The U.S. came home from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics with 33 medals. Eighty-five athletes contributed to the medal count, earning 12 gold, 12 silver and nine bronze. The U.S. came second to only Norway in overall medal and gold medal counts. This was also the most gold medals ever won by the U.S. at the Winter Olympics.
Flag Bearers
The U.S. athletes vote on who will represent the U.S. as flag bearers for the opening and closing ceremonies.
The opening ceremony flag bearers for the U.S. were Erin Jackson and Frank Del Duca. Going into her third Olympic Games, Jackson was picked for her leadership, commitment and inspiring, historical achievement as the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal at the 2022 Games. This was Del Duca’s second Olympic Games, and he is also a part of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program, which allows him to train full-time for the Olympics.
Hilary Knight and Evan Bates were flag bearers for the closing ceremony. Knight, captain of the women’s ice hockey team, competed in her fifth Olympic Games on the team. She has won a medal every year she competed — two gold medals, including this year, and three silver medals. Bates was the first figure skater for the U.S. to be a flag bearer since 1980. He and Madison Chock, his skating partner and wife, won gold and silver medals this year in the rhythm dance and ice dance events.
Ice Hockey
The women’s hockey team won its third gold medal in Milan this year. The women went 7-0, only allowing two goals throughout all of the games. In all six games leading up to the final, they scored at least five goals.
The tightest game was the gold medal game against Canada, where the U.S. forced the game into overtime by tying it up with just over two minutes remaining. Knight scored the last-minute goal during regulation, and Megan Keller clinched the gold medal for the U.S. in overtime.
The men’s hockey team also brought home gold with an overtime win. The men went 6-0 and won four out of their six games by three or more goals. The other two games went into overtime. The first was in the quarterfinals against Sweden, when Sweden scored a goal with under two minutes left in the third period to force overtime. Quinn Hughes netted the winning goal just over three minutes into overtime. The second overtime goal came in the gold medal game against Canada. The teams were tied going into the third period, which ended scoreless. Just under two minutes into overtime, Jack Hughes found the back of the net to win the U.S. its third gold medal in history and the first since 1980.
Women’s Figure Skating
Alysa Liu claimed the first U.S. Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating since 2002. She had a near-perfect performance to push her to the top of the rankings, earning her personal best score of 226.79. She also helped the U.S. win gold in the figure skating team event, beating Japan by just one point.
Speedskating
The U.S. won six medals across the speedskating events.
Jordan Stolz had a dominant showing, winning three medals, the second most individually ever for the U.S. He won two gold medals in the Men’s Long Track – 1000m and 500m and a silver medal in the 1500m. Mia Manganello Kilburg became the first U.S. athlete to bring home a medal in the Short Track – Mass Start 16 Laps, winning bronze. Corinne Stoddard won a bronze medal in the Women’s Short Track – 1500m. Coming in just over four seconds after Italy and over eight seconds before China, Ethan Cepuran, Casey Dawson and Emery Lehman won a silver medal in the Men’s Long Track – Team Pursuit 8 Laps.
Moguls – Women’s Freestyle
In the regular moguls, an event where athletes ski over a steep hill with small mounds of snow, the U.S. went one and two, claiming the gold and silver medals. First-time Olympian Elizabeth Lemley won gold, and Jaelin Kauf won silver for the second Olympics in a row. Both Lemley and Kauf also placed in the dual moguls, with Kauf winning silver and Lemley claiming bronze.
The next Winter Olympics, the French Alps 2030, will be held across Nice, Briançon, Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France.
