Lindsey Vonn risked everything...and paid the price.
The Olympic career of Lindsey Vonn potentially reached its end in a split-second crash on the downhill run in Cortina d’Ampezzo on the first day of the Games. The 41-year-old Vonn, who in astonishing fashion had come out of a five-year retirement, was determined to compete in her fifth Games. Her determination was so intense that even though she suffered an ACL injury shortly before the Games, she still wanted to race to become the oldest athlete, male or female, to win a medal in the downhill.
But only 12 seconds into the race, her legs gave way beneath her, she tumbled after riding across a bump, and, after a dramatic fall, the crowd in the finishing area fell completely silent in a state of shock.
Breezy Johnson won the downhill, but the long-lasting memory of the event will be the sight of Vonn being evacuated from the mountain on a stretcher by a helicopter.
And while the hours leading up to the race had been filled with an atmosphere of excitement for one of the most anticipated races in the history of the Games, the mood turned sombre with the shocking reminder of just how dangerous this sport is.
Ilia Malinin brings back the backflip
Watched by none less than Novak Djokovic, Ilia Malinin turned into a household name at the Games when he became the first skater to complete a backflip at the Winter Olympics since American skater Terry Kubicka did it for the first time at the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
The International Skating Union (ISSU) then chose to ban the move the following year, as they thought it was too dangerous. But two years ago, the backflip was again officially recognised by the Union.
Before then, any skater who attempted the risky stunt would automatically receive a penalty, like French skater Surya Bonaly at her third Olympics, Nagano 1998, where she was penalised by the judges and finished tenth.
The daring move was, however, not enough for the 21-year-old Malinin, dubbed the “Quad God,” to seal the gold medal as he finished with a score of 98.00 for second place behind Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, who received a score of 108.67.
Atle Lie McGrath’s epic meltdown in slalom
You can't look back at some of the most spectacular moments of the Milano Cortina Games without also including Atle Lie McGrath’s wild reaction after seeing his gold-medal hopes in the Olympic slalom slip away.
McGrath, who was born in Vermont but grew up in Norway, went into the final run of the men’s race at the Milan Cortina Games with a big lead in his favorite discipline. But after mistiming a turn where he got his foot on the wrong side of the gate, McGrath totally lost control of his emotions in an epic Olympic meltdown.
The 25-year-old McGrath first tossed each pole over the safety netting and then climbed the fence on the other side of the course and walked through the snow towards the woods on the edge of the wilderness, where he laid down on his back.
McGrath later explained that the emotional toll of losing his grandfather, mixed with the pressure of the Olympics, led to his extraordinary reaction.
Ebba Andersson racing on one ski after a dramatic crash
The Swedish women began the Olympic Games in spectacular fashion as they achieved a historic podium sweep in the women's cross-country skiing sprint classic. But a dramatic second leg of the 4 x 7.5km relay, where Ebba Andersson crashed spectacularly, forcing her to race with one ski for more than 30 seconds, severely dented the memories of Team Sweden at the Games, even though they battled back to earn a stunning silver medal.
Sweden entered the race as hot favourites, and they looked to be heading for the top spot on the podium when Andersson suffered an astonishing crash doing a forward roll as her right ski came flying off.
While the binding was still on her boot, the ski broke, forcing her to half-run, half-ski along the course for half-a-minute until one of Team Sweden’s technicians arrived on the scene.
The comedy of the situation then took another twist as even the Swedish technician took a tumble in the snow, and the chaotic scenario left spectators in a state of disbelief.
Canada's men's curling team accused of cheating
A dark cloud hung over the Canadian Men's Curling team throughout the tournament after they were accused of cheating in a controversial match against Sweden on 13 February.
The controversies kicked off when Swedish skipper Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian curler Marc Kennedy of cheating by touching the stone more than once when he was delivering a stone, to which Kennedy responded, “You can f*** off.”
World Curling rules specify that when you deliver a stone, a player may retouch the handle as many times as they wish — as long as they do so before the hog line, the thick stripe that marks the end of the release zone.
The next day, the controversy spilled onto the Canadian women's captain, Rachel Homan, who was accused of exactly the same fault. Both denied the accusations, but despite winning the gold medal in the men's tournament, the Canadian teams, who historically have dominated the sport, left the Olympics with questions raised over their tactics.
