The largest gathering of the world’s best winter sports athletes is just weeks away: The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, two cities in northern Italy, will jointly host the games.

There are 16 sports at the Winter Olympics, and athletes from Oregon and Washington will compete in three of them.

While several figure skaters from the Pacific Northwest were Olympic hopefuls, none qualified for Team USA.

In total, half a dozen athletes from Oregon and Washington will take part in the Games.

Here’s a rundown of which sports to watch to see these Northwest athletes in action.

Freestyle skiing

Hunter Hess is the only athlete from Oregon who will compete in this year’s Winter Games.

Hess, a first-time Olympian from Bend, will compete in freestyle skiing halfpipe. Hess, 27, said he fell in love with the sport at Mount Bachelor Sports Education Foundation, according to Central Oregon Daily.

In an Instagram post after he qualified for the Olympics, Hess wrote, “I’ve been grinding for this moment for so long. Reaching my goal has been an incredible feeling. It’s been a wild ride. Representing my country at the Olympics is truly a dream come true.”

Speed skating

Corinne Stoddard grew up in Federal Way, Washington and Italy will be the 24-year-old’s second Olympics. Stoddard competed at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. During her first race there she broke her nose, but that injury didn’t stop her. Stoddard skated the rest of her races in the Beijing Games, despite not being able to breathe out of one nostril.

Joining Stoddard on Team USA is Eunice Lee, who grew up in Bellevue, Washington. In 2022, Lee was the youngest speed skater to date to be named to the U.S. Olympic team. Lee went to Beijing as a backup for the women’s speed skating relay team but did not compete. Now at 21 years old, she heads to Italy to officially take the ice.

There will also be one male speed skater from Washington at the Games: Cooper McLeod, also 24, from Mount Vernon. According to Team USA, his dreams of being a speed skater began when he was 8 years old after attending the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. This year’s Games mark McLeod’s first Olympic appearance.

Speed skating has been an Olympic sport for over a century for men and since 1960 for women. Western Washington is a longtime hub for speed skating talent.

Apolo Ohno, a retired speed skater from Seattle, remains the most decorated American Winter Olympian with eight medals.

Curling

A pair of Washingtonians is out to prove curling isn’t just for the Canadians.

Ben Richardson from Issaquah and Luc Violette, who grew up in Granite Falls, are ready to throw rocks in a quest for gold. The two were profiled by OPB news partner KUOW.

Richardson, 27, and Violette, 26, train at the Granite Curling Club of Seattle and have been teammates for the last decade.

Milano Cortina is the first Olympics for both men.

Another Washingtonian will travel to Italy with Team Curling as an ice technician.

Lauren Rich, while not an athlete, will join as part of the crew responsible for preparing the curling ice for competition. Rich, who lives in Vancouver, is the only American of the technicians, KGW reports.

The opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics are Friday, Feb. 6. The games will run until Sunday, Feb. 22 and then the Paralympic Winter Games are March 6-15. No Oregonians nor Washingtonians will compete in the Paralympics.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/20/pacific-northwest-winter-olympics-oregon-washington-athletes/