals at the end of the season because she's done better than she herself expected. So yes, they're both bona fide gold medal challenges in their respective events. Slalom and downhill. I know Schifrin has spoken about knock white being there in giant Slalom yet because obviously she had that big accident last season. So there is still the mental with the GS, but in her Slalom it is very hard to look faster. That is not to say that she is as runaway of a favorite as Ilya Malinian is in this skating. As I did mention, well, as you mentioned, Ilya has an over two-year winning streak and Michaela was recently beaten into first by Camila Rass in Krashkogora in Slovenia. So yes, she is a favorite, but there are others ready for her to have an off day and pounds. Whereas, you know, thinking back to the skate thing, if Malinian has enough day, he's still probably good enough to win. As for Vaan, she's definitely put herself as one of the favorites. I think it is very to point out, as she herself probably would, she came into this season not really with the goal of probably winning Olympic gold, I would say, making it to the Olympics was her first goal, which she has now and winning the two worlds cups along the way, a huge bonus. She is now within two, as we record of Ingama Stenmark's men's record of 86 World Cup wins. Vaan has 84. She was obviously the record holder for women until Shifrin came along. So Vaan herself, as of recording, is very close to Stenmark and maybe she has that in her mind as well. Even going to the Olympics is great and winning an Olympic medal would be a remarkable comeback, but she has the chance to herself level or go past what is still a record, even if it's not the women's record, a record in Alpine skiing World Cup history. And for the longest time was the record in Alpine skiing World Cup history. Wow, it's, yeah, it's completely amazing. And if you guys haven't had the chance to check out our Alpine skiing episode, Alessandro Poggi, who is our Italian colleague, he covered skiing year round. Essentially he's covered it for years. He and I did a deep dive, which I think that case is mostly still relevant. We did that a few weeks ago. Of course, you can scroll back on our Olympics.com podcast feed to find all sorts of different episodes, including I just want to throw out a mention to ski mountaineering, which is making its Olympic debut. We're actually going to wait until the end of the games 19 and 21 February. Ski mo is a blend of uphill skiing, climbing and high speed descents. It is hugely popular in the Alps. And I did a deep dive into that sport. I learned a lot, ZK recently. And I'm excited. It is the ultimate running up a mountain in ski boots. I mean, these guys are insane. And it's going to be cool to see the sport have its Olympic debut. Yeah, absolutely. I'm very excited for it too. I think the forum at the sprint format, you know, it's sure it's punchy. Obviously, you have the relay as well, but that's really going to capture visually the attention. How quick they have to be to get up that mountain before skiing back then. So yes, absolutely. First time for it, it's going to be great. Yeah, we got a deep dive on that in the podcast. You've also got an episode of athletes to watch. An Emily Harap, the French woman. Andy, you've got a great documentary that is on Olympics.com. It's called Into the Unknown. It shows you everything you need to know about ski. I also check that out. ZK, let's stay on the snow and go to cross country skiing where there are all eyes on Johannes Kleibo, who is in pursuit of Olympic greatness. The Norwegian is 28, which is actually rather young in this sport. This is a sport where you sort of bed yourself in generationally. And he's considered the youngest man to win the cross country world cup, the Tour de Ski, a world championship title and Olympic gold. With five Olympic golds, one silver one bronze, he heads into Milano Cortina as the most decorated male cross country skier in history. This Kleibo is able to do it all. As you mentioned, he is still young. And we're talking about the sport where historically, you can compete till you're in your 40s. Maraburgan comes to mind. So it's remarkable that he's had the amount of success that he had had. So yeah, I'm very impressed to see how Johannes Kleibo has been able to assert his dominance on the sport. Speaking of dominance, if we look over at the women's events as well, this will be Jesse Diggins' final Olympics as well. The US skier has said this is her last season. So since she won team sprint gold in Pyong Chang, she's really been in at that very top level of the world cup. But that team sprint gold in Pyong Chang remains her only Olympic gold today. She had a silver and a bronze in Beijing. And it'll be interesting to see if she can claim another before she retires at the end of the season. Yeah, Jesse Diggins, a huge American star, 34, relatively quote unquote, young in this sport. But yeah, she's really been in the conversation in terms of cross-country. And as you say, she's really open throughout her career about her mental health and also her battle with Disordered Eating. We've covered a lot about across Alimpix.com. Okay, so I just want to stay on the snow for a couple more things, including I'm going to go back to Alpine and