With the 2026 Olympics coming to a close, there are many notable moments for Team USA. This years’ games were record breaking for the United States; they took home a total of 33 medals with 12 of them being gold. That is the most gold medals ever won in a single Olympics by Team USA. Out of the 33 medals, 17 were won by female athletes and six gold medals were won by female athletes. Team USA earned second place, right behind Norway who had 41 medals (18 of which were gold). The best sport for Team USA was Freestyle Skiing, which earned them eight medals with three golds.
There were many impressive, stand-out moments for this year’s Olympics team. First being Lindsey Vonn, alpine ski racing gold medalist, revealing that she would still compete, despite suffering a fully torn ACL. Vonn had announced to reporters that she had suffered a torn ACL after crashing during a training course, a little over a week before the Olympics were set to start. Her decision would haunt her when she competed two weeks later. Vonn dropped in and started racing down the mountain, but only 13 seconds into her descent, she seemed to hit one of the flags on the course. With a fully intact and healthy ACL, any athlete would be able to regain their balance and continue the race. But Vonn could not regain her balance and started tumbling down the mountainside. As Vonn fell, the microphones picked up every scream that left her body, each hit to the snow seeming like it was worse than the last. Vonn laid motionless in the snow as paramedics rushed to her side. After a long delay of competition and lots of speculation, Vonn was airlifted out of the course. It was hours before anyone heard anything new about the status of Vonn. Her injuries were found to be much more complex than originally speculated. She had suffered a fractured left tibia, among other fractures. Her right ankle was also broken, and her left leg had suffered severely from compartment syndrome. Due to the severity of injuries in her left leg, it was possible she would need amputation. But Vonn credits her skilled surgeon for saving her leg.
While this wasn’t the greatest start to the Olympics for Team USA, it was quickly amended by the dominant figure that is Alysa Liu. Liu was competing for Team USA as a figure skater. She has been recognized across the country for her quirky style and bubbly personality. The United States hasn’t won a gold medal in women’s figure skating since 2002, when Sarah Hughes brought home gold. Liu performed with pride and passion, doing an intricate, yet perfect, routine. She won the gold medal and also performed a new routine at the closing ceremonies gala.
Female athletes were the stars of the 2026 Olympics. Team USA women’s ice hockey was no exception. With the introduction of the Professional Women’s Hockey League to America, the public can now see just how powerful these women are on ice. Lots of athletes who play for the PWHL also competed in the Olympics. The gold medal goal was scored by Boston Fleet star, Megan Keller. Hilary Knight, from the Seattle Torrent, set a new record for the most goals scored in one Olympic games. She earned 33 points over the whole Olympic tournament. Team USA women’s ice hockey brought home the gold against Canada in an ecstatic 2-1 game. These women have brought home gold for two consecutive winter games now, a feat that they should be extremely proud of.
Finally, the game that the entire country was talking about. USA men’s ice hockey defeated Team Canada for the gold in overtime. This is the first gold medal that Team USA has brought home in ice hockey since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.” The entire tournament was electric for the men, having won in two separate overtime matches. While the team was built on NHL stars, two players shone bright, and they happened to be brothers. Jack Hughes, of the New Jersey Devils, and Quinn Hughes, of the Minnesota Wild, are brothers who were chosen to compete with Team USA in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Q. Hughes scored the overtime winning goal in the quarter final match against Sweden, and J. Hughes shot the winning puck in the gold medal match against Canada.
Team USA is an athletic powerhouse when it comes to the Olympics. They are fourth overall in medals all-time for the winter Olympics. They have a combined 363 total medals across all winter games, behind Russia (384), Norway (447) and Germany (461). If you’re upset America didn’t place first at the 2026 winter games, know that America is the strongest winter Olympic team in the world. America has over 1,000 more medals than the next leading country, which is Russia. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be hosted in Los Angeles, Calif. on July 14 to July 30.
