Winter Olympics Live Updates: Busy Medal Day Ahead at Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

Team USA made an immediate impact at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, securing two gold medals on Sunday, February 8. The victories place the United States among the early leaders as competition continues across Italy.

Breezy Johnson delivered the first gold for the U.S. in the women’s Alpine skiing downhill. Her performance marked a major milestone in the early days of the Games and set a strong tone for the American delegation.

Medal Count Update

As of Thursday morning, Norway has taken the lead with 7 gold medals and 14 overall. The United States currently has 4 gold medals, 7 silver and 3 gold for 14 overall, while several nations remain tightly grouped as competition continues.

• Norway: 14 total medals (7 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze)

• Italy: 16 total medals (6 gold, 2 silver, 8 bronze)

• United States: 14 total medals (4 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze)

• Germany: 9 total medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)

• Sweden: 8 total medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)

• Switzerland: 7 total medals (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)

• Austria: 12 total medals (3 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze)

• France: 8 total medals (3 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze)

• Japan: 10 total medals (2 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze)

• Netherlands: 4 total medals (1 gold, 3 silver)

• South Korea: 3 total medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

• Czech Republic: 2 total medals (1 gold, 1 silver)

• Slovenia: 2 total medals (1 gold, 1 silver)

• Australia: 1 total medal (1 gold)

• Canada: 6 total medals (3 silver, 3 bronze)

• China: 3 total medals (1 silver, 2 bronze)

• New Zealand: 2 total medals (1 silver, 1 bronze)

• Latvia: 1 total medal (1 silver)

• Poland: 1 total medal (1 silver)

• Bulgaria: 2 total medals (2 bronze)

• Belgium: 1 total medal (1 bronze)

• Finland: 1 total medal (1 bronze)

Completed events: 42 of 116

With over 10 days of events still ahead, the medal standings are expected to shift significantly as marquee competitions unfold.

Full Slate of Medal Events

The Olympic schedule remains packed, with multiple medal events taking place today. Titles are set to be decided in women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle, men’s combined slalom, women’s 1,000-meter speedskating, individual men’s normal hill ski jumping, and women’s snowboard big air.

In men’s combined slalom, River Radamus and Kyle Negomir are representing the United States as they compete for a potential podium finish. The event combines speed and technical precision, making consistency across runs critical.

On the ice, Americans Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe are set to skate in the women’s 1,000-meter speedskating final. Bowe enters the race holding the world record in the distance, while Jackson is the reigning Olympic champion in the 500 meters and one of Team USA’s flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony.

Figure Skating and Snow Sports Continue

Figure skating ice dance begins with the rhythm dance segment, where Madison Chock and Evan Bates are among the American teams competing. The pair enters the event fresh off a gold medal in the team competition.

The second gold came in figure skating, where the U.S. team successfully defended its Olympic title from the 2022 Winter Games. Ilia Malinin played a pivotal role during the men’s free skate portion of the event, drawing attention for landing a backflip on one leg during his program.

The figure skating team victory reinforced the United States’ strength in the sport and added momentum heading into individual events later in the week.

Off the ice, Canadian figure skater Madeline Schizas shared a moment highlighting the realities of being a student-athlete. Schizas, who studies at McMaster University, recently posted about asking her professor for an extension on coursework while competing at the Olympics. Days later, she shared a photo of her sociology professor watching her skate on the Olympic stage, which she reposted to social media.

Mary Carillo to Fill In for Savannah Guthrie at Opening Ceremony

NBC Sports announced that Mary Carillo will fill in for Savannah Guthrie as co-host of the Olympic opening ceremony alongside Terry Gannon. Guthrie will remain in the U.S. as the search continues for her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who has been missing in Arizona. NBC Olympics executive producer Molly Solomon said Carillo will help guide viewers through the ceremony as one of the network’s most experienced Olympic commentators.

Franco Nones Named Olympic Flag Bearer for Italy

Italy’s Franco Nones, the country’s first Olympic gold medalist in cross-country skiing, will carry the Olympic flag during Friday’s opening ceremony in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Nones, who won gold in the 30 km event at the 1968 Grenoble Games, will share the honor with Italian short-track skater Martina Valcepina. Nones turns 85 this week and called the role “a great honor.”

Vonn Eyes Historic Olympic Medal Run

Lindsey Vonn said she intends to compete in all three of her scheduled Alpine events at the Milan Cortina Games as she attempts to become the oldest Olympic medalist in Alpine skiing. Vonn is entered in the downhill, super-G, and team combined events and said her plans will depend on how her knee responds during upcoming training runs. This marks her fifth Olympic appearance.

Curling Sets the Tone

Curling provided the first competitive moments of the Milan-Cortina Games, with four mixed doubles matches played to open the round-robin stage of the tournament.

The results were as follows:

• Sweden defeated South Korea 10–3

• Great Britain edged Norway 8–6

• Canada beat Czechia 10–5

• Switzerland defeated Estonia 9–7 in an extra end

Mixed doubles curling is known for its fast pace and vocal communication, with teammates constantly calling sweeping instructions to control the stone’s speed and direction. That dynamic was on full display as Switzerland’s Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann guided her team through a tight contest.

Schwaller-Huerlimann and her husband and teammate Yannick Schwaller secured their victory in an extra end, celebrating afterward with their young son, who joined them on the ice holding a curling broom. Schwaller-Huerlimann competed in world championships while pregnant last year.

Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat claimed the nation’s first win of the Games with their narrow victory over Norway, while Canada delivered a decisive performance against Czechia to open its campaign.

With four matches completed, curling became the first sport to put official results on the board at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Snow Forces Alpine Training Delay

Weather also played a role on the opening day. Organizers canceled the first scheduled downhill training session for alpine skiing due to heavy snowfall.

While snow is essential for winter sports, the volume that fell Wednesday and overnight left course crews without enough time to properly prepare the downhill track for athletes reaching speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.

American skier Lindsey Vonn, who plans to race Sunday while managing a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, will now have to wait until Friday to complete at least one required training run before competition.

Russian Hackers Target Olympic-Linked Sites

Italian officials also confirmed several cyberattacks tied to a pro-Russia hacking group targeting Olympic-related infrastructure.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the hacker group NoName launched low-level distributed denial-of-service attacks against websites connected to the Games, including a four-star hotel in Cortina. The group reportedly claimed responsibility on a Telegram channel, saying the attacks were in retaliation for Italy’s support of Ukraine.

The U.S. Justice Department has previously identified NoName as a Russian state-sponsored hacking group. DDoS attacks typically overwhelm websites with traffic, temporarily knocking services offline without causing permanent damage.

Russia has been barred from Olympic participation due to doping violations and its invasion of Ukraine, and cybersecurity experts have long warned of heightened digital threats surrounding major international sporting events.

Early Signals of a Complex Games

With competition already underway, weather disrupting schedules, and cyber concerns emerging, the Milan-Cortina Olympics are showing signs of the logistical and security challenges that often accompany global sporting events.

For now, curling has delivered the first results, the opening ceremony looms, and organizers continue balancing preparation with the realities of hosting the world’s biggest winter sports stage.

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