"The Milan Cortina Olympics are over, and it's fair to say that the United States crushed it. Team USA won 33 medals at the 2026 Winter Games, which is the most it's won since Vancouver in 2010. The U.S. won 12 gold medals, too, which is more than it's ever won at any Winter Games. Sure, the USA lagged behind Norway in the overall medal count, but there's no shame in that."
"While it was a great Winter Games for Team USA by pretty much every measure, it was especially great for the women of Team USA. America's female Olympians were responsible for (or partially responsible for, in the case of mixed team events) 21 of those 33 total medals, and eight of those 12 golds. American women won as many gold medals as the entire nations of Germany, France, and Sweden and as many overall medals as Canada. And, with apologies to the U.S. men's hockey team, American women also authored pretty much all of the moments that I'll remember most vividly from these Olympics."
"The Games started off with Lindsey Vonn's improbable Olympic comeback after eight years away, a return that turned tragic when the 41-year-old skier-who, to be clear, was a legit medal contender-crashed and broke her leg in the first few seconds of the downhill. I've already forgotten what I had for lunch today, but the sight of a supine Vonn dangling in the sky, being carried away by a medevac helicopter, will be seared into my brain forever."
Team USA finished the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics with 33 medals, the most since Vancouver 2010, and a record 12 gold medals. Norway led the overall count, driven largely by dominance in cross-country skiing events. American women earned or helped earn 21 of the 33 medals and eight of the 12 golds, equaling several nations' gold totals and matching Canada in overall medals. Lindsey Vonn returned from retirement but suffered a devastating crash and a broken leg early in the downhill and was airlifted. Mikaela Shiffrin arrived seeking redemption after Beijing 2022 but produced unremarkable early results.
Read at Slate Magazine
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