Laegreid confesses to cheating on girlfriend
It's not often that athletes reveal their deepest feelings and thoughts. But perhaps that's why Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid instantly rose to stardom when he confessed on live TV that he had cheated on his girlfriend moments after winning bronze in the Winter Olympics.
After winning his first individual Olympic medal in the 20km individual biathlon at Milan-Cortina, the 28-year-old took the opportunity to admit that he had an affair three months ago.
Laegreid said it had been "the worst week of my life" since he told his girlfriend of six months about the affair. "There's someone I wanted to share it with who might not be watching," he told NRK, Norway's state broadcaster, external.
"Six months ago, I met the love of my life - the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. Three months ago, I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her. I had the gold medal in life, and I am sure many people will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her."
Laegreid later apologised to his compatriot Johan Olav Botn, who won gold in the discipline, that he had "stolen" attention away from his accomplishment.
Klaebo's incredible record
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo will long live in the memory as the biggest name of the Milano Cortina Games, as he played a major role in Norway’s record-breaking Olympic campaigns. He already laid the path for his success in the Dolomites when he claimed three gold medals in the 2018 Winter Olympics, only to add two more in Beijing in 2022.
But in Cortina, his status rose from great to legendary as he won six gold medals in six events in spectacular fashion and is now the all-time leader with 11 career Winter Olympic gold medals.
Klaebo won gold in individual, skiathlon, sprint, relay, and team sprint competitions, to underline Norway's dominance in the 2026 games.
Especially in the men's classic sprint, he looked like someone not of this planet when he delivered an uphill run on the steepest part of the course that seemed to defy gravity.
Indeed, the image of him executing the sprint became one of the most shared moments of these Games so far, drawing thousands of new viewers into the world of cross-country skiing.
Controversial Gu becomes the most decorated Olympic freestyle skier of all time
China's Eileen Gu retained her women's halfpipe crown at the Winter Games to become the most decorated Olympic freestyle skier of all time with six medals.
Gu's compatriot Li Fanghui won silver, and the bronze went to Zoe Atkin of Britain.
After a disappointing opening round, Gu nailed her second and third runs to top the standings with a score of 94.75 and add a gold to the silver medals she had won in Livigno in big air and slopestyle.
Gu went into the Games heavily criticised for her decision to compete for China. Gu was born in San Francisco to an American father and a Chinese mother, and her decision to line up for China since 2019 has been heavily debated both within the US and abroad.
The 22-year-old, who won two golds and a silver on home snow at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, moved out of a tie with Canada's Mikael Kingsbury at the top of the all-time freeski Olympic medal table.
Team USA wins first Olympic hockey gold in 46 years
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 to win the gold medals for the first time in 46 years since 1980 at Lake Placid - the year of the miracle on ice on the final day of the Games.
The U.S. swept hockey at the Olympics, with both the men's and women's teams winning gold (both against Canada).
Matt Boldy put the U.S. ahead after six minutes with the Americans' first shot of the game and Canada levelled through Cale Makar to set up a nail-biting final period, after U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 40 saves over the 60 minutes.
It was the showpiece match the ice hockey world wanted to see following the return of NHL players to the Games after a 12-year absence and the match certainly never disappointed.
Almost inevitably, it came down to three-on-three play where Hughes collected a pass from Zach Werenski and coolly fired into the net one minute and 41 seconds into the extra period.
Jutta Leerdam's speedskating-show
Dutch speed-skating star Jutta Leerdam, who is engaged to boxing sensation Jake Paul, was blasted as “arrogant” and a “diva” for arriving at the Olympics on a private jet instead of making the trip to Italy alongside her fellow compatriots.
Leerdam then followingly showed that she is more than glitz and glamour when she claimed silver in the women’s 500m. The result marked her third Olympic medal overall, while the peak of her performance took place a couple of days earlier when she captured Olympic gold in the 1000m, breaking the Olympic record along the way.
But even in her proudest moment, she was still embroiled in controversy. After being crowned Olympic champion, cameras captured Leerdam unzipping part of her racing suit to expose a white Nike sports bra.
A photograph of her wearing the bra was subsequently posted to Nike's massive 298 million Instagram followers, and as Leerdam enjoys a commercial partnership with the sportswear giant, she was believed to have cashed in around $ 1 million for the stunt.