The 2026 Winter Olympic Games took place in Milan, Italy, featuring athletes from over 90 countries. This year, the U.S. sent 232 athletes to compete in the games. They brought back 33 medals total, 12 of them being gold. Every Olympic cycle, certain athletes tend to steal the show with both their athletic prowess and their personable qualities. This year, the Asian-Americans had the monopoly on this. Snowboarder Chloe Kim and figure skater Alysa Liu hit the mark with their skills. They each brought home medals for their respective sports. Additionally, although skier Eileen Gu did not represent Team USA, she earned the respect of many Americans for her hard work and self-confidence.
As a previous snowboarding half-pipe champion, Chloe Kim had a lot of expectations to meet. At the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, she became the youngest halfpipe gold medalist at the time, at 17. She did not disappoint this year at Milano-Cortina, bringing back a silver medal. Although she ended her gold streak, she still became the first female snowboarder to medal in three consecutive half-pipe competitions.
Despite losing to South Korea’s Gaon Choi, she showed nothing but respect for her and her achievements. Choi has since been a force to be reckoned with and has credited Kim for helping her to get where she is today. She is now the current record holder for the youngest snowboarding half-pipe champion. Even though Kim was unable to perform at her best due to a shoulder injury, her sportsmanship showcased what it really means to be a competitor. Being able to step back and congratulate others on their accomplishments is a key part of being such an elite athlete.
One of the most prominent occurrences during the games was the ultimate comeback of Alysa Liu. After the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, Liu retired from skating at the age of 16. In many interviews she has explained that her retirement was a result of burnout and wanting to live a normal teenage life that she felt that she was missing out on. However, after a ski trip in 2024 she got the adrenaline rush that she had once gotten from skating. From that moment on, she had her sights set on competing in the 2026 games. This time, she was competing on her own terms.
To her, this meant being in charge of her coaching, diet, and program. Following this regimen led her to become a World Champion and an Olympic gold medalist. Her story challenges the fundamentals of competitive sports training. She has showcased that you don’t have to destroy your body and mind to be successful. This is very apparent in her short program to Laufey’s song “Promise” and her free skate to Donna Summer’s “McArthur Park.” Her joy is palpable, even through the screen, and her effortless movements indicate that she’s unbothered and having the time of her life by simply performing. Liu will continue to serve as a testament to all athletes that competing can be fun.
While Eileen Gu didn’t represent the U.S. during the Olympics, her accomplishments as a free skier should not be gone unnoticed. She is the most decorated free-skiier, across all categories, in Olympic history by earning 3 medals to bring her total up to 6. One of her most prominent moments from Olympics wasn’t her performance on the slope, rather how she conducted herself in a particular interview. After winning silver in the freeski slopestyle event, an interviewer asked Gu if she viewed her performance as, “two silvers gained, or two golds lost.”
Gu responded by reiterating her accomplishments thus far and explaining that achieving any medal is a feat in itself, and doing that multiple times is even more impressive. While this response may seem prickly to some, I think it was an appropriate response. Women athletes are often asked inappropriate questions by the media that would never be asked of a man. By Gu not playing along with it, she sets a precedent for interviewers to be more mindful of their questions.
As an Asian-American, I hardly saw any representation while growing up. I am extremely happy to see now that there are so many accomplished Asian women in American media that young girls can look up to.
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!