What Sports Are in the Winter Olympics?

Q: How many sports were part of the 2026 Winter Olympics?

The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics , held in northern Italy from February 6 to 22, 2026, featured 16 sports: Alpine skiing , biathlon , bobsledding , cross-country skiing , curling , figure skating , freestyle skiing , ice hockey , luge , Nordic combined , short-track speed skating , skeleton sledding , ski jumping , ski mountaineering , snowboarding , and speed skating .

Q: What new sport was included in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games?

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games marked the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering . In the sport, also called skimo, participants first wear boots and climbing skins to ascend mountainous terrain and then descend a slope using downhill skiing techniques.

Q: What types of sports are included in the Winter Olympics?

The Winter Olympics traditionally include cold-weather sports that involve skating over ice or skiing over snow in some way. For example, the broader category of ice skating is represented at the Olympics in the sports of figure skating (which includes ice dancing), speed skating , and short-track speed skating . The Winter Games also hosts team sports, such as ice hockey and curling .

Written by

Will Gosner

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

How many sports were part of the 2026 Winter Olympics?

What new sport was included in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games?

What types of sports are included in the Winter Olympics?

Since the first Winter Olympic Games, held in 1924, athletes have come together to compete in sports that test their speed, strength, and gracefulness on ice and snow. Learn which sports were included in the program at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games in 2026 in the table below.

(Learn about 7 Canceled or Reintroduced Olympic Sports.)

List of Current Winter Olympic Sports
sport	date added
¹ Figure skating was included in the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920.
² Ice hockey was included in the 1920 Summer Games.
³Nordic combined was removed from the Olympic program after the 2026 Winter Olympics concluded.
⁴ The sport of skeleton sledding was invented on a track in St. Mortiz, Switzerland, and was an official Olympic event when the Winter Games were held there in 1928 and 1948.
Alpine skiing	1936–
biathlon	1960–
bobsledding	1924–
cross-country skiing	1924–
curling	1924, 1998–
figure skating	1924–¹
freestyle skiing	1992–
ice hockey	1924–²
luge	1964–
Nordic combined (a combination of cross-country skiing and ski jumping)	1924–2026³
short-track speed skating	1992–
skeleton sledding	1928, 1948, 2002–⁴
ski jumping	1924–
ski mountaineering	2026–
snowboarding	1998–
speed skating	1924–