For many U.S. Olympic athletes, Italy feels like home turf

NPR | By Pien Huang

Published February 6, 2026 at 1:47 AM PST

Many top U.S. athletes have spent their careers training on the very mountains they'll be competing on in the Milan-Cortina Games. Lindsay Vonn wanted to stage a comeback on these slopes, U.S. biathletes have coaches from the region, and cross-country skiier Jesse Diggins won her first World Cup there.

Pien Huang

Pien Huang is a health reporter on the Science desk. She was NPR's first Reflect America Fellow, working with shows, desks and podcasts to bring more diverse voices to air and online.

See stories by Pien Huang