The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22, featuring 16 sports and 116 medal events, including the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering. Rice University experts are available to share insight on key aspects of the Winter Games.
Athlete performance and mindset
Expert: Tasha Moser, associate athletic director for name, image and likeness and general manager; former Olympian and world champion athlete
Related topics: Olympic competition and athlete experience
Expertise: Olympic athletics, elite competition and athlete development, including:
- Athlete mindset and preparation for high-pressure competition.
- Realities of competing on the global stage.
- Training demands and performance expectations at the Olympic and world championship levels.
- Navigating the athlete experience during and after elite international competition.
Expert: Amanda Perkins-Ball, associate teaching professor and sports medicine adviser of kinesiology at Rice; performance consultant for Olympians and USA Track & Field athletes
Related topics: Mental performance, elite athlete preparation and emerging Olympic sports
Expertise: Sports psychology, performance coaching, athlete mental health, competition readiness, including:
- Mental preparation for high-pressure competition.
- Managing anxiety, focus and resilience in endurance and high-risk winter sports.
- Psychological recovery between events during multiday competitions.
- Building confidence in technically demanding sports such as skiing and ski mountaineering.
- Helping athletes adapt to new Olympic disciplines and evolving competition formats.
- Psychological readiness to return to competition after injury.
Expert: Anatolia Vick-Kregel, senior assistant director of health and well-being
Related topics: Injury prevention and performance longevity for winter athletes; recovery, mobility, strength and conditioning in cold-weather sports environments
Expertise: Fitness and wellness, mobility training, preventive exercise, body conditioning, including:
- Evidence-based injury prevention strategies for high-impact winter sports.
- Safe and efficient movement mechanics.
- Strength, balance and mobility training to enhance performance and reduce injury risk.
- Physiological considerations and training adaptations for cold environments.
- Recovery and regeneration strategies for multiday training and competition schedules.
- Integrating conditioning, recovery and workload management to support athlete durability.
Climate and environmental impact
Expert: Sylvia Dee, associate professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences and civil and environmental engineering
Related topics: Climate change and extreme weather risks
Expertise: Climate modeling, extreme weather, environmental risk, including:
- How climate change affects winter sports conditions.
- Snow reliability in alpine regions like the Italian Dolomites.
- Health and safety risks from temperature variability.
- Long-term climate implications for future Winter Games hosts.
Expert: Cymene Howe, professor of anthropology
Related topics: Climate change, communities and cultural impacts
Expertise: Environmental anthropology, climate change, human dimensions of environmental risk, including:
- Cultural and social impacts of climate change on mountain and alpine communities.
- How environmental shifts affect local livelihoods and tourism.
- Community responses to climate-related disruptions.
- Public perceptions of climate risk tied to winter sports regions.
Sports technology and innovation
Expert: Raudel Avila, assistant professor of mechanical engineering
Related topics: Sports technology and performance equipment
Expertise: Wearable tech, smart materials, performance engineering, including:
- Advances in cold-weather performance gear.
- Biomechanics of winter sports equipment.
- Injury-prevention technologies.
- Real-time athlete monitoring tools.
Politics, security and global influence
Expert: Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
Related topics: Sports, politics and international relations
Expertise: Sports diplomacy, geopolitics, global governance, including:
- Political symbolism of hosting the Olympic Games.
- International relations and soft power dynamics.
- Security concerns tied to global mega-events.
- How host nations use the Olympics to shape global image.
Business and economics
Expert: Tom Stallings, professor in the practice of sport management
Related topics: Business and economic impact of the Olympics
Expertise: Sports business, revenue strategy, event economics, including:
- Financial realities of hosting the Winter Games.
- Sponsorship and media revenue models.
- Economic risks for host cities.
- Long-term return on investment for Olympic venues.
Expert: Carrie Potter, lecturer in sport management; financial and business adviser to professional athletes
Related topics: Athlete finance and gender equity
Expertise: Sports finance, athlete compensation, women’s sports economics, including:
- Financial challenges facing Winter Olympians.
- Income disparities between sports and genders.
- Sponsorship opportunities for female athletes.
- Post-Olympic career planning.
Nutrition, health and cold-weather performance
Expert: Roberta Anding, kinesiology lecturer of nutrition and health sciences
Related topics: Nutrition for cold-weather competition
Expertise: Sports nutrition, hydration, athlete health, including:
- Fueling strategies for winter endurance sports.
- Cold-weather hydration challenges.
- Nutrition for altitude and temperature extremes.
- Managing energy demands during multi-event competitions.
To schedule an interview with any of the experts, contact media relations specialists Marcy de Luna at marcy.deluna@rice.edu and Andrew Bell at andrew.bell@rice.edu.