The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, left behind a handful of unforgettable moments for our sports writers. Our staff relished the historic wins, like the USA’s males’s hockey victory, alongside the quieter moments — like watching Alysa Liu gracefully commanding the ice. The Dartmouth’s sports staff compiled their favourite moments of the Games right here.
Kyle Greason: Free Bird: Men’s hockey goes gold for the USA
Simply put, the U.S. males’s hockey run on this 12 months’s winter Olympics was electrical. Before Sunday morning, the squad was on a decades-long gold medal drought, with their final coming in the iconic “Miracle on Ice” win over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. However, the wait is over as the United States defeated Canada 2-1 in an time beyond regulation victory to earn first place. Center Jack Hughes netted the golden purpose after an unimaginable recreation from the workforce, together with a 41-save efficiency from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
The story was eerily related at the moment final 12 months, however with a flipped script. Canada took down the United States in time beyond regulation 3-2 in the Four Nations Face-Off Championship, a recreation that definitely left a foul style in the mouths of America’s finest hockey gamers. These previous few weeks main up to Sunday’s victory, they put all of it behind them.
Seeing the enthusiasm and power not solely from the American workforce, tossing their gloves and mobbing Hughes after the purpose, but additionally the devoted followers throughout the nation, beginning their Sunday mornings shiny and early to witness historical past, has been unimaginable. There’s one thing about hockey in the Olympics that will get individuals particularly fired up, and it’s a tremendous factor to witness.
Oriana Zhou: The day jobs of Olympians
Most Olympians don’t make livable wages from their sport, however their triumphs on the podium have elevated scrutiny about their careers and way of life, particularly their funds, in accordance to Mark Dent from The Hustle.
Olympians don’t get compensated by the International Olympic Committee for his or her accomplishments. Compensation varies by nation, the place the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee awards $37,500, $22,500 and $14,500 to gold, silver and bronze medalists respectively, in accordance to USA Today. In different international locations, successful an Olympic medal pays practically $1 million. This means many U.S. Olympians with out sponsors are liable for funding their very own coaching and incomes a residing to repay bills.
For instance, Alpine skier and silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle is an engineering scholar at the University of Vermont and works for his household’s maple syrup farm and store, Cochran’s Slopeside Syrup, in accordance to CBS News. Additionally, there are docs, resembling Regina Martínez Lorenzo, and attorneys, resembling Rich Ruohonen, competing in numerous occasions from snowboarding to curling, in accordance to Yahoo Sports.
Italy takes a distinct strategy, the place most of their athletes are a part of the army or police forces, in accordance to The New York Times. These companies present entry to top-tier coaching and stability and a retirement job. Many retired athletes turn out to be coaches or profession servicemen.
Madison Savoy: The comeback that lasted for 13 seconds
Thirteen seconds into her return to the Olympics, U.S. downhill skier Lindsay Vonn could have put a everlasting finish to her profession.
The 41-year-old skier retired again in 2019 following a bronze medal win at the World Championships in Åre, Sweden. In 2024 she underwent a knee surgical procedure that allowed her to return to the U.S. ski workforce. She certified for the Olympics in late December 2025, securing her spot and saying her return from retirement for the event. Vonn competed on the World Cup circuit for 19 years and her retirement was initiated by a knee damage, so her comeback was an essential means to convey closure to her profession.
Vonn ruptured her ACL in late January 2026, simply 9 days earlier than the opening ceremony in Milan, Italy. Yet after a number of surgical procedures, she nonetheless had her sights set on competing.
On the second day of the Olympics, Feb. 8, Vonn took to the begin gate for one last run. She got here out of the begin gate robust, looking for Olympic glory.
She crashed simply 13 seconds into her Olympic [re]debut downhill run, the clock nonetheless operating, with each skis nonetheless on her ft. She was instantly airlifted from the course — ending her comeback earlier than it actually started.
Vonn’s determination to compete at the Olympics regardless of her damage was reasonably controversial. Maybe she shouldn’t have skied. However, footage reveals that her arm acquired caught on a gate, which triggered her to lose her steadiness and re-injure her already weakened leg. It’s powerful to say what would’ve occurred if she didn’t maintain one other blow to her left knee. Maybe the world will see her return again to the slopes or possibly she’ll keep in retirement this time round, making room for the subsequent massive title in girls’s downhill snowboarding.
Frances Kantrow: Alysa Liu shines in her Olympic return
Less than 4 years after retiring from determine skating, Alysa Liu received the United States’ first girls’s determine skating gold medal since 2002. She skated to “Promise” by Laufey in the brief program with a spectacular triple lutz and triple loop mixture, placing herself in third. Sporting a glittery gold outfit, Liu delivered a joyous free skate to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park,” during which she landed seven triple jumps incomes a rating of 150.20. The routine put her in first place, a lead she wouldn’t relinquish as the last skaters carried out. Liu grew to become the eighth American girl to win a gold medal in determine skating.
After retiring from the sport in 2022 at age 16 due to the immense strain and returning to skating in 2025, Liu’s victory is a robust reminder of the risk and significance of discovering pleasure in sports. Her power and enthusiasm had been infectious, and it was a pleasure to watch her make historical past. Liu will compete once more in the World Championships subsequent month, and I’m excited to see her brilliance once more quickly.