The 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony kicked off at 2 p.m. ET on Friday from San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, marking the beginning of one of the more anticipated events on the sports calendar in 2026.
Many of the top events including figure skating, ice hockey, alpine skiing, speed skating, and snowboarding are sure to attract plenty of eyeballs over the next two weeks.
And while the U.S. has a star-studded lineup of athletes set to compete for gold including skier Lindsey Vonn, figure skater Ilia Malinin, and several others, pop star Taylor Swift temporarily stole the show hours before the opening ceremony.
Swift Sends Heartfelt Message to Olympic Athletes
GettyUnited State Winter Olympics
Approximately two hours before the opening ceremony started, the official NBC Olympics & Paralympics X account tweeted a video with a special message from Swift to all of the athletes set to compete in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
“I just wanted to send a message to all the athletes that are competing in the Olympics — I just wanted to say thank you,” Swift said.
“I’m getting to learn your stories, and getting to see everything that you’ve sacrificed, and all your determination, hard work, and passion and everything that’s gotten you to this point where you’re so excellent at something. It’s just really inspiring, and I am very grateful for everything you’ve ever done to get to this point in your life, and grateful you’ve brought us all along with you on this journey so we get to watch you do this.
“And I just hope that you have a wonderful Olympic Games; wishing you all the best of luck and a safe journey, and I hope that this is an experience that you will cherish for the rest of your life.”
Olympics Already Facing Potential Scandal
On Thursday, it was reported that some Olympic ski jumpers are being investigated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for injecting hyaluronic acid into their genitalia in order to help them jump further distances.
The injections allegedly allow male genitalia to appear larger, which allows the skiers to wear larger jumping suits, which helps increase their aerodynamics and allows them to jump further in the air.
The Athletic’s Phillip Buckingham cited research that showed jump length actually improved when suit size was altered.
“Temporarily enhanced measurements would theoretically mean athletes being given a bigger, looser suit and, like a sail catching wind, could allow them to make longer jumps,” Buckingham stated. “Research from the scientific journal, Frontiers, published last October said that a 2cm change in a suit represented an extra 5.8 meters in the length of a jump.”
The situation is so controversial because a similar incident happened last year that resulted in suspensions and rule changes.
During the 2025 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Trondheim, Norwegian coach Magnus Brevik, was suspended 18 months, as well as assistant coach Thomas Lobben and staffer Adrian Livelten after video surfaced showing them adding extra stitching to the certain ski jumper’s suits after an official inspection.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation implemented new rules prior to the 2026 Winter Olympics to discourage any potential future offenses.
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