Olympics

- Twelve-time Olympic swimming medalist Natalie Coughlin (1982-present)

NBC compiled 100 storylines to watch at the Milan Cortina Winter Games—spanning medal races, comeback bids, historic firsts, and geopolitical questions—to help fans track what could define the 2026 Olympics Winter Games.

In a 2016 ceremony at that year’s Summer Games in Rio, Abe dressed as Super Mario to celebrate his country hosting the 2020 Olympics. It was a logical move: The character is one of the most recognizable characters in the world and someone who’s now associated with Japanese culture.

From “synchronized space swimming” to “weightless sharpshooting,” crew members in 2021 competed in microgravity versions of events from the summer games. The “lack-of-floor routine” featured mid-air gymnastics as astronauts floated through space station modules.

Snowboarding entered the Winter Olympics in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, featuring giant slalom and halfpipe events—a move influenced by the sport’s rapid growth and mainstream exposure through competitions like the X Games.

For nearly a millennium, the ancient Greeks gathered every four years to participate in or watch sports, from footraces to a type of mixed martial art. These events—in some cases known as the Olympics—provided the basis for the modern event, which began in 1896 in Athens.

The Olympics finally permitted professional basketball players to play in 1992 Summer Games and the NBA produced one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled: The Dream Team. Billions worldwide watched Jordan, Bird, and Magic dominate to win gold, inspiring future Hall of Famers and increasing the NBA's viewership.

In 1936, the first year the Olympics featured basketball, the US squad featured players from two companies: an oil refinery in Kansas and Universal Pictures in Hollywood.

Fauja Singh was 100 when he completed the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2011 at 8:11:06. Incredibly Singh didn't start running until the age of 89.

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray to be a strong person."