Winter Olympics highlights: First gold medals awarded

MILAN — The first batch of medals were awarded Feb. 7 to competitors at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Alpine skiing took center stage as the world turned its eyes to the slopes of Livigno for the men’s downhill medal event (won by Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen) and the slopes of Cortina for the final women’s downhill training run.

Jessie Diggins took the course for the women’s 10K Skiathlon and finished eighth. Snowboarding will also handed out its first medals of these Games in the men’s Big Air which saw Japan’s Kira Kimura take the gold after he landed a 1980 spin in his third run for a 90.50 score.

United States’ Madison Chock and Evan Bates lit up the rink during the ice dance free dance and the U.S. women’s hockey team pitched a shutout, defeating Finland, 5-0.

USA TODAY Sports is bringing you the latest updates, news and Olympics results from here in Italy.

Canada tops Switzerland in women’s ice hockey preliminary round

Canada defeated Switzerland, 4-0, in the women’s ice hockey preliminary round for Group A at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena in the heart of Milano Ice Park.

Canada dominated the match behind goals from four different players. Natalie Spooner scored at the 27′ mark of the second period, assisted by Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Fillier. Fillier scored in the third period at the 44′ mark on an assist from Renata Fast and Daryl Watts.

Canada scored at the 53′ and 56′ marks on goals from Julia Gosling and Watts, respectively. Gosling was assisted by Erin Ambrose and Claire Thompson. Watts’ score was assisted by Sarah Nurser and Thompson.

The preliminary round continues for Canada when they face Czechia on Monday, Feb. 9 at 9:10 p.m. CET (3:10 p.m. ET; 12:10 p.m. PT).

Madison Chock and Evan Bates dazzle during free dance

United States’ Madison Chock and Evan Bates finished the figure skating free dance team event finals in first place after scoring a 133.23 and 10 team points on Day 2 of the competition. Together the skate pair and couple dazzled as they mirrored each others’ movements. They dipped, they flipped and moved in synchronization while the cameras captured their smiles and fierce facial expressions.

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, representing Italy the host country of the Winer Olympics, logged a 124.22 score with nine points towards their team.

Canadian figure skating pair Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha landed in third place finishing with a 120.90 socre and eight team points.

Kira Kimura takes gold in men’s snowboarding big air

Japan’s Kira Kimura landed a 1980 spin in his third run for a 90.50 score to bump him into first place and overtake his fellow countryman Ryoma Kimata for gold in men’s snowboarding big air.

Kimata entered the third run in first place, but crashed out on the landing in the third run. But a total score of 171.50 from the first two runs was enough for Kimata to lock up silver.

China’s Su Yiming needed at least 74.75 in the third run to get on the podium. He finished with a 80.75 to overtake 17-year-old American Ollie Martin for the bronze medal. Team USA just misses out on its first medal of the 2026 Winter Games.

Max Langenhan wins men’s singles luge second run

Germany’s Max Langenhan has now won each of the first two runs in the men’s singles run, finishing the second run with a time of 1:45.826, a new track record.

Rounding out the top three are Austian Jonas Mueller and Italian Dominik Fischnaller. The home country has three total athletes in the top 20 through the first two runs with Fischnaller, Leon Felderer (fifth) and Alex Gufler (18th).

Jonathan Gustafson (11th) and Matthew Greiner (17th) are both in the top 20 for Team USA.

The third run will take place on Monday at 11 a.m. ET.

Francesca Lollobrigida wins gold, sets Olympic record in women’s 3000m speedskating

Italian speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida took gold for the host country in the women’s 3000m on Saturday at Milano Speed Skating Stadium, finishing with an Olympic record-breaking time of 3:54.28.

Ragne Wiklund from Norway finished 2.26 behind Lollobrigida for silver and Candadian Valerie Maltais took bronze, finishing with a time of 3:56.93.

Obamas send good vibes to Team USA

Barack and Michelle Obama posted a shared message of encouragement for American athletes competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics just underway in Italy.

‘To all the athletes representing @TeamUSA: I’m so proud of you,’ Barack Obama wrote on X about the Milano Cortina 2026 games. ‘Your talent and perseverance have brought you to this moment, and Michelle and I will be joining Americans from across the country cheering you on.’

The post was seen by 41 million people as of Saturday morning. — Josh Meyer

Women’s Hockey: End of second period: USA 4, Finland 0

Hilary Knight, who missed a shift at the end of the first period, came back in the second period and tied the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey scoring record. Her 14th career Olympic goal gave the USA its 4-0 lead. It was the USA’s second power-play goal of the game. Taylor Heise and Megan Keller also scored in the period. Keller has three points and Laila Edwards has two assists for the game. Shots are 36-9 USA through two periods. — Mike Brehm

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ live coverage of USA vs. Finland women’s hockey here.

