Ilia Malinin finishes second, U.S. women win hockey again as Day 1 of Olympic competition wraps up

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday! But first, the Olympics. Vonn is set to race tomorrow morning. Here’s when you can see her, along with the rest of the day’s lineup. 

All times are in Eastern, and asterisks mean it’s a medal event:

3 a.m.: snowboard, women’s parallel giant slalom

3:30 a.m.: snowboard, men’s parallel giant slalom

4:05 a.m.: curling, mixed doubles round-robin (Norway vs. Czechia, Norway vs. Estonia)

5:30 a.m.: Alpine skiing, women’s downhill*

It's still early in these Games, but as today's action comes to an end, it's Japan, Norway and host Italy leading the medal count.

Italy came from behind to erase a late Norway lead and claim a 6-5 win in Session 3 of curling mixed doubles round robin action today in Milan Cortina. This was a rematch of the 2022 Winter Olympics gold medal match.

Rhode Island’s Elizabeth Beisel, an Olympic medalist in swimming, now finds fulfillment in music and journalism.

In her second training run of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics today, skiing legend Lindsey Vonn clocked 73 mph on the downhill course, just a week after she ruptured her ACL.

Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn prepares for comeback after injury

01:29

Madison Chock and Evan Bates took a decisive first place, snagging 10 points for Team USA in the Olympic figure skating team event today.

U.S. downhill skier Bryce Bennett, in his third and final Games, closed his Olympic downhill career with a 13th-place run but a shout-out to his No. 1 — his family — for supporting his alpine dreams.Speaking after his last Olympic run, the 33-year-old from California's Sierra Nevada Mountains expressed emotion as he thought about the sacrifices his wife has made and what he might tell his baby daughter about his time in Milan.

"You put your life into it," he said, speaking of his own focus and then praising his family. "And that sacrifice that they make is just tough."

Bennett said he was satisfied with his accomplishments.

"I honestly skied the way I wanted to," Bennett said. "A few things probably didn’t line up exactly. I brought, honestly, my best ... and I’m proud of it."

Franjo von Allmen won the first gold medal awarded at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, conquering the Stelvio downhill. Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris of Italy claimed silver and bronze, respectively.

Top cross-country skier Jessie Diggins fell early in the 20-kilometer women’s skiathlon today, but she said she gave it her all and indicated she won't be hard on herself.

Writing on Instagram after her eighth place finish in the event, Diggins offered a glimpse of her inner-voice, saying, "I told myself I would feel proud no matter the result if I skied with absolutely everything I had out there today."

"I did that," the 34-year-old said. "There’s nothing more I could have given, and I will never have regrets."

She said she'll learn from the performance to "bounce back."

"When all the pieces of the puzzle lock into place it’s a truly amazing feeling, but when they don’t, that’s when you grow and get gritty and learn how resilient you can really be," Diggins said.

Diggins and Kikkan Randall won the first U.S. cross-country gold in the team spring in the 2018 PyeongChang Games. Diggins said last year that she planned to retire from the sport at the end of the 2025-26 season.

Switzerland women’s hockey outlasted Czechia in the first Olympic hockey shootout of the 2026 tournament.

Ilia Malinin’s quest for his first Olympic gold medal in figure skating is off to a strong — but not perfect — start.

The 21-year-old American finished second in Saturday’s short program as part of the team event, with a score of 98.00.

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, took top honors after posting a 108.67. Stephen Gogolev of Canada was third, with a 92.99.

Read the full story here.

Tune in to Peacock to catch primetime coverage of all the action from today.

After starting the Milan Cortina Games with three straight losses, Norway has bounced back with back-to-back wins, including a close victory over Estonia on Day 4 of play.

Eric Heiden is the only American to win five gold medals at a single Winter Games. He’s also an orthopedic surgeon. Doc Emrick tells the story of Heiden’s journey from his triumphant 1980 Olympics to the operating room.

