Everyone loves a storybook ending, right?
If you’re one of those people, Wednesday’s Milan Cortina Olympics were for you.
Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic journey came to an inspirational close. The U.S. men’s hockey team set the table for a potential podium for the first time since 2010, inching one step closer to its goal of gold. And no matter what country you’re rooting for, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo’s dominance in these Winter Games is incredibly entertaining.
There were six medal events Wednesday, with the U.S. taking home one gold and one silver. Here’s a recap of some of the day’s notable moments (and if you’d rather follow along live, you can do that here and check the medal count as you go):
Mikaela Shiffrin seals Olympic legacy with historic slalom gold
In her final event of the 2026 Olympics, Shiffrin punctuated her storied Winter Games career in a way that only legendary athletes can. Not only did Shiffrin take the gold, but she took it in style — the two-time gold medalist in women’s slalom won by a difference of 1.50 seconds, the largest margin in any alpine skiing event this century. Her win makes her the first U.S. skier to win three gold medals (her other gold was in giant slalom in 2018, the last time she won an Olympic medal).
In her first run, her .82-second lead over Germany’s Lena Duerr (who ultimately did not finish) was the largest advantage in Olympic slalom since 1960. With her win, the 30-year-old Shiffrin is now both the youngest and oldest skier to take home slalom gold — her first victory was when she was 18, at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. Switzerland and Sweden took silver and bronze, respectively.
The victory was thrilling, but it’s her legacy that shines even brighter than her newest gold medal. It’s been eight years since Shiffrin’s last Olympic podium. In the combined alpine team event over a week ago, Shiffrin finished 15th in the slalom portion of the race and finished fourth overall with the team. She also finished 11th in the giant slalom event three days ago. Despite being the winningest skier in the world with 108 World Cup wins, 71 of which were in slalom, her recent string of what some call underperformances — if five consecutive World Cup slalom wins in 2025 can be considered as such — was surprising to many. Wednesday, her combined time of 1 minute, 39.10 seconds told a very different story — a story of overcoming pressure, of persistence, and of a career defined by true greatness.
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates her first Olympic gold since 2018. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Team USA survives quarterfinals overtime against Sweden
Just seconds away from a semifinal bid, the U.S. men’s hockey team had to reckon with a twist of fate. His name was Mika Zibanejad.
Dylan Larkin scored the first goal for Team USA in the second period and was 1 minute, 31 seconds away from securing his team a date with Slovakia in Friday’s semifinal round. But Sweden’s Zibanejad had a different idea of how the story should go and tied it in the 11th hour of regulation to force overtime.
Ultimately, it was Quinn Hughes (not to be confused with his brothers and fellow NHL Hugheses, Jack of Team USA and Luke of the New Jersey Devils) who decided the fate of the American team. Hughes declined a substitute before firing the winning shot past goaltender Jacob Markström 3:27 into OT to give the U.S. a 2-1 win.
Out of the four men’s quarterfinal games Wednesday, three were decided in OT. Earlier in the day, the Canadian team beat the Czechs 4-3 in overtime, and Finland overcame Switzerland 3-2. Slovakia’s 6-2 victory over Germany was the largest margin of victory on the day.
All three game-winning extra time goals were scored by current NHL players: Finland’s Artturi Lehkonen (Colorado Avalanche), U.S.’s Quinn Hughes (Minnesota Wild) and Canada’s Mitch Marner (Vegas Golden Knights). Zibanejad, who tied the game for Sweden, also plays in the NHL for the New York Rangers.
The U.S. will face Slovakia in the semifinals Friday, with the winner advancing to Sunday’s gold medal game.
Speaking of hockey happily-ever-afters, U.S. women’s hockey star Hilary Knight proposed to a fellow Olympian, speedskater Brittany Bowe, on Wednesday. They met at the Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018.
Quinn Hughes’ overtime goal decided the quarterfinal game against Sweden. (Alexander Nemenov / Pool via Getty Images)
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo takes home 10th career gold medal
Holding the most gold medals in Winter Olympics history, Klæbo earned the 10th Olympic gold of his career by taking the men’s cross-country team sprint. His and teammate Einar Hedegart’s time of 18 minutes, 28.98 seconds outpaced the U.S. silver medalists Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher by 1.37 seconds. Italy took home the bronze.
Klæbo has already won five golds for his home country of Norway in these Games. And he’s not done yet — Klæbo is set to compete in the men’s 50km event this weekend. Another gold would break American Eric Heiden’s record of five golds in one Games.
In other cross-country news, medal hopefuls Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern did not reach the podium in the women’s team sprint, finishing fifth.
Photo-finish 500m speedskating gold goes to Canada
Steve Dubois was first into the opening corner of the race, taking a lead he would never relinquish. But his margin for error was razor-thin.
Brothers Melle and Jans van ‘t Wout of the Netherlands skated hard in the final lap to close in on Dubois, with Melle finishing just .06 seconds after the Canadian. Dubois won his first individual gold for his time of 40.85 seconds, his fifth career Olympic gold and second medal of the Games, paired with the silver he won in the mixed relay event.
Melle van ‘t Wout’s silver is the first medal for the Netherlands in the men’s 500m event, quite a feat for his Olympic debut. Jens’s bronze is his third in Milan Cortina, having already won gold in the 1000m and 1500m events.
Steve Dubois finished just 0.06 seconds ahead of Dutch duo Melle and Jens van ‘t Wout. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images)
