From the start of the Olympics on February sixth to the end on the twenty-second, the United States has accumulated a total of 33 medals. Out of the 33, 12 were gold medals, 12 were silver and nine were bronze. The sports that the United States earned the most medals in were Freestyle Skiing (eight medals), Speed Skating (five medals) and Alpine Skiing (four medals).
Out of the 16 days the Olympics ran, some were especially extraordinary. On Sunday, February eighth, Breezy Johnson competed in the Women’s Downhill Alpine Skiing event. She won, effectively receiving the first American gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Adding onto the celebration, it was her first-ever Olympic medal. Soon after winning gold, on February 12, Johnson was proposed to. She was competing in the super-G event, but crashed and did not finish. Nonetheless, the day ended up being a good one, as her partner knelt down in the finish area of the event and proposed. It was a dream come true for Johnson, as, according to NBC News, she stated, “I mean, that was my hope!” when asked if she had ever wanted to get engaged and win gold at the same Olympics.
Another amazing day for the United States at the Olympics was February 19, when Alysa Liu won the gold in the Women’s Single Free Skate. Completing a dazzling routine to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park”, the 20-year-old beat out the competition, coming first with a score of 226.79 points. She won against second place, Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, by just 1.89 points, and third place, Japan’s Ami Nakai, by 7.63 points. The victory became a historic one, as she broke the 24-year streak of the United States not winning a gold medal in Women’s Figure Skating. Not only did she win in the singles event, she also contributed to the gold medal win in the team event. She, along with Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates and pairs Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea all competed and placed high enough collectively for the team gold.
Near the end of the event were the hockey finals. Both the Women’s and Men’s teams competed against Canada in the finals, and both teams went into overtime to beat Canada with scores of two to one. For the Women’s team, winning gold was an exciting reclamation. Out of the seven previous gold medals awarded for Women’s Ice Hockey, five have gone to Canada and two to the United States. For the men’s team, it was also an exhilarating moment to win, as their most recent win before 2026 was in 1980.
Overall, the 2026 Winter Olympics were a success for the United States. The U.S. showed diversity, competing in 11 different sports. There were some misfortunes, but in general, most events went well.
The next Winter Olympics will take place in France in 2030.
