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.

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.

There will be 93 countries, plus numerous athletes from Russia and Belarus, competing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Here's what to know about the Parade of Nations in the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony and how the country order is determined.

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.