Our programme included:
17:00: Welcome to Milano Cortina 2026
Jane Thornton – Director, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
Session 1: Anticipating athlete health risk: what should we expect in Milano Cortina 2026?
Discover what medical teams are preparing for in Milano Cortina 2026, from injury surveillance in winter sports to mental health in the Olympic pressure cooker. We’ll break the silence on athlete harassment and abuse, ensuring protection of athlete health and wellbeing.
Chair: Jane Thornton – Director, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
17:05: Injury and Illness Patterns in Winter Sports
Torbjørn Soligard – Scientific manager, International Olympic Committee Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
17:10: Mental Health in the Olympic Spotlight
Carla Edwards – Medical Expert Group Member Milano-Cortina 2026, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
17:15: Breaking the Silence: Protecting Athletes from Harassment & Abuse
Gloria Viseras – Senior Manager – Safeguarding, International Olympic Committee Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
17:20: Discussion
All
Session 2: Sports medicine at the Olympic Games: What they don’t teach you in medical school
Go behind the scenes with the Chief Medical Officers from Italy, New Zealand, Germany, and Estonia as they share their unique perspectives on Olympic medical care. Italy’s CMO reveals how their team prepared for the world’s biggest sporting stage, while the CMOs from New Zealand, Germany, and Estonia take you through a single day at the Games—three nations, three approaches, one extraordinary window into what it truly takes to deliver care at this level.
Chair: Roald Bahr – Senior Scientific Advisor, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
17.35: Getting ready for the biggest stage: Inside our medical team’s preparation
Andrea Ferretti – Chief Medical Officer, Italian Olympic Team; Medical Director, Institute of Sports Medicine and Science (IMSS), Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI)
17.50: One day at the Games: Three CMOs, three perspectives
New Zealand
Eloise Matthews – Chief Medical Officer, New Zealand Olympic Team; Founding Director, Pinnacle Sports Physicians, Christchurch, New Zealand
Germany
Bernd Wolfarth – Chief Medical Officer Team Germany, Chair of the Medical Expert Committee, German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB)
Katharina Blume – Medical Officer, German Olympic Team; Consultant Cardiologist, Internist & Sports Medicine Physician, German, DOSB
Estonia
Mihkel Mardna – Chief Medical Officer, Estonian Olympic Team
18.20: Discussion
All
18.35 Break
Session 3: Clinical challenges in the Winter Olympics: Prevention and management
Master the critical skills needed for winter Olympic medicine: rapid concussion protocols when athletes are on ice, managing respiratory infections during travel and competition, and mitigating risks in the gravity-defying worlds of snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
Chair: Torbjørn Soligard – Scientific Manager, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
18.40: When every second counts: Concussion management on ice
Markku Tuominen – IF Medical Officer, International Ice Hockey Federation
18.55: Breathing under pressure: Respiratory infections traveling to and during the Games
Maarit Valtonen – Chief Medical Officer, Finland Olympic Team; Medical Director, Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport (KIHU)
19.10: Defying gravity safely: Managing risk in snowboarding and freestyle skiing
Matthias Felix Gilgien – Associate Professor, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norwegian Alpine Ski Team, Alpine Health and Innovation Foundation
19.25 Discussion
All
Session 4: Your Olympic medicine toolkit: IOC resources for every practitioner
Leave equipped with practical IOC resources you can implement immediately: mental health support frameworks, athlete safeguarding protocols, and pathways to advance your expertise through specialized training and certification in sports medicine and science.
Chair: Jane Thornton – Director, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
19.40: Mental health support resources
Scott Sloan – Senior Project Manager – Mental Health, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
19.45: The athlete safeguarding framework
Gloria Viseras – Senior Manager – Safeguarding, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
19.50: Training and certification opportunities in sports medicine and science
Roald Bahr – Senior Scientific Advisor, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
19.55 Closing
Jane Thornton – Director, IOC Health, Medicine & Science, International Olympic Committee
Speakers and session titles are subject to change, and this website will be updated as the programme is confirmed.
Organised by the International Olympic Committee in partnership with the BJSM