Friday at the Milan Cortina Olympics proved quite thrilling for Team USA, securing a gold in the men’s freeski halfpipe event and an additional medal in the women’s 1,500m short track speedskating.
Furthermore, Norway established a new benchmark for the highest number of gold medals achieved in a single Winter Olympics, as Johannes Dale-Skjevdal triumphed in the men’s 15km mass start biathlon. The Norwegian team has accumulated 17 gold medals during the 2026 Winter Games.
Presented below are five significant updates from the fourteenth day of the Milan Cortina Olympics:
United States men’s ice hockey dominates Slovakia; Canada to be challenged in gold medal match
The United States men’s ice hockey squad is guaranteed a medal upon departing Milan, having overcome Slovakia with a 6-2 victory in Friday’s semifinal encounter. This marks the Americans’ inaugural medal in the sport since the 2010 Vancouver Games.
However, Team USA is aiming for gold — possibly their initial one since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” contingent secured the top spot — and their unavoidable confrontation with Canada is scheduled for Sunday’s gold medal contest. Team Canada faced greater difficulty reaching the final, initially trailing Finland 2-0 before mounting a comeback to win 3-2.
Be sure to be awake early on Sunday! The puck will be dropped for the U.S. and Canada game at 8:10 a.m. ET.
Female curling squad suffers defeat to Switzerland in semifinal round
Securing victories against Switzerland in back-to-back contests proved an insurmountable challenge for Team USA on Friday. Following their triumph over Switzerland the previous day to reach the semifinals, Team USA fell to the Swiss squad 7-4 on Friday.
The Swiss team showcased robust defensive play, restricting Team USA to a mere single point in each end where they managed to score. Switzerland furthermore held onto the hammer, compelling several ends to conclude without points, thus retaining the decisive final stone.
Despite the U.S. attempting to create difficulties in the tenth end, Switzerland successfully performed its hammer throw, acquiring two points to secure the win.
Consequent to this defeat, Team USA is scheduled to compete against Canada for the bronze medal on Saturday.
Alex Ferreira achieves gold in the men’s halfpipe event
Participating in his third (and probably last) Winter Olympics, American halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira secured a hard-to-get gold medal in the men’s halfpipe discipline. This gold adds to his silver from PyeongChang in 2018 and bronze from Beijing in 2022. Executing a 1620 spin during his concluding run (which garnered a 93.75 score), Ferreira, aged 31, surpassed Estonia’s Henry Sildaru, only 19, by .75 points. Brendan Mackay of Canada claimed the bronze medal.
Team USA almost claimed two podium positions; however, Nick Goepper suffered a significant tumble near the halfpipe’s edge while attempting his ultimate maneuver. If he had secured a medal, Goepper would have made history as the first male freeskier to medal in both halfpipe and slopestyle. Prior to transitioning to halfpipe, he earned silver in Beijing and PyeongChang, along with bronze in Sochi for slopestyle.
Corinne Stoddard secures bronze in the women’s 1,500m short track speedskating event
Team USA further expanded its total speedskating medals as Corinne Stoddard achieved bronze in the women’s 1,500 meters short track competition. This bronze medal by Stoddard represents the initial short track medal claimed by the U.S. since 2018.
Participating in her second Winter Games, Stoddard surpassed her seventh-place result from Beijing in the 1,500 meters, clocking a 2:32.578 time in Milan. This performance edged out China’s Jingru Yang for the bronze. South Korea occupied the premier two positions on the podium, with Kim Gilli (2:32.076) securing gold and Choi Minjeong (2:32.450) earning silver.
Brittany Bowe concludes her last Olympic competition in fourth place
Speedskater Brittany Bowe was presented with a conclusive chance to claim a medal in Milan Cortina during what is probably her final Winter Olympics. Participating in the long track speedskating 1,500 meters discipline, Bowe, at 37, initiated with considerable momentum but failed to sustain her speed and was ultimately surpassed.
Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong from the Netherlands achieved the gold medal, succeeded by Ragne Wiklund of Norway with silver, and Valerie Maltais of Canada earning bronze. Bowe ended in fourth position, failing to reach the podium for the third occasion at the 2026 Games. Despite this, her Olympics were noteworthy, as she became engaged to U.S. women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight prior to Team USA’s gold medal win on Thursday.
Daily standout moment
Tage Thompson established a 2-0 advantage for the U.S. men’s ice hockey squad by launching a shot from a challenging perspective. Positioned almost parallel to the goal, Thompson received a wide pass from Jack Eichel and discovered an opening between the right pad of Slovakia’s netminder Stanislav Skorvanek and the goalpost.
A concluding note
Lindsey Vonn has presently become the real-world embodiment of the 1970s television persona Jamie Sommers in 2026.
“I genuinely am bionic presently,” Vonn stated on her social media platform subsequent to revealing a scan of her fractured left leg, displaying the numerous plates and screws surgeons utilized to mend the damage. Vonn sustained the leg fracture in an accident during her downhill run on February 8th and required helicopter transport from the course. Following multiple surgical procedures in Italy, she traveled back to the United States earlier this week.
In the 1970s television program “The Bionic Woman,” Lindsay Wagner depicted a professional tennis player who incurred severe wounds during a skydiving incident and was given bionic prosthetics by a governmental organization. Subsequently, she transforms into a part-time agent, undertaking assignments with her amplified capacities.
There has been no indication as to whether Vonn will transition into a clandestine operative now that her professional skiing career is presumably concluded. However, should such an event occur, would she inform the public?
