The 2026 Winter Olympics began on February 6th in Milan Italy, and ended on February 22nd.
Over 3000 athletes from 92 different countries competed in 16 different disciplines (116 total events) in order to win a medal for their country.
The final standings have Norway in 1st with 41 medals, the United States in 3rd place with 33 total medals, 12 of which are gold, and the Netherlands in 3rd with 20.
American Gold Medalists
Breezy Johnson won gold in women’s downhill alpine skiing. This was her second Olympics.
America won gold in the figure skating team event, which was achieved by 7 different figure skaters. Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, Ilia Malinin, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Ellie Kam, and Danny O’Shea all contributed to this achievement.
Elizabeth Lemeley came in first place in women’s moguls as part of the freestyle skiing discipline. She also won a bronze medal in the dual moguls event.
Speed skater Jordan Stolz won gold in both men’s 500 meter and 1000 meter speed skating. This was his first Olympics, and he also got a silver medal in the men’s 1500 meter speed skating.
Elana Meyers Taylor won the woman’s monobob (one-person bobsledding) event at age 41. She is the oldest athlete to win an individual gold medal in the history of the winter olympics.
Mikaela Shiffrin got a gold medal in the women’s slalom portion of alpine skiing. She is the most decorated American alpine skier when it comes to world championships.
The American womens’ hockey team beat Canada with a score of 2 to 1 in the final championship, resulting in another gold medal.
Alysa Liu placed first in women’s figure skating singles, making this her second gold medal after also helping to win the figure skating team event earlier in the games. This was her second Olympics.
Connor Curran, Kaila Kuhn, and Christopher Lillis won gold in the mixed team aerials freestyle skiing. The trio won America’s 11th gold medal of the games, breaking the country’s previous record of 10 gold medals from 2010.
The American men’s hockey team followed in the women’s footsteps, also beating Canada 2 to 1 in the final and earning a gold medal.
Although America didn’t end up winning the winter olympics this year, the team still managed to achieve second place, as well as a new record for American gold medals through the outstanding skill of these athletes.
