Cue “Free Bird.”
On Feb. 22, the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics wrapped up, where the United States finished second behind Norway. The U.S. finished with 33 medals overall, including 12 gold medals.
As with most Olympics, there is usually someone who takes the world and social media by storm. These games were no exception.
That athlete was Alysa Liu, following her gold medal-winning performance in women’s singles figure skating. She also helped the U.S. win gold with her short program performance in the team event.
The 20-year-old college student stole the show with her performance, set to the hit song “Promise” by Laufey. The young and energetic Liu always had a smile on her face and seemed to be truly enjoying her performance, which for Liu was the most important part.
Following the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Liu retired from competitive skating at 16 due to burnout and lack of joy. She returned two years later, driven by joy and determined to skate on her own terms, and skate she did, cementing herself as an Olympic legend.
Speaking of Olympic legends, Lindsey Vonn was set to compete at age 40 with a torn ACL. Her commitment to still compete took a disastrous turn, as an early fall required her to be airlifted.
Despite Vonn being out, the U.S. still took gold in the women’s downhill ski as Breezy Johnson beat Germany’s Emma Aicher for that honor.
The U.S. shone brightest in hockey, taking home both men’s and women’s gold medals in the same Olympics for the first time in the country’s history.
The women’s team was a perfect 7-0 and dominated throughout the tournament, outscoring their opponents 33-2 behind outstanding goaltending from Aerin Frankel. She set a U.S. record as the first goalie to have three shutout games in a single Olympic tournament.
Despite the dominant performance of Frankel, the gold-medal game against Canada was looking dicey with two minutes remaining. Frankel was pulled for an extra attacker, and captain Hilary Knight found the back of the net to tie the game at one and send the game into overtime.
With that goal, Knight found herself in the history books, breaking the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey record for all-time goals and points.
In overtime, Megan Keller scored the golden goal for the U.S., securing the third Olympic gold medal for Team USA.
The men’s team also went undefeated in the tournament with a record of 6-0 while posting a scoring differential of 26-9.
The U.S. found itself facing off against Canada in the final, a rematch from the NHL’s “4 Nations Face-Off” a year earlier, where Canada won.
This game, however, was not the same. In a commercial for the Olympics, when the biggest prize was mentioned, U.S. forward Jack Eichel blurted out, “Canadian tears,” instead of the gold medal. Eichel and the rest of his team got both.
In the gold-medal game, Matt Boldy struck first for the U.S., and following a subsequent response from Canada’s Cale Makar, the game was tied at one. Despite being outshot 42-28, the U.S. ended regulation tied, mostly due to Connor Hellebuyck’s heroic performance in goal.
In overtime, Canada sent out one of the greatest lines you could assemble in today’s hockey with Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Makar; although it was Team USA’s Jack Hughes who secured gold for his country.
For the first time in 46 years, and on the anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” the U.S. reigned supreme over the hockey world once again.
During the celebration, Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski took a victory lap holding the jersey of Johnny Gaudreau, who tragically passed away in a car accident in 2024.
Gaudreau, who was a standout forward in the NHL, was expected to compete with the team before his death.
As the flame in Milan-Cortina was extinguished, the sounds of skates on ice and pucks on sticks still rang loud in the hearts of Americans. From Liu’s triumphant return to hockey’s golden redemption, these Games were more than medals; they were moments forged into history.
