There's a new sport at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, and it could provide one country a path to winning its first gold medal at the Winter Games in more than 50 years.
Spain's Oriol Cardona Coll will be one of the favorites when ski mountaineering makes its Olympic debut next week, with a chance to end a drought that dates back to 1972. Ski mountaineering will be the first new sport introduced to the Winter Olympics since skeleton in 2002 and snowboarding in 1998, and other neighboring countries along the Alps like France and Switzerland are also considered medal contenders in the event.
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Here's more on the newest sport at the 2026 Winter Olympics, as well as a full schedule for the ski mountaineering events taking place at the Milan Cortina Games and how to watch:
The three ski mountaineering events take place over two days beginning on Thursday, Feb. 19 near the end of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The women's and men's sprint events will occur on Feb. 19 and the mixed relay is slated for Saturday, Feb. 21. All races will take place at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, Italy.