Greta Myers makes Olympic debut in speedskating

MILAN — United States speedskater Greta Myers made her Olympic debut in the women’s 3000m on Saturday at Milano Speed Skating Stadium, where she finished with a time of 4:13.46.

Only time will tell how Myers’ time ranks in the field, but she won’t make the podium.

There will be more chances for Myers to contend for a medal. In addition to the 3000m, Myers will compete in the women’s 1500m, women’s 5000m, and women’s Mass Start. — Cydney Henderson

Trio of Americans advance to men’s free ski slopestyle finals

LIVIGNO, Italy – Mac Forehand’s second run of a 73.96 to put himself into the men’s free ski slopestyle finals, along with defending gold-medalist Alex Hall (71.63) of the USA.

Forehand was in 24th after the first run but went big on the second with nothing to lose. He finished sixth overall. The top 12 of the 29 competitors advanced to Monday’s finals.

Hall entered the second run in fifth and did not improve his score with a similar 68.98, good enough to finish eighth and make it through.

Konnor Ralph had a long wait on the bubble but survived in 10th place (68.91). The other American, Troy Podmilsak, will set his eyes on big air, which is his specialty. — Chris Bumbaca

Canadian figure skater asks professor for extension

Canadian figure skater Maddie Schizas shared the email she sent her sociology professor asking for a ‘short extension.’

Competing in the Winter Olympics seems like a pretty good reason to have the request granted and she including a link to the press release as proof of her participation.

Bruins’ Pavel Zacha out of Olympics with injury

Frida Karlsson wins cross-country skiathlon; Jessie Diggins 8th

Sweden’s Frida Karlsson won the gold medal in the women’s cross-country skiathlon, crossing the finish line in 53:45.2. It’s her first individual Olympic gold medal. Her teammate Ebba Andersson took silver, finishing in 54:36.2. 

Heidi Weng’s bronze medal in the event made Norway the winningest team in Olympic history for women’s cross-country skiing.

Meanwhile, Jessie Diggins, the most decorated cross-country skier in U.S. history, finished the event in eighth (56:06.3). 

Jessie Diggins competing for first medal of 2026 Olympics

MILAN — Jessie Diggins’ fourth and final Olympic Games is officially underway.

Diggins, the most decorated cross-country skier in U.S. history, is competing in the women’s 10km + 10km skiathlon on Saturday at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme and she’s looking to add to her collection.

The 34-year-old has three Olympic medals. She won Team USA’s first Olympic gold in cross country in team sprint alongside Kikkan Randall at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Diggins won a silver in the 30k freestyle at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and became the first American to win an individual sprint medal with a bronze in women’s sprint. She has finished in the top 10 in all six women’s events in both 2018 and 2022. — Cydney Henderson

Franjo von Allmen wins first gold medal of Games

BORMIO, Italy — Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen reduced the home country cheers, but he didn’t silence them completely. Two Italian skiers won medals behind von Allmen’s gold in the men’s downhill at Stelvio Ski Centre, the first medal event of the Winter Olympics.Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris of Italy cracked the top three on back-to-back runs in front of roaring Italian fans. But neither could overtake von Allmen’s time of 1:51.61.Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Team USA’s best hope in the event, struggled to post a 1:53.65, well back of the leaders in 18th place. Kyle Negomir (1:53.20) posted the best time of the four Americans in the field for a 10-place finish. — Gentry Estes

Lindsey Vonn cruises in downhill run

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn was shaky in a couple of spots, including near the bottom of the course where she also had an error Friday. But she again showed no obvious sign of her wrecked left knee, and she shaved two full seconds off her time, finishing today’s run in 1:38.28.

She’s currently third, 0.37 seconds behind leader and American teammate Breezy Johnson, with approximately 20 skiers to go.

Vonn gave a small fist pump when she finished – as if to say, check – before walking through the mixed zone and stopping briefly to tap Johnson on the shoulder. ‘Nice run,’ she told her teammate, before moving along.

Medals will be awarded in women’s downhill on Sunday, Feb. 8. — Nancy Armour

Avery Krumme, Eileen Gu advance in free ski slopestyle

LIVIGNO, Italy — Avery Krumme put down a beastly second run in the women’s free ski slopestyle qualifiers to lock up her spot in Monday’s finals.

The 17-year-old, who switched her competing nationality from Canada to the U.S. last year, was rewarded with a 64.93 to put herself in fourth place. The top 12 of 26 competitors advance to finals.

