how old is hilary knight: 36-year-old sets U.S. Olympic goal record with dramatic OT equalizer
Hilary Knight, 36, capped a storied Olympic run in breathtaking fashion — tying the gold-medal game with a late deflection that produced her 15th career Olympic goal and forced overtime, then watching Team USA clinch a 2-1 victory over Canada. The milestone gave Knight the U. S. all-time Olympic goal-scoring lead and also pushed her to a new Olympic points mark.
Record-breaking goal forces overtime and sets new U. S. mark
In the closing minutes at the Santagiulia hockey arena in Milan, Knight tipped a shot from Lalia Edwards that found the net with about two minutes remaining in regulation time, knotting the score at 1-1 and sending the gold-medal match into overtime. That tip was Knight’s 15th career goal at the Winter Olympics, a number that surpassed the previous American mark. The goal also gave her 33 career Olympic points, lifting her past the prior points leader and making her the U. S. career Olympic leader in both goals and points.
The timing of the strike amplified its significance: Knight had matched the earlier goals record on Feb. 7 (ET) with a goal against Finland, but it was the late equalizer against Canada that cemented her place in the record books in the most dramatic circumstances. Teammates rushed to celebrate, tapping her helmet as the arena erupted — a moment that underscored Knight’s central role in the team’s comeback and championship surge.
Gold secured in overtime; more milestones and personal news
Overtime did not last long after Knight’s heroics. Megan Keller delivered the decisive winner in the extra period, completing a 2-1 victory that gave the United States its third Olympic gold in women’s hockey and its second since 2018. The result continued the long-running rivalry between the U. S. and Canada, who have dominated the sport’s major international finals for decades.
Beyond the game-winning sequence, the match added to Knight’s extraordinary Olympic résumé. The five-time Olympian extended her record for most Olympic appearances for a U. S. women’s hockey player to 27 games and now stands alone as the U. S. leader in Olympic goals and points. She had previously won silver medals in 2010, 2014 and 2022 and a gold in 2018, often facing Canada in the championship game.
Off the ice, Knight’s milestone run came on the heels of major personal news: she announced her engagement to longtime partner Brittany Bowe, a U. S. speedskater, days before the tournament’s culmination. The combination of career and personal highlights made for an emotional chapter in Knight’s lengthy career.
Knight has repeatedly described the simple joy of scoring as a “little-kid moment, ” and those moments came at key times in Milan. Her pace through Olympic play — 15 goals across 27 games — shows sustained production at the sport’s highest stage, and her moves past past U. S. record-holders who set the bar in previous eras.
As Team USA celebrates its latest gold, Knight’s late-game heroics and statistical milestones frame this tournament as both a team triumph and a personal landmark. At 36, she turned the question of how old she is into a reminder that elite performance and historic impact can flash at any stage of a veteran athlete’s career.
