The Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo begin on February 6 and run through February 22, 2026. For Central and Eastern European countries (including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, and the Baltic states), the most realistic “medal windows” open primarily in events where technique, day-to-day form, and mental resilience matter as much as budgets and infrastructure.
The region’s most dependable pillar remains ski jumping. Slovenia look particularly strong: Domen Prevc has been leading the men’s World Cup standings this season, with other Slovenians close behind—an excellent sign for both individual and team events. In women’s ski jumping, Nika Prevc sits at the top of the overall standings, making Slovenia one of the most serious medal contenders there as well. Poland, meanwhile, have several jumpers scoring consistently and, crucially for the team competition, they have stayed among the top nations in the overall rankings. A compelling “Eastern European” storyline is Bulgaria: Vladimir Zografski has hovered around the top 15 in the overall standings, which—given how unpredictable Olympic ski jumping can be—puts him firmly in outsider-to-podium territory.
Another area where the region can make a real impact is technical alpine skiing. The biggest question mark concerns Slovakia. Petra Vlhová, the Olympic slalom champion, has been cleared to train at full intensity after a long rehabilitation and has publicly targeted a return for the Games, but her final start decision is expected very late in the process. Croatia, on the other hand, have a strong face of the new generation: Zrinka Ljutić, who won the slalom small crystal globe in the 2024/25 season, raising expectations that she could challenge for a medal in Cortina in the technical events.
It is also worth watching the “action sports” such as freestyle skiing and short track, because these disciplines often reward not only the favorite but the athlete who delivers the cleanest run or race on the day. Estonia have a star in freeski: Kelly Sildaru, an Olympic bronze medalist from Beijing (slopestyle), has been competing this season on the World Cup circuit and has shown top-10-level results in events like halfpipe—so with a strong performance she could again push for the podium. In short track, Hungary remain a traditional threat: they are one of the few teams from the region with a genuinely high medal ceiling, especially in relays and selected individual distances, provided the bracket falls their way and they avoid crashes.
A separate category is the sliding sports, where Central and Eastern Europe—especially Latvia—can regularly compete with the heavyweights. Latvian doubles Bots/Plūme have sent a strong signal of form: their silver medal at the 2025 World Championships was the biggest-ever result for Latvian doubles and a powerful argument that Latvia will be in the mix in Olympic luge (doubles and potentially also in the team event). Cup standings in mixed formats have also placed Latvians very high internationally, while Poland, Ukraine, Romania, and Slovakia appear more as outsiders for now—though still capable of an upset if favorites make mistakes.
Finally, long-track speed skating is a discipline where the region can “steal” medals through individual names rather than overall depth. Early qualifiers and season narratives have highlighted, among others, Poland’s Damian Żurek (solid sprint form) and the Czech Republic’s Metoděj Jílek (a promising breakthrough on longer distances), suggesting at least some events could feature a notable Central European presence in Olympic finals.
One broader political-and-sporting context is that the medal landscape in several disciplines could be affected by restrictions related to athletes from Russia and Belarus. The IOC has allowed a limited group of “individual neutral athletes” under specific criteria, while at the same time some federations continue to enforce strict bans in particular cases. For Central and Eastern Europe, this can mean a tougher field in some events—or, paradoxically, more room for surprise outcomes in finals.
