The crowd alongside the Olympic sliding track erupted in cheers with every precise turn, marveling at the seamless navigation and perfect landings. Their shouts of “You’re No. 1!” weren’t for an athlete, but for a drone pilot.
“I’m almost feeling like I am with the athletes on the tracks,” shared Ralph Hogenbirk, the pilot behind one of the many drones that provide the constant, and for some, quite prominent, soundtrack of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
These robotic marvels tirelessly pursue lugers, skeleton pilots, and bobsledders as they hurtle down the icy track in Cortina d’Ampezzo. They’re also hot on the heels of alpine skiers carving up the mountains of Bormio and record-breaking speedskaters gliding across the rinks in Milan, offering viewers an immersive experience of the slopes and ice.
Their flawless tracking has garnered them a fan base all their own.
Just last week in Cortina, a curious group gathered outside a white tent, nestled between a red tractor and mounds of snow, a short distance from the skeleton race’s starting gate. Inside, Mr. Hogenbirk, with a visor shielding his eyes, skillfully controlled his lightweight drone.
The drone gracefully hovered behind the skeleton athletes as they composed themselves, then followed closely as they launched into their furious dash, accelerating behind them through the track’s initial curves.
A monitor inside the tent displayed the drone’s flight path, showing its exit from the track after the opening curves. It veered left, circling over construction sites, parking lots, and cordoned-off icy areas, before returning to the cold, waiting hands of Mr. Hogenbirk’s technician.
“Very cool,” remarked Mary-Anne Grotheer, 33, whose skeleton-competitor husband was racing, but who paused to watch the drones’ intricate ballet.
Italians applauded with “Bravissimo!” and asked about the drone’s specifications. Germans admired the engineering. A group of British fans, however, seemed unsure what to make of it all.
“What the hell?” exclaimed Oliver Dickie, 26, a lawyer from London, as the blinking green light of a returning drone buzzed past the tent in the night. He conceded it likely enhanced the home viewing experience but confessed to wondering “how scary this would be” to be pursued by one.
Athletes, for their part, seemed largely unfazed.
“I actually didn’t know they were there,” said 19-year-old South African skier Lara Markthaler, who competed in the women’s giant slalom. She admitted to finding “the start camera like 10 centimeters from our face. That is what we do notice.”
Others were eagerly anticipating their turn to ski with Skynet.
“I saw the other competitors have drones and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s so cool, and I want to have that for my run,’” said Elin Van Pelt of Iceland, 20. She jokingly added that a drone following her for a television audience would signify, “I made it.”
Drones have been a part of the Olympics since the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, but their presence has surged as the technology advances and audiences grow accustomed to dynamic, close-up action. At these Games, drones are taking on more responsibilities than ever.
Mr. Hogenbirk, a co-founder of Dutch Drone Gods, a company with a background in professional drone racing, confirmed that pilots ensured athletes were comfortable with the drones before the Games commenced.
“Maybe they hear it a little bit, but it’s not distracting because they’re so fully focused on where they’re going,” Mr. Hogenbirk explained. He noted that his team filmed each athlete prior to the Games, and “everyone had a chance to say, ‘No, I don’t want this.’ None of them did.”
Outside the tent, after his shift, Mr. Hogenbirk greeted his admirers. “People are just like filming and zooming in with their phones,” he said, adding that when the drones land, spectators sometimes shout, “Olympic medal!”
Among the drone enthusiasts was Kate Bentley, 26, a data analyst from Bristol, England. On a ski trip with friends, she decided to visit the Olympics but found the skeleton athletes hurtling past at 90 miles per hour somewhat underwhelming.
“I think skeleton could be a bit boring,” she mused, “without the drones.”