The 2026 Milan Winter Olympics finished up this past Sunday and Team USA’s women achieved huge accomplishments. They won 21 medals overall with eight of them being gold.
U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team
The women’s hockey team won their third gold medal this year defeating Canada 2-1. This sport first became an event at the Olympics in 1998, which they won gold. This is the fifth winter olympics in a row that the women’s team has been in the championship game, they last won gold in 2022. They are one of the most highly-recognized hockey teams internationally.
Amber Glenn
Amber Glenn was a part of the team figure skating for the U.S. that won gold. She gained popularity through being the first openly-queer woman to represent the U.S. in singles figure skating. She has used her social media to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and social justice.
Elana Meyers
American bobsledder Elana Meyers has been competing in the winter olympics since 2010. Even though she has three silver and two bronze medals, this year she achieved her first gold medal in monobob. At age 41, she became the oldest gold medal winner in any Winter Olympics individual event.
Alysa liu
20-year-old Alysa Liu came out of retirement and shot to the top with winning gold in figure skating this year. This was the first time in over 20 years that US women have won gold in figure skating. She has become an inspiration for all athletes, especially young females, with her decision to skate only for herself and not have to prove anything to anyone.
fight for equal recognition
Other gold medalists were Elizabeth Lemley for Freestyle Skiing, Team USA Figure Skating, and Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson for Alpine Skiing. Although the women’s team earned over half of the gold medals for Team USA, the US men’s hockey team was exposed for joking with President Trump about their accomplishments.
The US men’s hockey team beat Canada for gold for the first time since 1980. On a phone call after the win, Trump invited the team to the State of the Union to get honored for their win.
“I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team. You do know that,” Trump said.
Every person seen in the video, erupts in laughter after he said that. Afterwards, the women’s team was offered an invite but they declined. This is a clear example of how men are still favored in sports and that women continue to have to fight to prove themselves.