Olympic 2026 Winter Games

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History on Skis

US skier Ben Ogden won silver yesterday in the men’s cross-country sprint at the Winter Olympics, ending a 50-year US men’s medal drought in the sport. The 25-year-old Vermonter is only the second American man to medal in Olympic cross-country skiing, joining 1976 silver medalist Bill Koch. Ogden finished just behind Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who captured his seventh Olympic gold. Americans Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan took bronze in the women’s team combined skiing event, while the US duo of Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin finished fourth—missing the podium by 0.06 seconds. Defending Olympic champion Alex Hall took home silver in the men’s slopestyle event. Team USA also secured silver in mixed doubles curling, becoming the first US mixed doubles Olympic medalists. The US women's hockey team beat rival Canada 5-0 in a preliminary matchup. See the current medal count here. Eight gold medals are up for grabs today, including in figure skating and skiing events. See the full schedule of events here.

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🚁 1 fun thing: The drone Olympics

A drone follows downhill skier Barnabas Szollos of Israel during an Olympic run in Bormio, Italy, on Saturday. Photo: Christian Hartmann/Reuters MILAN, Italy — Drones and other tech advances are reshaping how viewers experience the Winter Olympics, Axios' Ina Fried writes. Why it matters: New camera angles can pull the audience into the athlete's perspective, making the sheer intensity and speed of events like skiing and bobsled easier to grasp. One of the most obvious tech advances at this year's games has been the extensive use of drones by the Olympic Broadcasting Services, the group that provides camera feeds to NBC and other broadcasters. OBS has more than two dozen drones in use for these Olympics, with the flying cameras being used indoors and outdoors — basically at all sports other than ice hockey and curling. A drone closely follows Maia Schwinghammer of Team Canada during women's moguls qualification yesterday in Livigno, Italy. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Pilots with deep knowledge of the sports control the drones, using goggles that allow them to see what the drones see. In some cases, the pilots are former athletes — including Jonas Sandell, a former ski jumper currently filming the sport. Keep reading ... Today's events ... Medal count.

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⛸️ 1 for the road: Snoop in the stands

Photo: Ina Fried/Axios Axios' Ina Fried captured Wisconsin's Jordan Stolz celebrating yesterday after winning gold in men's 1,000-meter speedskating in Milan. The backstory: "It all began on a frozen pond behind the family home in Kewaskum, Wisconsin, where five-year-old Jordan Stolz first shuffled onto the ice wearing a blue life jacket, circling a hand-cleared speed skating oval under the watchful eyes of his parents." (Olympics.com) Photo: Joosep Martinson/Getty Images Snoop Dogg — rapper, NBC Olympics correspondent, and Team USA honorary coach and hype man — sat a few rows in front of Ina. More amazing pics.

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Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych out of Winter Olympics because of banned helmet honoring war dead

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, a likely medal contender at the Milan Cortina Games, was barred from racing Thursday after refusing a last-minute plea from the International Olympic Committee to not use a helmet that honors more than 20 athletes and coaches killed since Russia invaded his country four years ago.

https://apnews.com/article/heraskevych-helmet-ukraine-olympics-skeleton-9f304e1ff834ddab33af2f4e003f04a8?

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Olympic-sized Ukraine crisis

During an Olympic training run Monday in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych wears a helmet showing athletes killed in the war with Russia. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images

MILAN, Italy — The International Olympic Committee disqualified a Ukrainian skeleton athlete who insisted on competing while wearing a helmet bearing photos of athletes and coaches killed in the war with Russia, Axios' Ina Fried reports. Why it matters: The removal of Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych from the competition comes amid an increasingly politicized Olympics environment. Heraskevych told reporters he didn't believe the helmet violated Olympic rules, and said he plans to appeal his expulsion to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted: "We are proud of Vladyslav and of what he did. Having courage is worth more than any medal."

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Artist behind banned Ukrainian Olympic helmet calls Heraskevych’s tribute ‘great heroism’

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The artist who painted a controversial helmet that got Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych banned from the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics said his refusal to stop wearing the helmet was “a great act of heroism.”

https://apnews.com/article/vladyslav-heraskevych-helmet-banned-olympics-ukraine-artist-8c0abbffde67bb64244948d2b708d99a?

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Bravo! Act I of the Winter Olympics’ visit to Italy has been filled with drama, catharsis and tears

The Winter Olympics in Italy feel like an opera, with big emotions driving the story as much as the sport. From American skier Lindsey Vonn's crash in the women's downhill to Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych's political statement to U.S. skier Breezy Johnson's wedding proposal, the opening week of the Games has not lacked for memorable moments. The Winter Olympics have, in a way, held up a mirror to the host country. Underneath all the emotion, however, is the hard work that has long served as the bedrock athletes have relied on to get to this moment in their careers. Read more.

