This year’s quadrennial Winter Olympics were held in Milano Cortina.
They are set to be the most gender-balanced in history, with roughly 1,362 women competing among 2,900 athletes, with 50 dedicated women’s events.
Key disciplines for women include outstanding performances in figure skating, ice hockey, and snowboarding.
In Team USA, women outperformed their male counterparts winning 17 total medals compared to the 12 the men won.
8 out of the 12 gold medals the team scored were also won by the women on Team USA.
Figure Skating
Team USA women won the gold medal for figure skating. The standout performer this year was 20-year-old Alysa Liu from Oakland, California.
She competed multiple times across this year’s Olympics. Liu outperformed herself since the first time she competed in 2022 in Beijing.
Most notably, she won the Women’s Singles event, securing the first gold medal for Team USA in this event since 2002.
However, her comeback story is what has inspired many fans.
Shockingly, Liu retired at just 16 years old shortly after competing in the last Winter Olympics.
She took time to rebuild her mental health and relationship with the sport and spent the last two years preparing for her comeback run.
Her positive and passionate attitude for the sport contributes to her fresh energy on the ice.
Before conquering the Olympic stage, Liu won the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships with her standout short program to Laufey’s song “Promise.”
26-year-old Amber Glenn debuted at this year’s Olympics. She was another remarkable figure skater on Team USA’s women’s team who contributed to the gold medal for the Team Event.
Ice Hockey
Women’s ice hockey was another one of the most exciting and competitive events in this year’s Winter
Olympics, with the tournament taking place from Feb. 5 to Feb. 19.
Ten different countries qualified through the International Ice Hockey Federation, which created a strong and competitive field of teams.
The gold medal game once again featured the long-standing rivalry between the United States women’s team and the Canadian women’s team, with Team USA winning gold in a 2-1 OT victory.
Earlier in the third period, team captain Hilary Knight tied the game and helped send the teams into overtime, which assisted defense player Megan Keller who scored the winning goal.
There were also several historic moments during the tournament.
Laila Edwards became the first Black American woman to win Olympic gold in ice hockey, marking an important milestone for the sport.
Other countries’ teams had impressive performances, as well.
Switzerland women’s national ice hockey team won the bronze medal after defeating Sweden’s national ice hockey team 2-1 in overtime.
The win showed how competitive the tournament has become, with multiple countries continuing to improve and challenge the traditional powerhouses.
Even after the Olympics ended, the women’s team continued to receive recognition for their success.
When players like Knight and Keller appeared on Saturday Night Live, the audience gave them a long round of applause celebrating their championship win.
The moment showed just how much attention and respect women’s hockey has gained after such an exciting Olympic tournament.
The women’s hockey competition was one of the highlights of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Overall, the 2026 Winter Olympics was packed with heated rivalries, but the women came out on top.
Specifically for Team USA, the women made history at the Olympics with their gold medal streak after a two decade long medal drought.
