MILAN — Italian figure skater Matteo Rizzo received a hero’s welcome after turning in his best performance of the season in the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, handing a team bronze medal to Italy.

Rizzo scored 179.62 points in the men’s single’s free skate portion of the team event Saturday, marking a season best for the Italian figure skater. But he — and the entire arena ― was celebrating well before the judges handed down his score.

Following his performance, Rizzo saluted to the crowd at the Milano Skating Arena and proudly beat his chest. Rizzo sprinted on the ice toward his teammates and slid on his knees across the ice toward the Italian team box while enthusiastically shouting. He then jumped over the side of the rink to embrace his teammates. The heartfelt moment brought everyone in the stands to their feet.

Rizzo secured third place in the men’s singles free skate and helped Italy clinch bronze in the team event.

Rizzo draped an Italian flag over his shoulders in the kiss-and-cry while awaiting for his score. Chants of ‘Matteo’ broke out in the arena before he received his marks. An emotional Rizzo broke down in tears at his score.

The energy in the arena was palpable during Rizzo’s performance and the Italian figure skating team loudly applauded after each jump. After he nailed his Triple Flip to the tune of Interstellar by Imperial Orchestra, Rizzo gave the crowd an enthusiastic fist pump. As he finished his last step sequence, the Italian team loudly chanted, ‘Italia!’

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The NBA announced its participants in the 2026 State Farm 3-Point Contest on Feb. 8 and one of the participants is Lillard.

Lillard, 35, suffered his injury when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 4 of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers.

Lillard, who is a nine-time All-Star, isn’t a stranger to three-point competitions. He won the contest twice in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024.

The Oakland native has played 13 seasons in the NBA. Throughout his career, Lillard made a name for himself as one of the best shooters, especially in the clutch, where he developed his signature “Dame Time”.

Lillard is currently No. 5 all-time in three-pointers made with 2,804, sitting behind Klay Thompson, Ray Allen, James Harden, and Stephen Curry.

2026 State Farm 3-Point Contestants

The 2026 State Farm 3-Point Contest for NBA All-Star Weekend is happening Feb. 14. All-Star Saturday night, which features the three-point shootout, shooting stars event and slam dunk contest. It will start at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) on NBC and Peacock.

Here are the participants competing in the three-point contest:

Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel,42.8% 3-pt FG, 174 3-pt made in 2025-26 season
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, 3.7 3-pt made per game in 2025-26 season, 1,798 career 3-pt made
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, 43.2% 3-pt FG, 156 3-pt made in 2025-26 season
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, 38.% 3-pt FG, 169 3-pt made in 2025-26 season
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, 2018 NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest winner
Portland Trail Blazer guard Damian Lillard, 2023 & 2024 NBA All-Star Three-Point contest winner

MILAN — Team USA captured the gold medal in the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics after Ilia Malinin delivered a must-win free skate Sunday, breaking a tie with Japan and propelling the Americans to repeat as Olympic champions.

The 21-year-old ‘Quad God’ pulled out his signature quad axel and landed a backflip on one leg, his program earning a score of 200.03 and giving the U.S. the maximum 10 points to bring their winning total to 69 points.

“This definitely is one of the happiest days of my life, and really just sets me up in the right mood and mindset for the next days to come,’ Malinin told USA TODAY Sports exclusively after the medal ceremony.

Japan earned silver (68 points), and Italy won bronze (60 points). The team event debuted at the 2014 Winter Games, and this year’s competition was by far the closest the field has ever been.

“Tonight was an action movie because it feels so scripted the fact that we were tied with Japan, it was so cool in my opinion. I love a close event,’ said Alysia Liu, who finished second in the women’s short program on Friday. ‘I love that everybody did well because that’s what it’s all about.”

The Americans jumped for joy on the podium as they were announced the Olympic champions and received their gold medals. The crowd roars for every name, with a big ovation for Malinin. Ellie Kam, who alongside Danny O’Shea finished fourth in the pairs’ free skate, became emotional as the national anthem played during the medal ceremony, crying as the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ filled the arena.

With American flags draped over their shoulders, Malinin, Liu, Kam, O’Shea, Amber Glenn, Madison Chock and Evan Bates took a lap on their skates around the ice, waving to fans, taking photos together and soaking in the moment. A short while later, some remaining fans in the arena started chanting ‘U-S-A! U-S-A!’ as the skaters joined in.

‘It’s amazing that every one of us got the opportunity to get it out here with the team event, and we all held each other’s back and got it done,’ O’Shea said.

“I’m proud of myself and proud of my team for all the work they’ve put into this,’ Malinin said. ‘Without each other we wouldn’t have gotten this gold medal.’

USA TODAY Sports is on the scene bringing you live results and updates. Follow along.

Ilia Malinin’s free skate wins USA gold medal

 Ilia Malinin didn’t want to skate the long program in the Olympic figure skating team competition. He wanted to rest up for the more important individual men’s event beginning Tuesday. His coaches felt the same way. It was a definite no. 

But when U.S. Figure Skating called upon him late Saturday night, saying the event was going to be too close and potentially lost without him, he had no choice but to say yes.

It turned out to be the best decision of his young career.

“Absolutely, this is definitely the smartest decision I’ve made,” Malinin told USA Today Sports during an exclusive interview after the medal ceremony. “I got a chance to just really feel the ice, feel the environment, just feel the atmosphere. I’m just so proud of everyone and myself for what we put out there tonight.’

Amber Glenn on her ‘lackluster’ Olympics performance

 Amber Glenn considered her Winter Olympics debut ‘lackluster.’ She was shaky on her first two elements in triple Axel and the triple flip-triple toeloop combination, which made for a concerning start to the program. However, she regained control after that and landed her jumps, notably hitting the sequence of the triple loop-double Axel-double Axel.

