By Christie Nakagawa
The Winter Olympics were held from February 6 to February 22, 2026. In total, the 2026 USA Team earned 12 gold medals, 12 silver medals, and 9 bronze medals, placing second overall behind Norway. The Games consisted of 118 events across 8 sports, including figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, and many others. The Opening Ceremony took place at Stadio San Siro and featured international artists such as Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini, Andrea Bocelli, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Sabrina Impacciatore. On Saturday, February 7, the first medal events included alpine skiing, cross‑country skiing, speed skating, ski jumping, and snowboarding. In figure skating, Ilia won gold in the men’s singles, becoming widely recognized for his ability to land a quadruple axel. Alysa Liu became the first U.S. woman to win Olympic gold in figure skating in 24 years. Another notable figure was Lindsey Vonn, who tore her ACL and fractured her tibia; her crash during the alpine skiing event prevented her from competing in the Olympics. Breezy Johnson won the women’s alpine skiing event with a gold medal and a rank of four. Both U.S. hockey teams won gold—on February 19, the Women’s Hockey Team won 2–1, and on February 22, the Men’s Team secured their victory as well.