Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events.

The Winter Olympics are a bit of an enigma to most sports fans in the United States. The average person has seen hockey, the understand figure skating, and we get enough extreme sports through osmosis that the snowboard half pipe makes sense — but a lot of the events are more Euro-centric.

Don't miss a moment of the Winter Olympics. Here's how to watch live, for free and stream the action without cable.

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are officially underway as competition picks up speed on Day 1 today. After yesterday’s opening ceremony, there is a full schedule of events today, with gold medals on the line in the women’s downhill skiing,

Peacock will carry all Winter Olympics events, but coverage will be spread across NBC, USA Network, CNBC and NBCSN on linear TV. Live TV streamers such as YouTube TV, DirecTV MySports and Hulu Plus Live TV offer cord-free ways to stream all the traditional TV channels listed.

Live Coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is Tomorrow, Feb. 6th on NBC and Peacock; Live Coverage Begins at 2 p.m. ET, with Primetime Coverage at 8 p.m. ET/PT

Just days before the Olympics, Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette's mom, Therese, died from a heart attack.

Stream every moment and every medal of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games on Peacock. Read more NBC News coverage of the Olympics and the athletes competing. Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland won the men's Downhill gold medal today in 1:51.