As the holiday decor is gradually taken down in households across the globe and the new year is thrusted into motion, many people are left without anything to look forward to. People look forward to the time spent with family, music and everything else that comes with these festive celebrations. The anticipation for warmer weather and summer activities causes frequent impatience, regardless of who you ask. However, for those who feel as if they are in a “drought” regarding exciting events, may I turn your attention to the Winter Olympics.

The Winter Olympics, similarly to the Summer Olympics, occur every four years. This year, the opening ceremony will begin on Feb. 6, and the games will carry on until Feb. 22, in Milan and Cortina d’Ampazzo, Italy.

While the summer games focus primarily on the dominant sports when it comes to popularity globally, such as soccer, baseball and basketball, the winter games highlight the sports or activities that require an immense amount of physical coordination, choreography and efficiency. Here are the four sports with the most community intrigue going into the games.

Figure Skating:

The first Winter Olympic figure skating event took place on Dec. 8, 1908 in London, England. This sport focuses on the art of sports and physical activity. A round in Olympic figure skating consists of one skater performing a routine where they skate across a large layout of ice, with the ultimate goal of earning points through displaying stylistic or complex movements.
The United States is expected to win big in the competition this year, with highly respected men’s and women’s skaters. Notable names include Ilia Malinin (M), Amber Glenn (W), Alysa Liu (W) and Isabeau Levito (W). When it comes to other nations competing in the winter olympics, some names to look out for include Maxim Naumov (M) and Andrew Torgashev (M).

Skiing:

The first ski sport, Alpine skiing, was officially introduced at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Since then, the broad sports genre involving skiing has grown significantly now including 10 different competitions that all focus on different aspects of the activity, including speed, style and distance. Two of the most important of these competitions are freestyle skiing, which focuses primarily on the stylistic elements, and ski jumping, which primarily focuses on the distance elements.

In terms of which nation is expected to bring home the gold this year, for ski jumping, the race is extremely close. The two skiers who are the frontrunners to take home the top prize of ski jumping are Ryoyu Kobayashi, representing Japan, and Marius Lindvik, representing Norway. In the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Lindvik took home the medal for the large hill competition, with Koyabashi finishing with silver. It’s safe to say that there is a noticeable amount of unfinished business between the two all-world athletes.

When taking a look at freestyle skiing, similar trends are shown. Norway is currently the favorite to win big this year, headlined by skiers like Birk Ruud (M) and Johanne Killi (W). Nations trailing behind include Germany, led by Daniela Maier (W), and the United States, led by Jaelin Kauf (W).

Ice Hockey:

Ice hockey is the sport expected to bring the most viewers to the Winter Olympics this Feb. Over recent years, the sport of hockey has grown rapidly worldwide, with the National Hockey League’s (NHL) viewership ratings, at this point in the 2025-2026 season, being reported to be 31-35% higher than that of last season at the same point of the season.

The sport was introduced to Olympic competition in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium, originally being included as a Summer Olympic event. After its seemingly immediate popularity amongst Olympic fans, the International Olympic Committee decided to make ice hockey the staple sport for the Winter Olympics moving forward, with the inaugural event taking place in 1924 in Chamonix, France. It is safe to say that the rest has been history.

The two teams leading the way this year, in terms of ice hockey, are the United States and Canada. If you have even paid the slightest attention to the sport over recent years, you are most likely aware of the ruthless rivalry that exists between the two nations. At the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, which is a NHL tournament consisting of professional players from Canada, The United States, Sweden and Finland, the two teams wasted little time putting their hatred for one another on full display, getting into a total of three fights in the first nine minutes of the first period.

Going into the 2026 Winter Olympics, Canada is the betting favorite to take home gold at a +120 spread, with the United States trailing closely behind at +175, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. When these two face off, which is almost inevitable to happen at some point during these games, it’ll without a doubt be must-see sports television!

Snowboarding:

What many see as a hobby only picked up during the months in which snow has fallen has gradually turned into one of the most anticipated events in the Winter Olympics every year.

First introduced at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, snowboarding was originally only divided into two respective competitions for men and women competitors; halfpipe and giant slalom. Since then, the sport has expanded dramatically, now including nine additional snowboarding sports. Such additions include big air snowboarding in 2018, slopestyle snowboarding in 2014 and snowboard cross in 2006.

The United States built themselves a pretty impressive resume when it comes to snowboarding in the 2022 Winter Olympics, taking home gold in three of the eleven snowboarding events. American snowboarder Chloe Kim has had the halfpipe competition in a chokehold for the last two Winter Olympics, winning gold in both Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022. Other nations aren’t making it as easy for The United States this year, however. Notable names from other nations that are making noise in the snowboarding world include Ayumu Hirano (W) from Japan and Scotty James (M) from Australia, who won the 2025 X Games Snowboarding championship.