Glen held on the rest of the way, but didn’t get a great score, earning a 138.62, with 70.91 technical score and 67.71 in the components category. She dropped to third overall after Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto scored a 148.62 for first place. Second place went to Anastasiia Gubanova 140.17.

‘I just did not feel wonderful, like even in the warm ups,’ Glenn said. ‘My leg was just sore, and it’s not an injury, it’s nothing that we need to worry about. It’s just something that I need that rest and recovery time.’

There was a noticeable sense of disappointment from Glenn as she left the ice and heard her score. She knew it was a battle going against Sakamoto, but Gubanova’s exceptional performance put her in a great spot.

‘I feel guilty,’ she said. ‘My team has done so well, and my performance was lackluster. I scored lower than my median and what they were counting on, and I placed lower than what would have been expected.’

Danny O’Shea, Ellie Kam’s free skate earns USA 7 points

The U.S. needed a big showing from its pairs, and did it absolutely get it.

Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea redeemed themselves in the free skate with a clean performance. There were no falls like in the short program, and by the time they were done, they each knew they executed everything they wanted to do. O’Shea let out a yell right as it ended and Kam was emotional as the crowd serenaded them.

The scores proved it. Kam and O’Shea earned a season-best score of 135.36, adding seven points to USA’s team total.

Olympics figure skating schedule

Figure skating at the Olympics rolls on Monday with the start of the ice dance competition. The men’s singles event starts Feb. 10 with the short program and concludes on Feb. 13 with the free skate. The pairs competition is Feb. 15-16. The women’s singles opens Feb. 17 with the short program and wraps Feb. 19 with the free skate.

Figure skating team event results

Here are the final standings in the team competition.

United States: 69 points
Japan: 68 points
Italy: 60 points
Georgia: 56 points
Canada: 54 points

Men’s free skate results

Here are final standings for the men’s free skate in the team competition.

Ilia Malinin (United States): 200.03 total segment score, 110.32 technical elements score, 89.71 program components score.
Shun Sato (Japan): 194.86 total segment score, 106.49 technical elements score, 88.37 program components score.
Matteo Rizzo (Italy): 179.62 total segment score, 92.57 technical elements score, 87.05 program components score.
Stephen Gogolev (Canada): 171.93 total segment score, 92.37 technical elements score, 79.56 program components score.
Nika Egadze (Georgia): 154.79 total segment score, 78.33 technical elements score, 76.46 program components score.

Kaori Sakamoto’s free skate earns first place

Kaori Sakamoto (Japan): 148.62 total segment score, 72.93 technical elements score, 75.69 program components score.
Anastasiia Gubanova (Georgia): 140.17 total segment score, 73.24 technical elements score, 66.93 program components score.
Amber Glenn (United States): 138.62 total segment score, 70.91 technical elements score, 67.71 program components score.
Lara Maki Gutmann (Italy): 126.94 total segment score, 61.16 technical elements score, 65.78 program components score.
Madeline Schizas (Canada): 125.00 total segment score, 65.44 technical elements score, 60.56 program components score.

Japan pairs skaters Riku Miura, Ryuichi Kihara top free skate

Here are the final standings for the pairs’ free skate in the team event.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (Japan): 155.55 total segment score, 80.88 technical elements score, 74.67 program components score.
Anastassiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava (Georgia): 139.70 total segment score, 72.80 technical elements score, 67.90 program components score.
Sara Conti and Macii Niccolo (Italy): 136.61 total segment score, 67.85 technical elements score, 68.76 program components score.
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea (United States): 135.36 total segment score, 69.65 technical elements score, 65.71 program components score.
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud (Canada): 134.42 total segment score, 69.19 technical elements score, 65.23 program components score.

Are backflips allowed in figure skating?

They now are. For nearly 50 years, the backflip was banned in figure skating, after American skater Terry Kubicka became the first one to execute it at the 1976 Innsbruck Games. French skater Surya Bonaly did it at the 1998 Winter Olympics, landing it on one blade, but the move was illegal and she was deducted for it. 

The International Skating Union reversed course and made the move legal in 2024, paving the way for it to be done at the 2026 Winter Olympics, 50 years after it was first done.

Figure skating jumps explained

Toe jump: A skater drives the toe pick of their non-takeoff foot into the ice to launch themselves into the air and generate momentum into the jump.

Toe loop: A skater takes off backward and lands on the same back edge of their blade.
Lutz: A skater moving backward jumps off the back outside edge of their skate and uses the toe-pick of their other skate to catapult into the air in the opposite direction and lands on the back outside edge of the picking leg.
Flip: A skater launches off the back inside edge of one skate and lands on the back outside edge of the other skate.

Edge jump: A skater takes off not with their toe pick but off the edge of their skate.

Salchow: A skater launches off the back inside edge of one skate and lands on the back outside edge of their other skate.
Axel: The only forward-facing jump, a skater lands on the back outside edge of their non-takeoff foot while traveling backward. The axel is the hardest jump because of the extra half-revolution that comes with a forward takeoff and a backward landing.
Loop: The skater jumps off a back outside edge of their skate and lands on the same edge.

When does Ilia Malinin skate next?

The 21-year-old will compete in the men’s individual competition, which includes the short program on Feb. 10 and the free skate on Feb. 13.

What is difference between ice dancing and figure skating?

Ice dancing does not feature jumps or lifts, like you see figure skating pairs execute. Ice dancing is made up of two segments, the rhythm dance and the free dance.

