The Estonian national team, with its many different faces, will compete in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.

On the evening of February 6, the Olympic flame of the Milano-Cortina Games will be lit, marking the 25th winter sports festival. The Estonian team set a record even before the competition, as the largest Olympic team ever to compete will be based in Italy.

31 athletes from 11 sports is a respectable number for Estonia, and according to several sports specialists, nearly half of the team is capable of competing for the top ten places. Kelly Sildaru, a freestyle skier who won a bronze medal in Beijing four years ago, has also overcome injuries and is aiming for a high place again.

The first Estonian Winter Olympic medal dates back to 1964. Older sports fans will certainly remember the radio report by the legendary sports reporter Gunnar Hololei, which began with the words “Here is Innsbruck, here is Innsbruck…” This was followed by Ants Antson’s gold medal in speed skating at a distance of 1,500 meters.

Estonia waited 24 years for its next Winter Olympic medal. At the 1988 Calgary Games, the whole of Estonia was cheering on the biathlete Allar Levand, even though the competition took place at night according to our time. Levand's bronze medal-winning competition has gone down in history as the night when the lights did not go out in Estonian homes.

The first decade of the 21st century is characterized by a nationwide skiing craze. Andrus Veerpalu, Kristina Šmigun and Jaak Mae were among the best in the world and managed to pick up seven medals from the Olympic tracks, three of them. In 2002, in Salt Lake City, Veerpalu became the Olympic champion in the 15-kilometer classic individual race, and Mae won a bronze medal at the same distance. Veerpalu also finished second in the 50-kilometer classic marathon.

Four years later, Šmigun was in a frenzy. First, a gold medal in the 15-kilometer ski-change race and four days later, he was again on the highest step of the podium, this time in the 10-kilometer classic race. Little Estonia wasn't finished yet, because the day after Šmigun's second Olympic gold, Veerpalu was in the spotlight, defending his 15 km classic gold medal. Three Olympic gold medals, in five days, and these are still Estonia's last Winter Olympic victories to this day.

In 2010 in Vancouver, Šmigun won a silver medal, and together with Veerpalu, they are the most successful Estonian Olympic athletes of all time, with three medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Sildaru's bronze medal in freestyle skiing in 2022 marked the Estonians' tenth Winter Olympic medal

Will the medal also shine at the 2026 Olympics?

While four years ago, when talking about a medal, Kelly Sildaru and Kristjan Ilves were the main focus, this year there is no clear leader. Although the average level of the team is very good and many are virtually locked in the top ten, in order to achieve a medal, someone at their level would have to put in a lot of effort and rely a little on the misfortune of their competitors.

Sildaru returned from a long injury break at the end of last year, and although she has also competed in the finals of the World Championships, the Estonian has had a cautious start due to the injury. If she can increase the complexity of her tricks at the Olympic Games, then a medal is not utopia, but still a very difficult task.

Ilves, a two-time competitor, is participating in her fourth Olympic Games this year. Only Johanna Talihärm can boast a similar resume in the team. In 2022, Ilves' competition was ruined by the spread of COVID-19, which forced her to spend a long time in quarantine in a hotel room. In the end, the Estonian finished ninth.

This season has been rough for Ilves, who trains daily in Norway. There have been some nice flashes, but she is mainly fighting for a place in the top ten. Looking through blue-black-and-white glasses, if good things come together, you could…

One of the biggest stars of this winter in our home country has been Niina Petrõkina. The 21-year-old figure skater defended her European championship title from last year in January, and with a landslide victory. Only one Russian female skater is represented on the Olympic ice, which undoubtedly raises her stock. The competition in the world is fierce, and at the moment, Petrõkina could be expected to place in the top six if she performs successfully.

At the same time, Petrõkina has proven that she can show her cool in tense moments, and the European championship title she just achieved adds an important cornerstone to her confidence. When it comes to medals, the curling duo Harri Lill-Marie Kaldvee cannot be surpassed. This is the first time Estonia is competing in this discipline, and since there are only 10 pairs in the competition, everyone is capable of beating everyone. Stability will be decisive, because only four pairs will advance from the subgroups, who will be placed in the semi-finals according to their rankings.

Before the start, all Estonian athletes have a chance to win a medal, but based on this season, speed skater Marten Liiv, who has a bronze medal from the European Championships at a distance of 1000 m this season, is also capable of fighting for high places. Regina Ermits has put together a very stable biathlon season and is a firm leader in Estonia's most popular winter sport and also a hope for an excellent finish.

What else to watch at the Milan-Cortina games?

There is a lot to watch and the world's biggest stars will be competing in various sports. Jokes like to say that the Olympics and the men's ice hockey tournament are two different competitions, because the latter is simply so popular in the world.

Even the reigning Olympic champion Finland can be called the most successful team in ice hockey of the last decade, but they have not been doing very well in recent years. Many eyes have been turned towards Canadian Sidney Crosby in ice hockey. He has gold medals from the 2010 and 2014 tournaments in his trophy cabinet, and this year's competition is considered his last, where one of the greatest legends of the sport will pass the baton to the next generation.

Our domestic stars are not at the top of their game in cross-country skiing, which is beloved among Estonians, but Norwegian ace Johannes Høsflot Klæbol has a connection to Estonia. Namely, her grandfather lives in Estonia and the Norwegian won her first World Cup stage victory in Otepää. Klæbo, who won six gold medals at last year's World Cup, is already a 5-time Olympic champion and could become a legend in the snowy mountains of Italy.

One of the most intriguing fairy-tale stories ahead of this year's Olympics is Lindsay Vonn. The 41-year-old alpine skier first triumphed at the Olympics 16 years ago, and her world fame clearly extends beyond sports news and the slopes. The American, who ended her career in 2019 due to several injuries, made a big comeback a year and a half ago.

Three months after her comeback, Vonn earned her first podium place in the World Cup. In December last year, she became the oldest alpine skier to win first place. What makes all this even more incredible is the fact that one of Vonn's knees is made of titanium. Before the Milan-Cortina Olympics, misfortune caught up with Vonn again, but the alpine skiing star said that even with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee, she will still compete!

The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics will take place from February 6-22!