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Winter Olympics medal tracker ISU defends Olympic ice dance scoring after French judge’s margin swings gold to French team over US Inside the secret text group of US figure skating Olympic gold medalists known as ‘the OGM chain’ 54-year-old Minnesota lawyer, who played with his teammate’s dad, becomes oldest US Winter Olympian A fugitive on the run for years is arrested when he turns up at the Olympics to watch hockey Sign up for Postcards from Milan Cortina, our free Olympics pop-up newsletter

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⛸️ 1 for the road: Agony of defeat

Team USA's Ilia Malinin falls, and Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov wins gold. Left: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images. Right: Ina Fried/Axios

MILAN, Italy — American favorite Ilia Malinin, the "Quad God," fell twice and finished a stunning 8th in men's singles at the Winter Olympics yesterday. Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov, also 21, skated flawlessly to win gold. Gasps filled the arena when Malinin fell, Axios' Ina Fried reports. Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Malinin said: "The nerves just were so overwhelming, and especially going into that starting pose, I just felt like all the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head … and I just did not handle it." More photos.

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Are the Olympics really so ancient?

The Olympic Games are a multisport competition held every four years, where athletes from around the world compete at the highest level in their disciplines. Roughly 3,000 athletes are gathered in northern Italy for another week in the most geographically dispersed Olympics ever (see map). The first written mention of the Olympics dates back to 776 BCE in the Peloponnesus region of Greece. The Games then became a staple of Greek life for almost 12 centuries (scroll visual history guide). 

 

The Olympics were revived 1,500 years later when Pierre de Coubertin, considered the father of the modern Olympic movement, established the International Olympic Committee in 1894, with the first modern Games in Athens two years later. Since 1994, the Olympics have alternated every two years between the Summer Games, which include over 300 medal events in 32 sports, and the Winter Games, which include over 100 medal events in 16 sports (see modern list).

 

Millions of tickets are sold to watch the 16-day event in person, and billions view it on TV and online. Hosting the Olympics was once an honor; however, cost overruns, scandals, and local opposition have led to fewer bids in recent years (watch explainer). 

... Read what else we learned about the international games here.

 

Also, check out ... 

> Revisiting the fascinating, extinct events from Olympics past. (Read)

> Key storylines unfolding at this year's Olympics. (Read)

> What is "skimo," the newest sport that starts Thursday? (Read)

> The top 10 most unbreakable Winter Olympics records. (Watch)

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Curling controversy widens amid higher surveillance as Britain accused of same infraction as Canada

The curling controversy at the Winter Olympics widened Sunday as increased surveillance of the matches resulted in the removal of a stone thrown by the British men’s team for the same alleged violation that burned the Canadians two days in a row. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

More conflict in curling as Canadian women are accused of the same violation as men Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen wins giant slalom, earns South America’s 1st medal at Winter Games Lindsey Vonn is preparing to fly back to the US with more surgeries to come, team official tells AP Eileen Gu says she’s disappointed she can’t get help with her packed Olympic schedule

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🏂 Laid-off Posties lace up for Olympics

Two laid-off Posties grace today's Sports front.

Two laid-off writers are among the four Washington Post journalists covering the Winter Olympics, AP reports from Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The Post announced two days before the Olympics opened that it'll eliminate the sports section and lay off a third of its staff. The paper originally planned to send 14 staffers. Plane tickets, hotels and workspace had already been paid for. Sports columnist Barry Svrluga, one of the two laid-off Posties, is at his 12th Games: "They can take away our section but in a way, they can't take away our spirit. ... I wanted to be occupied. I love covering the Olympics." At Svrluga's first Olympics, the 2004 Athens Summer Games, he was struck by the way Post colleagues collaborated at a big event. "It felt like a team sport for us and that benefited the section and the paper," Svrluga said. "What we're trying to do here is remind people — readers and decision-makers — that these are a lot of committed people who were doing things for the right reasons." Les Carpenter — the paper's Olympics reporter, who's covering his eighth Games — was already in Milan when he found out he was losing his job. "The Post sports department always had such a great connection with its readers. I felt I had to stay to tell the story of this Olympics for them," Carpenter said. "It's what I'd want as a reader. If this is the end for Post sports, let's give our most loyal readers our best." 🗞️ I'm told that laid-off Post employees will be paid through April 10, and will receive six months of continued health insurance. Guild bargaining on severance packages continues through Friday. Go deeper: WashPost sports legends.

