Meet the Only Olympian from Puerto Rico at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Title: Beijing Olympics Skeleton Image ID: 22040417090727 Article: Kellie Delka of Puerto Rico takes a practice run during a women's skeleton training session at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Kellie Delka is heading to Italy for her second Olympics ever at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. As the only competitor representing Puerto Rico, she’ll be participating in skeleton at the Olympics. But what exactly is skeleton? And how did Delka even get here?
Skeleton is an Olympic sliding sport, one where athletes ride a small sled. They do so face down and head first down a steep iced track. Sound dangerous? It is, as athletes can reach speeds of over 80mph. But it’s not just an uncontrolled descent, it’s an actual sport, where riders control the sled with subtle shifts in their body movement, all while being just centimeters from the ice.
The skeleton events at Milano Cortina will take place on February 13 and 14 at the Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, the same location as the luge and bobsled competitions.
“I really want to be able to say, ‘I can win a medal,’ and have that confidence going into it,” Delka told NBC. “It took me years to figure it out. Now I look at it like, ‘This is a huge flex — look what I can do by myself.’”
And Delka, who has gotten this far without the support many top athletes have, is ready to compete. “You don’t need all the fancy things to make it,” she said. “If you have the heart and the perseverance, you can go as far as you want.”
Delka was a track athlete and cheerleader growing up, but was always looking for something that pushed her to her limits. Skeleton became that something.
According to NBC, Delka began competing for Puerto Rico nearly eight years ago after being introduced to leaders in the island’s winter sports federation. They were looking to grow their cold-weather athletics despite the tropical climate on the island.
She represented Puerto Rico in the 2022 Winter Olympics, and is back for Milan Cortina 2026 as the only athlete to represent the island.