Why Alysa Liu at Olympics feels good after debut

When Alysa Liu finished her short program in the team event, the crowd showered her with cheers and her teammates, including Amber Glenn, Ilia Malinin and Andrew Torgashev, waved their American flags and they rooted her on.

“I feel hype. Listen, I feel really good right now,” Liu said about her initial reaction to the performance, although she said she’ll have to watch it to get her true feelings. 

It helps when it’s a program to a song that is so personal to Liu. She mentioned it always “does something to me” and helps her dive deep into the emotions she portrays on the ice.

How is figure skating scored?

A figure skating routine is made up of two scores: Technical elements score and program components score. The technical elements score is exactly what it sounds like: It’s for the jumps, spins and step sequences in a performance. The program components score is made of up composition, presentation and skating skills.

When does Amber Glenn skate in Olympics?

The U.S. national champion competed in the women’s free skate of the team event, and takes the ice for the women’s singles competition on Feb. 17 (short program) and Feb. 19 (free skate).

Quad God figure skater: Ilia Malinin’s nickname

Simply put, Ilia Malinin has the greatest array of jumps any figure skater in history has ever possessed. He’s launched himself into the air for seven quadruple jumps in a single long program at last month’s Grand Prix Final and was the first skater to land a quad Axel.

Malinin’s username used to be Lutz God, but he changed it to Quad God after landing his first quad jump. 

“i didn’t think much about it … Days go by and people started asking, ‘Why’d you name yourself Quad God, you only landed one jump,’’ he said on Milan Magic, USA TODAY’s new Olympics podcast that drops its first episode Saturday. ‘And then I was like, ‘Oh, OK maybe I should be come a Quad God.’ From there I found my rhythm of landing quad after quad after quad and then of course landing the first quad axel.”

“In the most humble way possible, I think it’s definitely helped my confidence in not only to skating in general but just feeling like I deserve to be recognized as who I am.”

Listen to ‘Milan Magic’ on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch full episodes on YouTube or on USA TODAY.

Quad Axel in figure skating: How Ilia Malinin trains for it

Malinin shared with Christine Brennan and Brian Boitano on Milan Magic, USA TODAY’s new Olympics podcast that drops its first episode Saturday, that he likes to skate a full program at least once a day, but that doesn’t mean every jump in that practice session must be a quad. It depends on how his body feels.

“For me, at least the standard base can be all triple jumps, just to keep that stamina, just to keep that stamina in there. But then, of course, depending on how I feel or how the training is going, then I can say, ‘Maybe tomorrow I can go for a full quad layout or maybe do a full quad and the rest can be triples.’ 

“I think the main focus for me is just running the whole program in itself with all the jumps, all the spins and really just getting that muscle memory in your head because I think a lot of the times, especially with me, if I do a certain amount of triple jumps and I feel comfortable with it, then I can go and the quad jumps will get a little easier for me because I’ve been practicing that muscle memory for a while.”

Milan Magic: Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Why Madison Chock and Evan Bates face greatest challenge yet

Chock and Bates by far have the most challenging schedule of any figure skaters in the Games: Four programs in six days, including back-to-back duty in the team event on Feb. 6 and 7. Now, they have 48 hours until the ice dance competition opens Feb. 9 with the rhythm dance and concludes on Feb. 11 with the free dance. Their performances in the team event set up Team USA for its second straight gold medal.

But the most decorated ice dance pair in U.S. figure skating history wants more than a team medal in Milan — they want the ice dance gold medal, the one achievement they’ve been chasing for years. But while they did so much heavy lifting for their team, their competition got extra rest.

Team USA figure skating roster

Men: Ilia Malinin, Maxim Naumov, Andrew Torgashev
Women:Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, Isabeau Levito
Pairs: Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea; Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe
Ice dance: Madison Chock and Evan Bates; Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik; Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko

What to know about Ellie Kam, Daniel O’Shea

Age: Kam is 21, O’Shea is 34
Height: Kam is 5-0, O’Shea is 6-0
Hometown: They are both from Colorado Springs, Colorado
Olympic experience: First
Event: Pairs

What to know: A partnership that began in 2022 lands its first Olympic appearance. Kam and O’Shea were the 2024 U.S. champions and have been trying to get back to that spot since then. They got bronze at the 2025 U.S. championships and landed two more third place finishes at two Grand Prix events since then, but had their best finish of the season this year with a second place finish that gave them a great boost to secure the Olympic spot.

Ilia Malinin’s parents

Malinin was born into figure skating. His mother, Tatiana Malinina, is from the Soviet Union, Siberia specifically, and competed at 10 consecutive world figure skating championships for Uzbekistan. She finished eighth at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, the competition in which Tara Lipinski won the gold medal and Michelle Kwan the silver. Malinina finished fourth at the 1999 world championships as well, and she also competed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, but withdrew after the short program with the flu.

Malinin’s father, Roman Skorniakov, represented Uzbekistan at the same two Olympics, 1998 and 2002, finishing 19th both times. He and Malinina were married in 2000 and became skating coaches in the United States, moving to the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., where, in December 2004, Ilia was born. He took the Russian masculine form of his mother’s last name because his parents were concerned that Skorniakov was too difficult to pronounce. 

MILAN — The 2026 Winter Olympics rolled into another packed day Sunday, Feb. 8, with all eyes on Lindsey Vonn. But the excitement quickly turned to concern when Vonn suffered a major crash in the women’s downhill. The 41-year-old was competing with a torn ACL.

Vonn caught a gate with her right arm, which caused her to spin around. Her legs went akimbo and her weight was too far back on her skis to recover. She tumbled on her side and then somersaulted. The crash happened about 13 to 14 seconds into the run. Vonn could be heard wailing in pain, and a helicopter was on the scene to transport her for care.

