The 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina have just concluded. It was great to watch. In our business, we should know that the Winter Olympics aren’t just a showcase of athletic prowess; they’re a hotbed of innovation. From the gear that helps athletes shave seconds off their time to the equipment that keeps rinks pristine, patents play a crucial role in protecting these breakthroughs. Some innovations even come from the athletes themselves. In this blog, we’ll explore key patented items used in the Games and spotlight Olympians who’ve turned their experiences into inventions.
No Winter Olympics would be complete without smooth ice for hockey, figure skating, or speed skating. Enter the Zamboni, the iconic ice resurfacing machine. Invented by Frank Zamboni in 1949, it was patented (US Patent No. 2,642,679) as a simple yet effective “ice rink resurfacing machine” that shaved, washed, and refroze the surface in minutes. This invention debuted at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, transforming rink operations from a 90-minute manual chore to a quick 15-minute process.
Snowboarding joined the Winter Olympics in 1998, but its patented origins go back further. A 1939 patent by Gunnar and Harvey Burgeson (US Patent No. 2,181,391) is often hailed as the first true snowboard design, a wooden board with bindings and a rope for control.
Later, Robert Weber’s 1973 “mono-ski” patent (US Patent No. 3,900,204) advanced the concept with a single wide ski-like board. These innovations paved the way for modern snowboards, now featuring advanced materials like carbon fiber to reduce vibrations and enhance performance.
Bobsledding, invented in the 1860s by the Swiss, got a boost from Ronald Andrus’s 1936 patent (US Patent No. 2,095,951) for “coasting bobsleds” with improved ski mounting for better stability. Modern bobsleds build on these foundations, incorporating aerodynamics and shock absorbers for speeds over 90 mph.
Some athletes don’t stop at medals—they channel their on-slope insights into inventions. These Winter Olympians have patented gear that impacts sports and beyond.
American alpine skier Ted Ligety won gold in combined at the 2006 Turin Olympics and giant slalom at the 2014 Sochi Games. Drawing from his high-speed experiences, he patented protective equipment, including US Patent No. 10,143,258 for a “Protective Helmet” with multi-layer padding to absorb impacts and reduce head trauma. Ligety’s inventions prioritize athlete safety, reflecting the risks he faced on the slopes.
Slovenian Peter Florjancic competed in ski jumping at the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Olympics as Yugoslavia’s youngest team member. Escaping Nazi-occupied Slovenia during WWII, he became a globetrotting inventor with over 400 ideas and 120 patents. His creations include the perfume atomizer (FR1090961A), a warping mill for weaving machines (US2561919A), and, of course, a snowboard (DE3607808A1). Florjancic’s life was as daring as his jumps, blending athletic grit with inventive genius until he died in 2020 at age 101.
Patents safeguard the ingenuity that makes the Winter Olympics thrilling, from Zambonis gliding across ice to helmets shielding athletes’ heads. Olympian inventors like Ligety and Florjancic show how personal experience drives progress, blending competition with creation. As we look past the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, expect more breakthroughs protected by patents to push sports forward. Innovation isn’t just about winning; it’s about evolving the game for everyone.
