Olympics Predictions 2026 Medal Odds for USA, Canadian Athletes and More

Many sporting fans are focused on the upcoming Super Bowl LX matchup between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. However, the big game is far from the only marquee event on the horizon. The 2026 Winter Olympics are set to begin with the opening ceremony on Friday, February 6.

This year's games will be held primarily in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, marking the fourth time the Olympics have been held in Italy.

NBC will provide live coverage of the opening ceremony at 2 p.m. ET on Friday. Of course, many fans will be looking past the celebration and toward the competition itself.

With events like hockey, figure skating, snowboarding, skiing, and curling on tap, the 2026 Olympics figure to be a splendid spectacle of sportsmanship.

Here, we'll dive into the medal odds and make a few early predictions.

2026 Milano Cortina Olympics

Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images

Dates: February 6 - February 22

Primary Locations: Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

Opening Ceremony: Friday, January 6 at 2 p.m. ET

Opening Ceremony Venue: San Siro Stadium in Milan

Opening Ceremony TV and Live Stream: NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app, NBC Sports app

*Full event schedule can be found here.

Odds for Most Gold Medals

Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images

Norway -170 (net $170 to win $100)

Germany +470 (bet $100 to win $470)

USA +500

Canada +1400

Italy +2700

Switzerland +3300

Netherlands +4000

China +5000

Sweden +5000

France +5000

Belgium +10000

Finland +10000

Australia +10000

South Korea +10000

Slovenia +10000

*Early odds from Odds Shark

Preview and Predictions

Jurij Kodrun - International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images

Speed skater Ragne Wiklund of Norway

The 2026 Winter Olympics will feature 116 medal events across 16 disciplines. Familiar sports like skating, skiing, and hockey will generate plenty of headlines, but a couple of new events will be in the mix as well.

New events in existing sports, like Women's Large Hill Individual and Mixed Team Relay Skeleton, will be held, along with an entirely new sport. Ski Mountaineering, or Skimo, will make its Olympic debut in Italy. The sport combines uphill ski climbing and downhill racing.

"These athletes are some of the fittest people on the planet, and what they're doing is remarkable," Olympic broadcaster and former U.S. Ski Mountaineering National Team member LaRochelle said, per Jennifer Meckles of 9 News Colorado. "The sport is just a very beautiful sport, and I'm hoping that this leads to the demonstration and curiosity around where the sport came from in the first place."

Casual fans, of course, will probably be more interested in events like Alpine Slalom, where Team USA's Mikaela Shiffrin is an early favorite, figure skating, and snowboarding.

Hockey, of course, is always an international draw. According to Odds Shark, Team Canada (+120) is the early favorite for the men's hockey competition, followed by Team USA (+210), and Sweden (+600).

While Team USA and Team Canada may make headlines with some of the more mainstream sports, more Olympic-specific events like speed skating, cross-country skiing and biathlon may inevitably push the total medal count to countries like Norway, Germany, and Italy.

Norway dominated the total medal count at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, winning 37 total medals and 16 golds. Germany finished second with 27 medals and 12 golds, while Team USA finished third with 25 total medals and tied for third (with China) with nine golds.

The prediction here is that Norway again wins the gold-medal count, though by a narrower margin than the last Winter Olympics.

Gold Medal Predictions

Norway 14

USA 12

Germany 12

Italy 9

Canada 9