Ahead of tomorrow's final team figure skating event, Team USA leads the pack with 44 points.

Evan Bates and Madison Chock closed today's events with a boost to Team USA's score, earning the team 10 points in their ice dance free dance event. As of now, the Japanese figure skating team ranks second with 39 points, and Italy trails closely behind with 37 points.

Tomorrow, the team event will conclude with competitions in pair, women's, and men's free skating.

Evan Bates and Madison Chock brought the competition to another level during today's ice dance free dance event, earning Team USA 10 points in the team event.

Bates and Chock have established themselves as the American score leaders in the team event. With a score of 133.23, the duo placed nearly 10 points higher than the second place Italian team.

The pair danced to an instrumental version of "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones, with choreography inspired by Spanish flamenco and costuming that mimicked bull fighting. Chock was costumed in a red skirt resembling a matador's cape, while Bates was dressed in all black, as the bull.

American high school senior Ollie Martin, 17, narrowly missed the men’s snowboard big air podium, finishing 4th at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games behind Kira Kimura and Ryoma Kimata of Japan and China’s Su Yiming.

Japan's Yuma Kagiyama finished ahead of Team USA's "Quad God" Ilia Malinin in today's men's single skating team event. It was a surprising finish for the gravity-defying American figure skater.

Kagiyama, who finished with a score of 108.67, has finished second to Malinin in several international competitions. Now, the Japanese figure skater says that his American competitor drives him to match his performance.

"I always receive a good motivation from Ilia, because he is one of the skaters who create this figure skating moment," Kagiyama said after the event to reporters. "He is a good jumper. He can do a quad."

Malnin finished with a score of 98.00 after executing a backflip during his first event of the competition. The competitors will return to the ice tomorrow for the medal event.

A few words from 21-year-old gold medal favorite Ilia Malinin, who skated in the Olympics for the first time tonight.

• On his performance overall: “I feel really happy. I'm so glad to be here. You know, this Olympic movement and this Olympic experience was once in a lifetime moment for me, so just being able to go out here is that's what I'm just grateful for.”
• On finishing second: “I mean, I wasn't expecting go out here and win the competition. That was not my goal here for the team event. My team event was to focus on myself and how I feel overall. I'm pretty happy with what I did, because that's only 50% of my full potential here. So overall, really proud of everything that I've done so far.”
• On having a shaky landing and his overall nerves: "I mean, what do you expect? It's Olympic ice. I mean, I'm sure a lot of people would feel that. I’m excited to be here. It's just, come on. It's the Olympics! You guys are talking like, this is a bad thing. Like, it's just so awesome to be here. And I'm so glad to be a part of not only my team, but also just part of a lot of the athletes who get the opportunity to come compete here. It’s honestly a life achievement.”
• On being a gold medal favorite: “It's a lot of pressure, and it's honestly something that I've expected to do coming to these Olympics. But overall, just looking at it, I just need to pace myself correctly, put myself in the right mindset not to think about that pressure and really just come out here and do what I need to do.”

If you heard someone yell an expletive during Ilia Malinin’s performance, that was me after Malinin executed a backflip during his first skate of the Olympics. This is what Malinin does and what makes him the standout figure in his sport — a never-before-seen blend of artistry and athleticism.

Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images

His backflip was the first in the Olympics since 1998 and first legal once since 1976. (The move had been outlawed in international competition until it was re-legalized in 2024.)

Malinin’s theatrics earned him only a 98.00 score, however, second-best to Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama.

Police clashed with anti-Olympics protesters in Milan this evening.

Video from the scene showed dozens of protesters gathered near the Piazzale Corvetto in the south of the city as some launched fireworks and flares. Some carried a sign that read “KNOW YOUR ENEMY.”

The explosive and fiery scene culminated in clashes between police and the protesters. 

