Winter Olympics

With the Olympics coming to an end, it’s finally time to recap the best moments from this electric two-week period, where world-class athletes gathered in Milano-Cortina, Italy, and showcased their repertoire of skills through impressive, record-breaking performances. In regard to the medal count, Norway dominated with a total of 41 medals, which included 18 gold medals. Not too far behind, the United States accumulated 33 total medals while also claiming 12 gold medals, the most ever for the U.S. in the history of the Winter Olympics. The home nation, Italy, followed with 20 total medals.

From scoring the “golden” goal to winning multiple gold medals in a first Olympic appearance, the vast list of accomplishments is truly incredible; many of them are worth mentioning, but that would be impossible to do in just one article, so here are the most notable moments and achievements in each sport during the 2026 Winter Olympics:

Alpine Skiing

After an eight-year medal drought, American skier Mikaela Shiffrin claimed a gold medal in the slalom, outcompeting her opponents by a massive margin of 1.5 seconds. In his Olympic debut, Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen became the third male skier to ever win three gold medals in alpine skiing (downhill, super-G, and team combined). Lucus Pinheiro Braathen, representing Brazil, won gold in the giant slalom, bringing home Brazil’s first-ever medal and South America’s first-ever gold medal in the Winter Olympics.

Biathlon

Team France dominated, clinching six gold medals in eleven total biathlon events, along with four silver medals and three bronze medals.

Bobsleigh

In the women’s monobob, 41-year-old Elana Meyers Taylor from Team USA became the oldest American woman to win a Winter Olympic medal after securing gold in her fifth Olympic appearance. As the powerhouse nation of the sport, Germany took control of the competition by earning gold in three out of four events. Furthermore, they swept the podium in the four-man bobsled, and German pilot Johannes Lochner concluded his illustrious career by claiming gold medals in the two-man and four-man bobsled events.

Cross-Country Skiing

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won the Olympic crown by clinching six gold medals in a single Olympics, the most of any athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics. With a total of 11 gold medals, Klaebo now has the second-most Olympic medals ever, summer or winter, behind the one and only Michael Phelps (23). On the women’s side, Jesse Diggins, considered one of the best cross-country skiers ever in the United States, persevered through bruised ribs and fought her way onto the podium to win bronze in the 10km interval start event.

Curling

Cory Theisse and Korey Dropkin of the United States earned the first-ever medal (silver) in mixed doubles curling. After being accused of cheating, skip Brad Jacobs and his teammates on Canada’s men’s curling team reclaimed gold for the first time since 2014. 

Figure Skating

After retiring from figure skating at the age of sixteen, Alysa Liu of the United States made a memorable comeback when she was crowned Olympic champion in the women’s single skating event. Unfortunately, the U.S. ice dancing couple, Evan Bates and Madison Chock, missed out on gold by 1.43 points but were still able to clinch the silver medal.

Freestyle Skiing

Coming into these Olympic Games with three medals, Eileen Gu, representing China, won the women’s freeski halfpipe to defend her title from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, while also claiming two silver medals in the freeski slopestyle and big air. Chinese couple, Wang Xindi and Xu Mengtao, took the gold in the men’s and women’s aerials, respectively. Also, the United States mixed aerials team secured gold, defending their Olympic gold medal from 2022.

Ice Hockey

The United States men’s and women’s ice hockey teams both shut out Canada in 2-1 overtime victories to clinch two gold medals. For the men’s team, Jack Hughes scored the “golden goal” in overtime to secure the first gold medal for the U.S. men’s ice hockey team since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980.

Luge

Italy’s Andrea Votter and Marion Oberhofer earned top honors in the women’s double luge, marking the first-ever gold medal in this event for Italy. Just a few hours later, Italy’s men’s double luge team also claimed gold on their home ice. As usual, Germany continued to dominate, achieving victory in the men’s and women’s singles and team relay.

Nordic Combined

Jens Luras Oftebro of Norway displayed impressive performances and swept the podium in all three available events, including the team sprint.

Short Track Speed Skating

Although she slipped three times on her first day of competition, American skater Corinne Stoddard was still able to make the podium in the women’s 1500m with a bronze performance, making history by becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic short track medal since 2010. Additionally, the Netherlands accumulated seven short track medals (five of which were gold), with Dutch stars Xandra Velzeboer and brothers Jens and Melle van ‘t Wout accounting for six of the seven medals. Considered by most to be the G.O.A.T of short track speed skating, 35-year-old Arianna Fontana of Italy made the home country proud after winning three medals for a total of fourteen throughout her entire career.

Skeleton

Great Britain’s Matt Weston glided his way to victory with a comfortable margin of 0.88 seconds. For the women, Janine Flock from Austria entered the competition with the hopes of bringing home Olympic gold at the age of 36. Through perseverance, she claimed Austria’s first-ever women’s skeleton Olympic medal. In the debut of the skeleton mixed team event, Great Britain’s team, comprised of Tabitha Stoecker and Matt Weston, secured the top spot on the podium.

Ski Jumping

Anna Odine Strom of Norway jumped to victory in both individual events. In the women’s individual normal hill, Strom upset the gold medal favorite, Nika Prevc of Slovenia, who ended up winning silver. In the mixed team normal hill, Slovenia defended its title from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with a victory over Norway by over 30 points.

Ski Mountaineering

France’s mixed relay team clinched the title in the debut of ski mountaineering. The team was comprised of Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet, who won silver in the women’s sprint and bronze in the men’s sprint, respectively.

Snowboard

Although Chloe Kim of the United States failed to secure a three-peat in the halfpipe, she earned silver even with a torn labrum. She lost to 17-year-old prodigy Gaon Choi from South Korea, who upset Kim, her mentor. In the men’s slopestyle, China’s Su Yiming claimed the gold medal in the slopestyle on his 22nd birthday.

Speed Skating

United States’ Jordan Stoltz took the spotlight in the speed skating events, meeting his high expectations after securing the gold medal in 500m and 1000m and breaking the Olympic records in both of these events. Stolz also won silver in the 1500m, capping off his historic performances during these Winter Olympics. With three Olympic medals, Stolz became the first American speed skater since Eric Heiden to win three medals at one Olympic Games.