2026 Winter Olympics Freestyle Skiing and Saturday medal chase in Milan Cortina

The 2026 winter olympics freestyle skiing program takes center stage Saturday as Eileen Gu competes in the women's halfpipe final, while speedskater Jordan Stolz and the U. S. women's curling team pursue more hardware in Milan Cortina. These events come as the Winter Games wrap up in Italy and several medal races reach their final turns.

Jordan Stolz returns to ice for mass start after sprint success and 1, 500m silver

Twenty-one-year-old Jordan Stolz, the Wisconsinite who won gold in the 500 meters and 1, 000 meters, will skate again Saturday in the mass start — his final event in these Games. After taking silver Thursday in the 1, 500, Stolz missed completing speedskating’s sprint treble, an achievement that would have been the first in 46 years.

China’s Ning Zhongyan set the Olympic record in the 1, 500 with a time of 1: 41. 98, and although Stolz beat Norway's Peder Kongshaug in that race, he finished 0. 77 seconds behind Zhongyan's mark. Stolz has said earlier in the Olympics that winning the chaotic mass start would be just "a bonus. "

Mass start format and contenders: 16 laps, unrestricted track and Bart Swings

The mass start, which made its Olympic debut in 2018, is the only long-track race where every skater starts together. The first three racers to cross the finish line of the 16-lap final win gold, silver and bronze. The full track is at the disposal of the skaters, who jockey for positioning strategically; the race typically goes down to the wire with unpredictable finishes.

Belgium's Bart Swings is once again a gold-medal contender in the mass start: he won the event in Beijing four years ago and took silver in PyeongChang.

U. S. women to play Canada for bronze after semifinal loss to Switzerland

After making the Olympic playoffs for the first time since 2002, the U. S. women's curling team fell short in semifinal action against Switzerland on Friday. Switzerland avenged its loss to the Americans in the round-robin finale, with Alina Pätz described as practically perfect in fueling a 7-4 victory that was closer than the score suggests.

Switzerland will face Sweden in the gold-medal game on Sunday, and on Saturday the U. S. will square off against Canada with the bronze medal on the line. The Americans have never medaled in women's curling, which was added to the Olympics in 1998; in Salt Lake City 24 years ago they lost to Canada in a bronze-medal game. The U. S. is hoping to flip the script after notching their first-ever Olympic win over Canada in round-robin play earlier in these Games.

Eileen Gu targets halfpipe in 2026 Winter Olympics Freestyle Skiing final

Eileen Gu's latest controversial Olympic run continues Saturday when she takes part in the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final. It is her third and final event of this year's Games. The American-born Gu notably represents China, where her mother was born, and at 22 years old she is already a five-time Olympic medalist.

While she's yet to win gold in these Games, Gu has said she is immensely proud of the silvers she earned in the big air and slopestyle events. She has one more shot to stand atop a podium in Italy: the halfpipe, which was one of two events she won in Beijing four years ago.

Halfpipe field and qualifying: Svea Irving, Kate Gray and an unclear note on Zoe Atkin

Gu will face 11 other freestyle skiers in the halfpipe final, including Team USA's Svea Irving and Kate Gray, who placed eighth and 12th, respectively, in qualifying on Thursday. Irving, the granddaughter of American author John Irving, was fifth at the 2025 World Championships.

Context also contains a fragment referencing Great Britain's Zoe Atkin: "Great Britain's Zoe Atkin led all" — unclear in the provided context.

Games winding down in Milan Cortina as stars chase final medals

The Winter Games are wrapping up in Italy, and the Milan Cortina Olympics have been flying by faster than Jordan Stolz. Stolz is one of a handful of Americans who have a shot at earning some hardware to kick off the weekend, and organizers and fans are tracking a short list of top moments — the top five things to watch on Saturday highlighted speedskating, curling and freestyle skiing among the key headlines.