Olympics
Everything that happened on Day 16 at the Winter Olympics, including the closing ceremony
2026 Winter Olympics conclude
On the final day of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the closing ceremony wrapped up the Milan Cortina Games.
It was gold for the United States in the men’s hockey tournament as Jack Hughes scored in overtime against Canada.
And Eileen Gu claimed her third career gold medal — and her third medal of any color at these Games — by winning the postponed women’s freeski halfpipe final with a monster score of 94.75.
- Share your thoughts: live@theathletic.com
- Check out the final medal table here
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Olympics close out Milan Cortina Games with Major Lazer, opera and anthems
Final medal count from the 2026 Winter Games
Can you believe it?
The 2026 Winter Games are complete!
After 19 days, countless events and memories made galore, 348 medals were handed out. Here is the final tally with Norway, unsurprisingly, taking the top spot.
The French Alps are up next in 2030 …
Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Norway | 18 | 12 | 11 | 41 |
 United States | 12 | 12 | 9 | 33 |
 Italy | 10 | 6 | 14 | 30 |
 Germany | 8 | 10 | 8 | 26 |
 Japan | 5 | 7 | 12 | 24 |
Our 26 favorite gold-medal moments
Here we are! The 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics have come and gone. We’ve had dominant wins, shocking upsets and you-couldn’t-script-it-if-you-tried podiums. The IOC has handed out 116 sets of gold, silver and bronze medals, with 18 of those golds and 41 overall going to the Winter Games’ near-perpetual winner, Norway.
With Games wrapped up, here’s a look back — in no particular order — at our favorite gold medal moments.
Snoop Dogg has become the U.S. Olympic mayor
Snoop Dogg sitting down for a one-on-one interview with Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic? Now that’s a must-read story.
Luckily, you can check out this engaging story here as the cultural icon discusses his experience supporting the United States in Milan during the 2026 Winter Games.
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Snoop Dogg isn’t just an NBC TV fixture. He’s become the U.S. Olympic mayor
Vonn left an impression despite brief appearance in Milan
Though her appearance at the 2026 Winter Games was brief, the determination that Lindsey Vonn displayed and that agonizing result of her resolve will be remembered for a long time.
For a detailed breakdown of Vonn’s journey to compete in Milan, her devastating injury and the impact it left on the Winter Olympics, check out this story by Matthew Futterman of The Athletic.
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Lindsey Vonn competed for 13 seconds. She still owned the Winter Olympics
ICYMI: Gu gets gold
She had to wait an extra day to do it but the end result is all that matters. Eileen Gu has defended her Olympic gold medal in women’s freeski halfpipe with a sparking performance earlier today, earning her third medal of these Winter Games.
Read more on the skiing star here, written by Charlotte Harpur of The Athletic.
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Eileen Gu defends Olympic gold in women’s freeski halfpipe
Canada’s hockey future remains promising
On the opposite end of the spectrum there is the agonizing defeat Canada suffered, settling for silver in Milan. The Canadians had many quality opportunities to become champions but these chances remained unfulfilled. While this loss surely stings, it’s not an indictment on the future of Canadian hockey.
Arpon Basu of The Athletic provides perspective here.
GO FURTHER
Canada’s gold medal loss will linger, but the country’s hockey future is more than fine
Team USA wins a thriller for gold
In an iconic, instant classic that could have gone either way, Team USA captured its first men’s hockey gold medal in 46 years thanks to Jack Hughes’ game-winner in overtime.
What does the victory mean to this squad and nation?
Michael Russo of The Athletic provides perspective here.
GO FURTHER
USA wins Olympic gold in thrilling men’s hockey final against Canada
In a very funny moment, NBC’s Mike Tirico just interviewed some players from the USA men’s hockey team, who were actively drinking some Michelob Ultras on TV from the Winter House. The Hughes brothers and Connor Hellebuyck were having some fun. Hard to know if Jack Hughes was slurring some words because of the beer or because of the teeth he was missing. But they held their composure well enough for the interview.
Sweden’s Ebba Andersson (center) was awarded her gold medal after winning the women’s cross country 50km mass start final earlier in the Winter Games.
To have your medal awarded at the closing ceremony must be a surreal feeling.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo receives one of his six gold medals during the closing ceremony, capping off a historic Winter Games for him.
Next stop for the Olympic flag?
The French Alps for the 2030 Winter Olympics!
World-renowned pianist Gloria Campaner was killer on the keys and the images in the background tied it all together.
President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry shares an embrace with the President of the Organising Committee for the 2026 Winter Games Giovanni Malago during the latter stages of the closing ceremony.
These Winter Games were certainly a spectacle and both parties, along with the countless volunteers, deserve credit for putting it together.
I certainly did not have a Major Lazer performance on my bingo card but that was a sparkling performance and more importantly, the Olympians in the arena loved it.
That was quite the performance by Achille Lauro and his band.
Even this artistic photo cannot do it justice.
Olympics close out Milan Cortina Games with Major Lazer, opera and anthems
VERONA, Italy — About 2,000 years ago, the Romans built the Arena di Verona to host gladiator games. After weathering an earthquake in 1117, a stint as a quarry and hundreds of years of operas and concerts, the venue played host to the Olympic closing ceremony on Sunday, after two weeks of competition and 116 sets of medals given out across 16 sports.
The event offered a bit of everything. For fans of high art and deep symbolism: iconic opera characters, elaborate costumes, opera singing, acrobatics, dance. For fans of history: stone arches all around, dating back to the first century AD. For fans of pyrotechnics: Fire.
And of course, for fans of sports, hundreds of athletes, capping off what for many will be a pinnacle of their career. No surprise, Team Italy received the biggest cheers from the crowd. In contrast to the hours-long parade of nations to open the Games, athletes came out in one long throng of people, to the sound of Calibro 35, one of Italy’s iconic alternative bands, playing live onstage.
For one last time we see the opera characters from the start of the closing ceremony.
Rigoletto disappears in his magic box. And the closing ceremony is officially over.
Buona Notte!
The closing ceremony is complete!
The ceremony concludes with a return to the theme of “Beauty is Life.”
The opera characters make their final appearance of the evening and of the Winter Games, officially closing this chapter of the Winter Olympics.
Rigoletto waves goodbye to the crowd and the 2026 Winter Games. What a spectacle it was!
French Alps, you’re up next.
Achille Lauro takes the stage
Achille Lauro and his band take the stage following Major Lazer.
From Verona, Lauro has 40 platinum records, 12 gold records, and 7 studio albums, making him one of Italy’s most successful artists.
His most recognizable song is “Incoscienti giovani.”
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