The 2026 Winter Olympics have begun, featuring 16 sports, 92 countries, and over 2,900 athletes competing in the 116 medal events. This year, ski mountaineering is making its Olympic debut.
Compared to the Summer Olympics, however, the Winter Olympics are relatively small and have less history. Let’s go through some of the differences between the games, so you’ll understand the history while watching the games, starting Feb. 6, 2026.
The Ancient Olympic Games
The first Ancient Olympic Games were played in 776 BCE and lasted until 393 CE. If you are confused about how long that is (don’t worry, BCE vs. BC always messes with me), it’s 1,169 years. The games were played as an honor to the Ancient Greek god Zeus, with Mount Olympia, where all the Greek gods and goddesses lived, inspiring the name Olympics, and were played in Olympia. Just like the Summer Olympics now, the games were played every four years in August and September.
The games also started as a one-day affair, quickly expanding to three days, then five days, including an extra day for a closing ceremony. Of the sports that were played during the Ancient Olympic Games, six games are still played today: boxing, running (track), wrestling, long jump, javelin, and discus. In addition to these games, the Ancient Olympic Games also had chariot racing and pankration, which was a combination of boxing and wrestling with basically no rules.
After the last games in 393 BC, it took another 1,503 years until the games began again.
The (Summer) Olympic Games
Notice the parentheses around summer? That’s because technically the summer events are formally known as The Olympic Games, since the six games previously mentioned stem directly from the Ancient Olympic Games.
The first modern Olympic Games were fittingly hosted in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. The games hosted 241 athletes from 14 countries, and had nine events: athletics, cycling road, cycling track, fencing, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Since then, the Olympics have only grown.
At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, there were 10,714 athletes from 204 countries (plus the Russian Olympic Committee a.k.a ROC), and 32 sports. There was a 44.5% increase in the number of athletes, a 14.6% increase in the number of countries participating (including ROC), and a 3.5% increase in the number of sports athletes can compete in.
The Olympic Games lasted from July 26-August 11 in 2024, and had a breakthrough for women in sports.
“In line with its slogan, ‘Games Wide Open,’ Paris 2024 was the first Olympic Games in history to achieve gender parity on the field of play. Of the 10,500 quotas available to athletes, the International Olympic Committee distributed an equal number to female and male athletes.”
Olympic Games Offical Website
The 2024 games also had a breakthrough with the amount of engagement and viewers.
The number of interactions with the 2024 Olympic Games had a 290% increase compared to the 2020 games, mainly due to online platforms like social media. About 5 billion people followed the Olympics in 2024. Out of people over the age of 14, with access to watching the games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 84% of that sub-population tuned in. Within that, there were hundreds of billions of interactions from 270 million social media posts, from both fans and athletes alike.
One woman’s rugby bronze medalist, Ilona Maher, gained a huge following on TikTok and Instagram for her videos about living in the Olympic Village, often comparing it to the Love Island Villa. Maher’s videos brought a lot of attention to the Olympics and had people constantly refreshing their screens for a new video.
Outside of social media, nearly 70% of the global population streamed an Olympic event. Here are some key events that caused so many people to tune in:
- Athletes for the triathlon and marathon swimming events did so in the Seine. This was a controversial move by the IOC since the Seine was not a clean river due to the city’s outdated sewer system. With over 1.5 billion dollars invested in cleaning the Seine, it was deemed “safe” for the athletes to swim in. However, some athletes still reported getting sick.
- Katie Ledecky, a swimmer for Team USA, won her fourth consecutive gold medal in an event, which had only been done by Michael Phelps. She has also tied Larisa Latynina for most medals won by a female Olympic athlete at nine medals.
- Three athletes brought home their countries first ever medal (and they all happened to be gold), with Letsile Tebogo for Botswana, Thea LaFond for Dominica, and Julien Alfred for Saint Lucia.
- The University of Connecticut’s very own Diana Taurasi is the first athlete to win six gold medals in basketball.
- And of course, we cannot talk about the Olympics without mentioning Simone Biles. She won all-around gold, bringing her Olympic medal total to 11.
In addition to the people watching online, around 6 million people attended a game in person — and I was one of them. Going to an Olympic game has always been on my bucket list, and after attending, I think it should be a goal for everyone. Exploring a new city was already exciting, but it was even better when, from the top of the Eiffel Tower, I could see a beach volleyball game.
The global community is so cool to be a part of, especially with memorabilia everywhere; you get lost in the community that is the Olympics.
It is safe to say that the (summer) Olympic Games are globally beloved, but is that same love given to the winter sports?
The winter Olympics
Compared to the (summer) Olympics, the Winter Olympic Games are much smaller. To compare:
| Summer Olympics (2024) | Winter Olympics (2026) | Difference | |
| # of Sports | 32 | 16 | 2.0x bigger |
| # of Countries | 204 | 92 | 2.2x bigger |
| # of Athletes | 10,714 | 2,900 | 3.7x bigger |
The first Winter Olympics were hosted in Chamonix, France, from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5, 1924, with 260 athletes from 16 different countries competing in nine different sports: bobsled, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, ice hockey, military patrol, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and speed skating.
The games were inspired by the Nordic Games, which were a competition between the Scandinavian countries. When the idea of adding winter sports to the Olympics was mentioned to the IOC, many countries had differing opinions. The Scandinavian countries didn’t want the addition of the Winter Games to overshadow their Nordic Games. Other countries, like Germany, wanted to finally have the opportunity to compete on an international level. After years of negotiating, they eventually agreed, and winter sports would be played at the Olympics.
