To qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics, speed skaters both must earn qualifying points at four World Cup events which precede the Games and achieve the times set by the International Skating Union (ISU) for their respective distances.

Jessie Diggins became the first cross-country skier to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team after winning the lone skiathlon on the World Cup schedule (on Dec. 6) before the Milan Cortina Games.