Olympic Snowsport Athletes 2026
Athletes Defining Modern Winter Sport
The countdown to Milan–Cortina 2026 has begun.
Here is our list of the medal contenders redefining what winter sport looks like today — across alpine skiing, snowboarding, freestyle, moguls, and sliding sports.
Sport: Alpine skiing
The most successful American world cup skier in history with over 100 wins. A dominant force in slalom and technical events, she is a 3-time Olympic medallist (2 gold) and 15-time World Championship medallist. She holds records for the most World Cup wins and podium
"ABFTTB": Since she was a child, she has marked her equipment with "Always Be Faster Than The Boys".
Musical Talent: Shiffrin plays the piano and guitar, often sharing her musical side on social media.
Youngest Champion: At 18 years and 345 days, she became the youngest slalom gold medalist in Olympic history.
Athletic Philosophy: She was nicknamed "Crazy Legs" as a child and sometimes slept on the floor of ski lodge hospitality tents between races during the 2014 Olympics to stay rested.
Other Talents & Hobbies: She is an avid tennis player and fan, enjoys windsurfing, and in 2025 was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Dartmouth College.
Sport: Alpine skiing
Marco Odermatt (born 1997) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer and arguably the most dominant male skier of his generation, recognized for his expertise in giant slalom, super-G, and downhill. He is a four-time consecutive Overall World Cup champion (2022–2025) and an Olympic gold medallist
"Beast" Mode: Odermatt says that to prepare for a race, he mentally shuts out the world, enters a "bubble," and transforms himself into a "beast
"Full Gas" Philosophy: His personal motto is "Full gas," and he approaches racing with a "respect" for the mountain rather than fear.
Lucky Number 13: During the 2023-24 season, 13 proved to be a lucky number for him as he secured 13 giant slalom victories and a third consecutive overall World Cup title.
Record-Breaking Points: In the 2022-23 season, he broke the men's record for most points collected in a single World Cup season, earning 2,042 points.
Own Gym & Training: Odermatt has his own weight room, where he trains with techniques like muscle-ups, Nordic hamstring curls, and squats (with max sets around 160kg).
Childhood Idols: Growing up, he had posters of legendary skiers Didier Cuche and Ted Ligety in his bedroom.
Sport: Snowboard halfpipe
Chloe Kim (born April 23, 2000) is an American professional snowboarder and two-time Olympic gold medallist. At the 2018 Winter Olympics she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal when she won gold in the women's snowboard halfpipe at 17 years old.
Chloe is a first-generation Korean-American. She is the daughter of two South Korean immigrants who came to the U.S. in 1998. Her mother's side of the family still lives in Seoul.
Record-Breaking Career: She is the first female athlete to win gold in halfpipe at the Olympics, World Championships, Youth Olympic Games, and X Games. She also became the first athlete to win three X Games golds before age 16.
Youngest Champion: At the 2018 PyeongChang Games, she was just 17 when she won gold, making her the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal.
Multilingual & Traveled: She speaks fluent English, Korean, and French, having lived and trained in Geneva, Switzerland, during elementary school.
Childhood Prodigy: She was good enough to compete in the 2014 Sochi Olympics at age 13 but was too young to participate.
"Hungry" Gold Medalist: During the 2018 Olympic qualifying run, she famously tweeted that she was "hangry" and wanted breakfast sandwiches, yet still scored a 98.25.
Diverse Talents: Beyond the slopes, she has been a Barbie doll model, added to the video game Fortnite, and competed on The Masked Singer.
Sport: Alpine skiing
Federica Brignone (born 14 July 1990) is an Italian world cup ski racer .
She competes in all alpine disciplines, with a focus on giant slalom and Super G . Brignone won the World Cup overall title in 2020, becoming the first Italian female to achieve this feat, She has won 37 world cup races, three Olympic medals and five World Championships medals. At the 2022 winter olympics, she won a silver medal in giant slalom.
Nickname: "Tigre delle Nevi" (Snow Tiger) because of her aggressive style and resilience
Sport: Snowboard slopestyle
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (born 2001) is a New Zealand snowboarder who became her country's first ever Winter Olympic gold medallist and a multi time X Games champion. Known for landing historic, never-before-done tricks like the backside triple cork 1440, she dominates in slopestyle and big air, aiming for more medals at the 2026 Games
Historic Firsts: She won New Zealand’s first-ever Winter Olympic gold (Slopestyle, 2022) and was the first Kiwi to win a FIS Slopestyle Crystal Globe (2025).
Youngest Medalist: At 16, she won bronze in 2018, briefly becoming NZ's youngest-ever Olympic medalist.
First Woman to Land Specific Tricks: She is recognized as the first woman to land a switch backside 900 in competition and the first to land back-to-back double corks.
Complete Collection: She has won a full set of Winter Olympic medals: Gold (Slopestyle), Silver (Big Air), and Bronze (Big Air).
Accidental Start: She started snowboarding at age nine after being convinced by her older brothers to enter a competition, which she won despite being the only girl.
Henrik Kristoffersen
Sport: Alpine slalom
Although born in Norway, he spends significant time in Austria and has lived in Salzburg
At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, he became the youngest male medallist in Olympic alpine skiing history, winning bronze in slalom at just 19 years old.