China’s Eileen Gu avoided a disastrous start to her Olympics by putting down a 75.30, second place, after she fell early in her first of two qualifying runs. Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud, the reigning gold-medalist in the event, topped the competition with a 79.15.  — Chris Bumbaca

Eileen Gu falls in first ski slopestyle run

LIVIGNO, Italy — China’s Eileen Gu went down on her first run of the women’s free ski slopestyle qualifications, meaning her second run has become all-important if she wants to have a chance at three medals in the three free ski disciplines at the 2026 Games, matching what she did four years ago in Beijing.

Gu’s first run lasted less than 15 seconds after she lost her balance at the top of the run. The American-born Stanford student hit the first rail backside but couldn’t keep her balance after turning around.  — Chris Bumbaca

NHL players arrive at Olympics

While NHL owners may grumble about the possibility of injuries, it’s a win for the sport to have the game’s best players back at the Olympics for the first time since 2014. And there are a lot of NHL players here, 149 to be exact. They all arrive early Saturday morning and start practicing within hours.

Check out the full list of NHL players at the 2026 Winter Olympics and read about their logistical nightmare from longtime Red Wings reporter Helene St. James.

Lindsey Vonn’s 2nd training run today

Vonn posted to her Instagram account early Saturday that she was feeling good after her first training Friday. She then listed the time of her second training today (11:30 a.m. in Italy), her bib number (15) and signed off with, ‘See you there.’

Vonn is now eligible to do the downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics, having completed her training run without any issues. She made a small mistake at the bottom of the course and wasn’t going anywhere close to top speed; her time of 1:40.33 was the 11th-fastest of the day and third-best of the Americans.

Read the full story from Nancy Armour.

First medal event of Games is men’s downhill

BORMIO, Italy ― Good morning from the Stelvio Ski Centre, where the first medals of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics are to be awarded here in a few hours.

The men’s downhill competition begins at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time, and it’ll include four Americans.

Of them, Ryan Cochran-Siegle (2022 silver medalist in the Super-G) is expected to have the best chance to medal. He’ll be up 13th. Team USA’s Bryce Bennett is up third, while teammates Kyle Negomir (No. 27) and Sam Morse (No. 29) will be among the final skiers.

Each of the 36 competitors gets only one run — at very high speed — to produce a winning time.

Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt (No. 7) is atop the world rankings and considered one of the favorites, along with Italy’s Dominik Paris (No. 12) and Giovanni Franzoni (No. 11) and Switzerland’s Franjo Von Allmen (No. 8).

Olympics schedule today

All times Eastern.

• 4:05 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
  • GBR vs. CAN; SWE vs. SUI
• 5:30 a.m.: Alpine Skiing – Men’s Downhill | medal event | Stelvio Ski Centre (Bormio, Valtellina)
• 5:30 a.m.: Alpine Skiing – Women’s Downhill 3rd Official Training | Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre (Cortina)
• 6:10 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | GER vs. JPN | Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arenas
• 7 a.m.: Cross-Country Skiing – Women’s 10km + 10 km Skiathlon | medal event | Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium (Val di Fiemme)
• 7:30 a.m.: Luge – Women’s Singles Official Training Runs 3 & 4 | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
• 8:35 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
  • EST vs. NOR; CZE vs. KOR; SWE vs. ITA; GBR vs. USA
• 8:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | SWE vs. ITA | Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena
• 10 a.m.: Speed Skating – Women’s 3000m | medal event | Milano Speed Skating Stadium (Rho, Milan)
• 10:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | USA vs. FIN | Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
• 11 a.m.: Luge – Men’s Singles Runs 1 & 2 | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
• 1:45 p.m.: Figure Skating – Team Event  | Milano Ice Skating Arena (Milan)
  • Team Event, Men’s Singles Short Program: 1:45 p.m.
  • Team Event, Ice Dance Free Dance:  4:05 p.m.
• 11:45 a.m.-3 p.m.: Ski Jumping – Women’s Normal Hill | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Val di Fiemme)
  • Trial round: 11:45 a.m.
  • First round: 12:45 p.m.
  • Medal round: 1:57 p.m. | medal event 
• 1:05 p.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
  • CAN vs. EST; CZE vs. SUI; NOR vs. ITA;  USA vs. KOR
• 1:30 p.m.: Snowboarding – Men’s Big Air | medal event  | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno, Valtellina)
• 3:10 p.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | SUI vs. CAN | Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena

Where is Winter Olympics 2026?

The Winter Olympics always sprawl, because of the need for mountains. But the Milano Cortina Games are the most geographically spread out in Olympic and Paralympic history, with a footprint just slightly smaller than the entire state of New Jersey.

2026 Winter Olympics TV schedule today

Peacock is streaming every event live today.

Stream Olympics on Peacock