Alpine skiing - Men's Downhill
11:30 - Stelvio slope
The Men's Alpine Skiing Downhill will take place in Bormio, on the Stelvio slope, which, along with Kitzbuhel's Die Streif, is regarded as one of the most technical and spectacular slopes in the world.
Swiss skiers usually dominate the Downhill discipline. When Franjo Von Allmen won the last Alpine Ski World Cup Downhill competition in Crans Montana, it was the 20th consecutive time that at least one Swiss skier reached the podium in the Downhill World Cup, the longest streak in the country's history.
Switzerland, however, still has a long way to go to match the record of 33 consecutive downhill podium finishes achieved by Austrian skiers during the 2002-2003 and 2005-2006 winter seasons.
Marco Odermatt has been performing more consistently than Von Allmen. He has also celebrated victory twice on the Stelvio, but both times it was in the Super-G (2414 meters).
The Olympic downhill should take place thanks to good snow conditions on the traditional course, which measures 3270 metres, and Dominic Paris has the best memories of the course from the entire starting field.
The home veteran has won the World Cup race on this slope four times, most recently in 2021. Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr, who won on Stelvio in 2022, as well as another Swiss, Alexis Monney, will also want to mix things up.
Cross-Country Skiing Women's 10km + 10km Skiathlon
13:00 - Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, Val di Fiemme
At the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026, there will be 12 cross-country skiing events. For the first time in history, men and women will race over the same distances:
Jessie Diggins has prepared for the Games off the back of winning her third Tour de Ski title, and the charismatic American will arrive in Milano Cortina as the overall leader in the World Cup. Three wins, as well as eight overall podiums in total, have put the Minnesota native in a strong position going into the Games.
Diggins features as their most decorated athlete ever in Team USA’s cross-country squad. The 34-year-old has won one Olympic gold medal, one silver, and one bronze across her career.
Diggins, however, faces strong competition from the Scandinavian contingency at the race. At the 2025 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, the Swedish women won six gold medals in six events and will be looking to repeat that feat at this year’s Games.
Jonna Sundling, Ebba Andersson, and Frida Karlsson are among the Swedish top favorites for the gold, while Heidi Weng and Astrid Oyre Slind are the biggest hopes for the Norwegian squad. Kerttu Niskanen and Krista Parmakoski from Finland, who both won medals at the Games in 2022, could also spring a surprise.
Men's Snowboard Big Air Final
19:30 - Livigno Snow Park
The Winter Olympic Games snowboard competition officially began on Thursday night (5 February) with men’s snowboard big air qualifiers taking place during glorious snow conditions under the lights at Livigno Snow Park.
Japan’s Ogiwara Hiroto won the qualifying event with a score of 178.50, giving him a timely boost before the final. Italian home hope Ian Matteoli finished just behind the 20-year-old to the immense joy of the local crowd, with the top three rounded off by Kimura Kira of Japan.
The Olympic snowboard big air champion from the Games in Beijing in 2022, Su Yiming, claimed fourth place, as he looks to defend his gold medal from four years ago.
Riders like Rene Rinnekangas (FIN), Marcus Kleveland (NOR), Eli Bouchard (CAN), and Rocco Jameson (NZL) could also factor into the podium equation thanks to their immense creativity, but one should also take into account that the criteria which the judges have been working with over the past few seasons isn’t just all about spin-to-win.
All of these riders enjoy their own approach to physics-bending Big Air tricks, which may score just as highly as their uber-spinning competitors. Having a varied arsenal is of critical importance, with FIS Big Air competition final scores coming as the combined total from two tricks spun in different directions.