"King of the Classics": He is the first skier in history to win all four classic slalom races (Adelboden, Wengen, Kitzbühel, and Schladming) in a single season, achieving this feat in 2016.
"Moderation is for Cowards": He has adopted this motto to describe his, at times, "wild child" approach to training and racing.
Mia Brookes
Sport: Snowboard slopestyle
Mia Brookes (born January 19, 2007) is a British snowboarding prodigy who has quickly established herself as a force in freestyle snowboarding.
Record-Breaking Youngest Champion: In 2023, at age 16, she became the youngest snowboarding world champion in history by winning slopestyle gold in Georgia.
"First-Ever" Tricks: She was the first female to land a 1440-degree spin in competition, achieving this feat at the 2023 World Championships. She was also the first to land a cab 12 in competition.
Started at 18 Months: She started snowboarding as soon as she could walk, taking to the slopes at the Kidsgrove Ski Centre in Stoke, UK, at just 18 months old.
Heavy Metal Fan: She gets in the zone by listening to heavy metal music, such as Pantera and Metallica, before her runs.
Eileen Gu
Eileen Gu (born September 3, 2003) is a Chinese American freestyle skier and fashion model who became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing at age 18, winning three medals at the 2022 Beijing Games. Known for her record-breaking tricks, she is a Stanford student, a luxury brand ambassador, and fluent in Mandarin.
Historic Medal Haul: She is the first freestyle skier to win three medals (two gold, one silver) at a single Winter Olympic Games (2022).
Youngest Champion: At 18, she became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing.
Firsts in Action Sports: She was the first woman to land a double cork 1440 in competition and the first to win three medals at an X Games debut.
Dedication to Sport: Despite a hip injury, she won gold at the 2024 X Games, famously writing "Pain is Temporary" on her hand.
Representing China: She chose to represent China in 2019 to encourage young women and promote winter sports there
Lindsey Vonn
Sport: Alpine downhill
Lindsey Vonn is a legendary American alpine skier, born in 1984, known for her 82 World Cup wins (second all-time), four overall titles, and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic downhill gold. Overcoming severe injuries, she competed at age 40 in 2024, has won real cows as prizes, and played tennis against Roger Federer.
Prize Cow: She won a live cow named Oanda in 2005 after winning a race in Val d'Isère, and later another one named Winnie in 2017.
Tennis on a Mountain: Vonn played tennis against Roger Federer on a mountain top in Switzerland, a promotional event for a sponsor.
"Twin" Sister: She has four siblings, and while her brother Reed is a triplet, she has a sister named Karin who looks so similar she is often mistaken for Lindsey's twin.
TV Cameo: She appeared in the final episode of the TV show Law & Order.
Record-Breaking Return: After retiring in 2019 due to chronic knee pain, she returned to competition in 2024 at age 40 following a partial knee replacement, placing second in a Super-G event.
Early Starter: She began skiing at age two at Buck Hill in Minnesota and was winning races against 14-year-olds when she was just 10.
Dog Lover: Her dog, Leo, guided her through rehab during her injury-plagued career.
Scotty James
is an Australian snowboarder (born July 6, 1994) famous for his signature red boxing gloves, worn to "fight" in the halfpipe. A former teenage prodigy, he debuted at the 2010 Olympics at age 15.
James wears bright red mittens that resemble boxing gloves to represent his "prize fight" approach to halfpipe competitions, a tradition started in 2017.
Youngest Olympian: He made his Olympic debut at the 2010 Vancouver Games at just 15 years old, becoming the youngest male Olympian in 50 years.
Australian "Sun" Snowboarder: Despite being a winter athlete, he grew up in the warm suburb of Warrandyte, Victoria.
Childhood Nickname & Books: He authored a series of children's books titled MOOKi vs. The Big Scary, inspired by his childhood nickname.
Formula 1 Connections: He is close friends with F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo and is married to Chloe Stroll, sister of F1 driver Lance Stroll.
Francesco Friedrich
Sport: Bobsleigh
Francesco Friedrich (born May 2, 1990) is a German bobsleigh legend and arguably the most dominant pilot in history.
Dominance Record: Friedrich was unbeaten in 2021, winning every single race he entered in the two-man and four-man World Cup circuit.
Youngest Champion: In 2013, at age 22, he became the youngest world champion driver in two-man bobsleigh.
Olympic History: At the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, he tied for gold in the two-man event with Canadian Justin Kripps; it was the first time two-man bobsled Olympic gold was shared.
Family Ties: His brother David was a competitive bobsledder whose career was halted after a severe training crash that left him in a coma for three weeks.
Double-Double King: He is the only pilot to win both the two-man and four-man titles at the World Championships in multiple consecutive years (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021).
Police Officer: Away from the icy tracks, Friedrich serves as a German police officer.
With Milan–Cortina 2026 approaching, Cortina d’Ampezzo remains central to alpine culture — a place we’ve celebrated through our limited edition Cortina 2026 mug designed as a quiet nod to the history and atmosphere of the region.
