Every four years, a grand winter sporting event takes place, bringing together the best athletes from all over the world to determine the strongest competitors. In each discipline, the top three places are awarded:
- 1st place — gold medal,
- 2nd place — silver medal,
- 3rd place — bronze medal.
Winning at the Olympic Games is the dream of every athlete. The first Winter Olympic Games took place in 1924. During the Second World War (in 1940 and 1944), the Games were not held, but in 1948 they were resumed and have continued ever since.
2026 Winter Olympic Games
The official name of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games is Milano Cortina 2026. More than 3,500 athletes from 93 countries will gather in Italy to compete in 16 winter sports and contest 195 sets of medals.
The opening ceremony will take place on 6 February in Milan, while the closing ceremony will be held on 22 February in Verona.
Sports and what's new
The program of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games includes 16 sports. Most of them are already well known to spectators:
- Speed skating
- Biathlon
- Bobsleigh
- Figure skating
- Cross-country skiing
- Freestyle skiing
- Ice hockey
- Alpine skiing
- Luge
- Curling
- Skeleton
- Snowboarding
- Short track speed skating
- Ski jumping
- Nordic combined
A new addition to the 2026 Games is ski mountaineering, which will make its Olympic debut. This sport involves climbing uphill on skis or carrying skis by hand when the terrain does not allow skiing.
Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games
Latvia will be represented at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games by athletes in 9 sports, competing in 29 disciplines.
Sports in which Latvian athletes will compete:
- Biathlon
- Bobsleigh
- Skeleton
- Ice hockey
- Luge
- Cross-country skiing
- Alpine skiing
- Figure skating
- Short track speed skating
It is planned that Latvia will be represented by 68 athletes, making this the largest Latvian delegation in the history of the Winter Olympic Games, as the number of athletes had previously not exceeded 57.
The largest representation will be in men’s ice hockey with 25 athletes. Together with coaches, medical staff, team management and information support, the Latvian delegation will consist of approximately 140 people.
The youngest athlete in the Latvian delegation will be 16-year-old biathlete Rihards Lozbergs, while the most experienced athletes are biathlete Andrejs Rastorgujevs and ice hockey players Kaspars Daugaviņš and Oskars Cibuļskis, who have reached the age of 37.
At the opening ceremony of the Milano–Cortina Olympic Games, the Latvian delegation's flag will be carried by ice hockey player Kaspars Daugaviņš and alpine skier Dženifera Ģērmane.
Final words from the eKalendars team
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are an event eagerly awaited by both athletes and fans around the world. They unite, inspire and create unforgettable moments.
We wish the athletes their best performances, the coaches — victories for their teams, the medical staff — healthy athletes, and fans and spectators — vivid emotions and pride in their favorites.
We will follow the 2026 Winter Olympic Games from 6 to 22 February and keep our fingers crossed for our team — for Latvia!
Already in March 2026, the sports world will be awaiting another major event — the Paralympic Games.