Canada aims to extend its dominance in Olympic ski cross at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games, despite injury challenges in the women's event. Reece Howden leads the men's field as the top-ranked athlete. Competitors from Sweden, Switzerland, and Italy pose strong threats in the races set for February 20 and 21 in Livigno.
The ski cross competitions at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games mark the fifth Olympic appearance for the event, which debuted at the 2010 Vancouver Games following the introduction of snowboard cross in 2006. Thirty-two athletes in each gender will compete in seeding rounds followed by knockout heats with four skiers per race, where the top two advance.
In the women's event, Canada has secured all four prior Olympic podiums but faces uncertainty due to injuries. Marielle Thompson, the 2014 Sochi gold medalist and 2022 Beijing silver medalist, tore her LCL in February 2025 and has had a shaky season start, though she achieved two top-three finishes at World Cup events last month. Hannah Schmidt and Brittany Phelan represent Canada after India Sherret and Courtney Hoffos suffered knee injuries in December. Schmidt has two podiums in 11 competitions this season, while Phelan's best result is sixth place in December.
Sweden's Sandra Naeslund, the defending Olympic champion, leads the favorites with strong World Cup form, including five wins in eight starts this season according to NBC Olympics, or nine wins among 12 podiums per FIS reports. Switzerland's Fanny Smith, the reigning world champion and a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, and Germany's Daniela Maier, currently world No. 2, aim to build on their 2022 results. France's Marielle Berger Sabbatel (world No. 3) and Mylene Ballet Baz (No. 5) recently earned their first World Cup podiums in December. Italy's Jole Galli, who won and placed third at World Cups in Val di Fassa last month, seeks a medal on home snow following Italy's freestyle skiing bronze in big air earlier in the Games.
For the men, Canada's Reece Howden, the world No. 1, has won four World Cup contests this season, three consecutively in December. Italy's Simone Deromedis, fifth in Beijing 2022, won a World Cup three weeks ago and his first world title in 2023. Switzerland's Ryan Regez, the defending Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion, started slowly but won the National Championships last month. Teammate Alex Fiva, Beijing silver medalist, has improved this season. Sweden's brothers David and Erik Mobaerg, with Erik finishing fourth in 2022, and Erik's sister Linnea making her Olympic debut in the women's event, add to the contenders.
No athletes from the United States will compete in either ski cross event. Women's seeding begins at 4 a.m. ET on February 20, followed by knockouts at 5:55 a.m. ET; the men's event follows the same schedule on February 21. All races can be viewed live on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.
