These world-class athletes set to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are capable of catching your eyes in more ways than one.
Several of the top stars headed to the Games in Milano-Cortina already have side gigs as models and are no strangers to the famous fashion hub’s runways. Others simply love to show off their fun sides on social media, much to the delight of their legions of followers.
Here are 12 of the hottest stars you might see melting the snow and ice in Northern Italy over the next two-plus weeks.
Jutta Leerdam, Netherlands, Speed Skating
Leerdam’s fiance Jake Paul may be more of a household name, but the blonde beauty is capable of making headlines all of her own. The native of ‘s-Gravenzande won silver in the 1,000 metres at the 2022 Games in Beijing and will be going for gold in the 500-metre and 1,000-metre races this time around. She has been romantically involved with YouTuber-turn-boxer Paul since 2023 and the couple got engaged last year.
Chloe Kim, USA, Snowboarding
Standing at just 5-foot-3, it might be easy to lose Kim in a crowd, but she’s always reaching big heights in the halfpipe. The native of Torrance, Calif., is a two-time Olympic medallist in the event and also has racked up eight X Games golds. Her boyfriend is no stranger to standing out, either – she is dating NFL superstar Myles Garrett and was spotted supporting him at several Cleveland Browns games this past season.
American snowboarder Chloe Kim.
Taylor Lawrence, U.K., Bobsledding
The 6-foot-4 brakeman for both of Britain’s two-man and four-teams, Lawrence got a late start in the sport in 2019. He was plenty busy before that, though – the 29-year-old served as Royal Marine Commando in the British forces. After finishing sixth in the four-man event at Beijing 2022, he’ll certainly be looking to reach the podium this time around.
Mikaela Shiffrin, USA, Alpine skiing
Already arguably the greatest women’s skier of all time, Shiffrin enters the 2026 Winter Games with one more milestone in sight: She hopes to become the first American to win three alpine skiing gold medals. While she fell well short in that effort at Beijing 2022, she’s in incredible form heading into Cortina, which happens to be one of her favourite World Cup stops.
Gus Kenworthy, U.K., Freestyle skiing
This 34-year-old native of Chelmsford is taking part in his fourth straight Winter Games, having captured the silver in the event slopestyle at Sochi 2014. That’s not the only reason he might be familiar, however. The openly gay advocate for LGBTQ rights has appeared in several movies and television shows, both as an actor and as a reality TV contestant.
Kaysha Love, USA, Bobsledding
Love began her athletic journey as a sprinter and competed at the collegiate level for UNLV before setting her sights on bobsledding. Now she’s a medal contender at the Olympic Games in both the monobob and two-person bobsleigh with Azaria Hil after picking up a pair of World Cup silvers at the trial event in Cortina last November. Love also isn’t afraid to strip down, having recently modelled for Skims.
Eileen Gu, China, Freestyle skiing
Even with the stars of the NHL competing in Milano-Cortina, it’s actual Gu — who was born and raised in San Francisco but will compete for China — who is the highest-earning athlete at the Winter Games after making a reported US$23 million in 2025. How did she do it? She’s an in-demand global ambassador for several high-end brands and a model who has appeared in SI Swimsuit.
Dorothea Wierer, Italy, Biathlon
After earning bronze at each of the past three Winter Olympics, Wierer is hoping to upgrade her medal haul on home soil this time around. The 35-year-old native of Brunico has been competing on the World Cup circuit in biathlon for 17 seasons, earning 52 podium finishes and taking home 12 World Championship medals.
Tage Thompson, U.S.A., Hockey
The NHL obviously has plenty of hunks to satisfy any sort of Heated Rivalry fantasy, but the Buffalo Sabres forward earns our nod as the hottest hockey Olympian. The 6-foot-6 stud hails from Phoenix, Ariz., and has been putting up great numbers this season as the Sabres hope to end their playoff slump, scoring 29 goals and 58 points.
Lindsey Vonn, U.S.A., Alpine skiing
At 41 years old, Vonn has aged like fine wine. She’s also tough as nails and will be competing at Milano-Cortina despite suffering a devastating knee injury (a torn ACL) just last week. She is a three-time Olympic medallist who also has posed several times for the SI Swimsuit edition. While she has dated a couple of high-profile athletes in the past, she recently said that she’s currently single and ready to enjoy her time in the Olympic Village.
Lisa Buckwitz, Germany, Bobsledding
A gold-medal winner at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Buckwitz recently made headlines due to the way she supplemented her funding to make it to Milano-Cortina: OnlyFans. The native of Berlin has been using the subscription-based site to earn some extra money since late 2024 and also posed naked for the cover of Playboy Germany in 2022.
