Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the stars of the hit television series Heated Rivalry, have been named official torchbearers for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The actors will carry the Olympic flame during the torch relay that concludes in Milan on 6 February, the day of the opening ceremony that will be centered in the city’s San Siro football stadium. Organizers have not yet announced when or where Williams and Storrie will take part.
Heated Rivalry, created by Canadian writer-director Jacob Tierney and based on Rachel Reid’s bestselling novels, follows elite ice hockey players Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), fierce rivals whose love story unfolds off the ice. Since its late-2025 debut, the series has become a global breakout, driving intense online fandom and earning a swift second-season renewal.
The torchbearer announcement was made by HBO Max, which streams Heated Rivalry internationally and holds Olympic broadcast rights in the US and parts of Europe. The Milano Cortina Games will also mark the first time the Winter Olympics stream on the platform in Italy and Germany.
Williams, who was waiting tables when he came across an audition for the show, is already a visible presence in Milan as Olympic anticipation builds. During Milan Men’s Fashion Week, he walked the runway for Dsquared2’s ski-inspired collection and later appeared front row at Giorgio Armani, as luxury brands leaned into winter-sport imagery ahead of the Games.
