Meet the hottest Winter Olympians: A chiseled Marine, China’s golden girl and the skater with a VERY famous boyfriend ready to set Milan-Cortina sizzling

The action may be taking place over the ice and snow over the next couple of weeks but the athletes on them will be turning up the heat. 

The 2026 Winter Olympics are set to finally get underway this week with Milan-Cortina opening its doors to the world’s greatest snow sports stars with the opening ceremony on Friday. 

Until February 22 athletes will descend on northern Italy will take to the slopes, rinks and tracks to seize their chance to etch their names in the history books. 

However, some stars have already made a name for themselves, whether it be thanks to their jam-packed trophy cabinets, social media notoriety, famous partners, or influx of brand deals. 

One thing is for sure: They are guaranteed to set even the frosty temperature of Cortina sizzling when they go for gold on the Olympic stage. 

Here, the Daily Mail takes a look at hottest Winter Olympic hopefuls with a shot at the podium.    

Mikaela Shiffrin

Age: 30

Country: USA

Discipline: Alpine Skiing

Olympic Medals: 2 gold, 1 silver

Mikaela Shiffrin is perhaps the most famous name heading to Italy.

In Cortina, one of her favorite World Cup stops, the 30-year-old will try to break the record for most Olympic alpine gold medals by an American.

The Colorado native is in imperious form having just locked up the slalom season title, also becoming the first skier in the six-decade history of the World Cup with nine season titles in one discipline.

But Shiffrin is heading to Italy with more than medals on her mind – she also has redemption in her sights.

The most decorated alpine skier in history is aiming for a triumphant comeback on the Olympic stage after her meltdown in Beijing, where she did not finish three races, including her two signature events, and failed to podium.

However, Shiffrin will have to take to the Olympic stage without her rock beside her. Her fiance, Norwegian Alpine skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, was forced to pull out of the Milan-Cortina games due to lingering effects from a back injury sustained in a crash two years ago.

Chloe Kim

Age: 25

Country: USA

Discipline: Snowboard Halfpipe

Olympic Medals: 2 gold

Former teenage phenom Chloe Kim enjoyed a meteoric rise to celebrity after taking home Olympic gold in 2018 at age 17, becoming the youngest women’s champion in the sport’s history in doing so. 

Now the american sensation heads to Italy trying to become the first snowboarder to win three consecutive gold medals in halfpipe.

But the 25-year-old will face a tougher challenge this year as she competes with a torn labrum.

The injury left her status for the games in question after she suffered the horrific tear during a training run in Switzerland about one month before the Olympics.

But the darling of the snowboarding world confirmed last month that she is still set to tear it up in Milan-Cortina as she looks to add to her two gold medals when the women’s Olympic halfpipe contest starts February 11.

Off the slopes, Kim has been no stranger to headlines thanks to her relationship with NFL star Myles Garrett.

The couple have been a rumored item since May this year after multiple public sightings but made their romance official in the Fall when the Olympian was spotted cheering on the Cleveland Browns defensive star on the sidelines of one of his games.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles native’s profile has only been boosted by a stream of brand deals, as well as Mattel making a Barbie Doll in her honor. 

Eileen Gu

Age: 22 

Country: China

Discipline: Freestyle Skiing

Olympic Medals: 2 gold, 1 silver

Eileen Gu was the poster girl of the last Winter Olympics – much to the dismay of the Americans.

Despite only being 22, Gu already boasts a glittering career, having won two gold medals and a silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, along with 15 World Cup titles and four X Games medals.

Growing up in San Francisco, learning to ski in Lake Tahoe, and being immersed in American culture, Gu represented Team USA until the age of 15 when she switched to the country of her mother’s birth. She’s fluent in both Mandarin and English.

Born in the States to an American father, Gu’s mother Yan, a keen skier herself, was the catalyst for her career on the slopes, booking her lessons so her daughter could keep up with her.

And under the Five-star Red Flag Gu’s career has soared – despite the controversy surrounding her switch.

Despite her switch, Gu’s career has continued to blossom away from the slopes as well with American brands continuing to throw endorsement deals at her.

Over the years, she has enjoyed significant sponsorship deals from American brands like Cadillac, Tiffany’s, Visa, Therabody, Victoria’s Secret and Oakley.

Last year, Gu emerged as the fourth highest paid female athlete, according to Sportico. She earned a staggering $23million in 2025, almost entirely from her endorsement deals.

Lindsey Vonn

Age: 41

Country: USA

Discipline: Alpine Skiing 

Olympic Medals: 1 gold, 2 bronze

Lindsey Vonn may have suffered ruptured knee ligaments just one week before the Olympics,but even that hasn’t stopped the queen of downhill making her comeback.

Despite the severity of the injury, which she sustained in a horror crash in Switzerland, the 41-year-old American, who won downhill gold in 2010, intends to line up in Cortina, Italy.

The games seal a remarkable return for the iconic veteran, who has surged back to outstanding form since ending a five-year retirement in 2024.

Having first quit in 2019 after multiple injuries, Vonn won a World Cup event last December – the 83rd of her career and the first since 2018.

Vonn’s participation in the Olympics is no doubt a huge boost to organisers – her profile as a two-time world champion and three-time Olympic medallist substantially outweighs most of the athletes in Italy.

The skier, who famously dated Tiger Woods, boasts an estimated net worth of approximately $14 million, driven by her legendary career and her relentless influx of brand deals off the slopes.

