Belgium heads to Winter Olympics with record delegation of 30 athletes
Team Belgium will be sending 30 athletes to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, as announced on Friday during a press conference in Brussels. The selection consists of 16 women and 14 men, making it the largest Belgian Winter delegation ever. The previous record dated back to 1936, when 27 Belgians participated in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
In February of last year, the head of the Belgian delegation, Olav Spahl, predicted that 31 Belgian athletes would be going to the Winter Games. In the end, it’s just one less.
The largest Belgian delegation in the history of the Winter Games consists of eight biathletes, six speed skaters, six short track skaters, three alpine skiers, two figure skaters, two snowboarders, one bobsledder, one skeleton racer and one ski mountaineer.
Three athletes in particular have a good chance of obtaining a medal. Speed skater Bart Swings will defend his title in the mass start, while Hanne Desmet hopes to finish on the podium again in short track. In skeleton, Kim Meylemans has just won the World Cup. However, with a good day, Maximilien Drion could also win a medal for Belgium in the brand new discipline of ski mountaineering.
Fifteen-year-old snowboarder Sky Remans is the surprise in the selection. “The 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps are still my main goal, but it's great that I can already get a taste of the Games,” she said. Remans will not be the only Belgian snowboarder in Italy. Evy Poppe has been struggling with an injury for weeks, but finally got the green light from the medical staff.
The Milan and Cortina Winter Games will commence on 6 February and conclude two weeks later on 22 February.
The Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC) announces the final selection of Belgium for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics © BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS
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