In 2018, Samer Tawk became the first athlete to represent Lebanon in cross-country skiing at the Winter Olympics. A year later, he was lying in a hospital bed wondering if he would ever walk again.

From deserts to snow-covered peaks, the Middle East and North Africa are making some serious noise at the Winter Olympics. Milano Cortina 2026 (February 6–22) isn’t just about medals, it’s about trailblazers rewriting what winter sport looks like.

Heading into the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo, there was significant hype surrounding Norway’s Johannes Hosflot Klaebo. The 29-year-old from Oslo is considered not just one of the top athletes in men’s cross country skiing,

Federica Brignone completed a Winter Olympic fairy tale on Sunday after claiming her second gold of the Milan-Cortina Games, as out-of-sorts Mikaela Shiffrin again missed out on the medals.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will see athletes competing from five MENA countries: Morocco, Lebanon, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and debutants the UAE.

Evergreen Italian Federica Brignone won a glorious second gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Games in the giant slalom on Sunday as Mikaela Shiffrin faded, while Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Kl