U.S. Vice President JD Vance will lead an American delegation to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy and attend the opening ceremony, the White House said Saturday.
The White House said Vance will be joined by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second lady Usha Vance, U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta and a group of Olympic gold medalists.
The Milan Cortina Games kick off on Feb. 6, the White House said.
The opening ceremony’s Parade of Nations will feature athletes led by national flagbearers in Milan’s San Siro stadium, where the White House said the venue would be packed with 60,000 spectators.
The White House said the Parade of Nations will also be staged in three other locations, for the first time in Olympic history, beyond Milan—at the mountain venues of Cortina, Predazzo and Livigno.
The White House said President Donald Trump is not on the list of members of the delegation.
Among the athletes named for the delegation, the White House said ice hockey twin sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando will attend. The report said the twins had been members of the ice hockey team that won gold in 2018.
The delegation also includes figure skater Evan Lysacek, and short track speed skater Apolo Ohno, who the report said won gold twice in the sport.