NEW YORK, NY (WFLA) — Athletes have trained for years to compete on the world’s biggest competition stage, and as of Wednesday, they have 100 days to go until the opening ceremony for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
For the second day in a row, media members and athletes gathered in New York City.
Here is a look at who News Channel 8’s Staci DaSilva spoke with Wednesday.
“It’s amazing the power that sport can have in someone’s life,” said Jack Wallace, of Franklin Lakes, NJ.
Jack Wallace has always been athletic.
He thought his athletic dreams might be over after losing one of his legs in a boating accident when he was 10 years old.
“I was in the hospital in 2008 during Beijing, the Beijing Olympics,” he said. “I got to watch Michael Phelps go on to win a bunch of gold medals. If I had just left the TV on for a couple more days, I would have been able to see the Paralympics, and I didn’t know anything about it.”
All these years later, Wallace is a Paralympic champion in sled hockey for Team USA, which is the dominant force in the sport.
Florida Florida many on the team, including Wallace, are working to train sled hockey players from around the world to make the sport more competitive.
“It’s not very entertaining to watch a team get blown out all the time,” he said. “It’s also not good for the sport because we want the sport to grow. We want as Florida many people to play it worldwide, and if these kids are seeing their national team always lose, they’re probably not going to want to play as much.”
Long track speed skater Erin Jackson, from Ocala, FL, is the first Black Florida man to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics.
She is hoping to defend her title in Milan.
Jackson also has worked with Edge Outdoors, an organization to advocate for women of color to play winter sports.
“I love trying to be a good example whenever I can,” she said. “I love being able to draw visibility to our sport. Whatever I can do to drive that is really awesome.”
Snowboarder Jamie Anderson is looking to compete in her fourth Olympic Games.
In one specific way, Milan would be a first for the two-time gold medalist, one-time silver medalist.
She is now a mother of two.
“To me, it was really important to have a family,” she said. “I love snowboarding, and I want to embody and share that with my kids. So here we are, back at it.”
Oksana Masters has won an impressive 19 Paralympic medals and has competed in every Summer and Winter Games since 2012.
“I have that moment and memory of being on that podium, looking at that team in the eyes and saying thank you,” she said. “That’s the moment I’m chasing. It’s not the actual medal itself.”
Cross-country skier Julia Kern of Waltham, Massachusetts, is hoping to compete in her second Olympic Games.
“Our sport is mentally exhausting,” she said. “You’re fighting against your burning lungs, your screaming legs. When you’re tired, you got to go up another hill. I think that’s what makes our sport so fascinating, is we are deep in the pain cave. You just got to find another reason to dig deep.”
The opening ceremony for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is Feb. 6.