Clashes break out at protests over Winter Olympic Games in Milan

01:18

Japan's Yuma Kagiyama during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena today. Julien De Rosa / AFP - Getty Images

If Ilia Malinin has any competition, it’s Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, who has finished second to Malinin in several international competitions. Kagiyama is about to skate, let’s see if he puts some pressure on Malinin.

Norway's Anna Odine Stroem soared into first place at today's women's ski jumping event, earning a gold medal at her Olympic debut.

She scored 267.3 during the normal hill event, with her score of 136.9 in the first round of jumps sending her flying into contention for the gold.

Nika Prevc of Slovenia earned silver, finishing right behind Stroem with a score of 266.2. Japan's Nozomi Maruyama took home the bronze with a score of 261.8.

Taylor Heise slides in a beautiful backdoor pass by Abbey Murphy to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead in the second period against Finland.

A rousing performance from Canada’s Stephen Gogolev, who looked sharp dressed in a three-piece suit. His quad toeloop + triple toeloop and quad salchow both earned him high marks.

In his last attempt, the reigning gold medalist Su Yiming knocked Colorado’s Ollie Martin out of third place. Yiming went big on his last attempt to boost his combined score 168.50, enough for a bronze.

Japan took the first two positions with Kira Kimura taking the gold at 179.50 and Ryoma Kimata who scored 171.50 combined.

Leila Register / NBC News; Getty Images

Ilia Malinin, a 21-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, has won virtually every major figure skating competition over the past three years. Now, at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, the question in the figure skating community isn’t whether he will win gold — but how much will he win by.

Malinin has finished first in the last four U.S. championships, the last three Grand Prix Finals and the last two world championships. The only accolade missing from his increasingly long résumé is an Olympic gold medal.

The gaudy scores have become the norm for Malinin, and the start of his Michael Jordan-esque run largely coincides with when he was left off the Winter Olympics roster for the 2022 Beijing Games. At the 2022 U.S. championships, Malinin finished second, signaling that he was talented enough to make the team. But he was bypassed for Beijing based on his overall body of work, which lacked wins on the senior circuit as he had competed mostly as a junior before the event.

He says the snub ultimately motivated him.

“In the end, I think if it wasn’t for me not going to those Olympics, then I don’t think I’d still be skating even after Milan. I think that I’d just be done after Milan. But not going to those Olympics gave me a new hope, especially for Milan and for the future to come.”

Read the full story here.

Ilia Malinin on day one of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games today. Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images

As he took the ice for a little bit of a warm up skate, we finally got to lay eyes on Ilia Malinin. There was a nice cheer from both the fans and his U.S. teammates. There’s definitely quite a bit of anticipation in the arena to see him perform.

With a crowd watching back home in Vail, Colorado, Ollie Martin went for it all his final run landing a frontside 1800. The reaction back home was big and the score was enough to give him a chance at a silver or bronze medal. 

In its 2-0 start to the Olympics, the U.S. women's hockey team has received goals from seven different scorers, conceded just one and outscored Czechia and Finland by a combined nine goals. Some might call that an ideal start. The face of the team, five-time Olympian Hilary Knight, has a different description.

"I'd say electric," Knight said Saturday after a 5-0 shutout of Finland, in which she scored her second goal of these Olympics. "I love how it's sort of, everybody's got a hand in the win, right? Whether it's passing off shifts, finding the back of the net, making the right pass, the right play. It's really a selflessness that we've got in that room, and really proud of the way this group showing up so far."

The Finnish team was coming off of a postponement after a norovirus outbreak within the team, which reduced their preparation and left the U.S. naturally concerned, with Knight saying "you don't want that the sickness on your own."

The U.S. next plays Monday against Switzerland, but it might not be too early to look ahead to Tuesday's preliminary round against Canada. The matchup will pit the gold-medal favorites against one another before the knockout round. That won't lower the intensity said Megan Keller, who has faced Canada in two previous Olympic finals and left with both gold (in 2018) and silver (2022).

