In January, American Jessie Diggins, the world’s top-ranked female cross-country skier, sprinted up a steep slope in Val di Fiemme for her third Tour de Ski victory. She’s returned to the nearby Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme for the 2026 Winter Olympics — on terrain she knows well.
Though the Games are centered around Milan and Cortina, many Team USA athletes have long competed and trained in northern Italy. “Our athletes compete there often. Many of them train there,” says Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. “It’s a place where we know we can shine.”
Organizers have adjusted the cross-country course to level the field — “most of it isn’t the same; it’s quite literally running backwards for part of it,” Diggins says — so even familiar venues require relearning. Still, having raced there repeatedly gives some Americans a confidence edge.
Val di Fiemme will also host ski jumping and Nordic combined events. About two hours north, the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena — long considered a biathlon sanctuary — has hosted elite skiing and shooting competitions for decades. U.S. biathletes see an advantage: their head coach for the past eight years hails from the Antholz Valley, and much of the U.S. wax staff grew up ski racing there. “We kind of are the locals,” says Deedra Irwin, the top U.S. female biathlete. The U.S. has never medaled in biathlon; Irwin says this could be their chance.
Some 40 miles south, Cortina d’Ampezzo will stage curling and sliding events, and Alpine skiers will tackle the storied Olympia delle Tofane run, first used at the 1956 Winter Games. For Lindsey Vonn, Cortina is deeply personal. “Every [skier] has their mountain where they feel most at home,” she says. “For me, it’s always been Cortina and Lake Louise.” Vonn, 41, is coming out of retirement for her fifth Olympics and says she feels a strong connection to the mountain and the town.
A week before the Games, Vonn suffered a major crash that ruptured a knee ligament, but she announced she will still compete, skiing with a brace over a torn ACL. “As long as there’s still a chance, I will try,” she says. Cortina has embraced her over the years — a local restaurant even named a pizza after her — and the place drew her back for one more run.
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics open Feb. 6 at Milan’s San Siro Stadium and conclude Feb. 22 in Verona at a Roman amphitheater built in A.D. 30. For many U.S. athletes, the northern Italian venues are familiar ground where training, competition and local ties make the mountains feel like home turf.