Team USA did secure a pair of gold medals on Feb. 8, however. Breezy Johnson won the United States’ first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics after taking the downhill skiing event, before Ilia Malinin’s impressive 200.03 showing in the men’s free skate portion of the team event narrowly edged out Japan, which took silver.

Team USA reacts to winning gold in ice skating team event

Here’s a look at Team USA’s full reaction after finding out it won gold in the ice-skating team event on Feb. 8:

Ilia Malinin wins gold medal for Team USA

Ilia Malinin, the ‘Quad God,’ scores a 200.03 in the men’s free skate portion of the team event, which secures the gold medal for the United States in the team ice skating event. Malinin didn’t attempt a Quad Axel but nonetheless capped off the impressive run with a quad Salchow, triple axel and a one-footed backflip.

Japan’s Shun Sato scores a personal-best 194.02 in the following routine, which comes up short of Malinin’s score. Team USA (69 points) takes gold in the team event for the second consecutive Olympics, with Japan (68 points) taking silver and Italy (60 points) with bronze.

Team USA consisted of Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Elle Kam, Danny O’Shea and Malinin.

Team USA misses women’s big air final

LIVIGNO, Italy – The United States won’t have an entrant in the women’s big air snowboarding final, as all three Americans failed to match together two runs strong enough make it out of evening qualifying on Feb. 8 at Livigno Snow Park.

Out of the 29 competitors in the field, the top 12 qualified for the final on the basis of three runs, with the best two scores counting.

Team USA’s Lily Dhawornvej, at only 16 years old, finished 20th after opening with a stellar 83.75. But from there, she didn’t fare better than a 58 on two shaky jumps, ending up with a 141.75 total, shy of the 153.50 cut line.

Similarly, USA teammate Hahna Norman scored an 82 on her second attempt, but crashed on her third, shrugging on screen as she awaited a score that wouldn’t be enough to advance. Norman ended up 28th with a 93.50 total.

The last remaining American hopeful, Jessica Perlmutter, went into her final run needing a big score to boost an opening 77. But she also couldn’t land her jump, falling face-first to place 23th with a 132.25.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand took first in the qualifying with a 172.25, scoring at least an 82.25 on all three runs. 

– Gentry Estes, Nashville Tennessean

Amber Glenn makes 2026 Winter Olympics debut in team event

Amber Glenn, the No. 3-ranked figure skater in the world, was a bit shaky in her figure skating team event routine, although she still managed to score a 138.62, which ranks third among women single skaters in the event.

Her score keeps Team USA tied-for first place of the team event standings with Japan heading into the men’s free skate portion, where Ilia Malinin will compete. She finishes behind Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto (148.62) and Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova (140.17) in the women’s free skate.

Team USA needs Malinin to win the men’s free skate in order to win gold.

Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin advance to next round of mixed doubles curling

History has been made in mixed doubles curling for Team USA!

Corey and Korey have advanced to the playoff round of the mixed doubles curling at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics after having gone 6-2 in round-robin play. It’s the first time Team USA has advanced to the playoffs.

Team USA heads into the playoffs in second place in the standings, only behind Great Britain, who beat the U.S. pair on Saturday. The other loss for Team USA came on Saturday against the Republic of Korea.

Usha Vance taking in figure skating competition with son

According to a White House Press Pool reporter, Second Lady Usha Vance is now at Sunday night’s team event figure skating competition with her son, Ewan Vance. Vice President JD Vance is not with the second family at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

JD Vance takes in men’s 5,000 meter speed skating event with Apolo Ohno

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, continue to take in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The latest event for the second family was the men’s 5,000 meter speed skating event on Sunday, which they took in with Olympic medal-winning speed skater Apolo Ohno, who is part of the U.S. delegation at the Winter Games, according to a White House Press Pool report.

Auston Matthews named Team USA hockey captain

Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews was named captain of the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team, a position he also held at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Other NHL players named as captains on Sunday included Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (Canada), Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog (Sweden) and Anaheim’s Mikael Granlund (Finland). Five-time Olympian Roman Cervenka, who plays in the Czech league, will be captain of the Czech team. – Mike Brehm

Breezy Johnson breaks Olympic gold medal

U.S. skier Breezy Johnson accidentally broke her Olympic gold medal from Sunday’s women’s downhill, as the piece that attaches her medal and the ribbon that holds it broke from jumping up and down celebrating her first Olympic medal. Johnson’s gold medal was Team USA’s first gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics as well.

‘It’s definitely heavy. Heavier than I expected,’ Johnson said. ‘I think that’s maybe why it broke.

‘It’s not crazy broken, but it’s a little broken.’

Click here to read more of Nancy Armour’s story.

Team Poland shows off pierogi plushie

Move on over, Flat Stanley, because it’s plushie time!

Team Poland has brought a pierogi plushie (yes, it looks delicious) with them to the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, and it appears it will be making quite the rounds around the Olympic grounds from one event venue to another.

IOC President sends message to Lindsey Vonn

IOC President Kirsty Coventry issued a message to Lindsey Vonn following her crash during Sunday’s women’s downhill medal event: ‘Dear Lindsey, we’re all thinking of you. You are an incredible inspiration, and will always be an Olympic champion.‘

Coventry is among many reacting to Vonn’s crash and lifting her up.

Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin move to 5-2 in mixed doubles curling

After an underwhelming Saturday at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Team USA’s Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin picked up a win on Sunday against Estonia, moving to 5-2 in mixed doubles curling round-robin play. 

Breezy Johnson on Lindsey Vonn’s injury: ‘Can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through’

U.S. skier Breezy Johnson saw Lindsey Vonn’s crash from the hot seat in Cortina, as she raced seven spots ahead of Vonn on Sunday in the women’s downhill.

