Winter Olympics 2026 Delivers First Medals on Historic Opening Weekend

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina deliver the first full medal day on Saturday, February 7, right after the Opening Ceremony on February 6 at San Siro Stadium in Milan. February 7 marks the debut of gold medals in five sports: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating. The historic Milan-Cortina Games represent the first Winter Olympics hosted across multiple Italian cities, with venues spread between Milan and the mountain resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The Alpine skiing program kicks off with the men's downhill around 5:30 a.m. ET at Bormio, the classic high-speed opener that has traditionally set the tone for Winter Olympics competition. The treacherous Bormio course, known for its challenging Stelvio piste, will test the world's best speed skiers as they navigate the steep gradient and technical sections at speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour. Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Switzerland's Marco Odermatt enter as favorites after dominating the World Cup circuit this season.

Figure skating takes center stage as two-time world champion Ilia Malinin makes his Olympic debut for Team USA on Saturday 7 February. The "Quad God" is the hot favorite for the men's figure skating event after becoming the first skater to land a quadruple axel in competition. Malinin will first take to the ice at Milano Cortina 2026 in the team event, where the United States aims to reclaim gold after finishing second behind the Russian Olympic Committee in Beijing 2022. His technical mastery and artistic presentation have made him the most dominant force in men's figure skating since Nathan Chen's retirement.

The US women's ice hockey team continues their campaign for a third Olympic gold, taking on Finland in Group A action. The Americans are seeking redemption after a disappointing silver medal finish in Beijing 2022, when they fell to Canada in the final. Led by veteran stars Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne Schofield, Team USA has won 15 consecutive games heading into the Olympics and remains the favorite to reclaim the gold medal they last won in Pyeongchang 2018.

The schedule for Saturday features several types of skiing including Alpine, cross-country, freestyle and ski jumping competitions across the Italian Alps. There will also be several round robin sessions of curling, including a highly anticipated matchup between the United States and Great Britain. Speed skating medals will be awarded in both men's and women's events at the Milano Ice Arena, while snowboarding's slopestyle competition crowns its first champions at the Livigno Mottolino Fun Mountain. With over 100 medal events scheduled across the two-week Games, February 7 represents just the beginning of Italy's winter sports celebration.