The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026 has captivated sports fans around the world, and with the Paralympic Winter Games about to start, there’s more to come.

Imogen Mitchell-Webb, Partner (International Casualty) and Head of Sport, has looked at some of the key themes and top stories of the Games so far, many of which have potential impacts for insurers, event organisers, venues and sporting bodies,

Sports Injury Risks

Many sports involve an acceptance of risk, and various winter sports fall at the more extreme end of the spectrum. Downhill skiing, halfpipe / big air, luge and skeleton to name a few.

The stand-out incident so far is Lyndsey Vonn’s crash, where she hit a gate and lost control during the women’s downhill ski event. Vonn suffered complex fractures of her tibia, fibula head and tibial plateau as well as compartment syndrome. She has undergone multiple surgeries and her recovery will be a lengthy one.

The nature of Vonn’s injuries aren’t the only reason the incident has generated discussion. Vonn was, knowingly, racing with a completely ruptured ACL which will sound impossible to football fans who are used to seeing players sit out for up to 18 months with ACL injuries.

From a liability perspective, Vonn’s participation raises various questions. Was she safe to compete? Who signed her off to take part? Did the ruptured ACL contribute to the accident?

Climate

Some commentators have criticised the Milano Cortina organisers for causing an avoidable impact on the local environment. Examples given include cutting down an ancient forest to make room for a new bobsleigh track and building a 37-acre athlete village that will be dismantled after the Games.

The backdrop to this is the climate crisis. The last Winter Olympics held in Italy were in 2006, and the average February temperature has risen by 3.6˚C since then, causing a reduction in snow levels and consequent need to make artificial snow.

As a result of the need for such a substantial amount of artificial snow, the organisers carved four high-altitude reservoirs into the landscape and used local river water to fill them, which it has been alleged caused pollution and impacted local river wildlife.

Artificial snow can be more slippery and prone to degradation as it is used, meaning the potential for injury risks can increase as the hours and days go on. This is a global issue as rising global temperatures force ski resorts around the world to reduce their seasons. This in turn impacts access and therefore preparation for athletes as well as reducing the number of potential venues for the Winter Olympics.

Stadia and Venue Risks

It was widely reported that the ice hockey rink was only just completed on the day the first match took place. After the NHL threatened to prevent its players from taking part in the

Olympics, there was huge pressure on the organisers to complete the works and ensure they met the NHL’s safety standards. With hundreds of NHL players taking part in the Games, this was a very significant threat.

Scrutiny of the playing surface was heightened due to the dimensions of the pitch being smaller than the typical NHL size, which increases concerns about high-speed impacts, due to the reduced playing surface.

Achieving safety sign-off of the rink in the nick of time appears to be down to successful coordination of the construction plan alongside health and safety assessments. The NHL provided ice technicians to approve the ice surface for use, in light of the fast and physical nature of the modern game. This reiterates the importance of embedding health and safety into the design and construction phases of sports stadia.

Protests and Civil Unrest

There were multiple protests in Milan ahead of the opening ceremony. There were demonstrations against the USA’s decision to bring ICE agents to the Games as well as highlighting the protestor’s views about the actions of ICE agents within the USA in recent months.

Other protests took place around the closing ceremony, as locals took to the streets to raise awareness of the environmental impacts of the Games and the unaffordable cost of attending events.

Public protests are becoming a more common occurrence at high-profile sporting events, with the Paris 2024 Olympics seeing various protests and civil disobedience aimed at disrupting the Games, and groups such as Just Stop Oil targeting televised sporting events to spread their message. This increasing frequency highlights the importance of health and safety and operational planning for sporting events as well as the local areas affected. From an insurance perspective, it confirms the growing need for event organisers to obtain terrorism and political violence insurance to cover losses arising from disruptions.

Freedom of Expression

The issue of athletes’ rights to freedom of expression was highlighted by the highly publicised disqualification of Vladyslav Heraskevych from the men’s skeleton competition. Vladyslav had worn a ‘helmet of memory’ depicting 24 Ukrainian athletes killed in the conflict with Russia.

The IOC relied on a breach of rule 40.2 of the Olympic Charter which gives athletes freedom of expression but only where it is “in keeping with the Olympic values and the fundamental principles of Olympism, and in accordance with the guidelines…”. The relevant guidelines reiterate that the Olympics are “neutral and must be separate from political… interference”.

It raises the question of where the right balance lies between empowering athletes to express themselves and protecting sporting events from becoming political platforms.

Anti-Doping

A novel tip off to the World Ani-Doping Agency arose where it was alleged that some athletes were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid to expand their size ahead of 3D body scans required for suit fittings. This followed a previous scandal where two Norwegian jumpers were suspended after their team tampered with the crotch of their ski suits to gain an advantage. WADA has said it will investigate the allegations and it will be interesting to see the outcome, given that hyaluronic acid is not in itself performance enhancing and is not on the WADA ‘Prohibited List’.

What has been termed ‘penisgate’ appears to be another example of sports constantly pushing to the limit, inevitably leading to new performance enhancing methods which test the boundaries of existing rules and regulations.

For sports-related legal advice, support or greater insight, contact Imogen Mitchell-Webb.