Milano Cortina Olympics: 32 days and counting

The GIST: With the calendar turning to 2026, that means it’s officially an Olympic year — that’s right, the Milano Cortina Games begin in just 32 (!!!) days. As the Olympic torch travels across Italy, here are the latest Olympic headlines, by the numbers.

🤷 0: There have been essentially zero updates on the status of the Games’ main hockey arena, which is still under heavy construction with the first test event scheduled for Friday. Uh oh.

🇨🇦🏒 16: Sixteen years after his gold medal–winning Golden Goal in 2010, the legendary Sidney Crosby returns to lead Team Canada, alongside fellow NHL MVPs Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, who will compete in their first Games.

• ICYMI, NHL players are permitted to play in this year’s Olympics, the first time since 2014 that the world’s best will appear.

🇺🇸🏒 46: Speaking of, captain Auston Matthews and forwards Brady and Matthew Tkachuk (pronounced KUH-CHUCK) headline a Team USA roster hoping to claim its first gold medal since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.” Who do you play for?

🙌 1: After a phenomenal Rivalry Series showing and a decorated college career, two-way player Laila Edwards is the first-ever Black woman to make the Team USA women’s hockey roster. Stay tuned — Team Canada will announce their women’s roster later this week.

• P.S. Sign up for The GIST Plus to hear our exclusive, subscriber-only interview with Edwards when it’s released on Wednesday.

⛷️ 6: Swiss skier Camille Rast ended her rival Mikaela Shiffrin’s six-race win streak in World Cup slaloms yesterday, setting up a sure-to-be fierce upcoming battle in the Italian Alps.

👏 41: Five years (and one titanium knee replacement) after retiring, 41-year-old skier Lindsey Vonn will compete in her fifth and final Olympics, qualifying for Team USA in the downhill race. Incredible.