The Winter Olympics with more athletes than ever

Eight new events have been added to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, continuing along the path to gender equality.

A more inclusive Olympics, respectful of gender balance and with important sporting innovations. This is what the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee approved in Lausanne: eight new competitions for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, aimed at continuing the path towards gender balance. The total number of races will thus be 116: 54 men's, 50 women's and 12 mixed, which will see the participation of 2900 athletes, of which 1538 are men and 1362 are women.

Reaching 47% female participation

“We have made significant progress in closing the gender gap at the Olympic Winter Games” – said International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. "We went from 40% female participation in Sochi 2014 to 47% for Milano Cortina 2026. We are committed to continuing to advance gender balance and Milano Cortina will be another milestone in this journey."

Eight new races

Ski mountaineering will make its debut in the Olympic program with three races: the men's sprint, the women's sprint and the mixed relay. The mixed team race will debut in the skeleton, while the women's doubles will debut in the luge. In the freestyle there will be dual moguls for men and women, in the women's ski jumping there will be an individual large hill ski jumping event.

No changes for biathlon, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, bobsleigh, curling, hockey, figure skating, speed skating and short track, while the Executive Board has decided to provisionally include the combined men's and women's alpine skiing competitions, but on at this point the final decision will be made by April 2023 (the dates of the Games).