Olympics: Watching the Winter Games

This is it, the event every athlete dreams about and the one that only comes once every four years: The Winter Olympics. We're less than 24-hours away from the start of the cross-country competitions, and the spotlight for the US Ski Team couldn't be brighter this time around with a number of athletes hitting their stride heading into the Games.

The most notable, to no one's surprise, is Jessie Diggins, the 3-time Olympic medalist and 3-time overall World Cup winner who is currently leading this season's overall World Cup standings and has hardly ever looked better. This being her last lap on the international circuit, she has nothing left to prove and everything to gain. She has indicated that she plans to start all six events across the 16-day span, so look out for some special moments from her ahead if her form holds.

Equally as exciting is the form of some of the men's skiers, namely Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher. Both have had stellar results in recent years, and the two recently tallied a historic first World Cup podium for the men's team with a third place finish in the team sprint in Goms, Switzerland just weeks ago. Schumacher also went from being a one-hit-wonder in Minneapolis two seasons ago, to winning his second World Cup event and finishing second in another, all in the span of this season, while Ogden has been consistently qualifying and advancing in sprints throughout the season, posting a number of top-10 finishes.

With a total of 16 athletes making starts across the men's and women's teams, there are plenty of other names to keep an eye out for during the coming days, including Zak Ketterson who joins Jessie Diggins as the two Midwest representatives on the team. A full list of the men and women who will be representing Team USA in the coming days is as follows:

Men
John Steel Hagenbuch
Zak Ketterson
Zanden McMullen
Ben Ogden
James Schoonmaker
Gus Schumacher
Hunter Wonders
Jack Young

Women
Rosie Brennan
Jessie Diggins
Lauren Jortberg
Julia Kern
Kendall Kramer
Novie McCabe
Samantha Smith
Hailey Swirbul

Where to Watch

NBC is the official media rights holder for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games, meaning all coverage will either be available live on TV (on NBC or via the affiliated USA Network) or online via the Peacock app. Peacock pricing starts at $10.99/month for live sports, with the option to go ad-free for $16.99/month. A full schedule detailing where each event can be viewed is available here.

The Schedule

With six events spread across 16-days, there will be plenty of Olympic action ahead for the cross-country crowd. Weather you're looking to catch one or all of the races, you can find the full breakdown of the event schedule below:

Saturday, Feb 7th - Mass-Start 20K Skiathlon
6:00 am CST - Women's Race

Sunday, Feb 8th - Mass-Start 20K Skiathlon
5:30 am CST - Men's Race

Tuesday, Feb 10th - Classic Sprints
2:15 am CST - Qualification
4:45 am CST - Heats

Thursday, Feb 12th - Interval-Start 10K Freestyle
6:00 am CST - Women's Race

Friday, Feb 13th - Interval-Start 10K Freestyle
4:45 am CST - Men's Race

Saturday, Feb 14th - 4 x 7.5K Team Relay
5:00 am CST - Women's Race

Sunday, Feb 15th - 4 x 7.5K Team Relay
5:00 am CST - Men's Race

Wednesday, Feb 18th - Freestyle Team Sprints
2:45 am CST - Qualification
4:45 am CST - Finals

Saturday, Feb 21th - Mass-Start 50K Classic
4:00 am CST - Men's Race

Sunday, Feb 22nd - Mass-Start 50K Classic
3:00 am CST - Women's Race

The full schedule along with detailed results can also be found on the official FIS website here.