As the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics enter their fourth day of competition, athletes like Spain's Aitor Sánchez and Valentina Mendoza are seizing their moment on ice. The duo, aged 17 and 22 respectively, represent a new generation of winter sports talent emerging from unexpected regions.
Transitioning from Madrid's roller rinks to Olympic oval ice, Sánchez and Mendoza train six days weekly through grueling cycling, weightlifting, and precision skating drills. Their journey mirrors the globalization of winter sports – a phenomenon particularly visible at these Games, where over 2,900 athletes from 85 National Olympic Committees compete.
"Every 0.01-second improvement requires months of work," Sánchez told KhabarAsia during a training session break. The pair's regimen includes three daily ice sessions at high-altitude facilities, crucial for building the endurance needed in long-track speed skating's 5,000-meter events.
With the Winter Olympics currently underway until February 22, sports analysts note Spain's strategic focus on developing winter athletes through summer sports cross-training – an approach yielding results as Mediterranean nations increasingly compete in traditional cold-weather disciplines.
