The 2026 Winter Olympics took place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, bringing the Olympics back to Italy for the first time since the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. Athletes from around the world compete in winter sports like skiing, snowboarding, speed skating, curling, hockey, and figure skating. Here are some of the highlights, ranging from records broken and unexpected gold:
Team U.S.A beats Team Canada in both men’s and women’s hockey for the first time in 46 years for the men’s team, the last time being the “Miracle on Ice,” which was an ice hockey game at the 1980 Winter Olympics in New York, where a U.S. team of amateur college hockey players defeated the reigning gold medalist Soviet Union. Team U.S.A women’s team beat Team Canada more recently, at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in a shootout, with the final score being 3-2, breaking Team Canada’s 20 year streak of gold.
Brazil earned its first-ever Winter Olympic gold at the 2026 Olympics. On February 14th, 2026, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the men’s giant slalom ski, securing Brazil’s first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal and medal of any color. The 25-year-old, competing for his mother’s native country, also became the first athlete from South America and any tropical nation to win a medal at the Winter Games.
Alysa Liu, a gold medalist in figure skating, has more to her story that meets the eye. Alysa Liu returned to competitive figure skating after rediscovering her love for the sport since taking a break for a couple of years due to being burnt out, in which she would hide and cry before practice until her coach found her. Her comeback included her winning the 2025 World Championship, setting the stage for her gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Liu delivered an outstanding performance in her free skate, landing the first gold medal for Team U.S.A in women’s singles since the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics by Sarah Hughes.
The oldest medalists at this year’s Olympics are Team U.S.A. ‘s Elana Meyers Taylor, who is 41, became the oldest American to win a gold medal in individual bobsled (monobob). Team Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni, who is 46, became the oldest female medal winner not only at the 2026 Olympics, but in the entire Winter Olympic history in curling after winning silver.
Ilia Malinin, widely known as the “Quad God,” for being the first figure skater in history to land a quadruple axel in competition, and is the only skater to land all six types of quadruple jumps. Malinin had a difficult but memorable run at this year’s Olympic Games. He played a key role in landing team U.S.A. a gold medal in the figure skating team event, but it ended up going downhill during the individual event. Due to being the fans’ favorite and the pressure of it, Malinin delivered a strong program in the beginning and led the leaderboard early, but a difficult free skate dropped him to 8th place overall. Although it doesn’t count for medals and leaderboards, Ila Malinin ended up getting his redemption back later in the exhibition gala, giving us another perfect performance.
The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics brought athletes together from all over the world in an exciting competition of winter sports. The Games featured memorable performances and record-setting achievements across 116 different events. Norway won the most amount of golds and overall medals, while the United States set a new record for most gold medals at one Games in its Winter Olympic history. The Games ended with a closing ceremony in Verona, Italy, marking another successful chapter in Olympic history.