‘I can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through,’ Johnson, who won gold in the women’s downhill, said. We can deal with physical pain. But the emotional pain is something else. And I wish her the best, and I hope that this isn’t the end.’

Casey Dawson out of medal contention in men’s 5,000m

American speed skater Casey Dawson finished the 5,000 meters in 6:11.88, which will keep him off the podium. He placed eighth.

Norway’s Sander Eitrem won the gold medal after setting an Olympic record in 6:03.95 and Czechia’s Metodej Jilek took silver with a time of 6:06.48. Italy’s Riccardo Lorello got the bronze after edging teammate Davide Ghiotto by 0.35 seconds (6:09.22 to 6:09.57).

Lindsey Vonn update: ‘Stable condition’

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team provided a very positive update on Lindsey Vonn’s status after her crash during the women’s downhill on Sunday.

2026 Winter Olympics medal count

Note: Last updated at 2:41 p.m. ET

1. Italy — 8 (1 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze)
2. Norway — 6 (3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
T3. Japan — 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
T3. Austria — 3 (1 gold, 2 silver)
T3. Germany — 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
T6. Czechia — 2 (1 gold, 1 silver)
T6. France — 2 (1 gold, 1 silver)
T6. Sweden — 2 (1 gold, 1 silver)
T9. United States — 1 (1 gold)
T9. Switzerland — 1 (1 gold)
T9. Republic of Korea — 1 (1 silver)
T9. Slovenia — 1 (1 silver)
T9. Bulgaria — 1 (1 bronze)
T9. Canada — 1 (1 bronze)
T9. People’s Republic of China — 1 (1 bronze)

Casey Dawson prepares for 5,000m speedskating final

MILAN, Italy — U.S. speed skater Casey Dawson is getting ready to compete in the men’s 5,000m. Dawson, a 25-year-old from Utah, won an Olympic bronze medal in the team pursuit at the 2022 Beijing Games.

‘Last Olympics was kind of a trial run for me, and the whole COVID-19 pandemic tainted the experience,’ Dawson said at a Team USA news conference Feb. 4, according to Olympics.com. — Josh Peter

US tops Estonia in mixed doubles curling

The American duo of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin snapped a two-game losing streak by beating Estonia 5-3 in mixed doubles curling.

With the match tied at 3 in the seventh of eight ends, the Estonians missed a takeout, allowing the U.S. to steal a point and take the lead. A similar situation transpired in the final end, resulting in the final margin of victory.

The win improves the U.S.’s record to 5-2, with a win against either Sweden (later Sunday) or Italy (on Monday) clinching them a spot in the medal round.

Karl Benjamin strips after defending gold medal

LIVIGNO — Take it off! Take it off!

Austria’s Karl Benjamin defended his gold medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom and upon crossing the finish line and unstrapping his feet from his board, he stripped off the four layers that covered his upper body.

Benjamin won his fourth medal in the event, adding to his silver from 2010, a bronze four years later and the gold he won in China four years ago.

In the small final to decide the bronze medal, Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov bested Slovenia’s Tim Mastnak in a photo finish.

Bella Wright on Lindsey Vonn’s crash: ‘Last thing you want to see’

U.S. skier Bella Wright on Lindsey Vonn: ‘It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn and she hooked her arm and it’s just over just like that. After all the preparation, after years of hard work and rehabilitation and all the things, it’s the last thing you want to see somebody go through.

‘It’s the last thing you want to see for Lindsey. But she should be really proud of everything that she has gone through to get back here. And regardless, if she got last today, if she won, she obviously crashed, whatever happened today.

‘She’s an inspiration to all of us and she should be really proud. I know it probably doesn’t feel like that right now, but I hope one day she can recognize that.’

Mikaela Shiffrin reacts to Vonn’s crash, Breezy’s gold

U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin posted on social media as she watched her teammates compete in the women’s downhill.

First when Lindsey Vonn suffered a hard crash 15 seconds into her run.

Then when Breezy Johnson became the first American woman not named Shiffrin or Vonn to win an individual medal in Alpine skiing since Julia Mancuso in 2014 (bronze in super combined).

American Breezy Johnson wins gold in women’s downhill

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — American Breezy Johnson has conquered Cortina.

The same course that ended her Olympic dreams in 2022 delivered gilded immortality Sunday, as she won the women’s downhill gold medal with a time of 1:36.10. The win came on the same day U.S. teammate Lindsey Vonn suffered a hard crash and was airlifted to a local hospital, just more than a week after she ruptured the ACL in her left knee.

Johnson skied sixth in the lineup, her time holding up as the remaining 30 skiers raced. About halfway through the remaining order, while Johnson was still in the winner’s seat, she appeared to be tearing up, probably with because it’s setting in that she would be an Olympic medalist.

Johnson also made history, becoming the first American woman not named Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual medal in Alpine skiing since Julia Mancuso in 2014 (bronze in super combined). — Payton Titus

Lindsey Vonn’s crash ‘(not) result necessarily of her recent injury’

International Ski and Snowboard Federation president Johan Eliasch said Lindsey Vonn didn’t crash because of her ruptured ACL.’I don’t think the accident she had was a result necessarily of her recent injury,’ Eliasch said. ‘And that is a decision each athlete has to take themselves. That’s an individual decision. It’s not for somebody else to tell her. Of course she can listen, but knowing Lindsey, she knows her body, she knows her injuries, and she knows also what she’s capable of. So I’m sure she made a correct decision to start today.’

