Mikaela Shiffrin is opening up about the moment that helped her reset before winning Olympic slalom gold in Milano-Cortina.
Speaking on TODAY, Shiffrin said she had an “almost out-of-body experience” at the start-gate before her second run. The moment came after she watched the skier ahead of her miss a gate, bringing her back to her disappointing performance at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
“My biggest fear going into the Games was that I would feel really isolated and alone,” Shiffrin said.
But, thanks to her team, that’s not how she felt on the Italian slopes last month.
“They made me feel very supported and feel very together,”
Shiffrin said of her backers. “It felt like they were skiing it with me.”
The 31-year-old went on to complete a clean second run and top the Olympic slalom podium, earning her third career individual gold medal. The victory only padded Shiffrin’s already-stacked resume, which spans a record 110 World Cup wins and a record-tying six overall World Cup titles.
Will Olympic Skier Mikaela Shiffrin Compete in the Next Winter Olympics?
While she remains at the top of her game, questions still surround Shiffrin’s future — especially when it comes to participating in the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.
“We look forward to seeing you at the next Winter Olympics,” TODAY anchor Craig Melvin told her with a smile, closing out the interview.
“Very good, Very good. We’ll talk later,” she laughed.
South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya is speaking up, as the two-time Olympic gold medalist voiced concerns about Thursday's IOC decision to reinstate sex verification tests for women's sports athletes.
"For you as a woman, why will you be tested to prove that you fit?" Semenya said, calling the new screening "a disrespect."
"You know, it's like now we need to prove that we are worthy as women to take part in sports," she continued.
Thursday's move effectively bans transgender women athletes as well as competitors who have one of the many Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) — a category of congenital conditions in which a person's chromosomes, hormones, and/or reproductive anatomy does not fit neatly into the male/female binary.
Approximately one in every 100 people is born with DSD — including Semenya, whose diagnosis revealed a condition that impacts her chromosomes and hormone levels.
The 2012 and 2016 Olympic 800-meter champion has been advocating against the IOC's restrictive gender testing since 2016.
Notably, the IOC abandoned the screenings in 1999 due to ineffectiveness, with the Committee now reinstating the policy ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics.
According to the Committee, the move will "ensure fairness" and "protect safety" of female athletes.
All women's sports athletes must now undergo a saliva, cheek swab, or blood test for the SRY gene, with the results applying to all lifetime competitions "unless there is reason to believe that a negative reading is in error."
The screening requirement will limit "eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports... to biological females" the IOC said on Thursday.
The 2028 Summer Games are laying the groundwork, with LA organizers releasing the upcoming soccer tournament schedules this week — locking in the largest women's competition in Olympic history.
Designed to increase rest time throughout the travel-heavy, short-form event, the women's tournament will kick off on Tuesday, July 11th — three days before the 2028 Summer Games' Opening Ceremony.
The LA28 women's soccer tournament will feature 16 teams for the first time in Olympic history, outpacing the 12 teams who will compete in the men's event.
Both the men's and women's competitions will play out across seven stadiums nationwide, sweeping East to West as the tournaments advance toward the medal matches.
New York, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, San Jose, and San Diego will host group-stage matches on Tuesday, July 11th, Friday the 14th, and Monday the 17th, with Nashville, San Jose, San Diego, and LA's iconic Rose Bowl hosting one quarterfinal each on Friday, July 21st.
San Diego and LA will the split the women's semifinals on Tuesday, July 25th, with San Diego hosting the bronze medal match on Friday, July 28th, before the gold medal final takes over the Rose Bowl on Saturday, July 29th — the 2028 Summer Games' penultimate day of competition.
Every Wednesday in February, JWS celebrates Black History Month by spotlighting a prominent Black figure in women's sports history.
Lauryn Williams stands out on the Olympic stage, retiring as one of just six athletes in the world — and the first-ever US woman — to medal at both the Summer and the Winter Games.
