2026 Winter Olympic Games: Major Updates, Viral Moments Through Day 13

2026 Winter Olympic Games

• February 4 – February 22, 2026
• Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
• Event Website
• Schedule

It was a lucky day 13 for the United States as their women saw two monumental gold medal wins (more on that to come), while several other nations saw impressive results over the last several days.

Through 13 days of competition, Norway still sits atop the medal table, holding a commanding 34 medals total including 16 golds. That gold medal count leads all countries by a wide margin, as the U.S. and Italy sit tied with the 2nd-most golds with 9 each. While the U.S. and Italy are tied for golds, the United States sits ahead of the host country on the overall medal table, with 27 total including 9 golds, 12 silvers, and 6 bronzes. Notably, 27 different nations currently hold at least 1 medal with a few days left to compete. For reference, at the 2022 Olympics, 29 countries walked away with at least 1 medal.

Medal Table Through Day 13

Event Highlights

Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo Wins 10th Olympic Gold

• Before this year, there was a very short list of athletes who have won over 10 Olympic gold medals in either the Summer or Winter Olympic Games: Michael Phelps. Well, Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo added his name to that list with his performances this year, picking up his 10th gold medal with a victory in the men’s team sprint for cross country skiing alongside his Norwegian teammate Einar Hedegart. At just these Games, Klaebo has picked up gold in every event he’s competed in to total 5 medals, with the 50km mass start event still left to occur. If he were to win that event and add a 6th gold, he would join multiple swimmers in Phelps, Mark Spitz, and Kritin Otto, along with gymnast Vitaly Scherbo as the only athletes to ever achieve that feat.

After Returing From Retirement, Alysa Liu Wins Figure Skating Gold

• After representing the U.S. at the 2022 Olympic Games, then-16-year-old Alysa Liu found herself at a crossroads. Having completed her goal of competing in the Olympic Games and feeling satisfied with her results, she decided to retire from the sport of figure skating despite being at the height of her career up to that point. However, in 2024, Liu announced her intentions to return to the sport on her self described “own terms”: no starving herself to maintain a slimmer appearance, getting a say in her music selection, and prioritizing the need to have fun at competitions. While rather unconventional in a very traditional sport like figure skating, Liu’s terms paid their dividends as she returned to the Olympic stage and captured the gold medal in the women’s singles. Significant in its own right to Liu’s career, the victory also marks the first time an American woman has won the event in 24 years.

Ski Mountaineering Makes Olympic Debut

• Like swimming will see in 2028, skiing saw another event added to its schedule for these Olympics with ski mountaineering, a rapid-fire racing style consisting of both uphill and downhill sections, finally making its Olympic debut. In the men’s event, Oriol Cardona Coll of Spain claimed the first-ever Olympic gold in the event in a time of 2:34.03, just 1.5 seconds ahead of the field. The women’s event was won by Swiss world champion Marianne Fatton, who defeated heavy favorite Emily Harrop of France in a time of 2:59.77.

Ning Zhongyan Takes Down Favorite in Speed Skating Olympic Record Fashion

• China’s Ning Zhongyan topped a loaded field in the men’s 1500 speed skating event in Olympic Record fashion to claim his first gold medal. Entering the competition, it was American Jordan Stolz who was the favorite to win as Stolz had already picked-up golds in both the 500m and 1000m distances. However, in a final that saw all 4 of the top finishers dip under the Olympic Record, it was Zhongyan who managed to put together a nearly flawless performance to claim the gold in a time of 1:41.98.

U.S. Women’s Hockey Downs Canada

• In the gold medal game for women’s hockey, the United States managed to hold-off Canada in a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory. While Canada took the early 1-0 lead over the U.S., a decision by the American coaches to pull goalie Aerin Frankel in favor of an extra attacker paid off as Hilary Knight scored a game-tying shot to send the competition into overtime. The overtime round proved to be even more exciting than the regulation periods as the teams exchanged shots on net. Yet, it was the Megan Keller from the USA who landed the final goal to seal the deal for the American women as they reclaimed their gold medal from the 2018 Olympics after loosing it in 2022.

Mikaela Shiffrin Wins First Olympic Medal Since 2018

• Not only did American Mikaela Shiffrin win her first Olympic medal since 2018, she also took home a gold for the first time since 2014. Shiffrin, often regarded as the G.O.A.T. of slalom skiing won her first Olympic gold medal in the event back in 2014 at the Sochi Olympics in Russia. Since then, she’s amounted over 100 World Cup victories and 7 World Championship wins. However, she was never able to climb back atop the podium at the Olympics until today, over 12 years later. That 12-year gap marks the longest gap ever between gold medals in the same event by a Winter Olympics athlete. Notably, the longest gap between golds for the Summer Olympics belongs to swimmer Anthony Ervin, who won the 50 freestyle in 2000 and 2016.

Germany Sweeps Podium in Two-Man Bobsleigh

• The German bobsleigh team accomplished a huge feat in the two-man event, posting a sweep of the podium. The German contigent was led by the duo of Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer, who claimed gold in the event with a final combined time of 3:39.70 across all three runs. Countrymates Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schuller took 2nd despite being the favorites entering the competition, with young stars Adam Ammour and Alexander Schaller taking home the bronze.

Viral Moments

Dog Steals the Spotlight at Skiing Event

• During one of the cross country skiing events, fans were amused when a dog joined in on the race, actually crossing the finish line with competitors. According to reports, the dog is named Nazgul and lives nearby the course. On that day, he happened to escape the house between two open doors and became an Olympic legend. Fortunately, a majority of the competitors in the race had already finished when Nazgul joined the pack, so his presence had minimal impact on the overall results.

@bleacherreport

A dog crashed the Olympics 😭 🐶 @Molly Morrison #olympics #dog #winterolympics #dogs

♬ original sound – bleacherreport

Winn Brothers Take Cheering to a New Level

• With the women’s hockey officially wrapping up and the US taking home the gold medal, Haley Winn has a lot to celebrate. However, her brothers have taken that to an extreme, going viral for their unique costumes and antics at their sister’s games.

@nbcsports

Winn Brothers: AMERICA’S HYPE TEAM. 🇺🇸

♬ original sound – NBC Sports