Will these be Mikaela Shiffrin's Olympic Games? © APA/afp / JURE MAKOVEC

Klæbo, Shiffrin, or someone else? Olympia is looking for a superstar.

The wait is finally over: The Winter Olympics begin this week in northern Italy. Who will be the big star of this event?

February 02, 2026

From: apa/det

Johannes Thingnes Bø was the standout athlete of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The biathlete won four gold and one bronze medal, leading his country to a record 15 Olympic victories. Bø has retired, but a fellow Norwegian could follow in his footsteps at the Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d'Ampezzo, which begin on Friday. Cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is expected to make a strong showing on the Tesero trails.

Klæbo was already the top-ranked athlete eight years ago in South Korea with three gold medals and holds a total of five Olympic gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. The 29-year-old is a record world champion with 15 titles and could also become the most successful Winter Olympian in history.

The best cross-country skier on the planet: Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. © ANSA / SALVATORE DI NOLFI

The Norwegian, who has won eight individual World Cups and the Tour de Ski this winter, has a chance at six gold medals in Val di Fiemme. If he triumphs at least four times, he will overtake his three leading compatriots Marit Bjørgen (cross-country skiing – 8 gold/4 silver/3 bronze), Ole Einar Bjørndalen (biathlon – 8/4/2) and Bjørn Dæhlie (cross-country skiing – 8/4/0), who each have eight Olympic victories.

Jeanmonnot hunting in Antholz

Six medals are possible in biathlon, but the competition at the top is fierce. France's Lou Jeanmonnot is considered the most likely to dominate the races in Antholz, the biathlon mecca of South Tyrol. In Nordic combined, Norway's Jens Luraas Oftebro is in top form going into the three events.

Lou Jeanmonnot is aiming for a medal at the Olympics. © ANSA / MARTIN DIVISEK

In alpine skiing, Marco Odermatt has a particularly good chance of winning multiple medals. The Swiss skier arrives at the Games not only as the defending giant slalom champion and clear overall World Cup leader, but also as the leader in the giant slalom, Super-G, and downhill standings.

Shiffrin and Vonn

The US women's team, with slalom ace Mikaela Shiffrin and speed queen Lindsey Vonn, has the greatest potential for success. Shiffrin triumphed once each in 2014 and 2018, and is considered capable of equaling the record of Croatian Janica Kostelic and Norwegian Kjetil Andre Aamodt, the only four-time alpine champions to date. However, it remains to be seen whether the 41-year-old Vonn, the 2010 Olympic champion, will be at 100 percent after her crash in the downhill in Crans-Montana.

Lindsey Vonn has fallen in Crans-Montana – how fit is she for the Olympics? © APA/afp / FABRICE COFFRINI

Domen and Nika Prevc are the stars of the ski jumping scene this winter. The Slovenian siblings have a chance at six gold medals together in Predazzo. Domen, 26, boasts eleven World Cup victories this winter, is the winner of the Four Hills Tournament, and a ski flying world champion. His sister Nika, six years his junior, has even surpassed him in the World Cup standings with 13 wins this season.

Superstars in ice hockey

Ice hockey is attracting a host of top stars, as the NHL is taking its first break for the Olympics in twelve years. Canada's star power is unmatched. Captain Sidney Crosby is aiming for his third Olympic gold, leading current top players like Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, as well as Macklin Celebrini, a potential next-generation superstar. Among the women, the best player also wears the maple leaf jersey. Marie-Philip Poulin has already led Canada to three Olympic gold medals, scoring at least one goal in each final.

Sidney Crosby captains Canada's ice hockey team. © APA / CARMEN MANDATO

In figure skating, the gold medal favorite comes from the USA. 21-year-old Ilia Malinin, already a two-time world champion and world record holder, skates and especially jumps in a league of his own and will likely cause a sensation in Milan as well. In speed skating, American Jordan Stolz is the overwhelming favorite in three individual races, while among the women, the Dutch skater Femke Kok has her sights set on a sprint double.

The 38-year-old Bavarian luge veterans Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt are aiming for their seventh, and perhaps eighth, triumph on the Cortina ice track. Their compatriot Francesco Friedrich, meanwhile, has the chance to become the most successful Olympic bobsleigh pilot with a fifth gold medal before his announced retirement. Kaillie Humphries, already the most successful with three gold medals for Canada and the USA, can further extend her success.

Gasser and Kim aim for a snowboard hat trick

In snowboarding, an Olympic sport only since Nagano 1998, an Austrian woman has a chance to make history. Two-time Olympic Big Air champion Anna Gasser would become the most successful Olympic snowboarder with another victory. A hat trick is also possible for Chloe Kim in the halfpipe in Livigno; the American, like Gasser, had to take a break in the lead-up to the Olympics due to injury. In snowboarding, only Shaun White has won three gold medals so far.