'Heated Rivalry' stars set to take part in upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics

Heated Rivalry is truly a global phenomenon.

The hit TV show has reached fans all around the world, from one of the series’ stars attending a Canucks game in Vancouver, to Australia, where tennis star Coco Gauff invited actors Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams to watch her play.

No word on whether Storrie and Williams are going to the Australian Open, but they will be involved in another noteworthy sporting event this year.

On Thursday morning, it was announced that both Storrie and Williams will take part in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy as torchbearers for the event.

Ironically enough, the iconic characters played by Storrie (Ilya Rozanov) and Williams (Shane Hollander) compete in the Winter Olympics during a portion of Heated Rivalry.

Rozanov represents Russia at the fictionalized 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, while Hollander dons the Canadian jersey.

In real life, Storrie is from Texas, while Williams hails from Kelowna.

Typically, in the Olympics, there are approximately 10,000 torchbearers in the days leading up to the final lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

That usually includes some key celebrities, with Arnold Schwarzenegger acting as a torchbearer at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, while Jackie Chan was a key celebrity involved during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Storrie and Williams join a long list of Italian athletes and celebrities who’ve been tasked with carrying the Olympic flame to Milan. Outside of noteworthy Italian cultural figures, one of the other biggest stars to participate in the torch relay is Swedish soccer icon Zlatan Ibrahimović, who currently works for AC Milan.

As of Jan. 22, the Olympic torch is currently in Trieste, which is about 400 kilometres east of the flame’s final destination in Milan.

Click here to read article