At first, the Winter Olympics were played on the same year as the Summer Olympics. Now, don’t get me wrong, two Olympics in one year sounds like my kind of party, but waiting four years in between would’ve felt like an eternity. The IOC had other reasons to which the Winter Olympics to make the switch to alternating the Olympics’ four-year cycles.
The main reasons were the costs to host two Olympics in one year and the complex logistics to do so. In addition, holding the Olympics on alternating even years could generate more sponsorship money and create more excitement for the games.
In 1992, both the Summer and Winter Olympics were held during the same year for the last time. For the only time in history, the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics games were played just two years after the previous games, in order to begin the new four-year cycle.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games also grew in viewership compared to the 2018 games, with over 2 billion people watching the competition. The Olympics app and website had 68 million unique users, which was double the amount from 2018. Social media was also expanded, gaining 11 million new followers and over 3 billion interactions.
“Beijing 2022 was the most digitally engaged Olympic Winter Games in history. In close cooperation with our Media Rights Partners around the world, more coverage was made available than ever before, including a record amount via digital platforms. With a global audience of over 2 billion, the Olympic Winter Games continue to be one of the most watched sports events in the world.”
IOC President Thomas Bach
The use of digital platforms like social media is still being utilized in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Once again, Olympians are taking to social media to give fans a closer look at what it is like to live in the Olympic Village and be an Olympian. Maddie Mastro competes on the snowboard halfpipe and has gotten popular for saying that she needs to find an Italian McDonalds. Bea Kim is another snowboard halfpipe Olympian who has been posting clothing hauls and “Get Ready With Me” videos. Ice skater Amber Glenn, snowboarder Nathan Pare, and ice dancers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik have also made popular TikToks recently.
Countries are also hopping onto social media, with Team USA posting videos getting to know specific teams and Olympians, which are both funny and trendy. Making these athletes that people look up to, and are basically celebrities, relatable creates connections between the fans and the Olympians, getting people invested in watching the competition.
So, who are some athletes to get invested in for Team USA?
Figure Skaters
Ilia Malinin: Known as the “Quad God,” Malinin is the only athlete to have successfully landed a quadruple axel and has a record of seven quad jumps in his free skate. Recently, the IOC has re-allowed backflips in routines, so he added one in his routine, just for fun. He has won every competition since 2023, and hopes to keep up the streak in Milan.
Alysa Liu: This is her second Olympics, after debuting in Beijing at 16 years old. Liu took a break from skating after the 2022 Olympics and is now back and better than ever. She is known for her routine to Lady Gaga, and just completed a beautiful routine to “Promise” by Laufey during the Olympic short skate.
Amber Glenn: Famous for her triple axel, Axel is a three-time national champion. She is the first openly queer woman competing in Olympic figure skating. She will also be competing in the team event for the USA.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates: These two have a stacked resume, with two world championship wins, three Grand Prix Final titles, and one US national championship. They were also Olympic team event gold medalists in 2022. This is most likely their last Olympics, and they are speculated to go out with a bang.
Ice Hockey
Hilary Knight: When it comes to hockey, you can’t escape talking about Knight. She is the most decorated women’s US hockey player and has been to the most ever Olympics for a US hockey player, with Milan being her fifth. She plays as a winger for the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent when she’s not too busy being a gold and silver Olympic medalist.
Laila Edwards: She is making history as the first black woman in US Olympic hockey. Both a forward and a defenseman, Edwards is versatile on the ice. She has a killer defense, but can get the job done and the puck in the net. She is definitely a player to watch, and already has an assist after one game.
Abbey Murphy: During her time playing for the NCAA, Murphy led in both goals and penalty minutes. She is a firecracker on the ice. She has grown as a player, learning how to frustrate her opponents while staying out of the penalty box, a lethal weapon.
Quinn and Jack Hughes: These brothers are no joke. Quinn leads the NHL with time on ice (nearly 30 minutes per game) and is a dynamic defenseman. On the other hand, Jack is one of the best forwards. Some might call them nepos, since their mother was a silver medalist with Team USA in 1992.
Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin: Shiffrin is the greatest alpine ski racer in history. With 107 World Cup wins, it was shocking when she left Beijing without a medal. After winning one more world title this season, she’s in Milan for a rematch.
Freeskiing
Alex Ferreira: After winning silver and bronze in the past two Olympics, he wants “the other color.” It won’t be an easy task, since a different skier has won each event the past season, but Ferreira is up to the challenge.
Snowboarding
Chloe Kim: She has the opportunity to become the first snowboarder to win three consecutive halfpipe contests at the Olympic level. However, after dislocating her shoulder, she hasn’t been in a major competition in a while.
Other athletes to watch
- Lindsey Vonn: alpine skiing
- Deedra Irwin: biathlon
- Kaillie Humphries Armbruster: bobsled
- Jessie Diggins: cross-country skiing
- Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse: curling
- Alex Hall: freeskiing
- Nick Goepper: freeskiing
- Connor Hellebuyck: hockey
- Mystique Ro: skeleton
- Alessandro Barbieri: snowboarding
- Nick Baumgartner: snowboarding
- Red Gerard: snowboarding
- Erin Jackson: speedskating
- Brittany Bowe: speedskating
- Jordan Stolz: speedskating
Make sure to keep up with all the athletes, whose hard work, skill, and determination fill me with patriotism every two years when Team US brings home gold, silver, and bronze. You can stream events on both NBC Olympics and Peacock, and make sure to tune into the Paralympics as well.