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🥇 1 for the road: AI's Olympic gold

AI's read of an Olympic routine by USA figure skater Ilia Malinin. Image: Omega MILAN, Italy — AI's next big innovation, making its debut at these Winter Olympics, could help figure skating judges determine whether an athlete landed a fast-twirling move successfully, Axios' Ina Fried reports. How it works: Omega, the official Olympic timing and measurement provider, has installed an array of 14 cameras to track athletes in motion. 👁️ From that data, it can create a heat map of where skaters are concentrating their moves, as well as the jump height, jump length and rotation of each jump. 📏 "We're down to millimeters in the detection of the blade," said Alain Zobrist, CEO of Omega's timing unit. AI can detect movements that "couldn't be seen with the naked eye," he added. 🔮 What's next: For now, Omega is providing this to broadcasters. But the expectation is that judges at international competitions could have access to the technology later this year. 🥌 Talker: Curling controversy widens as Britain is accused of same violation as Canada ... Medal count.

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• 🏒 Team USA's women's hockey squad is headed to Thursday's gold medal game after trouncing Sweden 5-0 today at the Winter Olympics. They'll face either Canada or Switzerland, depending on which team wins today's late game. Go deeper.

 

Full circle

At the age of 31, Bruna Moura’s 74th and 99th place results at the Olympics tell a remarkable story. See how the Brazilian athlete represents the heart of the Games.

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Olympians redefining their prime

Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photos: IOC/Getty Images

For most of us, 40 is the new 30. For elite athletes at this year's Winter Olympics, 40 is something else entirely: rare air, Axios' Natalie Daher writes. Why it matters: The Games aren't just a showcase of peak performance anymore. They're a test of longevity. How long can greatness last? 🏔️ From the first-ever mother-son duo to compete in the Olympics to athletes who've come out of retirement to medal in Milan, this year's field is redefining what an Olympic career can look like. They still get the retirement questions. They're asked often to explain how they stay in the game. But they also bring something younger competitors can't: perspective — a long view of the injuries, setbacks, reinventions and second acts that shape a professional athlete's life. 🌟 For inspiration, we gathered quotes from some athletes bringing veteran grit: 1. 👑 Claudia Riegler (Austrian, snowboarding) — At 52, Riegler is the oldest woman to compete in Winter Olympic history, racing against competitors decades younger. She made her Olympic debut before many of them were born. "I can still keep up with the young girls and fight with them. I'm still here and I can push myself next to the young guns," she said after she was eliminated from the parallel giant slalom race on Feb. 8. 2. 🏂 Nick Baumgartner (U.S., snowboard cross) — At 44, he's still competing in one of snowboarding's most punishing disciplines, long past the sport's typical prime. He's been in the Winter Games since 2010. "I'm lucky to have the longevity that I have. I cut corners, didn't do everything I could, but I had time to learn from those mistakes. ... I've learned that if you do everything you can, and you cut no corners, if you fall short of that goal, you can live with that." 3. 🛷 Elana Meyers Taylor (U.S., bobsled) — At 41, she's competing in her fifth Olympics, extending a career across monobob and two-woman events. She remains one of Team USA's most reliable medal contenders in a sport defined by speed and durability. She clinched gold yesterday — making Team USA history as the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympic history, with a gold, three silver and two bronze medals. "I represent more than just myself now. I represent my kids, but also a lot of moms back home. I have so many people out there cheering me on, wishing me the best of luck." 4. 🥌 Rich Ruohonen (U.S. men's, curling) — At 54, the U.S. alternate is the oldest member of the American Olympic delegation — nearly twice the age of most teammates. He now holds the record as the oldest U.S. athlete ever to appear at a Winter Games. "Just to throw one rock would be the greatest," Ruohonen said at a press conference. He did get that moment! He anticipated it "would be the greatest moment in my life. My kids know it, and my wife knows it, so they're not going to be mad at me for saying it wasn't my wedding day." 5. 🎿 Lindsey Vonn (U.S., alpine skiing) — At 41, Vonn attempted a historic comeback after retiring in 2019. She tore her ACL just weeks before the Games began, but chose to compete anyway, only to crash off course during the Olympic downhill. "Thankful for all of the incredible medical staff, friends, family who have been by my side and the beautiful outpouring of love and support from people around the world," Vonn wrote on Instagram after her third surgery post-crash to repair a fractured tibia. "Also, huge congrats to my teammates and all of the Team USA athletes who are out there inspiring me and giving me something to cheer for."

