Starting February 6, the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will begin, catching the eyes of viewers at New Hyde Park Memorial and across the globe. The opening ceremony will kick off the event with performances from world-renowned artists including five-time Grammy Award winner Mariah Carey, Golden Globe winner Laura Pausini, famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and more.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be hosted in the cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. These two cities will be a place of Olympics history as it will be the first time in which two Olympic cauldrons will be lit and extinguished simultaneously in different cities. Symbolizing the widespread nature of the games and the unity that they bring, the Milano Cortina 2026 cauldrons will provide a unique and powerful start to the event.
“I think the dual cauldron idea is a neat twist. It is like they’re trying to show that the Olympics are for everyone, no matter where they’re from,” junior Aditi Parikh said. “And the opening ceremony sounds like it’s going to be very exciting with all those famous performers!”
The Olympics will feature a total of 16 sports, including Alpine skiing, biathlon, curling, figure skating, ice hockey, luge, skeleton, snowboarding and more. Additionally, ski mountaineering will be the newest addition to the 2026 Olympic program. The sport involves climbing snowy mountains and racing back down, requiring a combination of uphill endurance with quick downhill skiing.
“I’m most interested in seeing the figure skating section of the Olympics because I’ve seen older clips of it circulating around the social media platforms that I use. The girls in the videos seem like they’re having a lot of fun and it looks like it takes a lot of preparation,” senior Nyelle Sareal said.
“As personally being a former Team USA skater, it is especially meaningful to watch and cheer on the Team USA athletes. Specifically, Team USA figure Amber Glenn. She is a true fighter and role model to every member of the skating community, and has not had an easy road to getting to the Olympics. But she always fought her way through difficult times and continued. Beyond her skating, she continually supports and encourages the younger generation of skaters to be their best,” junior and former Team USA skater Katie Krafchik said.
Over 3,000 athletes will compete at the games this year. Some athletes, however, are predicted to stand out from the crowd. Mikaela Shriffrin, for instance, is considered the greatest Alpine skier of all time. At 30, and heading into her fourth Olympics, Shiffrin is asserting herself as a strong and dominant representative of the United States. Stefan Kraft, a 32 year old Austrian ski jumper, is also a promising athlete to keep an eye on. He became the all-time leading points scorer in FIS ski jumping World Cup history, but has yet to win an individual Olympic medal. Whether they stand on the podium or not, every athlete who competes at the Olympics carries a story shaped by their journey to success.
“I am most looking forward to two very different ends of the spectrum: Curling and the Bobsled,” Science teacher Mr. Gordon said. “I like curling for the strategy—it’s ‘Chess on Ice’ where every move is a calculated risk (it looks pretty funny too). On the flip side, I’m fascinated by the bobsled. There is nothing like the sheer speed of that event. Watching a team synchronize a dead-sprint start and then tuck into a tiny sled to hit speeds over 90 mph is crazy! It is a perfect blend of high-level physics and raw athletic power.”