Over the years, Vonn, who recently opened up on the struggled of being single, has inked deals with Red Bull, Rolex, Under Armour, Oakley and Beat by Dre.

Jutta Leerdam

Age: 27

Country: Netherlands

Discipline: Speed Skating

Olympic Medals: 1 silver

Jutta Leerdam may have been thrust into the spotlight thanks to her romance with renowned YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, but the blonde beauty has made a name for herself in her own right.

The Dutch athlete is a highly successful speed skater who has swept up World Championship titles and an Olympic silver medal at the 2022 Winter Games.

Born in the Netherlands, Leerdam’s achievements on the ice have opened many doors for her. She has followed in the footsteps of her fiance in becoming somewhat of a social media sensation.

The 27-year-old, who has been branded the ‘world’s hottest speed skater’ by Dutch media, has amassed over four-and-a-half million Instagram followers after regularly posting snaps of herself competing, living her extroverted life with Paul or showing off her glamorous getaways.

Meanwhile, on the ice, Leerdam will once again represent the Oranje on the Olympic stage – despite an anxious wait.

She stunningly crashed out of Netherlands qualifying for the 1,000m race that she specializes in and left the ice in tears before the next day clinching a place in the 500m event at next month’s games in Milan.

As a result of her tumble, she was left anxiously waiting on the verdict of the Netherlands’ selection committee for a spot in the 1,000m.

But she took to Instagram on New Year’s Day to reveal the selection committee had picked her to compete in the 1,000m, as well as the 500m.

Sidney Crosby

Age: 38

Country: Canada

Discipline: Hockey

Olympic Medals: 2 gold

At age 38, he may no longer be ‘Sid the Kid,’ but Sidney Crosby remains one of the most famous – and revered – names in hockey.

NHL stars are set to take to the ice at the Olympics for the first time since 2014 following a 12-year hiatus and Crosby is set to be the headliner.

However, this isn’t the Canada captain’s first rodeo. The Milan-Cortina games will mark his third Olympic appearance. Canada erupted when a 22-year-old Crosby scored the overtime winner at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 and this month he’ll be gunning for gold again, this time with the next generation of Canadian stars under his wing.

In his 21st professional season, the Nova Scotian is still one of the best players in the NHL, boasting three Stanley Cups to go along with his two Olympics gold medals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins center, who makes an average of $8.7 million, is a hero in the Great North. And once again he will bear the expectations of the hockey-fanatic country once again – and maybe for the last time.

In the 2030 Olympics, Crosby will be 42. Barring some competitive miracle, he’ll likely be in retirement by then making this year his last shot at Olympic gold.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo

Age: 29

Country: Norway 

Discipline: Cross-Country Skiing

Olympic Medals: 5 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze

The photo of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo wearing a gold crown on the podium at the 2025 Nordic Ski World Championships says it all really.

Norway has won the medal table at the last two Winter Olympics in part thanks to the nation’s domination in the cross-country skiing events. And this year is likely to be no different.

If Norway is ruling the medal table, then Klaebo is the king.

The 29-year-old is the man to beat this year, having won four medals at the previous games in Beijing alongside another three gold in 2018.

Klaebo trains under relative anonymity in Park City, Utah but back home in Norway he’s an A-Lister. The cross-country skier has achieved a level of fame seen by the likes of NFL and NBA stars in the United States.

His name is splashed across tabloids and he boasts endorsement deals with gas stations, running shoes and a whole host of products that help style his famously flowing blond hair.

Taylor Lawrence

Age: 29

Country: Great Britain 

Discipline: Bobsleigh 

Olympic Medals: None

Standing at 6-foot-4, Taylor Lawrence is one of the most formidable figures on Team GB.

However, the 29-year-old only joined Great Britain’s bobsleigh team in 2019 – just three years before his first games.

Before then, Lawrence, who played soccer and rugby union, served as Royal Marine Commando in the British forces – something he believes has set him up for sporting success.

He previously told the Sportsmen: ‘The things that help you be a good soldier, organisational skills, the way you carry yourself, the way you interact with people, all those things, it definitely helps in the bobsleigh world and in the wider sporting world.’

Lawrence plays the crucial role of being the team’s brakeman in both the two-man and the four-man bobsleigh events and is one of Team GB’s greatest medal hopes.

His team, led by their world-renowned bobsleigh pilot Brad Hall, has won multiple medals across world championships, European championships and on the IBSF World Cup circuit.

Laila Edwards

Age: 21

Country: USA

Discipline: Hockey

Olympic Medals: None

At 21 years old, Laila Edwards will be making history when she arrives in Milan.

When she takes to the ice, Edwards will be the first black player to represent the USA’s women’s hockey team at the Olympics.

And the Ohio native has the backing of some very famous names ahead of her historic Olympic debut, including the Kelce brothers.

NFL stars Jason and Travis Kelce gave her a shout out on their New Heights podcast back in October 2023 when she first made the US national team. And the brothers have continued their support in the build up to the Olympics.

Edwards, who hails from Cleveland Heights, the same hometown as the Kelce brothers, earlier this month, revealed that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis had donated to her family’s GoFundMe as they raise funds to make the journey to Italy to witness her play.

She described the brothers as ‘just really good people’ outside of their glittering NFL careers.

Edwards, still only a senior for the Wisconsin Badgers, has quickly risen to become one of the USA’s most promising prospects.

She became the youngest American to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at the women’s hockey world championships when she was 20 years old and helped the USA to their 11th title last April.