Lindsey Vonn airlifted after crash

Lindsey Vonn received about 15 minutes of medical attention on the hill before being airlifted. She will be evaluated by medical staff, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team said in a statement.

Lindsey Vonn suffers hard crash in Olympic downhill

Lindsey Vonn’s hopes of winning another Olympic medal were dashed when the American star suffered a major crash early in her downhill run.

Vonn got off balance in the air off the first jump, and all her weight shifted to the backs of her skis. She tried to right herself in the air but couldn’t and crashed to the snow.

The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow, as gasps and groans fade into shocked silence from the large contingent of fans. 

Vonn is 41, and skiing with a partial replacement of her right knee. She had dominated the sport before the crash, making the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them. 

American Breezy Johnson lays down top early speed

Great googly moogly Breezy Johnson. The reigning world champion in downhill threw down a blistering run that is going to force everyone else to go for broke if they want to top it.

Skiing right on the very edge, Johnson took tight lines around most of the turns and sailed on the jumps. She took the lead in the second section, then expanded it to almost a second in the third section. She came into the finish area with a spray of snow, pumping her fist at the cheering U.S. fans.

Johnson hit a top speed of 80 miles per hour in the upper part of the course, and was still hauling at almost 69 mph at the final speed marker.

‘U-S-A! U-S-A!’ ahead of women’s downhill race

Chants of U-S-A! U-S-A! already being heard 20 minutes before the start of the women’s downhill race, which includes Lindsey Vonn despite tearing her ACL in her left knee a week ago.

Cody Winters fails to qualify in snowboard parallel giant slalom

LIVINGO — Cody Winters barely missed advancing out of morning qualifying of the men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom, finishing 21st out of 32 competitors. The top 16 moved into the afternoon’s knockout round.

Winters’ time of 1:27.99 on two combined runs was just shy of the 1:27.56 cutline.

Italian riders Roland Fischnaller (1:25.13) and Aaron March (1:26.08) posted the best two qualifying times.

A 25-year-old from Colorado, Winters was the lone American in the men’s PSG. He is also set to compete in the men’s snowboard cross at these Olympics.

In the women’s PSG, USA’s Iris Pflum also failed to advance to the day’s knockout round. — Gentry Estes

Olympics schedule today

All time Eastern.

2 a.m.: Luge – Women’s Singles Runs 5 & 6 | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
3-5 a.m.: Snowboard – Women’s and Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Qualification and Elimination Runs | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno)
4:05 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)

NOR vs. CZE; KOR vs. EST

5:30 a.m.: Alpine Skiing – Women’s Downhill | medal event | Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
6:30 a.m.: Cross-Country Skiing – Men’s 10km + 10km  Skiathlon | medal event | Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium (Val di Fiemme)
7-8:45 a.m.: Snowboard – Women’s and Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Knockout First Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Finals | medal events | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno)
7:30 a.m.: Luge – Men’s Doubles Official Training Runs 1 & 2 | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
8:05 a.m.: Biathlon – Mixed Relay 4x6km | medal event | Anterselva Biathlon Arena (Antholz)
8:35 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)

CAN vs. SWE; GBR vs. SUI; USA vs. EST; ITA vs. CZE

8:46 a.m.: Luge – Women’s Doubles Official Training Runs 1 & 2 | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
10 a.m.: Speed Skating – Men’s 5000m | medal event | Milano Speed Skating Stadium (Rho, Milan)
10:30 a.m.: Ski Jumping – Women’s Normal Hill Official Training 3 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium
10:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | SWE vs. FRA | Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
11 a.m.: Luge – Men’s Singles Runs 3 & 4 | medal event | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
1 p.m.: Ski Jumping – Men’s Normal Hill Official Training 2 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium
1:05 p.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)

CAN vs. KOR; SUI vs. NOR; USA vs. SWE; ITA vs. GBR

1:30 p.m.: Snowboard – Women’s Big Air Qualification Runs 1, 2, 3  | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno) 
1:30–5 p.m.: Figure Skating – Team Event | Milano Ice Skating Arena (Milan) | medal event 

Team event, Pair Skating, Free Skate: 1:30 p.m.
Team event, Women Singles Skating, Free Skate: 2:45 p.m.
Team event, Men Singles Skating, Free Skate: 3:55 p.m.

3:10 p.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | CZE vs. FIN | Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena

2026 Winter Olympics TV schedule today

Peacock is streaming every event live today.

Watch Winter Olympics on Peacock

Iris Pflum does not move on in women’s snowboard parallel giant slalom competition

LIVIGNO — Team USA’s Iris Pflum failed to qualify for the knockout round of the women’s snowboard parallel giant slalom during morning runs at Livigno Snow Park.

The event’s field of 32 was cut to 16 with combined times from two runs, one each on the red and blue courses. Pflum finished 30th with a combined time of 1:40.08, meaning the 22-year-old from Minnesota wouldn’t advance to the Round of 16 later in the day. She was the lone American in the women’s PGS competition.

Summer Britcher posts fastest US time in Olympic women’s luge training

Summer Britcher posted the fastest times for the Team USA during women’s singles luge training runs at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Britcher’s time of 53.172 seconds on her fifth run was the ninth-best time recorded during the training session, tops among the three American competitors. 

Jordon Hudson, the girlfriend of former New England Patriots head coach and current North Carolina coach Bill Belichick, was seen wearing a shirt referencing New England owner Robert Kraft’s 2019 prostitution bust.

Seen alongside her beau during the Feb. 7 Duke-North Carolina basketball game, Hudson’s shirt carried the logo of the day spa that came under investigation which led to legal action against Kraft and 24 others.

Kraft faced prostitution solicitation charges in 2019 stemming from his visits to Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida.

It’s unclear why Hudson wore the shirt.

