Milano Cortina 2026 wasn’t remembered for one single headline. It was remembered because the Games kept delivering moments that felt impossible to ignore: record-setting dominance, rivalry games that turned into overtime classics, and controversies so strange they spread far beyond sports fans. From Klæbo rewriting Olympic history to USA Hockey sweeping Canada in back-to-back OT finals, these are the twelve highlights people still debate, replay, and argue about long after the medals have been handed out.

1) Klæbo’s Six-Gold Sweep In Cross-Country

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo pulled off a clean sweep that still sounds unreal: he won gold in all six men’s cross-country events at Milano Cortina 2026, the first athlete to take six golds at a single Winter Games. He capped it with the 50 km classic and, in the process, pushed his career Winter Olympic gold total to eleven, the all-time record. Different formats, different tactics, same result: Klæbo in front, Norway roaring, rivals racing for silver. Fans kept clipping the footage, arguing tactics, and ranking it against past Winter Games moments. Fans kept clipping the footage, arguing tactics, and ranking it against past Winter Games moments.

2) Norway’s Record Medal-Table Domination

Norway’s team performance was the Games’ most relentless storyline. The official medal table lists Norway with forty-one total medals and eighteen gold medals, both cited as single-Games records. Olympics.com shows the United States in second with thirty-three total medals, but Norway’s gold count created a gap that never closed. What made it feel inevitable was the spread: different venues, different sports, same flag on the podium. By the final weekend, rivals weren’t chasing Norway anymore. They were chasing the remaining airtime for their own moments. The Guardian noted how Norway did it despite a far smaller population, which only fed the legend.

3) USA Men Win Olympic Hockey Gold In Overtime Vs Canada

The men’s ice hockey final delivered the rivalry fans want most: the United States vs. Canada for gold, decided in overtime. The game ended 2–1 after a 1–1 regulation tie. ESPN reported the regulation goals came from Matt Boldy for the U.S. and Cale Makar for Canada, setting up three-on-three overtime. Then Jack Hughes buried the winner on a feed from Zach Werenski, and NHL reporting put the strike at 1:41 of OT. Reuters and USA Hockey framed it as historic: the U.S. men won their first Olympic hockey gold since 1980. Reuters later said the broadcast averaged about 26 million U.S. viewers and set an early-start record. The NHL also noted Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves.

4) USA Women Win Olympic Hockey Gold In Overtime Vs Canada

The women’s gold-medal game matched the men’s drama: the United States vs. Canada, 2–1 in overtime. Reuters reported Canada led on Kristin O’Neill’s shorthanded goal, but U.S. captain Hilary Knight tied it late in the third period, setting up extra time. In overtime, Megan Keller scored the winner, and the NHL’s recap specified it was a backhand at 4:07 of OT. Aerin Frankel stopped thirty shots, helping the U.S. finish the tournament undefeated. The twin overtime wins by the U.S. men and women became a single storyline fans couldn’t stop replaying, down to the matching 2–1 score line. Reuters also noted that Knight broke the U.S. record for Winter Olympic goals with the tying strike.

5) Alysa Liu Wins Women’s Singles Figure Skating Gold

Alysa Liu’s women’s singles title became a breakout moment, not just a medal. After stepping away from elite competition following Beijing 2022, she returned and arrived in Milan with pressure. Liu trailed after the short program, then delivered a free skate that won the segment and lifted her to Olympic gold. People reported her free skate was set to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park,” and it flipped the standings in real time. Coverage stressed the contrast: she looked relaxed and joyful while landing the hardest elements. It also made Liu the first American woman since 2002 to win Olympic gold in women’s singles figure skating. Retired at sixteen, she returned in 2024 and won.

6) Eileen Gu’s Three Medals And All-Time Freeski Record

Eileen Gu left Milano Cortina 2026 with another three-medal haul. She won gold in women’s halfpipe and added silver medals in slopestyle and big air, giving her three podiums at these Games. Olympics.com wrote that her Big Air silver secured a record fifth Olympic freeski medal, and after the halfpipe win, she finished with six Olympic medals across Beijing 2022 and Milano Cortina 2026. People reported she dedicated the halfpipe gold after learning of her grandmother’s death, making the press conference as memorable as the run. Fans kept discussing her because she medaled in all three freeski disciplines again, not just one event.

