The cauldrons in Milan and Cortina have been extinguished, bringing an end to the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. For two weeks, Italy played host to a Winter Games that was memorable for both triumphant and disappointing reasons. In total, the United States won 12 gold medals, a record for the country in the Winter Games. Of those 12 golds, eight were won by women.
The U.S. women’s hockey team put on a clinic, winning every game on their way to golden glory. After being roughed up by Italy in the quarter finals, the players skated right through Sweden to get to their archrival, Canada. The game promised to be one of epic proportions and it did not disappoint. A last-minute goal by team captain Hilary Knight forced the game into overtime. They prevailed with a score of 2-1. Since women’s hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998, the United States has medaled in every single tournament. Three of those medals have been gold.
The U.S. men’s hockey team hasn’t won a gold medal since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980. 2026 would be the year that they finally regained gold. In an 8 a.m. ET match against Canada, the match ended up going into overtime after it appeared that Canada was cruising its way to yet another gold. Jack Hughes, with an assist from Zach Werenski and Connor Hellebuyck, scored the winning goal. The final score was 2-1.
One of the biggest stories going into the games was skier Lindsey Vonn’s return. After injuring her ACL just a week prior, the legendary athlete was poised to make even more headlines after the games began. She did, but not for the reasons everybody hoped for. Just 13 seconds after her Women’s Downhill run began, she clipped a gate and crashed. After being airlifted from the course, Vonn underwent surgery in which she says she nearly lost her leg. Fellow American Breezy Johnson took the gold in the event.
Remaining on the ski slopes, another shocker of the Games was Mikaela Shiffrin’s lack of medals. After failing to medal in the Team Combined and Giant Slalom, her only hope of a medal came down to the Slalom event. She saved the best for last, skiing down to gold and clocking the third-largest win margin in the event.
U.S. speed skater Jordan Stolz was inspired to try the sport after watching Apolo Ohno skate at the 2010 Games. Already a phenom in his sport at just 21 years old, he added to his list of accomplishments with gold medals in both the 500m and 1000m and a silver in the 1500m. He also finished fourth in the men’s mass start, making an impact in three of his four Olympic events.
Staying on the ice, all eyes were on Ilia Malinin before his plane even touched down in Italy. Dubbed the “Quad God” for his unmatched ability to perform quadruple jumps, including the quad axel that was previously believed to be impossible, many fans and professionals believed that the men’s skating gold was his to win or lose. After not skating his best in the team event, he delivered a short program that put him in the lead going into the free skate. What happened during that free skate was unlike anything we had ever seen from Malinin— but not in a good way. He failed to execute most of his jumps, even falling at times, and did not make it onto the podium.
Concerns for his mental health were raised in the aftermath, and questions were asked as to whether he would skate in the exhibition gala on the penultimate day of the games. Malinin did take to the ice for the gala, and what followed was a redemption skate, the likes of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Skating to NF’s “Fear,” he put on a textbook display of men’s figure skating excellence, all while poetically displaying a journey through the darkness of the mind.
Alysa Liu made it to the women’s figure skating competition in an unorthodox way. After the 2022 Beijing Games, she retired from the sport at just 16 years old. Two years later, she returned to the ice on her terms and her success was meteoric. That success continued in Milan, where she took the first women’s singles gold for the U.S. since Sarah Hughes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. Even more impressive than her gold was her attitude; she has been praised for her joy and positivity, especially with her fellow athletes.
Last but certainly not least, Elana Meyers Taylor, already an Olympic silver and bronze medalist in women’s monobob bobsledding, finally won her elusive gold medal. The victory was a family affair. After her win, she signed in ASL to her son Noah,”Mommy won.”
During the two weeks of competition, the fans of Olympic sports also won. Now all eyes turn to the Paralympics, which began on March 6. They will primarily air on USA Network, CNBC and Peacock, with some coverage also on NBC.
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All stats are from: https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/schedule