the facts that Brazil could win a first ever Olympic medal in Alpine skiing. That's because Lucas Brothin, who skied for Norway. His dad is Norwegian, his mom is Brazilian. He switched allegiances. But he's been a huge superstar. He featured on our Alpine skiing episode as well. Zed Kay, he is a social media superstar. He does not. He is not shy of the camera. That is for sure. And he's really backed up. He's he's skied the talk. Right. He's not just these these bolsteries, these big time headlines. He has been able to deliver on the World Cup, helping Brazil or leading Brazil to its first ever World Cup podiums. And he certainly is going to be a factor come Milano Cortina. There is no doubt about that. In fact, he took Brazil's first ever World Cup win earlier this season. In Finland in the Sallallan. Yeah, as you say, he competed for Norway until 2023, decided to retire from this world. It was a shock because he is still only 25, so he was 23 at the time, and he'd won five World Cup races for Norway. And then as you say, decided to race for Brazil, his mother's country, change his name from Lucas Brothen to Lucas Pinero Brothen to take his mom's maiden name as well. So it is really incredible to think that Brazil could win an Alpine-skying medal, especially since you don't associate Brazil with snow. - He can. - But exactly. - You know, the diaspora, the Brazilian diaspora is huge, and they have successfully reached out, not just in Alpine skiing, but across various sports, to members of the diaspora to convince them to represent Brazil. So even though Alpine skiing might be Brazil's biggest chance at a medal in Milan and Cortina, don't be surprised to see Brazilian athletes do well enough to register that, hey, Brazil, a Winter Olympic country? Yes. Brazil is a Winter Olympic country now. - One of those sad stories is Brazil's Nicolas Silviera, who is partners with her training mate, the Belgian Kim Malamans, and their living crew that love and competition can share the same icy stage. These are two athletes who train together, they are romantic off of the ice, and there's another chance for Brazil to factor in the skeleton, which is pretty amazing. Zedkay, let's go to another familiar Olympic name in Chloe Kim, the snowboard half-pipe gold medalist, both from Pyongchang 2018 and Beijing. It's been a fascinating journey. For Chloe, she considered retirement. She has been open about depression, and just the season, actually just a couple of weeks ago, she suffered a laborum tear, and she did say that she's gonna be good to go for Milan, and it's been amazing to see the season. She's talked openly about doing it all for herself. Initially, of course, you're going for the Olympic gold, doing so in snowboard half-pipe, but she said the focus is really internal for Chloe Kim, and she could create more history in her discipline. So Chloe Kim has been there, done it since 2018, but this injury that she suffered in training ahead of LACS, the World Cup stop in Switzerland, is a bit of a downer, even if she does come back from Milan, as she says she hopes to. I think it will leave a bit of question as to her fitness, as to how ready she is, which is unfortunate, obviously, for her and for us as fans, really, because you'd want the biggest names, the best names there in health. She's not the only one, Jamie Anderson, who's also a two-time Olympic champion. She suffered a fall at the Aspen stop recently. She hurt herself as well. So it's unfortunate for the sport, but the athletes obviously are very aware of the injury risks that come with their sport. So it's a race against time, and hopefully they're at the best. Yes, I mean, we mentioned Chloe Kim. It is a race against time, and it's been a struggle for a lot of athletes. I think of Laura Guetz-Berrami, Laura Guetz-Berrami, the great Swiss Olympic champion herself at an injury earlier this season. She's out of the Olympics. You can't plan this timing, and I think that's for us mere mortals, but I think that's what feels unfair about the Olympic games, is that you never know really what's going to happen in terms of timing injuries. And it makes it that much more amazing that some of these athletes are able to deliver their absolute pest when asked for speaking of in freestyle skiing, Eileen Gu from the People's Republic of China. She was absolutely dominant at her home Olympics in Beijing. 2022, she swept the free ski halfpipe and big air. And she actually, I believe I'm right in saying that she's going to be a contender, Zevka, and all three of those disciplines in Italy. It's safe to say that she will be aiming for medals in all three, gold medals in all three. She herself actually is just off the back of an injury that has really hampered her season so far, but she has now achieved her points. Obviously, she'll have to be named to the team, but it is difficult to look past her as a medal favorite, not necessarily for gold. Obviously, there are challengers for the crown, but she is definitely one to watch in in freestyle. Okay, let's go to, I want to go to the ice. We, and this was never, of course, I wanted to cover every Olympic story, but we're missing big ones here. Of course, curling, Bob Sley, Luzh, you can find all of that coverage on Olympics.com. Don't worry. I want to hit on speed skating. Let's