Greece’s Olympic team looks to skier Alexandros Ioannis Ginnis for its first medal in the Winter Games starting in the Italian Alps today, February 6, 2026.
The XXV Olympic Winter Games, officially known as Milano Cortina 2026, begin with a ceremony that marks a historic return to Italy—seventy years after Cortina first hosted the Games in 1956 and twenty years after the Turin 2006 edition.
The Greek delegation to the Winter Olympic Games: small but mighty
True to ancient tradition, Greece will lead the Parade of Athletes tonight, a symbolic gesture honoring the birthplace of the Olympic movement. This year, the “Galanolefki” is represented by a compact but elite team of five athletes competing across two sports: Alpine Skiing and Cross-Country Skiing.
Leading the delegation as the flagbearer is Alexandros Ioannis “AJ” Ginnis, a name that has become synonymous with a new era for Greek winter sports.
Joining him in the Alpine events is Maria Eleni Tsiovolou, who will tackle the Giant Slalom and Slalom. The Cross-Country team features veteran Apostolos Angelis, alongside Nefeli Tita and Konstantina Charalampidou.
Though small in number, this team carries the weight of a nation that has historically struggled to find its footing on snow, but now finds itself on the cusp of history.
The “Ginnis Effect”: A quest for history
The primary focus for Greek fans is undoubtedly AJ Ginnis. Born in Athens and raised in Vouliagmeni before moving to the U.S. at age 16, Ginnis’s journey has been one of extraordinary resilience, including six knee surgeries.
In 2023, he shocked the skiing world by winning a silver medal at the World Championships in Courchevel—the first-ever major winter sports medal for Greece.
Ginnis has often drawn parallels to Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas, noting that he hopes to do for skiing what Tsitsipas did for tennis: take a “nontraditional” sport in Greece and make it a national passion.
“I want to show that Greeks can compete at the highest level, even on the snow,” he recently shared. Competing in the Men’s Slalom on February 22, Ginnis isn’t just skiing for a result; he is skiing for a podium finish that would be Greece’s first-ever Winter Olympic medal.
Background on Milano Cortina 2026
The 2026 Games are groundbreaking for their “multi-hub” model. For the first time, the Olympics are being co-hosted by two major cities and spread across the regions of Lombardy and Veneto. This “dispersed” format emphasizes sustainability, utilizing existing world-class venues like the historic sliding center in Cortina.
The theme of the opening ceremony is “Harmony,” a nod to the balance between the urban innovation of Milan and the raw, natural beauty of the Dolomites—a UNESCO World Heritage site. With the return of NHL players to the ice hockey tournament and the debut of Ski Mountaineering, these Games bridge the gap between tradition and the future.
As the Olympic cauldron is lit tonight—one in the heart of Milan and another in the square of Cortina—Greece stands at the front of the line, not just as a ceremonial leader, but as a genuine contender.
Related: Why Does Greece Lead in the Olympics’ Opening Ceremonies?
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