MILAN \u2014 There\u2019s something endearingly chaotic about the Winter Olympics. This is a collection of sports that could very easily kill you \u2026 and also, curling. So it makes sense that the latest installment of the Winter Games would include one scandal involving skating judging, another involving the crotches of uniforms, and a third involving a scrape of a fingernail. These are the Games where several Olympians got engaged \u2026 and one blew up his relationship right there on the podium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to honor the most (and least) notable performers in the Olympics, the same way we honor the best (and worst) for our American sports back home with our \u201cWinners and Losers\u201d columns. Let\u2019s be honest, though: there aren\u2019t really any \u201closers\u201d in the Olympics, just people who didn\u2019t quite make the podium. So we\u2019ll change it up a bit here, awarding gold, silver and bronze medals to those who deserve it \u2026 and no podium whatsoever for those that don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, please bring out the medals and the little stuffed toys \u2026<\/p>\n
In an Olympics where so many crumbled under the pressure of the rings, Liu laughed \u2026 and then went out and snared gold<\/a>. She\u2019s brought joy and exuberance back to skating, and she might have at least one more Olympics in her to share with the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kidding! The Norwegian cross country skier entered six events and won six gold medals<\/a>. At this Olympics! <\/em>Not only is he on the podium, he is<\/em> the podium. Everybody else, give him your golds. He\u2019s going to win them from you anyway. He is inevitable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes, if you or I ran onto an active Olympic cross country race course and started sniffing the skiers, we\u2019d get in a lot of trouble, but Nazgul the dog got nothing but praise. That\u2019s what happens when you\u2019re a very good boy. Bonus: Nazgul didn\u2019t get himself in trouble with any post-race interviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nazgul started the day as just another Italian dog. He’ll end it as a #WinterOlympics<\/a> legend. \ud83d\ude4c pic.twitter.com\/50H3OWpa8q<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 18, 2026<\/a><\/div>\n Look, when you get three straight fourth-place finishes<\/a> in your final Olympics, you damn sure deserve some kind of medal for that, even if it\u2019s a made-up one. At least Bowe left with a ring courtesy of fiancee Hilary Knight<\/a>, who proposed before the gold medal game. (Wise idea.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Sure, he tapered off a bit at the end, but wouldn\u2019t you? Two golds and a silver<\/a> in speed skating is a pretty solid haul. And when your quads are getting compared<\/a> to Saquon Barkley\u2019s, well, you\u2019re in rare air. Next Olympics, he needs to jump over one of his challengers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The IOC has a difficult role trying to thread the needle of creating a competition where the parties involved don\u2019t get too competitive. The Olympics would be a whole lot easier if nations actually carried through on their promise to leave politics out of the Games. The Olympics would also be a whole lot easier if everybody got a participation trophy instead of a gold medal, too. By its own standards of misfiring, this Olympics wasn\u2019t a catastrophic one for the IOC. But the mishandling of the case of a Ukrainian skeleton pilot\u2019s helmet<\/a>, and the inexplicable decision to sell 1936 Berlin Olympics gear <\/a>on its website marked two more of the IOC\u2019s self-inflicted black eyes. But with Russia eyeing a full return to the Games, the IOC\u2019s real challenges still lie ahead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In ski mountaineering, part of the discipline is climbing up … perfectly crafted stairs. (Christophe Pallot\/Agence Zoom\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n What a weird, glorious sport<\/a>! Skiing uphill, carrying your boots up stairs, skiing downhill! Throw in \u201cwaiting in absurdly long lift lines\u201d and \u201cdrinking way too much right after you get off the mountain\u201d and you\u2019ve got yourself the full skiing experience! No idea if this sport will stick around or not, but we applaud the Olympics for taking chances with new, strange ideas.\u00a0<\/p>\n So close. So very, very close. Amber Glenn missed out on a likely medal by a single missed jump in her short program, then rallied in her longer free skate<\/a> to climb from 13th place all the way up to fifth. It\u2019s one of the real tragedies of the Olympics that once you learn how to handle the pressure of them \u2026 you might be out of chances to compete in them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The best Olympic stories are the surprises, the unknowns who leap from nowhere right to the top of the podium. Just 20 years old, Lemley was expected to be good \u2014 but not this good, this fast. She claimed gold in the moguls event<\/a>, outperforming a much deeper, older, more experienced field. Sometimes Olympic pressure is no pressure at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sturla Holm L\u00e6greid became an instant worldwide sensation\/cautionary tale when he decided to use his bronze medal-winning podium interview to confess to cheating on his girlfriend<\/a> \u2026 after three months. \u201cSix months ago, I met the love of my life, the most beautiful, kindest person in the world. And three months ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life and cheated on her, and I told her about it a week ago.