As the 2026 Winter Games get started, here are some of the ways Olympic athletes are stepping up to take climate action.

More than 3500 athletes from 93 countries will be competing for 195 medals at the Milan-Cortina Games. Three countries will be making their Winter Olympic debuts at the 2026 Games, the African nations of Benin and Guinea Bissau along with the United Arab Emirates.

Simader, Kenya’s trailblazer on snow, will compete in Alpine Skiing at her third Olympic Games, further cementing her status as the face of Kenyan winter sports. She made history at PyeongChang 2018 a

Kenya’s alpine skiing star Sabrina Simader, nicknamed the “Snow Leopard,” will miss the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 , leaving Issa Laborde as the country’s sole representative. The 27-year-old skier, who made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang 2018, had planned a comeback after retiring last July.

"Being a flagbearer is a huge opportunity for me, a good opportunity to tell the story of the values the Olympics focus on. It's a good opportunity for me as a Kenyan and an African to hold the flag and represent people who value integrity and love sport in their hearts and minds," Kipchoge told Xinhua via video on Thursday.

Athletes from around the world are in the Italian Alps for the opening of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday – including 13 sportspeople from eight African countries. Though the continent isn't