start at the short track, Arianna Fontana, Italy's most decorated winter, Olympian 11 medals. She's looking to try to compete in both the short track and the long track events, which is insane, by the way. And I love this story. As an Italian, she made her Olympic debut at turn 2006. She's already been named as one of the opening ceremony flag bears for Italy. She's got an uphill battle, Zedkay, in trying to climb on the podium again, but what an awesome. You think of a home Olympics. Amazing. A six-th Olympic Games, what an incredible story that could be. She has a two-time champion and the 500, two-time reigning champion and the 500, which is probably her strongest event. But as you say, things have moved on. I think that the challenge is there. We always look at teams like Canada, Republic of Korea, in short track. But it is a home crowd. It is Milano. It is the full circle. And everyone will be cheering her on and home advantage can do wonders. Can I ask you, I'm putting on the spot a little bit. I mean, I think of Charlene Greenard and Marco Fabri in the ice stands. Obviously, we're just talking about Ariana Fontana. There's been. Alessandro was talking about this in the Alpine skiing episode. There's been a little bit of a vacuum in terms of the skiing talent. Federico Brignoni has been a torchbearer for Italy for a long time. Are there any other big Italian hopes and dreams? I'm thinking too about the. It's the mixed doubles in the curling as well. They've got a huge chance, don't they? Absolutely. The ones I was going to mention. Amos Moussana and Stefania Constantini in the mixed doubles curling. They are defending Olympic champions. They actually took some time off as mixed doubles pairing. They are back. They've basically picked up where they left off. They'll be difficult to be. And I think curling exploded in popularity in Italy after what they did in Beijing. I think they've got a chance to continue that. Okay, okay. We're winding down here. I want to go from. We were talking about William Malina in earlier. Huge favor in the figure skating. Maybe equal to a fellow youngster from the United States Jordan Stoles. He is a serious contender for medals in the 500, the 1,000 and the 1,500. This is long track speed skating by the way. In 2023, he became the youngest world champion in the event's history. And the first man to win three individual titles. He's only gone from strength to strength. He's a man of few words. The Wisconsin native is Jordan Stoles, but doesn't need to do anything, but when medals, it feels like out there on the long track. Yeah, well record order at the 1,000 meter race, two time wall champion in each of those distances you just mentioned. He isn't unbeatable, I will say. He did suffer a freak fall on the ice at US trials and only managed to finish third quickest in the in the 1,000, which is his event off his events, his event because he is the wall record holder. But on his day, as you mentioned, he is a bit like Malinian where you don't expect anyone to be close. But as in figure skating, speed skating relies on the ice. And if you catch the ice, it all goes pear shape. And the saying is ice is slippery, right? Ice is in the slippery. But I will mention that despite his fall, he still got up and raised himself to the third fastest time. So obviously it's a bit different where we're in figure skating. If you fall sort of you get back up, you do a clean rest of your program. You still you can still rescue it. Whereas you are against the clock in speed skating. So it is a bit more tricky. But you know, on his day, he is the one to beat. And meant talking about speed skating, I do want to mention the Nellins Yutthelirdam in the women's events as well. She, like Stalls, is considered a real favorite. And she, like Stalls, in her Olympic trials, fell. She got a discretionary pick by the Dutch Federation to be named to the team. So it'll be interesting to see how they deal with the pressure of being at the Olympics. They've both been to the Olympics. They were both in Beijing. So they know what it's like to be there. But going in as metal favorites is very different. There are the pressures on them. And if they happen to have an issue with the ice on the day, how they recover, will they keep their heads? It's going to be fascinating to see. But both Stalls and Nellins Yutthelirdam are superstars, almost in their respective sports. Nellins Yutthelirdam obviously has a big social media presence as well. And it'll be interesting to see how they do. I think it's interesting too. You mentioned the Olympic experience, but for all of these athletes, we're days away from the games and for both Stalls and Nellins Yutthelirdam to have a bit of a struggle at the final hurdle. I think you can argue it either way, right? It's good not to go in completely untouchable. It's good to be reminded of your mortality or humanity. But also, don't you think it puts just that tiny little needle of doubt in their mind too? I think they're experienced enough, even at their ages, to be able to recover quickly and move on from the incident. But it is, as you mentioned, I don't think it's so much about the doubt in their mind, but it is reminded to everyone else that they're not infallible and it is possible to beat them. Okay, is that