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Adrenaline rush

Skimo — short for ski mountaineering — is the only sport making its debut at this year’s Winter Olympics, but it boasts a long and fascinating history that stretches back decades.   🇮🇹 Get the Milano Memo: CNN Sports has the latest chatter from inside the Winter Olympic Village and incredible stories of athletic achievement. Click here to sign up for the newsletter (it’s free!).

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Vonn, Shiffrin and Brignone among the Olympic skiers voicing concern over receding glaciers

Team USA skiers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin, along with Italy’s Federica Brignone, are among the many skiers who have expressed concern during these Olympic Games about the accelerating melt of the world’s glaciers. And Olympic host city Cortina is a fitting place for them to be talking about climate change: Glaciers once visible from town have dramatically shrunk. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Winter Olympics medal tracker Olympic photo highlights from Day 12 of the Milan Cortina Winter Games In a golden masterclass, Norway’s Klaebo extends Winter Olympics medal record US star Mikaela Shiffrin wins slalom to break 8-year Olympic drought Lindsey Vonn’s skis didn’t release in Olympic crash. Experts tell AP that raises years-old safety issues Canada rallies to beat Czechia in OT to avoid a stunning quarterfinal exit at the Olympics Swiss TV commentary of Israeli Olympic bobsled run fuels fierce reaction Russian flag and anthem set to return at next month’s Paralympics At the Olympics, women’s sports media outlets are writing their own playbooks Loose dog makes Olympic cameo on the cross-country ski course

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Ski mountaineering makes Olympic debut on snowy day as Marianne Fatton of Switzerland wins 1st gold

The sport of ski mountaineering made its long-awaited Olympics debut Thursday and crowned its first champion at the Milan Cortina Games in Marianne Fatton of Switzerland. Shortly after, Oriol Cardona Coll of Spain followed suit to take the men’s race. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Winter Olympics Medal Tracker Tenley Albright, 90, takes in Olympic figure skating 70 years after winning gold Hockey star Laila Edwards’ family cheers at Olympic debut, thanks to Kelce brothers and a GoFundMe One Extraordinary Photo: Ski mountaineering makes its debut at the Olympics Olympic photo highlights from Day 13 of the Milan Cortina Winter Games

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US Women's Hockey Gold

The US women’s hockey team clinched gold yesterday with a 2-1 overtime victory over Canada. The two nations have met in all but one Olympic women’s hockey final since the first tournament in 1998. The US women’s hockey team now has three gold medals to Canada’s five.  Team USA captain Hilary Knight scored a goal with roughly two minutes left in regulation to push the game into overtime (watch here). With that goal, Knight also broke the US Olympic hockey record for all-time points and goals scored. Her teammate Megan Keller scored another goal just over four minutes into sudden-death overtime to secure the win. Throughout the game, goalie Aerin Frankel blocked 30 of 31 shots. Earlier in the tournament, Frankel became the first woman to record three shutouts in a single Olympic appearance. Meanwhile, Alysa Liu ended Team USA's 24-year gold medal drought in women's figure skating, and ski mountaineering—or skimo—made its Winter Olympic debut.

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🏅 1 for the road: America's big night

Photo: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters ⛸️ Gold medalist Alysa Liu broke the drought for USA women's figure skating yesterday — claiming the team's first individual medal since 2006 in Turin. Go deeper. Photo: Ina Fried/Axios 🏒 On other ice, the U.S. women's hockey team rallied to beat Canada 2-1 during an overtime comeback to win gold. Go deeper. 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 The U.S. ended the day tied with Italy for second place in gold medals (nine each), trailing the No. 1 Norway, which has 26 (!) medals. Medal count.

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Alysa Liu dazzles to win figure skating gold, ending a 24-year Olympic drought for US women It was the first individual gold medal for an American woman since 2002, when Sarah Hughes stood atop the podium in Salt Lake City, and it was the second gold for Liu at the Milan Cortina Games. Read more.

Why this matters: Liu was the youngest U.S. champion ever when she won the first of back-to-back titles at 13 years old. But after finishing sixth at the Beijing Games, Liu was so burned out that she abruptly retired. It was on a skiing trip a couple of years ago, when Liu felt the same familiar adrenaline rush she once felt while skating, that she began to think about a comeback. But this time, Liu would be skating on her terms, more carefree and self-assured than she’d been as a child prodigy, when her life revolved around the practice rink.   Her performance left a packed crowd inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena standing and roaring, when a television camera zoomed in on the American star as she was heading off the ice. “That’s what I’m f—————— talking about!” Liu shouted into the lens. She finished with 226.79 points to upstage Japanese teammates Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai, who took silver and bronze.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Photos from the women’s figure skating final   United States wins 3rd Olympic gold in women’s hockey, beating Canada   Defending Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu brushes off fall and advances to final in halfpipe

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Norway wins its 17th gold medal, breaking record for most golds won in a single Winter Olympics

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway was the only biathlete to hit all 20 of his targets in the 15-kilometer mass start race Friday and skied his way to gold — Norway’s 17th gold medal of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics — breaking the record for the most gold medals won by a nation at a single Winter Olympics.

https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-norway-gold-record-biathlon-8d64eaeceeaf2d94e36df59d8d204639?