Canadian Francis Jobin Switch double-backside double-rodeo 1280 differentiated himself from the field in men's snowboarding Big Air. The Olympic competition often brings a traditional spin to the field, but Jobin decided to go daring with a blind spin as rewarded with an 84.

Appleby is making his first Olympic appearance and he earns 12 team points for Great Britain on the first skate of the night.

Competing in the snowboard big air final, Team USA's Ollie Martin stomped a backside 1980 on his second run in Cortina. The Vail native redeemed himself on his second run with a respectable score of 79.50. He’ll need to go even bigger in his third and final run to knock off the competition.

Where I just had my first Italian cheeseburger, and I can confirm this is something America does better. Men will be skating in the short program tonight as part of a team event, including American Ilia Malinin’s first skate of the Olympics.

Even Olympians have to turn in their homework.

Madeline Schivas, a Canadian figure skater and student at McMaster University in Ontario, shared a post on social media revealing that she had to ask her professor for an extension on an assignment. She had a pretty good excuse though — "I was competing in the Olympic Games yesterday."

Madeline Schizas competing in Milan on Friday. Federico Manoni / AP

"I am a student in your Sociology 2FF3 course and am wondering if I could get a short extension on this week's reflection," Schivas wrote in an email to her professor. "I was competing in the Olympic Games yesterday and thought the reflection was due on Sunday, not Friday."

Schivas attached a link to a Canadian Olympic Committee press release to prove her participation. She captioned the social media post, "LOLLLL I❤️being a student athlete."

The figure skater, who is making her Olympic debut this year at the Milan Cortina games, competed yesterday in women's single skating, earning a score of 64.97. She'll be competing again tonight in the team event.

High school senior Ollie Martin is competing for Team USA in the men's snowboard big air final today.

On his first of three runs, Martin landed a not so clean backside indy spin. The teenager landed in squatted fashion which will dock him some points against his competition.

He finished the first run in 10th place out of 12.

Today, on the Team USA women's hockey bench, we spotted a few packs of Gogo Squeez, the green pouches pictured here. It's been described as a "portable fruit & veggie snacks for kids of all ages." Typically consumed by toddlers, it's also apparently fueling Team USA. The women's hockey team won today, to improve its record to 2-0 at the Games.

Hilary Knight tied the record for the most career Olympic goals (14) in team history in the U.S. women’s hockey win over Finland today.

The Olympian set a record as soon as she stepped on the ice at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, as she became the first hockey player to compete in five Winter Olympics. And let’s not forget the captain is also in hot pursuit of a record-tying fifth Olympic medal.

Hilary Knight during the Women's Preliminary Round Group A match between Finland and the United States today. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Today, she netted the fourth goal in the 5-0 win, as the squad cruised to victory over a visibly weakened Finnish women’s hockey team. 

The top shelf score tied her with retired U.S. players Natalie Darwitz and Katie King for the record.

Read the full article here

A small but vocal pocket of fans in this arena booed Vice President J.D. Vance as he left the game with two minutes to play in regulation and the U.S. leading, 5-0. Vance quickly exited down a stairwell.

It's a 5-0 lead for the U.S. over Finland with four minutes to play after a goal by Abbey Murphy. It's been a one-sided game since the start of the second period.

The boxer had watched the U.S. hockey game for more than a period seated next to Vice President J.D. Vance, until Paul left with about four minutes to go and with the U.S. leading, 4-0. The Americans hold a staggering 45-11 advantage in shots.

Just like everybody else, Mikaela Shiffrin is eagerly anticipating Lindsey Vonn's downhill run tomorrow a little more than a week after tearing her ACL.

“I’m so excited to watch. I think we are all with her," Shiffrin said today.

“I mentioned tenacity just now, her tenacity and grit, and what she’s showing up with at this Olympics. And staying true to her own values. That’s straight-up beautiful."

Czechia picked up its first win when they defeated South Korea, 9-4, on Day 4 of mixed doubles curling action.

