On Wednesday, February 4, the 2026 Winter Olympics are set to begin in Milan and Cortina, Italy. The games will take place over the next two weeks, bringing the world together for athletic competition. There are several athletes who are competing who hail from the Celtic nations. While there are several from Scotland and Wales, these athletes compete under Great Britain.
Ireland
Ireland’s athletes have their own team. This year, Ireland is
sending 4 athletes to the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Cormac Comerford is a skier from Glenageary, Dublin. In the 2026 Olympics, he is
competing in the downhill, Super G, Slalom, and Giant Slalom events. He began
skiing when he was 8 and has been successful in the sport ever since.
Ben Lynch
was born in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Canada when he was 2. He learned to
ski while in Vancouver and began competing when he was 12. In the 2026 Winter
Olympics, he is competing in freestyle skiing.
Thomas Maloney Westgaard grew up on the tiny Norwegian island of Leka. He represents
Ireland through his mother, who was from Dunmore in County Galway. The 2026
Olympics are Westgaard’s third Olympic Games. He is competing in the 15k,
Skiathlon, and Sprint ski events.
Anabelle Zurbay competes in alpine skiing, specifically the Slalom and Giant Slalom.
Although she is based in Vail, Colorado, she represents Ireland through her grandmother,
who is from County Westmeath. Zurbay began skiing at age 6 and attends the Vail
Ski and Snowboard Academy.
Scotland
There are several athletes from Scotland competing in the
Winter Olympics this year. As mentioned before, they are competing under Great
Britain.
Jen Dodds is from Edinburgh, Scotland, and joins Great Britain’s female curling
team for her second Olympic Games. She competed in two events during the 2022
Olympic Games and earned a medal with Eve Muirhead's rink. Before picking up
curling full-time, she was an office assistant.
Lewis Gibson is a figure skater from Prestwick, Scotland. He was inspired to take
up ice skating at age 11 after watching the first series of Dancing on Ice. He
won the bronze medal in the 2025 World Championship, which was Britain’s first
global ice skating medal in over 40 years.
Grant Hardie is a curler from Dumfries, Scotland. He competed in the 2022 Beijing
Olympics, where he earned a silver medal as Team Mouat’s vice-skip. Aside from
curling, Hardie enjoys skiing, playing golf, and playing tennis. Both of his
parents curl, and his uncle was the world curling champion in 1999.
Fay Henderson is a curler from Dumfries, Scotland. She is making her Olympic
debut at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Henderson won gold at the World Junior
Curling Championships. She has been curling since she was 10 years old. She has
a superstition where she wears the same pair of socks throughout an entire
competition.
Sophie Jackson is a curler from Dumfries, Scotland. The 2026 Winter Olympics are
her first Olympic Games. She started curling when she was an 11-year-old in
primary school and has seen much success in the sport since.
Bobby Lammie is also a curler from Stranraer, Scotland. He earned a silver medal
in curling at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. He is the youngest member of
Team Mouat. He holds a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from the University
of Stirling.
Chris McCormick is a freestyle skier from Bearsden, Scotland. The 2026 Winter
Olympics are McCormick’s Olympic debut. He missed placing for a spot in the
2022 Olympics by a narrow margin. McCormick has been skiing since he was 6.
When he is not competing, McCormick is involved in the film side of skiing as a
hobby.
Hammy McMillan, Jr. is a curler from Stranraer, Scotland. He won a silver medal
during his first Olympic Winter Games. His father, Hammy McMillan, Sr.
represented Great Britain in curling three times but never earned a medal. Aside
from competing on the ice, Hammy is also a curling development officer, a role
that is focused on growing the sport.
Bruce Mouat
once again joins Great Britain’s Olympic curling team after leading the team to
a silver medal in 2022 at the Beijing Olympics. Mouat, who hails from
Edinburgh, Scotland, became interested in curling after playing Granite, curling’s
first and only video game, at age 8.
Kirsty Muir is a freestyle skier from Aberdeen, Scotland. The 2026 Olympics are her second Olympic Games. In
2022’s Beijing Olympics, she was Great Britain’s youngest athlete. She put on
her first pair of skis when she was just 3 years old and has seen much success
in the sport ever since.
Sophie Sinclair is a curler from Edinburgh, Scotland. The 2026 Winter Olympics are her Olympic debut, but she has competed at the world championships several times. She was introduced to curling by her dad when she was 8 years old.
Kyle Waddell is a curler from Bellshill, Scotland. He made his Olympic Winter
Games debut at PyeongChang 2018, but missed out on a spot in the 2022 Olympics.
Despite this, he has had a successful curling career that began in his youth.
Wales
Some 2026 Winter Olympic athletes are from Wales. Like the
Scottish athletes, the Welsh athletes are competing with Great Britain.
Adele Nicoll is a bobsleigh athlete who is from Welshpool in Wales. She began her
bobsleigh journey during a lockdown run, when she caught the attention of Mica
McNeill. McNeill invited Nicoll to try the sport, and the rest is history. She
was selected as a reserve for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and she is ready to
compete on her biggest stage yet.
Kya Placide is also a bobsledder from Cardiff, Wales. She is a relative newcomer to the sport, only starting her journey back in 2023. She has a background in athletics and gymnastics, which has helped her gain success in her new sport.
Related Articles:
-Celtic Events: February 2026: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2026/02/celtic-events-february-2026.html
-Riverdance: A 7-Minute Act Turned Irish Dancing Phenomenon: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2025/05/riverdance-eurovision-to-phenomenon.html
-My First Experience as an International Spring Festival Ireland Table Host: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2025/04/my-first-experience-as-international.html