It's the first stop for Vance on a trip combining diplomacy and sports. He is leading President Donald Trump's delegation to the 2026 Winter Olympics and later stopping in Armenia and Azerbaijan in a show of support for a peace agreement brokered by the White House last year.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6 to 22. And Armenia will have five participants in this event, informs the National Olympic Committee of Armenia.

Armenia will be represented by cross-country skiers Mikael Mikaelyan, Katya Galstyan, alpine skier Harutyun Harutyunyan, and the figure skating pair Karina Akopova - Nikita Rakhmanin.

At 21:30 Armenia time, the Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin duo, representing Armenia in the figure pair skating competition, departed for the Olympic city on a direct Yerevan-Milan flight, Melanya Stepanyan, a member of the board of the Figure Skating Federation of Armenia, told NEWS.am Sport.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will begin this week when competitors walk under the wave of their nation's flags at Friday's Opening Ceremony. The ceremony not only offers Olympians a chance to represent their country on the international stage,

Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events.

The future of the Winter Olympic Games is under threat due to climate change, according to Levon Azizyan, head of Armenia’s Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center, who shared his concerns in a Facebook post.

The Winter Olympics promise plenty of high adrenaline, fierce competition, historic firsts and emotional moments over 2 1/2 weeks. Here are some of the names and narratives to keep an eye on.