MILWAUKEE — The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina are officially 100 days away, and NBC Sports' Mike Tirico is ready to bring viewers 17 nights of Olympic coverage from Italy.
TMJ4's Ashley Washburn caught up with Tirico courtside at Fiserv Forum before the Milwaukee Bucks took on the New York Knicks, where he shared his excitement about the upcoming games and what makes this Olympics unique.
"For us, it's go time," Tirico said. "It's almost like a green flag drops when it's the 100 days out mark, because you start to look at all the seasons that are going on for all the athletes in the winter sports, and they are all thinking about one thing, and that is the Olympic Games."
The 2026 Olympics will be split between Milan and Cortina, with Alpine events taking place in Cortina and other mountain villages like Bormio hosting additional competitions.
"Instead of building these venues that you'll never see used again, they're using some of the venues they use all the time on these World Cup sports season," Tirico said.
Wisconsin's own Jordan Stolz will be a major storyline heading into the games. The speed skater has dominated at the world championship level and could become a national star regardless of his medal performance.
"He's that special within the sport of speed skating," Tirico said. "You could very well be covering parades and honors for Jordan when he comes back to Wisconsin in March after the games."
The Olympic Trials for speed skating will take place at Milwaukee's own Pettit National Ice Center.
Watch: NBC's Mike Tirico previews 2026 Winter Olympics 100 days before Milano Cortina games begin
Other compelling storylines include Lindsey Vonn's potential comeback. The former Olympic champion returned to competition and performed at a high level, raising the possibility of winning a medal almost a generation after her Olympic debut.
"Lindsay Vonn's nuts. She's crazy," Tirico said. "That's a special kind of athlete."
Hockey will feature the intense USA-Canada women's rivalry, which has dominated Olympic competition with six of seven gold medal games featuring these two nations. The men's tournament will include NHL players for the first time in several Olympics.
Figure skating presents another area of strength for Team USA, with favorites in almost every discipline.
"This could be the strongest team USA we've seen at a Winter Olympics," Tirico said.
For Tirico, covering the Olympics represents something special beyond other major sporting events.
"There is nothing like the Olympics," Tirico said. "There is something special about all the countries of the world coming together for the same goal, and athletes who are training all over trying to find their way to that podium and the medal."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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