As the 2026 Winter Games get started, here are some of the ways Olympic athletes are stepping up to take climate action.

Kenya’s alpine skiing star Sabrina Simader, nicknamed the “Snow Leopard,” will miss the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 , leaving Issa Laborde as the country’s sole representative. The 27-year-old skier, who made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang 2018, had planned a comeback after retiring last July.

Simader, Kenya’s trailblazer on snow, will compete in Alpine Skiing at her third Olympic Games, further cementing her status as the face of Kenyan winter sports. She made history at PyeongChang 2018 a

Two Kenyans, Sabrina Wanjiku Simader and Issa Laborde, will compete in Alpine Skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, marking Kenya's bold winter sports debut.

Athletes from around the world are in the Italian Alps for the opening of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday – including 13 sportspeople from eight African countries. Though the continent isn't

"Being a flagbearer is a huge opportunity for me, a good opportunity to tell the story of the values the Olympics focus on. It's a good opportunity for me as a Kenyan and an African to hold the flag and represent people who value integrity and love sport in their hearts and minds," Kipchoge told Xinhua via video on Thursday.

The 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony dazzles with the Parade of Nations and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

Even though the Olympics connect the global village, the Winter Games remain a distant dream for Africa, a continent where snow and ice are hard to find. Winter sports face high barriers from the start.