What sports are in the Winter Olympics? Full list and explanations

The Winter Olympics are a bit of an enigma to most sports fans in the United States. The average person has seen hockey, the understand figure skating, and we get enough extreme sports through osmosis that the snowboard half pipe makes sense — but a lot of the events are more Euro-centric.

Today we look at every event in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, the subcategories inside each event, and a brief synopsis of how athletes are trying to compete to reach the podium

All these events are purely about speed. Quickest to the bottom wins. The downhill has broad gates skiers need to pass through generally to ensure there’s a fairly even line. Slalom is weaving between poles while descending the run. The super-G combines the speed of downhill while also having a slalom element, and the combined features one downhill segment event, and one slalom event.

Biathlon is a mixture of cross-country skiing and air rifle shooting. The fastest speed wins, and every miss with the rifle adds time to the overall run. Individual and spring races have a staggered start, while the mass start is every athlete beginning at the same time. Pursuit involves starting on opposite sides of the run, with the goal to pass the opponent.

Held at the sliding course, athletes ride down the ice track in a bobsled — a capsule on long skates. The monobob is a one-person sled and used exclusively in women’s races.

This one is fairly self explanatory. Athletes race on a cross country course that involves uphill sections, downhill sections, and flat ground. The difference in each event is the start style, with the skiathlon meaning that athletes can use poles for half the run, then switch and ski “skate style” for the remainder.

Curling involves sliding a large stone on the ice to try and have it rest as close to the center of a target as possible. Opponents either try to position their stone better, or knock others out of the way to win.

The first event on our list which relies on subjective judging. Skaters put together a routine which is then performed on the ice, requiring a predetermined number of mandatory elements, including on-ice spins, jumps, and techniques. From there the athlete is able to execute the routine as they see fit, making it as difficult as they deem necessary to try and win. Scores are based on execution of elements, technicality, and musicality.

The only different style inside figure skating is Ice Dancing, which is pairs skating — but requires both athletes to be in contact at all times.

Regarded as the “tricks” skiing, the majority of these events involve judges playing a role in one or more elements of the sport. Moguls are a series of snow mounds competitors must navigate, with tricks placed in between. Aerials are tricks performed off a large, vertical ramp. Ski Cross is a race, blended with jumps at high speed. The halfpipe is self explanatory, while big air sees athletes perform giant tricks off a mammoth ramp, that segues into a halfpipe for a second large trick. Slopstyle is a downhill run that incorporates jumps, grinds, and other trick elements to put together the best scoring run.

It’s Ice Hockey. Teams compete under time to see how many goals they can score. Olympic rinks are wider than their NHL counterparts, and uses the same three, 20-minute period structure.

Similar to bobsleigh, luge involves a smaller, lighter sled that can acommodate two riders maximum. Instead of a running start they use their hands to push themselves forward at the start.

This is a two-part event divided into cross country skiing, and the ski jump. The difference between the events is whether athletes jump on the normal hill, or the large hill for the ski jump portion.

Short-track speed skating

Short-track speed skating is held on a small circle at the center of the larger speed skating course. It’s typically likened to a sprint, rather than a marathon. Skaters jockey for position as a group and try to beat each other, while setting the fastest times within their heats.

Another sliding sport similar to the luge, the skeleton also uses a single-person sled — but is performed face down, head-first.

Skiers travel down a large hill with a pronounced jump at the end. Victory is determined by who can fly the furthest through the air, with the best landing. The normal hill is 85m and the large is 110 meters.

A new event for the 2026 games, Ski mountaineering (aka Skimo) combines cross-country skiing with hiking. Athletes essentially hike uphill with special socks over their skis, then remove them at the top and ski down. The fastest athlete is the winner.

All of the snowboard events are put into one pool, unlike skiing. The slalom and snowboard cross are race events, while the remainder are trick events akin to their skiing cousins.

This is full track speed skating, which uses a wider radius, and athletes aren’t clumped as closely together as short track. Pursuit involves skaters starting at opposite sides of the rink and racing to catch each other, passing them and securing the win.