7) Lucas Pinheiro Braathen Wins Giant Slalom Gold For Brazil

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen produced one of the Games’ most historic results in alpine skiing. On 14 February, he won men’s giant slalom gold for Brazil, and Olympics.com described it as Brazil’s first-ever Winter Olympic medal and the first medal for South America at the Winter Olympics. The backstory amplified it: he was Norwegian-born, returned from retirement, switched eligibility to ski for his mother’s country, and then beat a field stacked with European powers. The win landed as more than just a race result. It felt like the Winter Olympics expanding its map in real time, with Brazil suddenly part of the highlight reel. The Olympic recap places the race at Bormio’s Stelvio Ski Centre.

8) Franjo Von Allmen’s Triple-Gold Alpine Breakout

Franjo von Allmen’s Olympics looked like a video game career mode. The Swiss racer won three alpine skiing gold medals at Milano Cortina 2026: men’s downhill, men’s super-G, and the combined team event. Fans kept talking about it because it wasn’t just speed; it was repeatable precision under risk. Downhill rewards pure commitment, super-G punishes the slightest line error, and combined demands clean execution across formats. He kept delivering when one mistake would have ended the run. It felt like the birth of a new alpine headliner overnight.

9) Ning Zhongyan Upsets Jordan Stolz In The 1500m

Speed skating’s most debated race was the men’s 1500m, where China’s Ning Zhongyan upset American favorite Jordan Stolz. Ning won gold in an Olympic-record 1:41.98, with Stolz taking silver and the Netherlands’ Kjeld Nuis bronze, per Xinhua and NBC Olympics. NBC added that Stolz finished in 1:42.75 and that the medal was his third of the Games, after earlier wins in the 500m and 1000m. Fans latched onto it because it broke the “automatic Stolz gold” storyline in one race and proved the 1500m is its own cruel distance, too long for pure sprinting, too fast for comfort. Xinhua also called it China’s first Olympic gold in this event, which made the result feel even bigger. One lap changed everything.

10) Marc Kennedy “Double-Touch” Curling Controversy

Curling went viral after Sweden accused Canada of an illegal “double-touch,” with online video appearing to show Canadian curler Marc Kennedy touching the granite after release. The Washington Post reported officials could not use unofficial footage to make a call, and the on-ice exchange turned heated and profane. The story stuck because broadcasts let fans see angles referees can’t rely on, while the rulebook blurs intent versus accident. World Curling later clarified that touching the granite during forward motion is not allowed and can lead to removal of the stone, and it warned Canada over its conduct, so the debate stayed alive. For once, curling discourse looked like hockey discourse.

11) Sturla Holm Lægreid’s Viral Confession After Bronze

After winning bronze in the men’s 20km biathlon at Milano Cortina 2026, Norway’s Sturla Holm Lægreid shocked viewers in a live post-race interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK by admitting he had cheated on his girlfriend a few months earlier. He said he had told her about it about a week before the race, called the week “the worst of my life,” and spoke tearfully about hoping for forgiveness. The confession went viral and, according to later reporting, even prompted him to apologize for dragging his ex into the spotlight and for overshadowing teammate Johan-Olav Botn’s gold.

12) Lindsey Vonn’s Comeback Ends In A Severe Downhill Crash

Lindsey Vonn’s comeback at forty-one was one of the most watched arcs in Italy, and the women’s downhill crash made it unforgettable for the worst reason. She suffered a complex fracture to her left tibia after clipping a gate early in her run on 8 February. Reuters added she underwent multiple surgeries, including an emergency fasciotomy to treat compartment syndrome, and that doctors feared amputation before the procedure. Vonn said she had “no regrets,” which split fans: some praised the courage, and others questioned the risk. Either way, the image of a legend being carried off the course became a defining memory of Milano Cortina 2026.