Eileen Gu defends freeski halfpipe gold as Milan Cortina Games close

Eileen Gu defends freeski halfpipe gold as Milan Cortina Games close

eileen gu defended her Olympic gold in the women's freeski halfpipe on the final day of the 2026 Winter Olympics, winning the postponed final with a monster score of 94. 75 to claim her third career gold medal and her third medal of any color at these Games.

Eileen Gu defends halfpipe gold

The postponed women's freeski halfpipe final ended with eileen gu producing a sparking performance that the judges rewarded with a 94. 75. She had to wait an extra day to compete, and the victory earned her a third career gold and her third medal at these Games.

U. S. wins men's hockey on Jack Hughes overtime goal

Men's hockey provided one of the final dramatic moments: Jack Hughes scored in overtime to give the United States the gold over Canada. The overtime winner decided the tournament final and sealed the U. S. victory.

Medal count and closing ceremony

The closing ceremony wrapped up the Milan Cortina Games after 19 days of competition. A total of 348 medals were handed out across the program. The IOC issued 116 sets of gold, silver and bronze medals, and Norway took the top spot on the final tally with 18 golds and 41 medals overall.

Notable moments off the field

Entertainment and human-interest stories ran alongside the sports. Snoop Dogg sat down for a one-on-one interview with Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic and was called more than an NBC TV fixture — he was described as the U. S. Olympic mayor. Veteran skier Lindsey Vonn made a brief appearance at the Games, competing for 13 seconds; though short, her return and the agonizing result from her effort and devastating injury will be remembered. Writers who covered those moments included Charlotte Harpur on the skiing star and Matthew Futterman on Vonn's comeback and injury.

Site note for readers

usatoday. com stated it wants to ensure the best experience for all readers and has built its site to take advantage of the latest technology to make it faster and easier to use. The site noted that some browsers are not supported and asked readers to download one of the listed browsers for the best experience on usatoday. com.

Here we are: the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics have come and gone, and the closing ceremony brought the Games to an official end.

The next confirmed milestone is the post-Games period of wrap-ups and coverage already underway, with feature pieces and detailed breakdowns of standout moments and injuries planned by the journalists who covered the event.