The stars of the gay hockey series will carry the Olympic flame. Heated Rivalry heads to the Milan Winter Games
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the leads of Heated Rivalry, have been officially named Olympic torchbearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The announcement was made by HBO Max, the platform that distributes the series internationally and also owns the broadcast rights to the Olympics in the US and parts of Europe. It will also be the first ever streaming of the Winter Olympics on the platform in Italy and Germany.
Both actors will take part in the traditional Olympic Torch Relay, which will culminate on 6 February in Milan during the Opening Ceremony at the San Siro Stadium. The exact place and time of their participation has not yet been announced by the organisers, but what is certain is that the torch will pass through north-eastern Italy in the coming days.
Queer romance from the hockey world
The series Heated Rivalry, created by Canadian writer and director Jacob Tierney and based on the bestselling books by Rachel Reid, follows the story of two elite hockey players - Canadian Shane Hollander (Williams) and Russian forward Ilya Rozanov ( Storrie). On the ice, they are implacable rivals; off it, they develop a relationship that must remain hidden.
Since its premiere in late 2025, the series has become a global phenomenon, sparking an intense fan response on social media, and HBO Max quickly announced the creation of a second season. For many viewers, it represents one of the first mainstream series representations of a queer relationship in a top male sports setting.
When Fiction Meets Reality
The symbolism of the series' connection to Olympic tradition is evident in the story itself. In the first season of Heated Rivalry, the story takes place in part during the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, with Hollander representing Canada and Rozanov representing Russia. The fictional Olympics thus, in a sense, spill over into reality - the actors who portrayed queer sports icons now become part of one of the most visible Olympic rituals themselves.
The inclusion of the two actors as torchbearers also follows their growing media presence. Hudson Williams, who came to the series through open casting and until recently worked as a waiter, is already in the spotlight. During Milan Men's Fashion Week, he appeared on the runway for Dsquared2 in a ski-inspired collection and then in the front row of the Giorgio Armani show.
The Olympics and queer visibility
The inclusion of queer celebrities among the torchbearers follows the Olympic movement's longer-standing efforts to reflect diversity. Past participants in the torch relay include Canadian swimmer and Olympic champion Mark Tewksbury and figure skater Brian Orser. At the same time, there have been problematic moments - during the 2014 Sochi Games, held while Russian anti-LGBTQ laws were in force, the participation of queer celebrities sparked a number of controversies. At the time, Russian activist Pavel Lebedev unfurled a rainbow flag while running with a torch and was arrested.
Other openly queer athletes will also join the relay at this year's games in Milan and Cortina, including Italian archery bronze medallist Lucilla Boari and Swiss footballer Alisha Lehmann. In this context, the presence of Williams and Storrie does not feel like an isolated gesture, but part of a wider transformation in the visibility of LGBTQ people in the world of sport.
Fire as a symbol of presence
For queer audiences, their presence has another dimension: the Heated Rivalry showed that even a traditionally masculine and conservative environment like professional hockey can provide a framework for authentic narratives about queer relationships. Having the faces of this story carry the Olympic flame takes the representation off the screen and directly into global reality.
This year, the Olympic torch will not only be a symbol of sporting competition, but also of the visibility and presence of queer people in a space that has long been considered closed.
