Suburban natives hit the ice and hills at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

Ranging in experience from first-time Olympic speed skater Sarah Warren to three-time women’s hockey medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield, several area athletes will be competing at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

A handful of events start sooner — including a women’s hockey preliminary game between the United States and Czechia on Thursday — but the 25th Winter Games officially start with Opening Ceremonies on Friday at Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium.

They end Feb. 22 with four medal events, including men’s ice hockey, followed by the Closing Ceremony at the Verona Olympic Arena.

Warren, Ethan Cepuran and Emery Lehman bring strong suburban ties to speed skating.

Warren (Willowbrook), a former University of Illinois soccer player, enters her first Olympics competition in the long-track 500 meters at Milan Cortina. Cepuran (Glen Ellyn) and Lehman (Oak Park) have worn Olympic skating suits before.

The men helped the United States to a bronze medal in team pursuit at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Team USA holds the world record in team pursuit and is the reining world champion in the event.

Cepuran also will compete in mass start, while Lehman, in his fourth Olympic Games, will skate in the 1500.

Ski jumper Kevin Bickner (Wauconda), who trained at the Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove before moving to Park City, Utah, came out of retirement to reach his third Winter Olympics. In 2017 he set the U.S. ski flying record that still stands, 244.5 meters.

Ranked No. 41 in World Cup standings, the 29-year-old Bickner jumped at both the Beijing 2022 and Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games, placing 10th on the Team Large Hill event in 2022 and ninth in 2018.

A pair of forwards with Minnesota ties, Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights) and Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park) look to improve on Team USA’s 2022 silver medal in Beijing.

That was first appearance for Murphy, of the University of Minnesota, while Coyne helped earn a third straight top-two finish. The Minnesota Frost professional helped the United States win gold at Pyeongchang in 2018.

NBC is handling Olympics broadcasting duties through its traditional channel, the USA Network and Peacock. Many events will be shown both live and recorded to accommodate the seven-hour time difference. Information is available at www.nbcolympics.com/schedule.