okay? We're wrapping up here on our Olympic preview. One thing we'll close just with a couple of our most excited, most excited fours in terms of the games, that opening ceremony set for February the 6th. It's really cool too. I mean, this is a games of the future. I think in Paris 2024, we saw all the historic sites being used across Paris and for Italy, from Alano Cortina. It's a 70 year anniversary of Cortina hosting those 1956 winter games. But to include Milan, this is the most spread out Olympic games of all time. Of course, there's going to be logistical challenges, but it's also going to provide the most incredible landscapes. And we've talked about this on the podcast before. A lot of the mountain athletes, you think of the the ice track folks coming down in Luz Bob Slae and Skeleton. You think of the Alpine skiers by Athalon, cross country skiing. They're so excited to return to a space, a place and atmosphere that they all know very well because of a lot of their respective world cups and grand pries had to this part of the world every season. Yes, exactly. Alpine skiing in Boramio and Cortina to very famous slopes. You've got by Athalon in Antitelva, which is also a regular World Cup stop. So yes, as you mentioned, they're all going to be on familiar territory. And I think that helps, especially coming off the last Olympics in Beijing, where everything was new. So you really had to adapt to the conditions. Obviously, you still have to adapt to the condition because the weather will be different, etc. But it's something they're used to. It's these avenues they visit every year. And there will be that sense of familiarity, which I think will be good. And speaking of Beijing, we saw it a bit in Paris. They'll get the chance to be at an Olympics with fans again. There were some fans in Beijing. There were local fans, but the atmosphere was different. I think we recognize that. So there is that additional excitement that they're going to be able to compete in front of their friends and family, especially for the European athletes who, you know, for whom their families don't have to travel very far. So it's going to be historic venues, great visuals because of the mountains and just the environment, the fans are back. It's all set up for a great event. Yeah, it was crazy, you know, leading into this Olympic season. Like I was at the team USA summer, you've been at several different events throughout the season. And it was crazy to hear these winter athletes talk about Beijing. I was like, oh, right, that was the last time they're out on the Olympics. It feels like a lifetime ago with COVID-19. Lastly, you know, I always love to put you on the spot. I'm going to give you options, though. I want your, your, the story you're looking forward to the most or give us one big bold prediction. I will let you think here by giving you my favorite story, which is going to be no no surprise to a lot of the figure skating fans, the American figure skater, Maxim Nau Mof, qualifying for the Olympics in a really emotional fashion. His parents, Vadim Nau Mof and Abgenia Shishkovah were the 1994 world champions and pairs. They were hugely successful in their craft as athletes and coaches. They tragically passed away in the aircraft crash outside of Washington, DC last year that claimed the lives of some 30 members of the US figure skating family, expanded family and Zedkaya, I was in St. Louis with our colleague Scott Bergman and Max Nau Mof. He is a picture of humanity. You know, he's a picture of someone who has been through so much has not turned away from it and has dug deep. Yeah, pretty incredible stuff looking forward to him. Of course, joining Elia Malinan and Dr. Torgersheva is the third member of the US men's figure skating team. Yeah, Nick, you and I were in Boston at the last world championships where Nau Mof skated an exhibition program, interviewed to his parents and I remember being in the mix zone after that in that gaggle of journalists listening to him talk about that experience and it is very touching and it is motivating to see how he's come even in this last year and the fact that he is now an Olympian, you know, which he has openly said he and his parents used to talk about it all the time and he has done it now. So absolutely, that will be one of the stories to watch. So I'm going to give you a bold prediction, Nick. Love it. My bold prediction comes in men's curling where at least on the Olympic level, we've seen Nicholas Idin and team Sweden really dominate. They are the defending champions. My out there bold prediction is that team GV led by Bruce Mowett is their time and my bold prediction is we will see Mowett and team take home the goal back to Scotland, back to Great Britain. Wow, I love it and I think it was Bruce Mowett who told our very own Chloe Merrill in the last year that that lost to Sweden at Beijing 2022 is the stuff of nightmares. So team GV going to look to capture its first, its first curling gold in the on the men's side since 1924. If you can believe it, Bruce Mowett also become the first openly gay men's Curler to win an Olympic title. It is team GB who is the rating champion on the women's side. ZGay, as always, you are a Olympic encyclopedia. Thank you so much. People can read experience and feel the games with you on