Coca-Cola unveiled its athlete roster for the
upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, 100 days ahead of their launch Feb. 6.
In a release, Coca-Cola described the roster as embodying “excellence, diversity,
and the spirit of winter sports.”
The athletes are speed skater Erin Jackson, who became the first Black American woman to win an individual event when she took home the gold medal for
the women’s 500m event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and Olympic rookie figure skater Ilia Malinin, nicknamed the “Quad God” after becoming the first to land a fully rotated
quadruple axel in competition in 2022. There's also gold-medalist figure skating partners, Evan Bates and Madison Chock; three-time Paralympic gold medalist snowboarder, cancer survivor, and
mother of two, Brenna Huckaby; Paralympic gold medalist ice hockey player Malik Jones; and ice hockey forward Kendall Coyne Schofield, a gold medalist and two-time silver medalist.
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With the
launch of its athlete ambassador program, Coca-Cola was also kicking off its “Refresh Like a Champion” campaign for the upcoming games, along with related social media marketing,
including video posts from Jackson and Malinin.
The
cross-platform campaign promotes products across the Coca-Cola beverage portfolio, including Coca-Cola, Powerade, and SmartWater. In early 2026, it will expand with video ads, digital experiences, and
experiential in-store activations.
There’s also a “Swag with Every Sip” sweepstakes, which allows fan to scan a QR code on certain Coca-Cola products to enter for a chance to
win co-branded Coca-Cola and Team USA apparel.
In a statement, Jackson said she’s “grown up with Coca-Cola,” with the brand “part of some of the biggest moments and
celebrations with my family.”
In a statement, Malinin, whose mother Tatiana competed for Uzbekistan at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, said he’s “dreamed about”
competing for Team USA in the Olympics since childhood, adding, “Being part of Team Coca-Cola now feels surreal.”