FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 16, 2026

Winter Games: Elite athletes show Olympic medal-winning skills in Italy

If you like skiing, skating, hockey, snowboarding and other winter sports, Week Two of the Winter Olympics has lots to watch and read about. More than 2,900 athletes from 92 countries are competing in northern Italy for 116 gold medals at the 19-day games, which end next Sunday, Feb. 22. Outdoor and indoor events are in Milan and in the Italian Alps around the city of Cortina. NBC is the official Olympics network here; events also stream on Peacock.

Participants include Ukraine, with 46 athletes, but not neighboring Russia, which invaded it in 2022 and still is fighting inside there. America's 232 athletes, the largest national team, were led at the Feb. 6 opening ceremony by Florida speedskater Erin Jackson and Maine bobsledder Frank Del Duca, who shared the flag-carrying honor. Jackson, 33, finished first at an event during the Beijing Games in 2022 -- the first Black woman from any country to win a gold medal. Del Duca, who also competed four years ago, is a U.S. Army sergeant stationed in Lake Placid, N.Y. – conveniently near an Olympic-level bobsled run. "Nearly everyone in my family is of Italian descent," he says, so competing in Italy "feels like a bridge between my family's heritage and the country I'm so proud to serve."

Another American, 27-year-old bobsledder Azaria Hill is the fourth member of her family to compete at an Olympics. (Her dad, a boxer, and her mom, a runner, each won silver medals.) Seven U.S. athletes, including skier Lindsey Vonn and snowboarder Nick Baumgartner, are making their fifth Olympic appearance. (Vonn's dream of reclaiming the downhill gold medal ended when she crashed during a Feb. 8 run). Team USA's youngest member is 15-year-old freesskier Abby Winterberger of Northern California.

Fun facts:

• New sport: Ski mountaineering, called "skimo" for short, is introduced with men's and women's categories. It involves hiking up and skiing down a mountain.
• Most gold medals: This coming Saturday will be the busiest day, with six gold medals presented and the popular figure skating finals at Milan's arena.
• Gender split: With women making up 47 percent of medal-seekers, it's the most gender-balanced Winter Olympics since they began in 1924 at a French ski resort. Team USA has 115 women and 117 men.
• Wide area: This is the most spread-out Winter Games ever staged, zigzagging across 13 places in northern Italy and spanning nearly 8,500 square miles. It's the first Olympics co-hosted by two cities. Milan and Cortina are about 250 miles apart by road, nearly a five-hour drive.
• Fans: Organizers estimate about 2 million spectators are attending.

U.S. skater says: "I hope people can see my story and the stories of other Black women in winter sports." -- Erin Jackson of Ocala, Fla.

Athlete says: "Pressure makes diamonds, right? So that's where diamonds shine the brightest, and that's what I'm going to try to do at these Olympics." -- William Dandjinou, Canadian speedskater at his first Olympics

Taylor Swift tells U.S. athletes: "Getting to learn your stories and see everything that you have sacrificed, all of your determination, hard work, and passion . . . it's just really inspiring." -- Video message played during opening ceremonies

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SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.