A feast of sport awaits us in 2026 – and it’s not just rugby and cricket

Formula 1 and a regulation overhaul

At the end of the 2025 Formula 1 (F1) season, McLaren’s Lando Norris emerged as the world champion. While he is probably still basking in this achievement, much of the paddock is already looking ahead as 2026 will see a complete overhaul of technical regulations offering teams a proverbial clean slate.

In 2026, the length of the cars will be reduced by 20cm to 3.40m, while the width will be cut by 10cm to 1.90m. The weight of the car has also been reduced by 30kg to 768kg. All of this to say that the next generation of cars will be lighter, narrower and shorter, resulting in more agility and encouraging more wheel-to-wheel racing.

The new power units mark a major shift, with a 50-50 split between electric power and the internal combustion engine, and almost three times the previous electrical output. Additionally, the Drag Reduction System (DRS) will be scrapped and replaced by a “manual override engine mode”, which will allow drivers to tap into extra electrical power for a longer burst. As with DRS, cars will have to be within one second of each other to deploy the manual override.

To make next season even more interesting, a new team joins the grid. Cadillac, which will use Ferrari power units and gearboxes, will enter the highly exclusive sport, bringing back the familiar names of Valtteri Bottas and Checo Perez in the paddock.

The excitement and uncertainty are palpable among drivers, engineers and fans alike. Everyone has a chance to start afresh and the teams that get it right soonest are likely to be dominant in the years to come.

A scaled-back Commonwealth Games

Among the multitude of sporting events, the 2026 Commonwealth Games stands out as one to watch. The games will be hosted in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 2 August and will feature a 10-sport programme, including six fully integrated para sports, hosted in four venues.

The 11-day event, originally set to be hosted in the Australian state of Victoria, was relocated after organisers withdrew due to escalating costs. As a result, the 2026 games have been scaled back, with the programme reduced by half, with the likes of cricket, hockey and rugby sevens being cut to limit financial and logistical demands.

The sports included are: athletics, swimming, artistic gymnastics, 3×3 basketball, bowls, boxing, cycling, judo, netball and weightlifting. The para sport events include 3×3 wheelchair basketball, para athletics, para bowls, para cycling, para swimming and para powerlifting. The 2026 games will see the largest para sport medal programme in the history of the games, with a record of 47 medal events in total.

In 2022, South Africa brought back their lowest number of medals with a total of 27. Although there will be fewer sports for South Africans to boost their medal tally, the disciplines in which they usually excel remain, with a few new additions.

Athletics will have two new events, including the mixed 4x400m relay and the Commonwealth Mile, which replaces the 1,500m. In Swimming, the men’s 800m and women’s 1,500m freestyle races will also be included for the first time.

Italy prepares for biggest Winter Olympics yet

Italy is gearing up to host its third Winter Olympic Games, 20 years after Torino 2006. Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-22 February, will be the first Olympic Games to be hosted in two cities, Milano and Cortina d’Ampezzo. This iteration of the multi-sport event is said to be the most geographically widespread Winter Olympics in history.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games will have a total of 116 events on the calendar, the newest addition being ski mountaineering, also known as skimo. Ski mountaineering has athletes race up and down a course where participants can alternate between being on skis and on foot. A men’s and women’s sprint as well as a mixed relay will be held in the sport.

Women will get an additional individual large hill ski jumping event. According to the International Olympic Committee, the games will be the “most gender-balanced Olympic Winter Games ever” with 47% female participation and 50 women’s events on the programme.

In the last Winter Games in Beijing in 2022, Norway ended the multi-sport event with 37 medals, including 16 gold medals, four of which belonged to former Norwegian biathlete Johannes Thingnes Boe.

The opening ceremony of Milano Cortina 2026 is scheduled to take place on 6 February 2026 at the San Siro, with the closing ceremony at the Arena of Verona. Shortly after the closing ceremony, the Winter Paralympic Games will begin on 6 March, with six events on the calendar.

Read more: Your 2026 sporting calendar

SA added to the LIV Golf calendar

Stingers GC will be defending their home turf when LIV Golf makes its way to South Africa on 19 March at The Club at Steyn City in Johannesburg. The Stinger team, named after the low and controlled stroke, is led by captain Louis Oosthuizen and includes Charl Schwartzel, Dean Burmester and Brandon Grace. The South African side is looking to improve on a top three finish in the 2025 season.

The Steyn City tournament forms part of the LIV Golf league, where 54 players and 13 teams will compete in a 14-event season for an individual championship and a team championship. These events will take place from February to August, with each tournament starting on a Thursday and ending on a Sunday.

LIV Golf announced that from 2026, all events, including the tournament in Steyn City, will be played over 72 holes. This move to four-day competitions is said to reflect LIV Golf’s aim to deliver more entertainment for fans and boost its chances of gaining official world ranking points for its members.

The action begins with a shotgun start, where 18 groups of players spread around the course at each hole, all teeing off at the same time. There are no cuts over the four-day tournament, as all 54 players are in the game from the first tee-off up until the final putt.

Legion XIII were team championship winners for the 2025 season, with captain Jon Rahm securing the individual championship for the second consecutive year.

Stinger GC finished the season as strong competitors for Rahm’s side, winning LIV Golf Chicago and making a run to the finals of the Michigan Team Championship before finishing third. The South African side also ended the season with three podium finishes, a feat they are hoping to replicate in the new season. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.