The Winter Olympics officially return in February 2026. While the grandeur, upsets and history-making moments will remain, the spectacle promises to be even more spectacular than ever with a series of new competitions, formats and the introduction of ski mountaineering.
Here’s what’s new at the Milan Cortina Games:
Team Combined | Alpine Skiing
The team combined event is still in its formative years, having been introduced to the sport at the 2023 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships. In 2025, it debuted on the professional level at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships, with Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson winning gold in the inaugural women’s race and Franjo von Allmen (SUI) and Loic Meillard (SUI) capturing gold in the men’s race.
At the 2026 Winter Games, team combined will make its first Olympic appearance. The discipline consists of two runs, a downhill and a slalom, with one NOC competitor assigned to each. The duo with the fastest cumulative time is the winner.
Its predecessor, the super combined event, also was made up of a downhill and slalom race, however, one athlete was tasked with completing both.
Dual Moguls | Freestyle Skiing
Part of the FIS World Cup circuit since 1995, dual moguls has been newly added to the freestyle skiing Olympic program for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. All skiers who qualify to compete in moguls also will compete in this event.
In dual moguls, 30 skiers are placed in a head-to-head bracket. Each matchup features two skiers competing against each other as they take simultaneous runs down adjacent mogul courses. Each skier’s run is evaluated on the same three pieces of criteria as a traditional moguls run (turns, air and speed), but in a twist, each judge has five “votes” that they can split between the two skiers however they see fit. Whichever skier gets the most votes wins the matchup and advances to the next round.
Equal Distances for Men and Women in Competition | Cross-Country Skiing
Twelve total Olympic cross-country skiing events will take place at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. There are six events for both men and women. The distances for each event are now the same for both men and women for the first time in Olympic competition.
Ski Mountaineering as an Olympic Sport
The last time a new discipline was introduced to the Winter Olympics American Idol had just premiered. Skeleton debuted at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and for 24 years the status quo remained. Not anymore. Ski mountaineering will climb its way into competition at Milan Cortina 2026, with sprint and mixed relay events taking centerstage.
Skimo combines elements of cross-country skiing, climbing and downhill, with competitors racing through a course to achieve the best time. During an initial ascent, athletes wear adhesive skins on the bottoms of their skis, which enable them to ski uphill. Then, an on-foot portion requires quick ski removal and a speed hike. Once at the mountaintop, "ski-moers" snap back into their ski boots and race downhill to the finish line.
Mixed Team Relay | Skeleton
The mixed team relay, which will make its Olympic debut at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, pairs one woman and one man from each nation for back-to-back runs, combining their times for the final score. After featuring on the IBSF World Cup circuit, the event turned heads at the 2025 World Championships in Lake Placid, where Mystique Ro and Austin Florian struck gold for Team USA — making them early favorites for Olympic glory.
Women's Large Hill | Ski Jumping
For the first time ever, the women's ski jumping program at the Olympics will feature two events: the normal hill, which debuted in 2014, and the new large hill event. The addition marks the continuation of a push to promote gender equality at the Winter Games.
Men's Super Team | Ski Jumping
The men's super team replaces the traditional men's team competition, which had been contested at the Olympics since 1988. In the new super team event, two jumpers compete together in three scored rounds as opposed to four athletes competing in two scored rounds, as is done in the traditional team event.
Super team events only recently became a part of the international ski jumping catalog, appearing on the World Cup circuit for the first time during the 2022-23 season.
Women’s Doubles | Luge
After debuting the mixed team relay at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, luge once again adds to its roster, with the women's doubles event planned for its first Olympic outing in Cortina. First competed at the senior level for a full World Cup season in 2022-23, the event finally brings gender parity (albeit with a quota of 11 teams to men's 17) to the sport, which previously saw the doubles event, technically gender neutral, competed only by men since its inaugural Games in 1964.