The oldest, youngest and fastest stars of the Winter Olympics 2026

Young sensations at Milano Cortina

When it comes to the world’s biggest stage, young prodigies are never ones to shy away from delivering big upsets. We’ve seen it here and will continue to witness their fearlessness in many Games down the line.

In Milano, though, one of the biggest stories came from 17-year-old Choi Gaon of the Republic of Korea. She stunned two-time defending champion Chloe Kim in the women’s halfpipe final, mustering up the strength and courage to ride again after a heavy crash. A third-run winning score of 90.25 marked the Republic of Korea’s first-ever medal in this event.

On the ice, 21-year-old Mikhail Shaidorov shocked the world of figure skating when he claimed the men’s individual gold. He wasn’t considered a contender for many yet delivered a podium-topping free skate to finish ahead of the medal favourites. It marked Kazakhstan’s first gold in this discipline, and their first at an Olympic Winter Games since 1994.

Although he is 25 now, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen has been on the alpine skiing scene since 17. After failing to finish in both slalom events in Beijing, the Brazilian travelled to Europe with a point to prove. On the back of his best-ever World Cup season, he soared to gold in the giant slalom to clinch South America’s first Winter Games medal. He is proof of what these teen prodigies can become – the best of the best.

Later in the Games, we’ll see more history written when USA’s Abby Winterberger takes to the freeski halfpipe at just 15 years old. She will become one of the youngest competitors at a Winter Olympics.