Twelve snowboarders are set to take flight at Livigno Snow Park today in the men’s big air final. Each athlete will take three runs, which must feature different tricks, and only the best two runs count. Scores are then added together to determine the medalists. The first runs begins at 1:30 p.m. ET.

The sole American in the final is 17-year-old high school senior Ollie Martin, who finished ninth in qualifying with a score of 167.50. While he’s new to the Olympic stage, Martin comes from a long line of Winter Olympians. 

Martin’s great-uncle, Chuck Ferries, was a two-time Olympic alpine skier (1960 and 1964) and coached the U.S. Women’s Ski Team through the 1968 Games (Ferries died at the age of 85 last April). Martin’s great-aunt, Barbara Ferries, also competed as an alpine skier at the 1964 Games. Both Chuck and Barbara are members of the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame. 

Round one of the men’s luge final ended in disappointment for Team USA as neither Jonathan Gustafson nor Matthew Greiner made the cut. Both men fell out of the required top four finish to advance to the next round at the Cortina Sliding Centre.

Germany’s Max Langenham took the lead and never left at the top going into the final round. Austria’s Jonas Mueller and Italy’s own Dominik Fischnaller remain close behind as the three jockey for the gold medal.

By late in the second period of the U.S. women's hockey game, Vice President J.D. Vance had a new guest sitting next to him: Jake Paul.

The boxer, whose fiancee, Jutta Leerdam, is competing in the 1,000 and 500 meter races for the Netherlands at these Olympics, was sitting next to Vance when the U.S. took a 4-0 lead.

Jake Paul and J.D. Vance on day one of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games. Andreas Rentz / Getty Images

With Finland down a player because of a penalty, the U.S. kept working the puck close to Finland's goal over ... and over ... and over ... and finally Hilary Knight scored with a shot over the goalie's right shoulder to push the U.S. lead to 4-0, prompting a "U-S-A" chant in the stands.

Megan Keller celebrates with teammates after a goal against Finland. Sarah Stier / Getty Images

Less than a minute after its last goal, the U.S. scores again in the second period on nifty in-and-out stickhandling by Megan Keller, who put the puck right between the legs of Finland's goalie to extend the U.S. lead to 3-0.

Italian speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida won gold today in the women's 3000m, while setting an Olympic record. It was a memorable way to celebrate her 35th birthday, in front of a home crowd, too.

Lollobrigida finished with a time of 3:54.28, comfortably ahead of the silver and bronze medal winners. She finished more than 2 seconds faster than silver medal winner Ragne Wiklund of Norway, which is notable in a sport where competitors finish within hundredths of seconds of each other.

The result is a major surprise, with speedskating favorite Joy Beune, of the Dutch team, not making it to the podium. Dutch skaters swept the podium in 2018, and this year's competitors were expected to continue that trend. The Milan Cortina Games mark the first time a Dutch speed skater hasn't finished with a medal in 16 years.

Lollobrigida fought for her lead after trailing Team Canada's Valerie Maltais, who is taking home a bronze medal, for most of the race. Lollobrigida raced to the finish with her young son watching and to the cheers of Italian fans in the crowd. Lollobrigida is the first Italian woman to ever win a speedskating gold.

A breakaway that started on the defensive end finishes with the U.S. taking a 2-0 lead against Finland after a quick-striking goal by Taylor Heise. She was assisted by Abbey Murphy and Britta Curl.

The U.S. now has three times as many shots (18) as Finland. Is the proverbial dam about to break?

Mac Forehand (6th overall), Alex Hall (8th) and Konnor Ralph (10th) will all move on to the finals in men's slopestyle after qualification today.

Vice President J.D. Vance has arrived at U.S.-Finland women’s hockey. He showed up during the first intermission, which has caused not nearly as much commotion as when he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio came midway through the first period during Thursday's U.S. game.

Francesca Lollobrigida, competing for Team Italy in the women's 3000m, set an Olympic record on her 35th birthday.

