The Winter Olympics are made up of many sports, but we often talk the most about figure skating or skiing, for instance. Greta Guider ‘27 shares, “I really like watching skiing because I ski, too. I love [watching] Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.” Guider noted that skeleton is another sport she enjoys watching in the Winter Olympics. Athletes who participate in skeleton will sprint along the ice and then go head-first on a small sled along the track of ice.

Hunter Simon ‘26 agreed that it is fun to watch sports in the Olympics that he does as well. As a Nordic skier, Simon noted, “I don’t specialize [in] going downhill, but I go downhill every day, so I know how impressive [Olympic skiing] is.” 

However, some other Olympic sports are not talked about as much. The biathlon is one of the sports that often puzzles, leaving people wondering what exactly this sport consists of. The biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting. Originating in Scandinavia around the 18th century, the biathlon requires significant physical abilities as well as mental attention as athletes go from intense skiing to extreme focus on aiming for a target. 

Another sport in the Winter Olympics that is not talked about as much is speed skating. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum describes that speed skating originated around the 13th century in the Netherlands. Megan Li ‘28 says that speed skating is one of her favorite sports to watch in the Winter Olympics: “I like how they go super fast around the circle…and I think it’s really interesting to watch.” Li adds that her favorite speed skating team is China, and that the female speed skaters are “a huge inspiration for women.”

No matter which sport is your favorite in the Winter Olympics, explore other sports that pique your interest, too. By learning about different Winter Olympic sports, you might just discover a sport you can’t wait to watch in the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.