As the 2026 Winter Games get started, here are some of the ways Olympic athletes are stepping up to take climate action.

Skier Issa Laborde is ready to make his Olympic debut for Kenya after his compatriot Sabrina Simader pulled out of her own races due to financial constraints.

At just 18 years old, Issa Gachingiri Laborde Dit Pere has become Kenya's sole representative at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, stepping onto the global stage as the nation's lone alpine skier after compatriot Sabrina Simader withdrew due to financial constraints.

Fourteen athletes from eight African nations are set to compete at the Winter Olympics, marking a significant increase from Beijing 2022.

Two Kenyans, Sabrina Wanjiku Simader and Issa Laborde, will compete in Alpine Skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, marking Kenya's bold winter sports debut.

Kenya’s alpine skiing star Sabrina Simader, nicknamed the “Snow Leopard,” will miss the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 , leaving Issa Laborde as the country’s sole representative. The 27-year-old skier, who made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang 2018, had planned a comeback after retiring last July.

More than 3500 athletes from 93 countries will be competing for 195 medals at the Milan-Cortina Games. Three countries will be making their Winter Olympic debuts at the 2026 Games, the African nations of Benin and Guinea Bissau along with the United Arab Emirates.

Athletes from around the world are in the Italian Alps for the opening of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday – including 13 sportspeople from eight African countries. Though the continent isn't

"Being a flagbearer is a huge opportunity for me, a good opportunity to tell the story of the values the Olympics focus on. It's a good opportunity for me as a Kenyan and an African to hold the flag and represent people who value integrity and love sport in their hearts and minds," Kipchoge told Xinhua via video on Thursday.