8 Winter Olympics events new to the 2026 Games, explained

The 2026 Winter Olympics are just around the corner. In a few days athletes from around the world will descend upon the Milano Cortana region of Italy to take on the slopes, hills, skating runs, and other elements of the Games.

As with each Olympic cycle, there are some new sports or disciplines that have been added to the 2026 Winter Games. Here is a look at each of the new events in this year’s installment of the Winter Olympics.

Ski Mountaineering

Traditionally, when you think of skiing you think of going downhill, often at high rates of speed like you see in the Winter Olympics.

But imagine skiing uphill instead.

At its essence, that is the foundation of one of the newest sports to the 2026 Winter Olympics: Ski mountaineering. Often called “Skimo” for short, ski mountaineering is a discipline where instead of going down the mountain, athletes traverse their way both up and down the mountain. Athletes wear special skis, called skins, for some uphill portions of the event, other sections require the athletes to stow their skins on their backs and tackle a series of steps in boots.

The event then comes to a close with a rapid descent back down the hill on skis.

Here is an explainer video from CBC Sports that dives into “Skimo: The Art of Uphill Skiing”

Arguably the most important part of each event is the transition, which the United States Ski Mountaineering Association covers here:

There will be three “skimo” events at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Men’s and Women’s Sprint

The Sprint consists of an ascent and descent. The ascent has three stages: An portion of the ascent on skins, then a portion with the skins removed and stowed as they tackle a set of steps with their boots, and a third ascent with the skins returned to the skis.

Then comes the descent, where the athletes remove the skins as they rocket back down the mountain.

One lap around the course is the extent of a single race in the Sprint format.

There are elimination rounds in the lead-up to the final, where the medals are awarded.

The normal duration of the race is around three-to-four minutes per heat.

In terms of the format, 18 athletes each qualify for the men’s and women’s sprint race. Those 18 athletes are broken up into three heats of six competitors each. The top three finishers from each heat, plus the next-three-fastest competitors overall, advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, which consist of two races of six athletes each, the top-two from each heat plus the next-two-fastest advance to the final.

In the final of the ski mountaineering sprint race, the skier to cross the finish line the fastest is the winner. 

Mixed Relay

The other skimo event at the 2026 Winter Games is the mixed relay, where teams of two athletes (one man and one woman) tackle the course. While the Sprint format consists of just one lap around the course, the Mixed Relay consists of four laps per team, with each athlete completing two laps. All teams are required to use the same order: Woman-Man-Woman-Man.

The Mixed Relay consists of two ascents, with a descent to finish.

Regarding the format, there is just the final, where each team competes. The three fastest teams will take home the medals.

For more on skimo, NBC Sports is a great resource.

Luge: Women’s Doubles

When luge joined the Winter Olympics at the 1964 Games in Innsbruck, Austria, the program consisted of three events: Men’s singles, Women’s singles, and open doubles. While women were technically allowed to participate in open doubles, the discipline featured men since its inception in 1964.

This year, Women’s doubles officially joins the fray.

In Milano Cortana, teams will race in two runs, following the same format as the World Cup. This differs from the single’s events, which feature four total runs over a period of two days.

As far as the differences between singles and doubles, listen to Wolfgang Kindl, who took silver in both the men’s singles and the Team Relay at the 2022 Winter Games.

“In a single-seater, you are the boss, in a double-seater, harmony is paramount – especially at the start, but of course also on the track. You have to be perfectly attuned to each other and know who takes on which tasks. The team has to work together, you determine the direction and implementation together,” said Kindl.

“Errors have a more extreme effect due to the higher center of gravity and double the weight, so crashes happen more easily. The handling is comparable to that of a car and a truck. The weight that you have to bring in the right direction is harder to get around the bend.”

Ski Jumping: Women’s Large Hill

Ski jumping adds a new discipline for the 2026 Winter Olympics: The Women’s large hill event.

Women’s ski jumping officially joined the Winter Olympics for the 2014 Games in Sochi, with the Women’s small hill. But this year the Women’s large hill is added to the mix, featuring athletes tackling a hill that is, well large. “Typically, the K-point (or the point of the hill where it begins to flatten out) of the normal hill ranges from 85 meters to 99 meters (approximately 279 feet to 325 feet), while the K-point of the large hill ranges from 100 meters to 180 meters (approximately 328 feet to 591 feet),” according to NBC Olympics.

The large hill at the Milano Cortana Games is classified as an “HS123” and includes a K-point of 128 meters (about 420 feet).

Regarding scoring, athletes are scored primarily on distance and style. Judges can add or deduct points based on wind or the “gate factor.” Points are reduced for a higher starting gate, while points are added for a lower start gate.

Skeleton: Mixed Team Relay

The Milano Cortana Games will see a new discipline added to the skeleton event, the mixed team relay. Teams of two riders — one man and one woman — compete with each athlete making one run down the course in back-to-back runs.

The fastest combined time wins the gold medal.

Freestyle Skiing

Freestyle skiing was added to the list of Winter Olympic events at the 1992 Games in Albertville, France.

This year, dual moguls are joining the slate, on both the men’s and the women’s side.

Men’s and Women’s dual moguls

Dual moguls features two skiers simultaneously competing against one another in runs down adjacent mogul courses, but this is not merely a race to the bottom. While speed is one component of the event, the first athlete to race the finish line is not always judged as the winner. Athletes are judged based on three categories: Turns, air, and time. Seven judges in total oversee the competition, with four judging the turns, two judging the air, and one looking at the time.

Each judge has five votes, meaning that during a run of dual moguls 35 votes are up for grabs. Judges can allocate those five votes any way they wish, with a 5-0 vote meaning one rider dominated, while a 3-2 vote indicates it was an evenly-matched run.

The format is a 32-athlete single-elimination bracket. The winner of a given run moves on, while the loser is eliminated. (Note: There are only 30 athletes in each event, so the top two seeds receive a bye to the Round of 16).

Alpine Skiing: Team Combined

Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Games will look a little different. Two events — Team parallel and Individual combined — have been eliminated.

However, team combined has been added.

Team combined consists of two runs, a downhill run and a slalom. While the individual combined has skiers competing in both disciplines, team combined has one competitor racing in the speed discipline, and the other in the slalom.

Each participating nation can field up to four teams, with two athletes per team of the same gender. The gold medal will be awarded to the team with the lowest aggregate time.

Competitors can enter just one event, and a participant will not be allowed to start the second run if their teammate did not finish the first run.