Winter Athletes

The 2026 Winter Olympics are right around the corner. The Games begin on February 6. The Paralympics start a month later. Paralympics events are for athletes with disabilities. The Olympics and Paralympics will take place across Northern Italy. Here are four athletes to look out for.

Erin Jackson

Erin Jackson will compete in speed skating. In this sport, skaters race on the ice. This is not Jackson’s first Olympics. In 2018, she made the U.S. Olympic speed skating team. She was the first Black woman to do this. In 2022, she became the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold medal.

As a teen, Jackson raced in inline (roller) speed skating. She has medaled in several championships in the sport. She also competes in roller derbies. That’s a contact sport. Teams race around an oval track. They may knock other skaters out of the way.

Mike Schultz

You can see Mike Schultz hitting the slopes in para snowboarding. He has three Olympic medals in the sport. He’ll be competing in the snowboard cross event. This is a snowboard race for six people. The course features jumps and obstacles. Schultz will also compete in the banked slalom. That’s a timed snowboard race.

See the prosthetic leg Schultz uses? He created it. A sports injury in 2008 caused him to lose his left leg. So he developed a prosthetic just for athletes. He started a company called BioDapt. Now the entire U.S. Paralympic snowboard team uses the company’s prosthetic.

Ilia Malinin

In figure skating, athletes perform jumps and spins on the ice. If you see a quadruple axel, you must be watching Ilia Malinin. That’s a jump with four and a half rotations. Malinin became the first figure skater to land this move in an international competition. That was in 2023. He’s known for his impressive turns. They’ve earned him the nickname Quad god.

Malinin has been skating since he was 6. His parents were both Olympic skaters. They competed for the country of Uzbekistan.

This will be Malinin’s first Olympic Games. But he already has three championship medals for skating.

Jessie Diggins

In cross-country skiing, competitors use their skis and poles to race across long distances. Jessie Diggins is the most decorated U.S. cross-country skiier of all time. She has been to the Olympics in 2014, 2018, and 2022. She medaled each time. She’ll compete in all six cross-country events in 2026.

When Diggins is not skiing, she’s helping others. She’s a spokesperson for the Emily Program. That’s a nutrition treatment center. She’s an ambassador for Fast and Female. This group supports young women in sports. She’s also an ambassador for Protect Our Winters. It's dedicated to helping the planet.