Team USA Leaves Milan with 33 Medals

Image courtesy of Olympics.com.

By Bryan Kotlar

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics finished with the closing ceremony on Sunday, February 22. The Games featured 16 days of competition across 16 disciplines and 116 events, including the debut of ski mountaineering. A record number of 232 athletes represented Team USA in Milan, and their performances did not disappoint.

In alpine skiing, Team USA took home four medals, two being gold. Breezy Johnson achieved gold in women’s downhill, and duo Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan won bronze in the women’s team combined.

After a shocking performance in Beijing 2022, failing to medal in any of her six events, Mikaela Shiffrin triumphantly returned to win gold in women’s slalom. Shiffrin won by a staggering 1.50 seconds, the largest margin in Olympic alpine skiing since 1998.

Notably left off the podium in women’s slalom was Lindsey Vonn, who almost lost her left leg going down 13 seconds into her downhill run. At 41-years-old, Vonn, who tore her ACL just a week before the Olympics began, opted to compete and took to social media saying she had “no regrets” in her post about the crash seconds into her run.

On the men’s side, Ryan Cochran-Siegle defended his silver medal from Beijing in the men’s super-G, winning his second consecutive Olympic silver medal.

41-year-old Elana Meyers Taylor completed her medal set in Milan, securing a gold medal in women’s monobob. Team USA also achieved two bronze medals in women’s bobsled: Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Jasmine Jones in 2-women and Armbruster Humphries in women’s monobob.

Cross-country skiing, a sport dominated by Norwegian athletes, has been contested in every Olympics since 1924. Team USA has gone without a medal since 1976, which changed in Milan. 26-year-old Ben Ogden, competing in his second games, broke the 50-year drought by achieving a silver medal in the men’s cross-country skiing sprint. Ogden also secured a silver medal in the men’s team sprint final with his teammate and friend Gus Schumacher.

On the women’s side, Jessie Diggins ended her Olympic career with a bronze medal in women’s 10km interval start free. Known for her relentless drive and endurance, Diggins is the USA’s most decorated cross-country skier with four Olympic medals.

Team USA achieved its first medal in curling’s mixed doubles event, which debuted in PyeongChang 2018. Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin achieved a silver medal, falling to Sweden on the final stone. 31-year-old Thiesse is also Team USA’s first female Olympic curling medalist.

In figure skating, Team USA entered as the favorite to win gold in the team, men’s singles, and ice dance events. Notably left off the roster were two-time reigning U.S. pairs champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov due to a citizenship issue.

Team USA took the gold medal in the team event, thanks to strong performances across the board. Entering the final day of competition, the United States and Japan were tied. It all came down to the men’s free skate, and Ilia Malinin came in clutch to secure gold. Malinin was favored to win the gold in men’s singles, but had two uncharacteristic falls and mistakes in the free skate, falling in eighth place in the individual field.

In ice dance, 7-time national champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates fell just 1.43 behind the French team, claiming the silver medal. This result sparked controversy online as the French judge Jézabel Dabouis scored the French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron nearly eight points higher than Team USA, despite a noticeable mistake by Fournier Beaudry on the twizzles section of the free dance. Chock and Bates have opted not to file an appeal, but this has sparked a conversation online about the subjectivity of scoring in an artistic event like ice dance.

After retiring from skating in 2022 at the age of 16, Alysa Liu returned in 2024 on her own terms. Liu’s performance in Milano Cortina 2026 did not disappoint as she captured Team USA’s first Olympic title in women’s figure skating in 24 years. After a career-best score of 226.79 in the free skate, Liu soared to the top of the podium, achieving gold.

In women’s freestyle skiing, Elizabeth Lemley returns with a gold medal in moguls and a bronze medal in dual moguls. Jaelin Kauf also captured a silver medal in both moguls and dual moguls events. 

Team USA dominated in mixed team aerials and won back-to-back gold medals. Kaila Kuhn, Connor Curran, and Beijing 2022 gold medallist Christopher Lillis finished with a combined score of 325.35 ahead of Switzerland and the People’s Republic of China.

In men’s freestyle skiing, Alex Ferreira completed his medal set with a gold medal in freeski halfpipe. Ferreira previously won the men’s freeski halfpipe silver and bronze medals in PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, respectively. Alex Hall leaves Milan with a silver medal in the men’s freestyle slopestyle. Teammate Mac Forehand also returns to the States with a silver medal in men’s freeski big air.

Team USA swept the field in ice hockey, capturing the gold medal in both the women’s and men’s competitions. Both teams defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the gold medal match. Jack Hughes might have lost teeth due to a high stick in the final, but his overtime goal secured gold for Team USA on the men’s side. 

On the women’s side, Megan Keller’s overtime goal secured victory. 36-year-old Team USA captain Hilary Knight also cemented her legacy as one of hockey’s greatest by becoming the all-time leader in Olympic goals with 15 for U.S. women’s hockey. And newly gold medalist Laila Edwards made history as the first Black woman to play for the United States in Olympic ice hockey.

Ashley Farquharson’s bronze medal in women’s singles luge marks the second time Team USA has reached the Olympic podium in the event.

Two-time defending gold medalist Chloe Kim leaves Milan with a silver medal in women’s snowboarding halfpipe. Despite being the favorite to win, Kim fell only 1.75 points behind the 17-year-old Republic of Korea’s Gaon Choi in the final. Simply competing was an accomplishment in and of itself, as just a month earlier, Kim dislocated her shoulder. On the men’s side, 22-year-old Jake Canter won bronze in his Olympic debut in men’s snowboard slopestyle.

In speed skating, Corinne Stoddard won bronze in women’s 1500m short track, and Mia Manganello also captured bronze in women’s mass start. Team USA also won silver in men’s team pursuit with the world record-holding U.S. trio of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran.

Jordan Stolz took home the most medals for Team USA with three. Stolz won a set of gold medals and Olympic records in the men’s 500m and 1000m. The 21-year-old Wisconsin native also returns home with a silver medal in the men’s 1500m.

Team USA leaves the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics with a historic 12 gold medals.

Looking ahead: the Paralympics begin on March 6 with competition in six sports, including para alpine skiing, snowboarding, and wheelchair curling.

Despite the closing of the 2026 Olympic Games, CUA’s Division III athletic competitions are still in full swing. At the time of writing, CUA’s basketball teams are currently in the Landmark Conference tournament, and the outdoor track, softball, baseball, and lacrosse seasons are just beginning. Visit catholicathletics.com for the schedule of upcoming home games at the Raymond A. DuFour Athletic Center.