Both Kraft and Belichick were finalists for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. This was the first year in which Kraft made it to the final stage of voting. Belichick was a stunning snub from this year’s class, his first year of eligibility.

Kraft’s Patriots have advanced to Super Bowl 60, the first time they’ve done so in the post-Belichick world. Belichick and Hudson first appeared as a couple in December 2024.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Breezy Johnson better hang onto her Olympic gold medal.

Literally.

Johnson was jumping up and down, celebrating her Olympic downhill title Sunday, Feb. 8, when her gold medal came off its ribbon. Athletes’ medals often get damaged or need to be repaired, but it’s rare for it to happen this quickly.

‘It’s definitely heavy. Heavier than I expected,’ Johnson said. ‘I think that’s maybe why it broke.’

There’s a groove at the top of the medal where the ribbon is supposed to fit into, but the piece that attaches the two broke.

‘It’s not crazy broken, but it’s a little broken,’ Johnson said.

She stuffed the gold medal in her pocket while she did her rounds of interviews following the race. When someone asked if she was going to get it fixed, she joked that no media member had offered.

‘I haven’t really been anywhere else,’ Johnson said. ‘I assume somebody will fix it.’

Given how crafty Johnson is, maybe she’ll come up with a fix herself.

Johnson has a tradition of knitting a new headband for herself before each race. She finished her one for the downhill on Saturday night, and was still tucking in some stray yarns before the race.

Johnson plans to auction the headband — light blue with red and white diagonal stripes — off at some point to raise money for charity. Asked if she might wear it again since it has good luck attached to it, Johnson was aghast.

‘I have to have a new one,’ she said. ‘I know that even if I did well in one of them, if I bring it back, it’s not lucky anymore.’

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Matthews, a captain with the Toronto Maple Leafs, captained the USA at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, where the Americans placed second, behind Canada.

It is a safe choice that reflects Matthews’ status as the best American player in hockey. But it is also one that will raise questions if the U.S. team – loaded with elite players at every position – comes away from these Winter Games with anything short of gold.

The team plays its first game on Feb. 12 against Latvia, faces Denmark on Feb. 14 and Germany on Feb. 15.

Bill Guerin, the USA men’s team general manager, had a number of choices.

There are several players on the roster who serve as captains of their respective NHL clubs, including Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), J.T. Miller (New York Rangers), Clayton Keller (Utah Mammoth) and Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings).

There’s also Quinn Hughes (Minnesota Wild), who was captain of his former club, the Vancouver Canucks.

Matthew Tkachuk does not captain the Florida Panthers, but he had led them to two consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

Matthews, 28, is an enormously skilled player. He twice has reached 60 goals in a season and fell one goal shy of 70 in 2023-24.

What he does not have is a record of leadership in the playoffs when games are on the line. In career Game 7s – and once out of the preliminary group stage, every Olympic game is an elimination game – Matthews has not scored a goal in six showdowns, producing just three assists and a minus-4 rating.

MILAN — Despite winning a gold medal, Amber Glenn considered her Winter Olympics debut ‘lackluster.’

The reigning U.S. champion skated for the first time in Milan, competing in the women’s free skate portion of the team event Sunday, Feb. 8. She was shaky on her first two elements in triple Axel and the triple flip-triple toe loop combination, which made for a concerning start to the program. However, she regained control after that and landed her jumps, notably hitting the sequence of the triple loop-double Axel-double Axel.

Glen held on the rest of the way, but didn’t get a great score, earning a 138.62, with 70.91 technical score and 67.71 in the components category. She dropped to third overall after Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto scored a 148.62 for first place. Second place went to Anastasiia Gubanova 140.17.

She left many points on the table and didn’t feel her best, she said.

‘I just did not feel wonderful, like even in the warm ups,’ Glenn said. ‘My leg was just sore, and it’s not an injury, it’s nothing that we need to worry about. It’s just something that I need that rest and recovery time.’

There was a noticeable sense of disappointment from Glenn as she left the ice and heard her score. She knew it was a battle going against Sakamoto, but Gubanova’s exceptional performance put her in a great spot.

‘I feel guilty,’ she said. ‘My team has done so well, and my performance was lackluster. I scored lower than my median and what they were counting on, and I placed lower than what would have been expected.’

It resulted in a tie between the US and Japan at 59 points entering the final event of the night, the men’s free skate. Team USA needed Ilia Malinin to win in order to take home the gold medal, which he did to help secure back-to-back gold medals for the U.S. in the event.

Glenn felt bad for putting more pressure on Malinin to secure the win, but when it was confirmed the U.S. won gold, she picked up Malinin as the rest of the Team USA celebrated.

 ‘I’m so sorry that I had to put this pressure onto him,’ she said. ‘I wish that I could have kept that lead for us, but unfortunately, I lost it.’

Watch Olympic figure skating on Peacock

Glenn is one of the medal contenders in the women’s singles competition, and has a big opportunity to bring Team USA one step closer to a gold medal in the team event for the second consecutive Winter Games.

A day off is likely in store since she has been constantly training, so she thinks she needs some rest now to get her ready for the women’s single. It will be better since it will be a normal competition schedule instead of getting thrusted into the free skate without doing the short program.

Former NFL player and Super Bowl champion Barry Wilburn died early Feb. 6 in a house fire in Tennessee, his family confirmed on Saturday.

Wilburn was 62.

A standout defensive back at Ole Miss, Wilburn was selected in the eighth round of the 1985 NFL draft. He spent the first five years of his NFL career in Washington, where he led the NFL with nine interceptions in 1987 and was named first-team All-Pro.

Wilburn recorded an interception of Denver quarterback John Elway in Washington’s 42-10 victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl 22.

