The two-time Olympic figure skater connects art with technicality to bring his unique expression to the rink. We ask

Sarah Schleper and her son, Lasse Gaxiola, are set to make Olympic history at Milan Cortina 2026 as the first mother-son duo to compete at the same Winter Games. A mother and son duo are making history at these Olympic Games.

Mexican Alpine skier Sarah Schleper and her son Lasse Gaxiola are set to make history at the Winter Olympics. (AP photo)

On her final World Cup run before retiring from the U.S. ski team in 2011, Sarah Schleper picked up her young son and carried him down the slalom course with her. A bonding moment. More than 14 years later,

Schleper is competing in her final Olympic Games while her son's career is just getting started

The Winter Games are often romanticized as a pure test of human limits, but in reality, they are a bureaucratic minefield where the rulebook matters as much as the athlete. Behind every record-breaking jump or lightning-fast run lies a dense web of regulations governing everything from fabric tension to invisible chemical residue.

As the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics begin, all eyes were on teams from around the globe proudly donning their countries' uniforms for the opening ceremony, including Team USA in outfits designed by Ralph Lauren.

Schleper, the daughter of a ski-shop owner from Vail, Colo., has represented the United States at four Winter Olympic Games; a Mexican citizen by marriage, she competed for Mexico at the 2018 and 2022 Olympics, and now, once again at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.