She skated to the cheers of the Italian crowd, as her young son watched from the sidelines.

Francesca Lollobrigida during Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics today. Daniel Derajinski / Icon Sport via Getty Images

Lollobrigida finished at 3:54.28, more than two seconds ahead of the second-place competitor from Canada, Valerie Maltais. The Olympic record was previously held by Dutch speed skating legend Irene Schouten.

Alex Carpenter gives the U.S. women's hockey team a 1-0 lead over Finland as the arena sound system plays the guitar solo to "Free Bird."

The goal was assisted by Laila Edwards and Megan Keller and came four minutes before the end of the first period. This is a heavily pro-U.S. crowd, and it burst into cheers on the one-time goal.

Carpenter, by the way, is the daughter of longtime NHL player Bobby Carpenter.

The second U.S. women's hockey game of this tournament has started much like the team's first. The Americans have been largely in command of possession with 7 minutes left in the first period, and hold a sizable shot advantage (9-2), but are unable to show a goal for it yet.

The U.S. won its opener two days ago by eventually overpowering Czechia in the second and third periods. It's yet to be seen if their attacking advantage will eventually pay off.

Coming off a 5-1 win Thursday against Czechia, the U.S. women are just minutes away from getting their second game of the prelim round under way, this time against Finland. The Finnish team is only two days removed from having its opener postponed because of a norovirus outbreak within the team. It makes me wonder whether the U.S. team had any reservations of playing this particular opponent so soon.

Team USA suffered its first defeat in mixed doubles curling today against Great Britain, after a tense match between the two undefeated teams.

Team USA's Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin came back in the fifth end after a tough start to the match, closing Great Britain's 4-1 lead to tie the competition. Great Britain advanced their lead with a steal at the end of the seventh end, bringing the score to 6-4.

But in the eighth end, Thiesse and Dropkin were still adjusting to the ice and struggling to get the rock where they wanted it. After a miss by Great Britain put Team USA in a good position to make back their losses, an off-target hard launch from Dropkin cemented the score at 6-4.

Team USA conceded in the eighth end. With a 4-1 record, Team USA is still in position to get to the medal rounds.

In the fifth end, Team USA came back from a 4-1 deficit to tie Great Britain in mixed doubles curling. The team entered this match undefeated at the Games, with a 4-0 record.

Germany’s dominant 5-2 defeat of Japan was the team’s first win of the Olympics. Laura Kluge collected four points in the victory.

With an impressive lead in the race, Sweden’s Frida Karlsson won the women’s skiathlon on the first day of cross-country skiing competition at Milan Cortina.

Olympic athletes: They know how to chow down.

The Milan Olympic Village officially opened on Jan. 30, and medal hopefuls from around the globe filed in to prepare for the Milan Cortina Olympics.

As esteemed speed skaters, figure skaters and bobsledders ready themselves to compete, they’ve also been giving fans glimpses at how they’re spending their time — including what they’re eating.

The food served by the host city has become a point of interest for Olympians and fans at home. In 2024, Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen was dubbed the “Muffin Man” after going viral at the Paris Olympics for his well-publicized love of the village’s chocolate muffins.

Read the full story here.

The rematch for freeski slopestyle gold is on between Swiss Mathilde Gremaud and China’s Eileen Gu, who qualified first and second for the final. Great Britain’s Kirsty Muir and American Avery Krumme qualified in third and fourth place.

Boitano, who claimed gold in 1988, said he feels "great about the team so far."

"We got off to a really, really good start, starting with Madison Chock and Evan Bates. They brought their A game, obviously, to the rhythm dance. We’re in a good position with them.

"Alyssa Liu did her job. She skated great. Our pair team, Ellie (Kam) and Danny (O’Shea), did a good job. They got into the top 5, which is really good for them. So we’re positioned in a very strong place and obviously Ilia (Malinin) coming up. Today it’s gonna put us in a really, really strong place hopefully."

I asked him specifically what makes Malinin so much better than the rest of the field. 

