The 25th Olympic Winter Games took place in Milan, Italy, with 2,871 athletes from 92 different nations participating. The games began on February 6, 2026, and closed on February 22, 2026. The Winter Olympics feature 16 disciplines across eight main sports, including Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Skiing, Snowboarding, and Bobsleigh, among others.
The opening ceremony featured extraordinary acts from international artists, including five-time Grammy award-winner Mariah Carey, Golden Globe winner Laura Pausini, and famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games introduced a groundbreaking approach to two traditional rituals: the lighting and extinguishing of the Olympic Cauldron. The cauldrons are a powerful symbol of harmony between the two host cities and the territories of the games. For the first time, one of the cauldrons is located in Milan, at the Arco della Pace, an iconic landmark of the famous city. At the same time, the other is situated in Cortina d’Ampezzo, in Piazza Dibona, the beating heart of the mountain town. The cauldrons pay homage to the Sun as the primary source of life, energy, and renewal.
In the final segment of the Olympic figure skating team event, 21-year-old Ilia Malinin received a winning score of 200.03 points in the men’s free skate to secure a gold medal for Team USA. Malinin is a two-time reigning world champion known as the “Quad God,” which hasa lot of pressure on his shoulders to lead the United States to victory.
22-year-old Shun Sato was right on Malinin’s heels and secured a silver medal for Japan (194.86 points). Matteo Rizzo finished third, securing a bronze medal for Italy (179.62). His program also delivered the season’s best score.
Three-time U.S. National Champion Amber Glenn earned Team USA eight points in the women’s free skate team event. Glenn finished third (138.62), right behind Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto (148.62) and Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova (140.17). Glenn’s program provided Team USA with enough points to tie with Japan in the team event and keep Team USA in contention for a gold medal.
The Men’s singles event took place on February 13, with shocking results. It was the third straight Olympics where Japan occupied two places on the podium. Japan’s Shun Sato and Yuma Kagiyama secured bronze and silver medals, with gold going to Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov. Ilia Malinin ended up placing 8th, after a couple of falls in his program. “The whole world was expecting him to win at this Olympics, and the pressure must have been incredible,” stated Kagiyama, who was runner-up to Malinin at the Grand Prix Final by 30 points.
The Women’s Short Program event took place on February 17, with Japan’s Ami Nakai in first, teammate Kaori Sakamoto in second, and Alysa Liu from the U.S. in third. Team USA’s 18-year-old, Isabeau Levito, placed eighth, and Amber Glenn placed thirteenth. Glenn popped one of her jumps despite landing clean versions only hours before. Since this was such a costly mistake, she fell to thirteenth place.
On February 19, the Women’s Free Skate event took place. Alysa Liu performed a stunning program, twirling around the ice in a sparkly, golden dress. At the end of her program, she looked effortlessly happy. Liu is the first American woman to win a figure skating gold medal since 2002. Not only did Liu win gold, but she has also made an amazing comeback.
In April 2022, shortly after the Beijing Winter Olympics, Liu decided to retire from figure skating. She was only sixteen years old at the time and was experiencing not just extreme burnout, but also wanted to live her life as a regular teenager. She then returned to skating in 2024, where she had a renewed love for her sport. She went on to win the 2025 World Championship before eventually competing in the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
When Liu was asked about how she handled the Olympic pressure, she responded, “You’re going to have to explain to me what Olympic pressure is. Like, who’s giving it? What’s the pressure?” (CNN News) Alysa Liu has learned to skate on her own terms, despite the result.
Along with Liu securing gold with 226.79 points, Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai won the silver and bronze medals (224.90 points) and (221.16 points).
USA’s Amber Glenn also made a spectacular comeback during these Olympics. She popped one of her jumps, causing her to fall to 13th place in the short program, but she brushed it off and was determined to make her free skate the best yet. Her free skate was a near-perfect performance, bringing her from 13th to 5th place. Her determination and mental strength to turn in one of the best performances of her career will forever be an inspiration to women everywhere.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics concluded on Sunday, February 22, at Arena di Verona in the heart of Italy. There was a traditional athlete parade, handover of the Olympic flag to the 2030 host, which will be France, and the extinguishing of the 2026 Olympic flame. The flames in both Milan and Cortina were extinguished simultaneously. This event paid tribute to all the participants, honouring the connections and achievements forged throughout the games, while looking forward to what the next Winter Olympics will bring.