\u201d That\u2019s \u2026 that\u2019s a whole lot to deal with there, Sturla! Here\u2019s another bronze, maybe you can give it to a third party \u2026 we predict you\u2019re going to have some trouble reconnecting with the first two.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sure, her 2026 Olympic experience didn\u2019t last very long, and ended in the most painful and churning way possible<\/a>. But she made it there, she made it onto the top of the mountain, she made it onto the slope \u2014 despite her age, despite her injuries, despite a terrible crash just a week before the Opening Ceremony. That\u2019s as Olympian as it gets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the traditions about the Olympics is the way that the vast majority of America comes parachuting into a sport with ready-made indignant snap judgments \u2014 like, Hey, these figure skating judges sure seem biased!<\/em> \u2014 while the regulars just shake their heads in resignation. Americans raised on football don\u2019t much care for judged sports, but we sure do love to judge the judges<\/a>. Irony, huh?\u00a0<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t exactly a miracle \u2014 Team USA is end-to-end NHL players \u2014- but knocking off Canada 101 seconds into a dramatic 3-on-3 overtime<\/a> wasn\u2019t exactly a Dream Team-esque romp, either. Plus, the way the Americans honored their fallen friend Johnny Gaudreau<\/a> at center ice after the win brought tears along with the smiles.<\/p>\n JACK HUGHES DELIVERS AMERICA’S GOLDEN MOMENT IN OVERTIME. pic.twitter.com\/4foFDOri53<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2026<\/a><\/div>\n Splitting the difference between her gold medal-winning run and her earlier Olympic missteps. Shiffrin is the world\u2019s greatest skater by the numbers, but Olympics ghosts have lived in her head since 2018. She finally evicted them with her final run of the 2026 Milan Cortina games<\/a>, a thoroughly dominant gold medal-winning slalom run that reasserted her dominance over the sport.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n An award purely for her attitude<\/a>. Gu has managed to deftly straddle the line between U.S. and Chinese culture with more skill \u2014 and more profit-taking<\/a> \u2014 than any other public figure. She can leap right over intrusive questions or condescending presumptions and land with more style than anyone in the room. It\u2019s an impressive show \u2026 and that\u2019s very much what it is with Gu, a show.\u00a0<\/p>\n (Michael Kappeler\/picture alliance via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Cortina made for an absolutely gorgeous tableau for all the mountain sports. The Dolomites were a spectacular backdrop \u2026 and a terrifying one, too, when we got a look at the helicopter rescue of Lindsey Vonn. There were logistical problems with buses, of course, and the weather wasn\u2019t always on the Olympics\u2019 side, but still \u2026 what a view.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019re way past the point where it\u2019s weird to see the onetime proponent of smokin\u2019 indo and sippin\u2019 on gin and juice palling around with Martha Stewart. Now, Snoop is just flat-out overexposed, stealing the spotlight from every sport he visits. And he visits every sport<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes, the halfpipe legend won a gold medal, validating an entire career. That\u2019s worthy of praise. But he also revealed that he has the finest motivational slogan we\u2019ve ever heard: \u201cI am greatness, and this is my moment.\u201d Perfect.\u00a0<\/p>\n General view of the Olympic rings outside the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. (Photo by Maja Hitij\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n This is the average of two scores: the gold medal for the very small, but very festive area around the Duomo (that giant cathedral you saw in all the background of all those NBC shots) \u2026 and the anonymous office-park vibe that smothered the skating and hockey arenas. Much of Milan didn\u2019t even appear to notice the Games were happening. But in the area around the Duomo and the Arco della Pace \u2014 the arch where the Olympic flame hung \u2014 you could catch a bit of the classic multicultural Olympic vibe.\u00a0<\/p>\n Every Olympics, America falls in love with curling \u2026 and then forgets all about it right after the torch goes out. It\u2019s a shame, really, because curling is a perfect kind of rec sport \u2014 easy to learn, difficult to master, able to be done while drinking beer. The Canadian curling scandal<\/a> \u2014 don\u2019t touch that rock! \u2014 elevated the sport this year, but the United States\u2019 struggles on the big stage brought it back down to earth a bit. Can a new curling league tide us all over<\/a> until 2030?