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Norway’s dominance at Winter Games based on tradition, depth and development

Norway has set a new record for Winter Olympic gold medals with 17 in Italy this month so far and has room for more. Cross-country star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won half of his 10 career Olympic golds during these Games. The dominance has raised a familiar question: What makes Norway, a nation of 5.6 million people, such a superpower on the snow at the world’s biggest winter sports event? Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Winter Olympics Medal Tracker Olympic photo highlights from Day 14 of the Milan Cortina Winter Games American freeskier Alex Ferreira completes his Olympic medal collection with a halfpipe gold Olympic freeskier Hunter Hess flashes an ‘L’ sign, says he stands by his statement and loves the USA Alysa Liu walked away from skating. Her fresh outlook when she returned helped her win Olympic gold Overtime and shootout rules at the Olympics change as the tournament unfolds Organizers of the Winter Games made clean energy a priority. Here’s how they did it

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Hughes scores in overtime as US beats Canada for first men’s hockey gold at the Olympics since 1980

MILAN (AP) — The United States is on top of the hockey world for the first time in nearly a half-century. No miracle needed.

https://apnews.com/article/usa-canada-score-olympics-13495a7dd0dbda9d660479223d3689a8?

ps:Sorry Stan!!

Winter Olympics closing day live updates: US wins gold in men’s hockey final against Canada

The United States beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the men’s hockey gold on the final day of the Milan Cortina Olympics. Jack Hughes scored the winning goal just 1 minute, 41 seconds into the first extra period. The day will end with the Olympics closing ceremony, which will celebrate Italian music and dance, both classic and contemporary. Follow along with our live coverage here.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Eileen Gu defends Olympic ski halfpipe gold, makes it 6 medals in 6 events over Winter Games career Hughes scores in overtime as US beats Canada for first men’s hockey gold at the Olympics since 1980 Canada’s curling skip tells cheating accusers to get Olympic celebration ‘burned into your brain’ Sweden beats Switzerland for gold in women’s curling at the Milan Cortina Olympics AP photographers pick their favorite photos from the Milan Cortina Olympics

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Winter Olympics End

The US men’s hockey team captured the gold medal in thrilling fashion yesterday, beating rival Canada 2-1 during a 3-on-3 overtime period. Forward Jack Hughes scored the golden goal less than two minutes into extra play, while goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 41 shots on goal—including a save just 10 seconds before Hughes' winning shot. It marks the third gold medal in men’s team history and its first since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" over the Soviet Union. The match was the final gold medal competition of the Olympics, with the closing ceremonies held in the 2,000-year-old Arena di Verona (see photos). Norway finished the games atop the medal count (18 gold medals, 42 total), followed by the US, Netherlands, and host Italy.  Despite falling short in some high-profile events, the US delegation broke the country’s record for winter gold medals with 12 (33 total medals). Watch top moments from the games here.

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🏒 Miracle in Milan

Photo: Elsa/Getty Images These two photos — instant classics — capture Team USA's win over Canada yesterday that gave the U.S. its first men's hockey gold medal since 1980. The victory came 46 years to the day after America's "Miracle on Ice" upset over the Soviet Union. Above: A bloodied Jack Hughes, whose teeth were knocked out by a Canadian player's stick, celebrates after scoring the gold medal-winning goal in overtime. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images Above: U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck — who saved 41 shots in an all-time great performance — blocks Canada's Devon Toews with the paddle of his stick during a tie game in the third period. 📺 Watch: Game-winning goal ... Hellebuyck highlights ... Game recap. 🥇 The U.S. finished the Milan Olympics — which wrapped up yesterday — with 12 gold medals, breaking the team's record for the Winter Games. Norway dominated with 18 gold medals. That includes six from cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who set the record for most gold medals at a single Winter Olympics. Final medal count ... Closing ceremony pics. Via X 🦅 Above: The White House's reaction to Team USA's gold medal — posted on X in response to a year-old taunt from Justin Trudeau after Canada beat the U.S. in an NHL-sponsored tournament.