Since the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, Olympic bobsled has seen a wave of retirements, comebacks, and new contenders. Germany’s Mariama Jamanka, who won gold in PyeongChang and secured silver in Beijing, stepped away from the sport — but her former brakewoman Lisa Buckwitz has not slowed down. She has gone from strength to strength winning multiple monobob and two-woman events across the past three seasons.

Germany continues its legacy of dominance in the sport, and as Laura Nolte heads into Milan Cortina, she will be the one to beat. The German star dominated the 2024–25 season, winning both the monobob and two-woman world championship titles and topping the World Cup standings with five victories. With four-straight European titles and back-to-back global golds, Nolte firmly has taken the reins as the sport’s top force.

In the men's competition, Francesco Friedrich remains the undisputed king of men’s bobsled. The German pilot has swept gold in both the 2-man and 4-man events at every Olympics and nearly every world championships since 2015, including double titles at the 2025 Worlds in Lake Placid. Backed by a deep German roster and unrivaled precision, Friedrich continues to set the standard in every race.

Meanwhile, American icon Elana Meyers Taylor, who earned two medals in Beijing, has returned to competition with no signs of slowing down. The five-time Olympian took time off to have her second child and since has reestablished herself as a favorite heading into Milan, topping World Cup standings in both the two-woman and monobob events.

In recent years, bobsled has deepened its roster of nationalities regularly competing. Today, athletes from Austria, Korea, Brazil, Romania, Trinidad and Tobago, and of course Jamaica to name a few, all are competing in this challenging sport.

Kaysha Love quickly has become one of bobsled’s rising stars. A former sprinter, she made her Olympic debut as a brakewoman in 2022 and transitioned to pilot soon after. In just two seasons, she captured World Cup wins, set a track record in Lillehammer, and won monobob gold at the 2025 World Championships in Lake Placid, cementing her as a top contender for Milan Cortina 2026. Also making waves is Australia's Bree Walker, who tied with Love in Lillehammer and claimed several podiums, and Canada’s Cynthia Appiah, who notched her first World Cup podium in 2024–25.

German pilot Johannes Lochner and Brad Hall (Great Britain) are pushing hard against Francesco Friedrich. Lochner finished second overall in the 2024–25 IBSF World Cup and snagged silver behind Friedrich at the 2025 World Championships in Lake Placid — just three hundredths of a second off the lead. Great Britain’s Hall, who claimed three World Cup podiums and finished third in the overall standings, is staking his claim as Friedrich’s next biggest challenger. Meanwhile, U.S. pilot Frank Del Duca earned several top-six finishes and narrowly missed worlds bronze, finishing fourth. Up-and-comers like Geoffrey Gadbois and Kristopher Horn also ar emaking waves on the North American Cup circuit.

In the two-woman competition, Germany’s Laura Nolte continues her ascent, while compatriots Lisa Buckwitz and Kim Kalicki have dominated the World Cup. A newcomer to watch is Denmark’s Maja Voigt, the Youth Olympic champion. Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler and Debora Annen also have emerged as credible podium threats on the World Cup circuit.

Since Olympic bronze medalist Justin Kripps' retirement, Canada’s 4-man bobsled team has begun a promising rebuild. New pilot Pat Norton leads the charge, posting a World Cup best sixth-place finish in Innsbruck alongside Mike Evelyn, Keaton Bruggeling, and Shaq Murray-Lawrence. With the old guard moving on, Canada’s next-gen crew is gaining ground and aiming to return to podium form by Milan Cortina 2026.

Plenty of familiar names are back for another Olympic run. Francesco Friedrich, the dominant German pilot who swept gold in both the two-man and four-man events in 2018 and 2022, virtually remains untouchable. With a streak of world championship titles and World Cup victories, he heads to Milan as the man to beat, again.

Elana Meyers Taylor, already the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympic history, is expected to return for her fifth Games. She’s coming off a season where she topped both the monobob and two-woman World Cup rankings. Kaillie Humphries also is eyeing more Olympic hardware after earning monobob gold and two-woman bronze in Beijing.

Germany’s Laura Nolte, Lisa Buckwitz, and Deborah Levi also will be back, hoping to add to Germany's hardware haul on the bobsled track.

The United States is surging. Between Meyers Taylor’s World Cup dominance and Humphries’ steady excellence, Team USA has been a constant presence on the podium. The program also has deepened its roster with up-and-coming talent in both men's and women's events, signaling sustained strength heading into Milan.

Canada, while still solid, hasn’t had quite the same momentum, struggling to keep pace with Germany and the U.S. on the World Cup stage. However, with younger athletes working their way up, Milan Cortina could mark the beginning of a new era for Canadian bobsled.

If anyone can three-peat, it’s Francesco Friedrich. The German pilot virtually has been unbeatable since 2016, sweeping both the two-man and four-man events at every Olympics and nearly every world championships in that span with only one exception of a silver medal during the 2022-23 season. Whether paired with longtime brakeman Thorsten Margis or rotating through Germany’s deep talent pool, Friedrich remains the benchmark for greatness in the sport. If he wins double gold again in Milan, he’ll cement himself as arguably the greatest bobsledder of all time.

Italy enters its home Games with more hope than hardware — but don’t count them out. The newly rebuilt Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo recently passed its first major test events, and the home-track advantage could give Italian sleds a crucial edge. While Italy hasn’t been a consistent medal contender in recent Olympics, the legacy of the two-time Olympic gold medalist and namesake of the track, looms large.

The crowd support, national pride, and intimate knowledge of the course could fuel a breakout performance. Italy may not be favored, but in a sport decided by hundredths of a second, a home-ice advantage could change everything.