Olympics.com. You guys actually start the live blog before the opening ceremony. Is that right? Yep. We are live from the 4th of February when the first curling is back again. ZGay, a huge pleasure. Thank you so much. No worries, Nick. Thank you. Thanks again to ZGay, go for his help in covering just some of the stories we can't wait to enjoy @melanocortina2026. We've got you covered every single sport, every single discipline. It's all on olympics.com throughout the games themselves. Don't forget as well to download the Olympics app where you can access the full schedule of the games, get all the latest news and features, watch exclusive content, test your knowledge with Olympic trivia, and if you're joining us in Italy, get spectator information on everything you need to know. Before I leave you, I've invited some more of my colleagues onto the pod to give their big story from Melano Cortina 2026. We've got a team that will be spread across the games to bring you live daily coverage, and a few of them share here just what they can't wait for you to experience, too. For now, I'm Nick McCarvel for the olympics.com podcast, and here's what the rest of the team has to say on the eve of the Olympics. And the next time you'll hear from me, that'll be on the ground in Milan. Stay Gordon, everyone. Hi, I'm Chloe Merrill, an olympics.com reporter who covers curling. Now, what can I tell you about the world. Waring Game at Malano Cortina in 2026. Well, first and foremost, it's going to be really special. The men's, women's and mixed doubles competitions are packed full of challenges. The competition you could argue has never been so tough and the talent so deep. But if I'm going to share with you one storyline for you guys to follow, it's got to be in the mixed doubles. That will kick off the curling action at the games on the 4th of February and we are all going to be keeping a close eye on team Italy. Amos Masana and Stefania Constantini shot everybody four years ago at Beijing when they won gold to claim Italy's first ever curling Olympic title. Now they're going to be back in Cortina. Stefania's hometown to defend their title and if anybody thinks they're not up to it, well, last year they went on beaten to win the World Championships so keep an eye out for them. Hi, I'm Sven Bush, director of Daily Content and I'm going to go with Eileen Gooh. I mean, how can you not love her great her creativity and just her sheer talent in so many areas? I vividly remember her bursting onto the scene at the 2020 Youth Olympics in Lossanne and it was pretty clear then that she would make it big and man, she sure has delivered on many, many fronts. So I'm really looking forward to seeing her compete in the venue this time around. Hey, Nick, hey listeners. I'm Grace Goulding and Olympic's.com producer who this season is covering lots and lots of isochi and speed skating for you all heading into Milan. And I have to say that my number one top story of these Olympic games has to be the NHL players returning to Olympic isochi. It's the first time since Sochi 2014 that these world's best men's players are going to be back in the tournament and it basically means that we get to witness the best possible level of international isochi that there is today. It means that NHL legends like Sydney Crosby will be back in the Canadian jersey and generational superstars like Connor McDavid, Nate McKinnon, Austin Matthews, Kaeln McCarrer. I mean, the list just goes on, but they're all making their Olympic debuts, which is very exciting because we've seen what we've gotten a glimpse of what this action can look like at the four nations last year when players who play together in regular season NHL games now face off in different national jerseys and what kind of intensity that can bring out in the game. The players loved it, the fans loved it. So we're super excited to see what the Olympic stage will bring out of these best men's players. Ciao, I'm Alessandro Poggi and I've been covering Alpine skiing for olympics.com for almost 10 years. I will be reporting in Cortina D'Ampetzso and for me two are the biggest stories to watch. First is the clash of the Titans. Let's call it like that in the women's down here race. With Lince von, the American legend, facing her friend Sofia Goggi that also is the Italian biggest made at Hope. Von winning an Olympic title that would be the first after 16 years at 41 years of age. On her favorite track, Dulempie del Tofane, would be for sure the story of the games for me, especially if we consider she has a sort of new knee and she came back from retirement only one year ago. I'm also looking forward to seeing Michaela Schifrin and she's the most successful skier in history and she will have a lot of pressure again, but I think she will be very motivated to prove a critics wrong after the last disappointing olympics. And there are many more stories to watch out for like the returns from injury of Federica Rignonne and Petra Velaova, so it will be an exciting olympics in skiing for sure and I can't wait for it. Hi, I'm Scott Breggman and Olympics.com reporter who covers gymnastics. In Milano, I'm looking forward to seeing American figure skater Amber Glenn. At 26, she's making her Olympic debut at an age that's almost unheard of in her sport that's