Wilburn also played for the Cleveland Browns in 1992 and for two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995 and 1996.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Breezy Johnson has conquered Cortina. 

The same course that ended her Olympic dreams in 2022 delivered gilded immortality Sunday, as she won the women’s downhill gold medal with a time of 1:36.10. The win came on the same day U.S. teammate Lindsey Vonn suffered a hard crash and was airlifted to a local hospital and just over a week since Vonn ruptured the ACL in her left knee.

Johnson skied sixth in the lineup, her time holding up as the remaining 30 skiers raced. About halfway through the remaining order, while Johnson was still in the winner’s seat, she appeared to be tearing up, realizing she would be an Olympic medalist.

After an emotional medal ceremony, Johnson walked over to the mixed zone with an empty ribbon around her neck, the medal she worked all her life for sitting in her front right coat pocket.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘I was jumping up and down in excitement and it fell off,’ she deadpanned about her newly won gold – the first medal captured by Team USA at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

While sitting with German silver medalist Emma Aicher and Italian bronze medalist Sofia Goggia during the post-event press conference, Johnson playfully warned Aicher, who was holding her medal: ‘Don’t jump.’

Johnson, a two-time Olympian, also made history, becoming the first American woman not named Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual medal in Alpine skiing since Julia Mancuso in 2014 (bronze in super combined).

But one wouldn’t know by Johnson’s cool, casual demeanor after the race. She munched on a chocolate protein bar as she fielded questions from American reporters around 2:40 p.m. local time – her first bit of nourishment since a strudel at 10 a.m, roughly an hour and a half before the race.

Johnson, who turned 30 on Jan. 19, made jokes, but she was earnest when explaining how much this accomplishment meant to her after an injury kept her from competing in the previous Olympics in 2022, and a suspension by the U.S. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for ‘whereabout failures’ kept her off the World Cup circuit in 2024.

‘I think people are jealous of people with Olympic gold medals,’ Johnson said. ‘They’re not necessarily jealous of the journey it took to get those medals. I don’t think my journey is something that many people are envious of. And it’s been a tough road, but sometimes you just have to keep going, because that’s the only option.

‘And if you’re going through hell, you keep walking because you don’t want to just sit around in hell. And sometimes when you keep going, maybe you’ll make it back to the top.’

Johnson suffered a devastating crash at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina during a training run four years ago. The accident partially dislodged a large chunk of cartilage in her right knee. As a result, she had to withdraw from the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games.

She told reporters Feb. 6 ahead of the first downhill training run that she needed to exorcise her Dolomiti demons. She finished that run sixth and won Saturday’s training session that was abbreviated due to weather.

American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin – who is skipping the speed events at these Games to focus on the slalom and giant slalom – was one of the first people to offer congratulations to Johnson.

The two have been friends since they were kids, so Shiffrin was glued to her TV to watch the race.

Another American teammate, Bella Wright, was also blown away by Johnson’s race.

‘I think that this was the best run Breezy’s ever skied,’ said Wright, who finished 21st in the downhill. ‘I’ve seen her ski ever since I was 8 years old. We’ve competed with each other. And today she had some mistakes. She had some wild moments, but she really was so gritty. And I knew it was going to be a hard run to beat.’

On Sunday, Johnson skied down the mountain toward Olympic glory.

The next track she’d like a shot at?

‘I mean, I crashed in Meribel (France),’ Johnson said. ‘I heard the Olympics are there in four years.’

Indeed. The 2030 Winter Olympics are being held in the French Alps.

Olympic women’s downhill results

Breezy Johnson, USA ….. 1:36.10
Emma Aicher, Germany ….. 1:36.14
Sofia Goggia, Italy ….. 1:36.69
Jackie Wiles, USA ….. 1:36.96
Cornelia Huetter, Austria ….. 1:36.96
Laura Pirovano, Italy ….. 1:37.04
Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, Norway ….. 1:37.08
Ariane Raedler, Austria ….. 1:37.20
Kira, Weidle-Winkelmann, Germany ….. 1:37.26
Federica Brignone, Italy ….. 1:37.29
Mirjam Puchner, Austria ….. 1:37.65
Nicol Delago, Italy ….. 1:37.65
Laura Gauche, France ….. 1:37.98
Corinne Suter, Switzerland ….. 1:38.01
Ilka Stuhec, Slovenia ….. 1:38.08
Romane Miradoli, France ….. 1:38.10
Janine Schmitt, Switzerland ….. 1:38.28
Jasmine Flury, Switzerland ….. 1:38.51
Malorie Blanc, Switzerland ….. 1:38.77
Elvedina Muzaferija, Bosnia and Herzegovina ….. 1:38.81
Isabella Wright, USA ….. 1:38.85
Julia Pleshkova, Individual Neutral Athletes ….. 1:39.69
Camille Cerutti, France ….. 1:40.41
Jordina Caminal Santure, Andorra ….. 1:41.34
Barbora Novakova, Czechia ….. 1:41.89
Cassidy Gray, Canada ….. 1:41.99
Matilde Schwencke, Chile ….. 1:43.31
Rosa Pohjolainen, Finland ….. 1:44.08
Alena Labastova, Czechia ….. 1:44.55
Nicole Begue, Argentina ….. 1:44.73
Elisa Maria Negri, Czechia ….. 1:45.48
Anastasiia Shepilenko, Ukraine ….. 1:47.70
Lindsey Vonn, USA ….. DNF
Nina Ortlieb, Austria ….. DNF
Cande Moreno, Andorra ….. DNF
Valerie Grenier, Canada ….. DSQ

Reach USA TODAY Network sports reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.