Ilia Malinin of Team USA training in Milan on Tuesday. Matthew Stockman / Getty Images

“It’s not only the technical bar that he’s set so high — higher than anyone ever in our sport. He just is so dominant on a technical level, but he’s also trying to push the level of artistic and skating quality to new levels as well.

“He’s not just focusing on the athletic side. He’s also looking at the component scores that we call it, or artistic marks. He’s trying to get better and better, and he will get better and better as he continues to like skate more and just get older. But it’s just amazing what he’s doing, and I feel like he makes it look so easy. That makes the American public not really understand how hard it is what he’s doing.”

American Ollie Martin, 17, placed ninth in the men’s snowboard big air qualifying yesterday, scoring a total of 167.50. Teammates Jake Canter (160.25), Red Gerard (155.50) and Sean FitzSimons (136.00) did not advance.

Sweden's Frida Karlsson won the women's gold medal today, covering the 20-kilometer course (a little more than 12 miles) in Tesero in 53 minutes, 45.2 seconds.

Sweden's Frida Karlsson celebrates winning gold in Lago di Tesero today. Javier Soriano / AFP - Getty Images

Karlsson was so far ahead of the rest of the field — winning by 51 seconds over teammate Ebba Andersson, the two-time reigning world champ — that she slowed down entering the final meters of the race to grab a Swedish flag, which she raised over her head as she crossed the finish. Either a Norwegian or Swedish woman has won skiathlon gold for a fifth consecutive Olympics.

Jessie Diggins of the U.S. finished eighth, more than three minutes behind Karlsson. Diggins had won a skiathlon at the last World Cup race in December.

Lindsey Vonn today went through her second successful training run on the course that will hold the women's Downhill competition.

Vonn was two seconds faster than during yesterday's run, which came one week after rupturing the ACL in her left knee. Vonn is wearing a brace to protect the knee but has remained undeterred to go through with her medal attempt, at 41 years old.

A little less than half of the competitors made it through their run before it was interrupted due to weather today. At that time, Vonn's time of 1:38.28 was third-fastest out of 21. American teammate Breezy Johnson posted the fastest time.

Read the full article here

A Swiss man won the men's Downhill — just not who most expected.

Marco Odermatt, considered the world's best men's Alpine skier, finished fourth. The race was held on a Bormio course that has been called perhaps the most difficult since Alpine skiing made its Olympic debut 90 years ago today.

Odermatt entered these Olympics in the running to become the first man to win three Alpine skiing gold medals at a single Olympics since 1968.

Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland took the gold instead. It wasn't an enormous upset — he is the reigning world champion.

The 2026 Olympic medal design features two joined halves. One side has an inclined, textured surface, while the other is smooth and reflective. The design, in part, is meant to symbolize the union of the two host cities of these Games, Milan and Cortina, and represent “the soul of victory” and the athletes’ effort and journey to achieve it.

Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic medals. Andrea Pattaro / AFP via Getty Images

The Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute crafted the medals using recycled metal recovered from its own production waste. The medals were cast in induction furnaces powered entirely by renewable energy and packaged with eco-friendly materials and minimal plastics. 

Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland won the men's Downhill gold medal today in 1:51.61, barely denying Italy an early moment atop the podium.

Franjo von Allmen celebrates winning gold on the podium today.  Jeff Pachoud / AFP - Getty Images

As it was, the host nation finished with two medals, with Giovanni Franzoni finishing 0.2 of a second behind von Allmen, and compatriot Dominik Paris 0.5 of a second back to earn bronze.

Kyle Negomir was the top American, finishing 10th.

The women held qualifying in freeski slopestyle this morning with Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud putting up the best score across two runs.

Also qualifying to move on are China’s Eileen Gu and American Avery Krumme, who had the fourth-best score in the qualifying round.

The final will be held on Monday afternoon in Milan.

Switzerland’s women’s ice hockey game against Canada can proceed as scheduled tonight.

