7 Records That Could Be Broken At The 2026 Winter Olympics In Italy

We are less than 100 days out from the 2026 Winter Olympics where the Milan-Cortina games in Italy will become the epicenter of the sports world for several weeks. Looking ahead, these are the Olympic records that are most likely to be broken at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

While I listed ‘7’ here there are actually a couple more. I’ve just lumped a few together as the same record(s) could be broken by multiple athletes across multiple sports this year.

Most Likely Records To Be Broken At 2026 Winter Olympics

There is definitely a Team USA focus to this article but that is (1) because American athletes have the chance to break a lot of records this year and (2) I’m a red-blooded American and Team USA is where my focus is. Now let’s dive into all of the Winter Olympics records most likely to fall in 2026!

1. Snowboarding Three-Peat

In the history of Olympic Snowboarding, no athlete on the men’s or women’s side has ever won three consecutive gold medals. There are two snowboarders that could break that record at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

American snowboarder Chloe Kim has won back-to-back gold medals in Women’s Halfpipe. There is no reason to think she cannot win a third consecutive gold medal.

Austrian snowboarder Anna Gasser has won back-to-back gold medals in Big Air. In fact, she’s the only gold medalist in the event’s history at the Olympic Games as it only dates back 8 years. If she three-peats, she will become the first snowboarder ever to three-peat as her event comes before Chloe Kim’s. Czech snowboarder Ester Ledecka also has a chance to do it in the parallel giant slalom where she’s won back-to-back golds.

2. Cross Country Golds

Johannes Hosflot Klaebo of Norway already has 5 gold medals (7 total medals) in Cross Country skiing events at the Winter Olympics. He is considered a medal contender in six (!!) events at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Winning all six would be insane, right? Well, he swept all 6 events at the 2025 World Championships. At this point, 3 more gold medals (8 total) would tie him for the most in the history of his sport. 4 golds would put him in solo first.

Given that he won 6 golds at the 2025 World Championships, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that he leaves Italy in solo possession of the record. If he somehow wins 5 golds in 6 events that would put him at 10 total and the only Olympic athlete other than Michael Phelps to have 10 or more gold medals. Phelps has 23 golds and 28 total medals.

3. A Biathlon First

Somehow, some way, no Team USA athlete has ever won a medal in the biathlon. That could all change at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

23-year-old Campbell Wright, born in New Zealand to two American parents, just won two silver medals at the 2025 World Championships (10km Sprint + 12.5km pursuit). He could become the first American to ever medal in this sport that continues to elude our athletes.

4. Age Records Ready To Fall At The Winter Olympics

American Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn is back. She is seeking to become the oldest gold medalist in Winter Olympics history.

Vonn is already the oldest Olympic medalist in Alpine Skiing after winning bronze in the downhill on February 21, 2018 at the age of 33 years and 126 days. The oldest gold winner on the men’s side is Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway who won gold at 35 yeards old.

Indoors, U.S. Women’s Hockey player Hilary Knight (forward) is set to become the first U.S. Hockey player to complete in 5 Winter Olympics. At 36 years old, if Team USA wins a medal she will become the oldest U.S. Hockey medalist.

5. Freestyle Skiing History

22-year-old Eileen Gu, born in San Francisco, California, competes for China. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, she became the first athlete in Freestyle Skiing history to win three medals in the same Olympic Games (2 gold, 1 silver).

At the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Eileen Gu will seek to become the first an only athlete in Freestyle Skiing to have won 3 Olympic gold medals in their career. It is a relatively new sport in the Winter Olympics but she’s a strong contender across Halfpipe, Slopestyle, and Big Air so this record has a very realistic chance of being set.

6. Bobsledding Dominance

Francesco Friedrich of Germany already has 4 gold medals in bobsled events. He is tied for the most golds all-time. A 5th this year would put him alone as the leading gold medalist in teh 2 and 4-man bobsled.

Simultaneously, Team USA’s Kaillie Humphries is also vying to become the first bobsled athlete to reach 5 gold medals with 3 already and the potential to break the record in these Winter Olympic games.

7. All Eyes On Mikaela Shiffrin

Team USA Alpine skier and American skiing celebrity Mikaela Shiffrin already has 2 gold medals in her career. A third would would give her the most Alpine skiing gold medals of any Team USA skier in Winter Olympics history. If she were to win two gold medals in Italy, she would be tied for the most gold medals all-time of any Alpine Skier from any country.

Shiffrin will compete in the Slalom, Giant Slalom, and a Team Combined events with Super G still up in the air. But at this point she has a very realistic chance of making history.