Twenty years after the 2006 games in Turin and 70 years after the 1956 games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Winter Olympics are returning to Italy for the third time in history. For the first time ever, the games will be co-hosted by two different cities, Cortina d’Ampezzo and Milan. The opening ceremony was held on Feb. 6; however, some competitions began as early as Feb. 4.
For the third consecutive Olympics, Russian athletes are not allowed to represent their home countries in the games. The last time Russian athletes participated with their flag and national anthem was 2014, as they were banned in 2018 and 2022 for using performance-enhancing substances during the previous games, and now, for their invasion of Ukraine. However, the athletes are allowed to participate individually as Individual Neutral Athletes, or AINs.
“It’s a fair punishment, and there’s an opportunity to view sports as a way to appeal to our greater angels,” said Advanced Placement United History teacher Will Colglazier. “Countries [that] are so anti-peace … shouldn’t get the privilege of being a part of the Olympics.”
This year, National Hockey League players are returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014. The NHL has barred players from participating in the games twice, from 1988 to 1994, and 2018 to 2022, since the winter tournament coincides with the NHL regular season. The San Jose Sharks are sending four players to the Olympics, most notably star second year center Macklin Celebrini, who will play for Canada. Canada is the favorite to win the men’s gold medal, with the U.S. close behind in second, according to ESPN. Conversely, the U.S. women’s team is the favorite to win gold, just ahead of Canada.
American snowboarder Chloe Kim, poised to become the first woman in the world to win a third consecutive snowboarding gold medal, suffered a torn labrum in Switzerland on Jan. 8. Despite the injury, Kim is still able to compete in the winter games and remains the favorite to make half-pipe history as the first woman to win three consecutive half-pipe gold medals.
Figure skater Ilia Malinin is competing for the U.S. in his debut games at 21 years old, marking the fifth time that someone from his family has figure skated in the Olympics. Malinin’s parents both competed in two Olympic games for Uzbekistan in 1998 and 2002. In 2022, Malinin became the first skater ever to land a clean quadruple axel, a jump involving four and a half rotations all in less than one second. Malinin won the men’s singles championship during the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, Missouri on Jan. 10 by over 50 points, the largest margin since 2019.
“[A quad axel is] incredibly impressive because that’s something that we didn’t think was going to ever happen,” said junior and figure skater Varya Singh. “I think that he has a really good shot at the Olympics because of his quad axel, the height of his jumps and his skill level and range.”
California native-born figure skater Alysa Liu, who trained in the East Bay at the Oakland Ice Center, is vying for the gold medal in Milan after briefly retiring in 2022 at age 16. Following her debut Olympics in 2022, she unexpectedly walked away from skating, citing burnout after devoting the first 16 years of her life to the sport. Liu has since found her love for the sport again, taking home silver in the women’s singles championship at the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 9 and now representing the U.S. in the Olympics alongside American champion Amber Glenn and 18-year-old Isabeau Levito, who came in third. The U.S. has not won a gold medal in women’s figure skating since 2006.
“I definitely think that’ll change this year, with Alyssa Liu this year coming back and Amber Glenn also [having] a really good season.” Singh said. “We’re definitely destined to win something in the singles.”
In Cortina, alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin will have the opportunity to break the current American record of holding two alpine skiing Olympic gold medals.
“She’s won [108 World Cup] events now,” said Physical Education teacher Michael Flynn. “She’s the [greatest of all time].”
Those 108 victories are the most in alpine skiing history, putting Shiffrin 22 wins ahead of the next closest skier.
“She’s the most accomplished female skier,” Colglazier said. “She had a pretty terrible Winter Olympics four years ago, but she’s so good. [I’m] really hoping that she has a positive experience [this year].”
Aragon students and staff are looking forward to watching winter sports on the world stage.
“Every four years [I] get to engage in some pretty fun sports competitions and [watch] sports I really don’t kind of follow otherwise,” Colglazier said.
For many, the games also serve as a way to bring viewers together with their family and friends.
“Sometimes when I go home, my wife and I will watch a show, my daughter [and] my son will watch different shows and we’re all in three different rooms watching separate things,” Colglazier said. “But this is something that we can all be together to watch.”
The closing ceremony will be held on Feb. 22 at 11:30 A.M. PST in Verona, Italy.
