Gold Medal Count 2026: Stolz’s 1500m Silver Shifts U.S. Momentum as Liu and Women’s Hockey Deliver
The Gold Medal Count 2026 tightened Thursday as Jordan Stolz picked up a 1500m silver behind Ning Zhongyan, even as Alysa Liu and the U. S. women’s hockey team added golds to the American haul. Stolz’s setback in the 1500m, coming after two earlier victories at these Games, reframed expectations for the remainder of the program.
Gold Medal Count 2026: Stolz’s silver, Ning’s Olympic record and the podium shuffle
Jordan Stolz, who had already taken gold in both the 500m and the 1, 000m, finished second in the 1500m after Ning Zhongyan produced an Olympic-record time of 1: 41. 98. Stolz was aiming for a third gold but fell behind when his first lap time lagged and he said, "I was thinking it would have been nice to have gold. "
The race produced a cascade of fast times: an earlier Olympic record was lowered by Joep Wennemars, and several subsequent skaters went under the previous mark. Kjeld Nuis ultimately took bronze, while Stolz — who had warmed up on the inner lane and watched competitors post blistering splits — managed a late surge but could not close the gap. "I was attacking as hard as I could, " he said, later noting of Ning, "I thought that was a super fast time for him, probably the best race of his life. "
Thursday’s result left Stolz with one competition remaining at these Games: Saturday’s mass start event. The silver shifts the complexion of the medal table and leaves room for more movement in the Gold Medal Count 2026 heading into the final weekend.
U. S. golds: Liu’s breakthrough and a dramatic hockey finish
The American program enjoyed major highs elsewhere on the same day. Alysa Liu captured gold in the women’s singles figure skating, ending the U. S. drought in the event and delivering a gold-medal performance that vaulted her to the top of the podium. Her win was highlighted as a milestone for the U. S. in women’s singles competition.
On the ice in team competition, the U. S. women’s hockey team produced a tense 2-1 victory over Canada in the gold-medal match. Hilary Knight provided a timely equalizer late in regulation when the Americans had pulled their goalie, and Megan Keller scored the overtime winner to seal the gold. The combination of Liu’s individual victory and the sudden-death win in hockey gave the American delegation a pair of high-profile golds to pair with Stolz’s two earlier golds and his new silver.
What these results mean for the closing days
The day’s mix of results — Ning’s record-setting 1500m, Stolz’s silver after two prior golds, Liu’s figure skating triumph and a dramatic hockey gold — compressed standings and left the Gold Medal Count 2026 more fluid than before. For Stolz, the takeaway was both pride and frustration: he praised Ning and acknowledged that he "thought it was gonna be kind of close, but he was just better, " while still preparing to race in the mass start with an opportunity to influence the medal table once more.
The U. S. will carry momentum from the figure skating and hockey victories into the final stretch, but Thursday’s sweep of headlines also underlined how quickly fortunes can change at a single Games. With events still to come, the Gold Medal Count 2026 remains very much in play as teams and individual athletes jockey for position in the last days of competition.
