Main delegation for Winter Olympics to travel to Italy on Friday

Athletes and officials for the 2026 Winter Olympics hold up banners for a photo session during the delegation launch ceremony at Seoul Olympic Parktel in Seoul on Jan. 22, 2026. [YONHAP]

 
Korea’s main delegation for the 2026 Winter Olympics will depart for the host country of Italy on Friday.
 
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) announced Thursday that a group of 45 athletes and officials will depart for Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the two co-host cities of the Olympics, just past noon Friday.
 
Korea Skating Union President Lee Soo-kyung, Korea’s chef de mission, will lead the traveling delegation.
 
Athletes traveling on Friday will include those in short track speed skating, speed skating, snowboarding and skeleton. The KSOC said 38 athletes and officials will travel to Milan and the other seven will head to Cortina d’Ampezzo via Paris.
 
As of Tuesday, the KSOC said 71 athletes had qualified for the Olympics in six sports.
 
Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan and speed skater Park Ji-woo, both competing in their third Olympics, will be the co-flag bearers at the opening ceremony on Feb. 6. The competition will wrap up on Feb. 22.
 
The Milan Cortina Games will be the most widespread Olympics ever, with venues covering 22,000 square kilometers (8,494 square miles) of land. Milan will be home to skating events and hockey, while Cortina d’Ampezzo will hold curling matches, sliding sports, alpine skiing and biathlon. They are joined by Valtellina Cluster for men’s alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and ski mountaineering, and Val di Fiemme Cluster for ski jumping, Nordic combined and cross-country skiing.

Yonhap