Photo: People's Daily

China will send a 286-member delegation to the upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, with a mobilization meeting held in Beijing on Tuesday marking the launch of the country's largest winter Olympic team ever to compete overseas. 

The delegation includes 126 athletes, 68 women and 58 men, along with 160 coaches, officials and support staff. 

The team will compete across seven major sports, 15 sub-disciplines and 91 events, representing China's broadest participation in Winter Olympic competition overseas. 

With an average age of about 25, the roster spans a wide generational range. The eldest competitor is 41-year-old curler Xu Xiaoming, while the youngest is 17-year-old snowboarder Ren Zhongshuo. The delegation also includes 16 athletes from ethnic minority backgrounds. 

Of the 126 athletes, 59 are Winter Olympic veterans, while 67 will make their Olympic debuts. Nine members of the squad are former Beijing 2022 Olympic champions. 

Among the veterans are freestyle skiing star Xu Mengtao, aerials specialist Qi Guangpu, and U-shaped course snowboarders Cai Xuetong and Liu Jiayu, all of whom competed in Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Other top names highlighted in the broader team include defending Olympic champions such as Gu Ailing and Su Yiming, as well as gold medalists in short track speed skating and figure skating, underscoring China's medal ambitions in both traditional strengths and emerging winter sports.  

The Milan-Cortina Winter Games is scheduled to take place from February 6 to 22, 2026, featuring athletes from around the world vying across a record number of events. 

China heads into the Games eager to build on its success from Beijing 2022, where it achieved a best-ever Winter Olympic medal haul on home ice and snow.