\u00a0<\/p>\n Well, that didn\u2019t work out so well. The Blade Angels \u2014 Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito \u2014 came skating into the Olympics with some observers suggesting they could sweep the podium. That didn\u2019t come close to happening<\/a>: Liu won gold, but Glenn made a crucial mistake and Levito never really got going. Did NBC (and, uh, other media<\/a>) hype the Blade Angels too much, or did they underachieve? This is one of those cases where two things can be true at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n American Olympic hockey is in a very, very good place right now. The men are NHL players, and playing up to every bit of their potential. But the women \u2026 the women are just flat-out crushing it<\/a>. When you allow only two goals during the entire Olympics, you\u2019re doing something very right. And an overtime gold medal win over Canada? Are you kidding me?<\/p>\n THAT’S HOW YOU FINISH IT. \ud83e\udd47\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8#WinterOlympics<\/a><\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/fvOoRS8j9m<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 19, 2026<\/a><\/div>\n Look, some things are bigger than the law, like fandom. A Slovakian fugitive who\u2019d been on the run from Italian authorities for 16 years over a series of thefts made the ill-fated decision to come to Milan \u2014 which is, in fact, in Italy \u2014 to watch his team play hockey. Italian authorities nabbed him<\/a> when he checked into a campsite in Milan. You\u2019ve got to respect the dedication to his team, though. Maybe he can trade this bronze in prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n We get it, planning a full Olympics is hard work. And nobody ever writes about the medals that don\u2019t fall apart<\/a>. But still \u2026 from finishing the hockey arena literal hours before the start <\/a>of the first game to creating an ice skating medal podium that shredded ice skates<\/a>, the Italian Olympic organizers had some struggles.\u00a0<\/p>\n No matter how ridiculous you thought the \u201ccrotch-gate\u201d scandal involving ski jumping could be, we guarantee you it was better than that.<\/a> From fake junk to penis injection, this was perhaps the perfect Olympic scandal \u2014 hysterical and absurdly well-planned. The only knock is that it blew up a couple years too early; there actually wasn\u2019t any crotch-related skulduggery in the Milan Cortina Olympics. Well, not on the ski jump, at least \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n The Olympics are the ultimate test of physical skill, yes, but they\u2019re also a test of mental fortitude, too \u2026 which is why it\u2019s not enough just to be the most talented skater in the world for the other three years and 50 weeks between the Games. You\u2019ve got to prove it when the torch is lit \u2026 and sadly, world champion Ilia Malinin didn\u2019t get it done in Milan<\/a>, conceding that Olympic pressure got to him. Maybe he\u2019ll fare better in the French Alps \u2026 but he\u2019s got four years to wait.\u00a0<\/p>\n A couple of \u201870s classics have found new life as Olympic anthems \u2014 \u201cFree Bird\u201d for every time Team USA scored one of its (many) goals<\/a>, \u201cCountry Roads\u201d as the Netherlands won one of its (many) speed-skating medals. There\u2019s a reason why these songs have stuck around \u2026 plus, any time playing them is time not playing \u201cSweet Caroline\u201d or that agonizing “Freed from Desire” song (the Euro-singalong one that goes \u201cNa-na-na-na-na-na-naaaaa\u201d). John Denver forever!\u00a0<\/p>\n So there you have it, a wrap on the 2026 Winter Olympics. Congratulations to all the medalists, and better luck in the French Alps to everyone else. Next up: Los Angeles 2028!\u00a0<\/p>\nOff the podium: Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Gold medal: Nazgul the Dog<\/h2>\n
Silver: Brittany Bowe<\/h2>\n
Gold medal: Jordan Stolz<\/h2>\n
Off the podium: The International Olympic Committee<\/h2>\n
Silver medal: Ski Mountaineering<\/h2>\n
Bronze medal: Amber Glenn<\/h2>\n
Gold medal: Liz Lemley<\/h2>\n
Bronze medal: The wayward biathlete\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Gold medal: Lindsey Vonn<\/h2>\n
Off the podium: Figure skating judges<\/h2>\n
Gold medal: The U.S. men\u2019s hockey team<\/h2>\n
Silver medal: Mikaela Shiffrin<\/h2>\n
Bronze medal: Eileen Gu<\/h2>\n
Silver medal: Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo<\/h2>\n
Off the podium: Snoop Dogg<\/h2>\n
Gold medal: Alex Ferreira<\/h2>\n
Bronze medal: Milan<\/h2>\n
Silver medal: Curling<\/h2>\n
Off the podium: The Blade Angels hype<\/h2>\n
Gold medal: Team USA women\u2019s hockey<\/h2>\n
Bronze medal: The Slovakian criminal who loved hockey too much.\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Off the podium: Italian Olympic organizers<\/h2>\n
Silver medal: Crotch-gate<\/h2>\n
Off the podium: Ilia Malinin, Team USA figure skater<\/h2>\n
Gold medal: \u201cFree Bird\u201d and \u201cCountry Roads\u201d<\/h2>\n