Two weeks before setting off for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics to compete as Kyrgyzstan's only alpine skier, Timur Shakirov was weaving down a slalom course in his homeland. In Milan, he will compete in the Giant Slalom on February 14 and Slalom event two days later -- adding his name to the 20-odd alpine skiers from Central Asia who have competed at the Winter Olympics since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The United States fielded its biggest Winter Olympics team ever for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, with 232 athletes going for the gold — and broke a record for Team USA's most gold medals at a single Winter Games. But Norway remained on top in both the ...