U.S. athletes 'conscious' of American image at 2026 Winter Olympics

NEW YORK-U.S. athletes are preparing for anti-American feeling ahead of the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) leaders said on Tuesday, a little over three months before next year’s global event.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime and other policies, including strict travel bans, have sparked anti-American sentiment in many countries in recent months.

That mood has spilled over into major sporting events this year.

Canadians rallied around the Toronto Blue Jays when they began their World Series campaign against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week after Trump’s latest trade policies.

POLITICAL TONE

The Four Nations ice hockey tournament took on a decidedly political tone as U.S. and Canadian fans jeered each other’s national anthems following Trump’s threat to turn Canada into the “51st state”.

USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said while no athletes have reported feeling unsafe on the world stage, the topic of public image has come up.

“We have gotten questions from athletes who are wondering how they’re going to be received, and is there anything I need to be doing differently or thinking about differently,” Hirshland told reporters on the first day of the Team USA Media Summit.

“They certainly are conscious of how they might be perceived, and we are conscious of trying to help them feel really comfortable.”

Athletes and fans begin a 100-day countdown to the Milano-Cortina Olympics on Wednesday, preparing for spectators to be back in full force at the Winter Games after COVID-limited attendance in Beijing three years ago.

The USOPC expects 294 athletes to travel to Milano-Cortina - 225 Olympic and 69 Paralympic - as it puts greater emphasis on winter sport, with dozens of leading athletes descending on New York City for the two-day promotional event.

Although the U.S. team frequently tops the Summer Olympics medal table, it has only done so once at the Winter Games, in 1932.

“Our winter sports are on the rise, and it’s actually intentional. It’s something that hasn’t happened by accident,” said Rocky Harris, chief of sport and athlete services for the USOPC.

“We coordinated very closely with our national governing bodies years ago, we created a winter sport strategic plan along with them and collaborated with them to align around where the USOPC can make the biggest impact for winter sport.”

The Milano-Cortina Games run from February 6 to February 22.