dominated by teenagers and much younger athletes. But for Amber, it's been a journey that has seen her miss out on two other opportunities to make the US Olympic team and she has really grown from that and in the last three, four years leading to Milano has figured out how to compete and how to perform and has become I think one of the most captivating personalities and athletes in the sport and I can't wait to see how it goes. Hi there, I'm Joe Gunston and I'm a journalist for olympics.com. I cover human interest stories across a broad range of sports, so thought I'd pick out a few ahead of Milano Cortina 2026 for you to look out for. We've got the married couple Nicole Silvera and Kim Malimans who are going to be competing against each other for an Olympic skeleton medal just months after getting married. I mean that's quite the honeymoon right. There's also the Italian snowboarder Roland Fischnalla who's aiming for a first ever Olympic medal after six Olympic games. He came fourth at Beijing 2022 in the parallel giant Slalom which is the closest effort to date. So what a story if the reigning world champion could actually do that at a home Olympic Games at a seventh time of asking. He's also 42 year old Canadian Deanna Stalato Dudeck who's returned to figure skating after a 16 year retirement. That story features on the Olympic channel original series so make sure to give that a watch before immersing yourself along with olympics.com in all the stories at Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Hola, hola, I am Lorena Engabo, Spanish producer at olympics.com mainly covering Latin America and Spanish speaking athletes. So for me one of the athletes I am most excited to watch at Milano Cortina is without any doubt Donovan Carrillo because he's not just a figure skater. I think he's an inspiration and a role model especially coming from a country with no winter sports tradition. So I can't wait to see him skate a mi manera my way on the Olympic ice in Milan and whatever the result is I think what he represents already feels like a victory so vamos Donovan. Hi, I'm Nishal Chvaga Batel and I'm a reporter and producer for olympics.com. At 20 years old ski jump in Nika Previch has achieved so much in her career so far. She has two overall world cup titles, two world championship gold medals and she's the women's world record holder with 236 meters, that's 774 feet her best ever jump. She's going to be making her Olympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026, joining her brothers Peter and Jenna as winter Olympians for team Slovenia. I'm so excited to see her compete not only going for the gold medal but seeing if she can improve on an already incredible world record. Hi, I'm St. Taroukana, producer for olympics.com covering figure skating. For me at the Milano Cortina Games which is just around the corner I am Kintana Hu and the end will come out ahead and eat ultra tight women singles competition. Any one of the three US and Japanese women could win in addition to Adelia Petrocien. If you're a figure skating fan you won't want to miss the closest women's race we've seen in recent memory. Enjoy. Hi, I'm Annie Fast. I cover free skiing and snowboarding for olympics.com and two of the biggest stories that I think are going to go down at the Olympics are in the men's half pipe both in free skiing and snowboarding and snowboarding. You've got Scotty James going for his fifth Olympic Games looking for his third medal. This one gold. He's got bronze and silver. He is looking good but he's up against a very intimidating Japanese squad including defending gold medalist Ayuma Harano and maybe Yut Toetsuko who's having a really incredible season and about five other Japanese athletes who could all end up on the podium. So I'll be looking to see what happens with Scotty James and whether he gets his gold medal in his fifth Olympic Games. Similarly in men's free ski half pipe you've got Alex Ferrera who's coming back trying to get his own gold medal. He's got a bronze and a silver. He is also looking really good going into these games. He's got some really interesting challenges with teammate Nick Geppler who is a three time medalist in slope style has moved over to half pipe and is one of Ferrera's main competitors. So we'll see if Nick Geppler gets on the podium. Does he better Alex Ferrera in the men's half pipe or does Ferrera get his gold medal? I'm really excited to see how that plays out. Hi, I'm Matt Nelson and Olympics.com reporter who covers Bob Slay, Luz and skeleton. Lately I've also helped spearhead our coverage of athletes from non-traditional winter sports nations. I'm really excited for global audiences. to get to know many of these incredible athletes, such as Malaysian Ice Tiger, Aru and Selahudin, and Singaporean Gate Bashar Faye's Bashan Alpine Scheme. South African Snowbox Matt Smith, and Dr. Turnskier Regina Martinism, Mexico and Cross-Country Scheme, as well as Brazilian Bob-Sai legend Edson Mindelatti, who's set to compete at a six Olympic Games, along with Argentine Luzhaathie Veronica Revena, who's ready to start on her third. So get ready for Winter to go global, as the Olympic Winter Games monochrotino 26 come to life from 6 to 22 February. Ciao. The best of Milano Cortina 2026, only on the Olympics.com podcast.