The United States holds the record for the most medals in Olympic history, with over 3,100 total medals. In the 2026 Winter Olympics, the athletes did not disappoint with many notable gold medal wins and triumphant victories. This year the U.S won a total of 12 gold medals, trailing the winning country, Norway, by 6. Even though not winning it all, the U.S had some historical wins and record breaking performances by their athletes.
Alysa Liu: When someone is at the top of their sport do they retire, what’s next? Do they lose their love for the sport and the drive to win? Alysa Lui retired from figure skating at 16 years old because she was being overworked and did not love the sport anymore. After a two year hiatus, she returned to the sport but only on her terms. She would only return if she could eat what she wanted, wore what she wanted and skated to the music she wanted. When she stepped out on the ice for women’s singles figure skating, she did not disappoint. Her skates glided across the ice and mesmerized the crowd, especially by how apparent it was that she truly loved the sport. After her amazing effort, she jumped from third to first in the standings. Her overall score was a 226.79 after cleanly landing all seven of her triple jumps. The last time the U.S has won this medal was in 2002 by Sarah Hughes. Since winning gold, Liu has been gaining popularity on social media for promoting mental health awareness and sharing her care free lifestyle.
Jordan Stolz: There’s no reason to settle for one gold medal when someone can win two. That is what Jordan Stolz did at the Olympics this year. Stolz grew up in Kewaskum, Wisconsin and trained on the pond in his backyard. He became the youngest U.S. male speedskater to compete at the Olympics at age 17, competing in the 2022 Beijing Games. In 2023 and 2024, he won gold in the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m at the ISU Single Distance World Championships. Therefore, in the lead up to the games, he was strongly favored to win. Stolz dominated the 500m and 1000m races and also picked up silver in the 1500m. He became the first U.S speedskater to win three medals in a single Olympics since Chad Hedrick in 2006. He also broke the Olympic record in the men’s 500m with a time of 33.77 seconds which is only .5 seconds slower than the world record. At this level of competition .5 seconds is a lot of time but at only 21 years old he will have many other opportunities to break it. Overall, Jordan Stolz had a great Olympics and had some hardware to show for it, taking home two gold medals.
Mikaela Shiffrin: The trend of setting records at this Olympics did not just stop at Jordan Stolz; Mikaela Shiffrin wanted to get in on it too. She was born in Vail, the skiing capital of the U.S, and grew up skiing at Vail Ski Resort. Shiffrin made her FIS Alpine Ski World Cup debut in 2011, and became a dominant skier. She has competed at the past four winter Olympics and has won gold two other times in the slalom and the giant slalom. Going into the games this year, she was strongly favored, yet there was still a very high level of competition, especially in the women’s slalom. When it was her turn on the big stage she did not disappoint. She skied a combined time of 1:39.10, 1.50 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher Camille Rast. Incredibly, this was the largest margin of victory in any Olympic alpine skiing event since 1998. After winning the gold, Shiffrin talked to the media about some personal issues that she was going through. Her father passed away in 2020, and this life changing event deeply affected her both personally and professionally. She spoke openly about the grief that she had to go through and finding her love for skiing again. Her comeback to the sport strengthened her reputation not just as an amazing athlete, but as a resilient competitor.
Women’s Ice Hockey: Perfection is something the U.S women’s hockey accomplished this year going undefeated in the tournament. The women were dominant in the earlier rounds with a combined 33-2 scoring margin, meaning their defense allowed only two goals in the preliminary rounds. They breezed through the early rounds taking down teams like Germany, Czechia, Finland, and Switzerland. The women’s team had some star power such as Hilary Knight, the Captain and a veteran leader. This was her fourth ever time playing in the Olympics, and she has the record for the most goals (15) and most points (33) in Olympic women’s hockey history.
Another big contributor for the team was Megan Keller, the hero for the U.S, scoring the gold medal winning goal who was a huge contributor for the team. Rounding out the star players, key playmaker Laila Edwards assisted the crucial tying goal late in the gold medal round. She also made history by being the first Black woman to play Olympic ice hockey for the U.S. Going into the gold metal round after the spectacular prelims, the women were facing off against the Canadians. The U.S trailed most of the game 0-1, but in the third period, Captain Knight scored the tying goal with only two minutes left in regulation. This forced the game into overtime and gave the U.S. life. Five minutes into overtime, defender Keller got a long pass down the ice and weaved between two Canadian defenders to seal the game with a five-goal that barely trickled behind the goalie. The women stormed the ice in celebration, bracing each other after the historical win and securing the gold for the U.S.
Men’s Ice Hockey: The final event of the Olympics, Sunday afternoon in Milan the U.S. men’s hockey team faced off against the Canadiens men’s team playing for gold. This game was unlike any other, with the intense U.S.-Canada rivalry adding significant weight to the matchup. In 2025 at the Four Nations Face-Off, Canada defeated the U.S. 3-2 in overtime in the championship game. This was a preview to the upcoming Olympics and added fuel to the fire for both teams. The U.S had a very strong roster coming into the games. Captain Auston Matthews, the most dominant goal scorer in the NHL, provided leadership and was a great contributor on offense. Jack and Quinn Hughes, two brothers on the team that play forward and defenseman, were a massive reason that the U.S was able to succeed and win gold. Finally, the goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders of his generation. He was one of the heroes for the U.S., making a game-saving save to keep the team competitive toward the end. Going into the gold medal round the team was coming off a strong victory against Slovakia 6-2. This gold medal game had shaped the be a headliner and the actual game did not disappoint. The first period started fast with Boldly scoring his second of the tournament. But Canada came back firing, scoring a goal late in the second period to equalize the game. It was a tied game going into the third period, both teams were playing their best hockey and flying around on the ice. With only a couple minutes left in the game, Canada was on an offensive push, and Hellebuyck made a game saving stick save that almost seemed impossible. Then, going into overtime the U.S hockey fans were getting flashbacks to the women’s game just days before. Overtime started and both teams were in go mode. The Canadiens turned the puck over in the U.S zone and the U.S started a push towards the goal. With impressive hustle, the U.S. got the puck in the zone, and with a precise pass, Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal, securing the U.S. its first gold in hockey in 46 years since the ‘Miracle on Ice’ at Lake Placid. On this team there were six players from Michigan, Kyle Connor (Shelby Township), Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Township), Jack Hughes (Canton), Quinn Hughes (Canton), Dylan Larkin (Waterford), and Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe Woods). This is an amazing representation for Michigan and all of these players had a big effect on the gold medal win.
Overall, the U.S had a remarkable Olympics games. eight out of the 12 gold medals won were by women and the women Olympic participation is up to a record high 47% this year. This is amazing for the future of women’s sports expanding and having more rescission that they deserve. With all of the record-breaking performances by Americans this year, the U.S. has once again proven its ability to dominate on the Olympic stage and set the standard for the rest of the world.