The game was in question after one confirmed case of norovirus on the Swiss team, but no other players or coaches had shown any symptoms as of this morning. The affected player has also not shown any symptoms since yesterday morning and has been isolated within the Olympic village.

Lisa Ruedi and Lara Stalder of Team Switzerland celebrate victory against Czechia on Friday. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Finland’s women’s team has already had one game postponed due to a norovirus outbreak but they are due to play the United States later today.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea and Alysa Liu highlight the team event for Team USA in rhythm dance, pairs short and women’s short.

This morning, the second family viewed Leonardo da Vinci's famed The Last Supper.

The vice president and second lady plan to have lunch with members of the U.S. delegation

When fog engulfed the Stelvio course and race officials called for a delay in the downhill training action, Keely Cashman transformed into a dance instructor, teaching her Team USA teammates some new moves.

Great Britain prevailed over Canada, 7-5 and Sweden beat Switzerland, 13-7, in the morning's first action. There'll be more curling later this morning.

Bennett, in his third Games, just raced in men's downhill and finished with a time of 1:53.45, placing third out of the three competitors so far.

Bennett competes this morning.  Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP - Getty Images

The first medal event of the 2026 Games is beginning with men's downhill in Alpine. Daniel Hemetsberger from Austria was the first one out, and he finished his first run with a time of 1:44.59.

Bryce Bennett is one of the longest tenured Alpine skiers on the U.S. Ski Team, has two World Cup victories, four world championship appearances and is about to participate at his third Winter Olympics.

Bennett training in Bormio, Italy on Thursday. Dustin Satloff / Getty Images

Bennett is not a medal favorite in Milan Cortina. But the idea of knowing it’s a last time doing something is rare, especially at age 33. It’s an opportunity to reflect and to grow, something Bennett has done throughout his life: in skill on the piste, in height (he puts the 6’7” in “six-seven”) and maturity as a husband and father. 

The mixed doubles are now in the fifth end with Great Britain dominating Canada, 7-2. Sweden has created some distance between themselves and Switzerland and lead 7-5, also in the fifth end.

Sarah Hoefflin of Team Switzerland loses a ski mid-air during the Women’s Freestyle Slopestyle Qualification in Livigno this morning.

Hannah Peters / Getty Images

Curling kicked off competition today with two matches in mixed double round robin play.

Great Britain is leading Canada 3-1 and Switzerland and Sweden are tied 1-1 with both contests in the third end.

The first medal event of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is the men’s downhill, beginning at 5:30 a.m. ET.

This will be the first chance of these Games to see Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, who is considered the best men’s alpine skier in the world. Odermatt, who is also expected to compete in the super-G and giant slalom, is looking to become the first man to win three alpine skiing gold medals at a single Games since France’s Jean-Claude Killy in 1968. 

The U.S. has four skiers competing in the men’s downhill: Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Bryce Bennett, Kyle Negomir and Sam Morse. 

The last American man to win a medal in the downhill was Bode Miller, who won bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games. 

The opening ceremony’s over and the action is picking up! The first medals will be awarded today and we’ll (hopefully) see Team USA again in women’s hockey.

Here’s the guide to what’s on today, all times Eastern. Potential medal events have an asterisk.

4:05 a.m.: curling, mixed doubles round-robin (Great Britain vs. Canada, Switzerland vs. Sweden)

5:30 a.m.: Alpine skiing, men’s downhill*

6:10 a.m.: women’s hockey, pool play (Germany vs. Japan)

7 a.m.: women’s cross-country skiing, 10 kilometers + 10-kilometer skiathlon*

8 a.m.: freestyle skiing, men’s freeski slopestyle qualification 

As Team Brazil was announced during yesterday's opening ceremony, one athlete pulled off an epic backflip that went viral on social media.

Italian actor Sabrina Impacciatore, known for “The White Lotus” and “The Paper,” dances at the opening ceremony, symbolizing traveling through time.