Chilly competition at 2026 Olympic Winter Games

For many around the world, the highlight of this month has been the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The games this year took place in the cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Opening on Feb. 6 and closing on Feb. 22, with 92 countries competing, and plenty of broken records, rivalries, and exciting events, this Olympics is sure to be one for the history books. 

This year, figure skating was by far the most anticipated event, according to a poll by ESPN, where 59% of fans reported that they were most excited to watch the skaters from around the world demonstrate their prowess out on the ice. Figure skating was a big event for the US, taking the gold in the team event, as well as the women’s singles, with 2o-year-old skater Alysa Liu. Liu was one of the most popular athletes in the games, due to her inspirational journey. Liu had been skating since she was five, and even held two US Championship titles, but retired at just 16. Less than two years later, Liu would post to Instagram, announcing her return to skating, but this time, on her own terms. Liu then won the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, and landed a spot on Team USA for this year’s Olympics. Liu placed third in the short program segment of the women’s singles, and placed first in her free skate, which earned her the gold medal. Liu is the first female skater from the US to win a gold medal since 2002. Figure skating also saw a new record, with Japanese duo Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara setting a new high score in the pair skating free skate segment, with a score of 158.13.

The Olympics also featured much more drama on the ice, with rivalry between the USA and Canada on both the men’s and women’s hockey teams, as well as a cheating controversy in curling. Both teams faced off for the gold medal, and the US teams won both matches. It was historic for the US men’s team, who hasn’t won gold in ice hockey since 1980 against the Soviet Union, which was called the “Miracle on Ice.” The women’s team claimed gold as well, their first since 2018. On the curling side of things, the Canadian men’s and women’s teams were both accused of cheating, with alternative angles showing them touching the stone after it had been released, which is illegal in the sport. The allegations remain unpunished, however, and the men’s Canadian team took the gold medal.

Overall, there were 92 countries with over 3,500 athletes competing for 195 medals across 16 events. In the end, Norway won the most medals, with 18 gold, 12 silver, and 11 bronze. With a total of 41 medals, Norway broke the record for the most medals a country has ever won at the Winter Olympics, breaking their own record of 39 in 2018. The United States came in second, with 12 gold, 12 silver, and nine bronze, and the Netherlands came in third with 10 gold, seven silver, and three bronze. Several records were set this year, most of them in speed skating. The Netherlands broke two short-track speed skating records, one in the mixed 200 meter relay, and the other in women’s 500 meters, which was also a world record. More records in speed skating included Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida in the women’s 3000 meters, Norway’s Sander Eitrem in men’s 5000 meters, the Netherlands’ Jutta Leerdam in the women’s 1000 meters and Femke Kok in the women’s 500 meters, the US’ Jordan Stolz in both the men’s 1000 and 5000 meters, and China’s Ning Zhongyan in the men’s 1500 meters.

While this year’s Winter Olympics were certainly full of exciting demonstrations of athletic prowess, they were also full of joy and exciting silly moments, with memorable occurrences such as a local dog running onto the track during the cross-country skiing event, and Snoop Dogg as an honorary coach. The ceremonies have now come to an end, and Olympic fans are left awaiting the next Olympic Games, which will be the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles. The next Winter Olympics will be the 2030 Olympic Winter Games in the French Alps.