Born in 1983, the Pennsylvania product started her historic career as a sprinter on the track and field team at the University of Miami, qualifying for her first Olympics within weeks of graduating in 2004 — before going on to take silver in the 100-meter dash in Athens.
After failing to medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, Williams stepped away from competing for a year, returning to the track in 2011 and earning her first Olympic gold medal in 2012 as part of Team USA's 4×100-meter team in London.
The three-time World Champion sprint star then traded one track for another in the fall of 2013, pivoting to bobsledding where her speed took her to the highest echelon of the cold-weather sport.
Less than 18 months after last medaling in the Summer Games, Williams qualified to represent the USA in the two-woman bobsled on the Winter Olympics' stage, traveling to the 2014 Sochi Games where she brought home silver alongside US bobsled icon Elana Meyers Taylor.
Skyrocketing from complete bobsled novice to the Olympic podium in just six months, Williams made history 12 years ago — and to date, the 42-year-old remains the only US woman to eve earn both Summer and Winter Olympic hardware.
"Anytime I step on any track — ice track, regular track, any kind of track — my goal is to win," Williams said after her Sochi victory. "So I'm not surprised at all."
As one of the most successful nations in Olympic figure skating history, Team USA's women's figure skaters continue to make a lasting impact on the sport across all levels of competition. Starting in the 1950s, the US has produced seven women's singles Olympic gold medalists — and several athletes who shaped the sport without ever winning gold.
From mid-century pioneers like Tenley Albright to Gen Z heroes like Amber Glenn, these are the 10 most important Olympic women's figure skaters in Team USA history.
Team USA's Top Women's Figure Skaters
Tenley Albright
Tenley Albright contracted polio at age 11, subsequently defying the odds by winning Olympic silver at the 1952 Oslo Games. Four years later in Cortina, she sliced her ankle to the bone in practice days before competition but skated through the injury, becoming the first US women's figure skater to win Olympic gold. Albright also captured figure skating's first-ever triple crown, winning the World, North American, and United States ladies titles in a single year.
Going on to become the first woman to serve as a United States Olympic Committee officer, Dr. Albright was later named one of Sports Illustrated's 100 Greatest Female Athletes.
Carol Heiss
At just 15, Carol Heiss placed second behind trailblazer Tenley Albright at the 1955 World Championships. However, she went on to flip the script, taking the Worlds title from 1956 until 1960.
She similarly won silver behind Albright at the 1956 Cortina Games, before returning to win gold at the 1960 Squaw Valley Games. Though she retired shortly after winning gold, Heiss's international run of dominance cemented her as one of the most consistent performers in the sport's history.
Peggy Fleming
When a plane crash killed the entire US figure skating delegation en route to the 1961 World Championships, the athletes that remained were forced to rebuild the sport from scratch. And 19-year-old Peggy Fleming became the face of Team USA's rebuilding.
Flemming won gold at the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble — the first Olympics broadcast live and in color to a worldwide audience. Capturing both the public's eye and the sport's top honor, Flemming's feat restored the U.S. program and turned women's figure skating into a top spectator event.
Dorothy Hamill
When Dorothy Hamill won gold at the 1976 Innsbruck Games, it brought something new to the sport: a skater the everyday fan could root for. Her signature wedge haircut became one of the most imitated styles of the decade. She also introduced the Hamill Camel — a spin variation that became part of skating's technical vocabulary — and sparked a youth figure skating boom across the entire United States.
Kristi Yamaguchi
A mid-90s household name, Kristi Yamaguchi took gold at the 1992 Winter Olympics, making her the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic figure skating medal. The cultural milestone subsequently opened doors for the next generation.
That 1992 win saw Yamaguchi overcome one of the deepest fields in Olympic history, beating a lineup that included the first and second women to ever land triple axels in competition: Japan's Midori Ito and fellow US star Tonya Harding. The 21-year-old was reportedly inspired by her childhood hero, as legendary figure skater Dorothy Hamill approached her backstage to wish her luck — moments before Yamaguchi pulled of her gold medal-winning run.
Nancy Kerrigan
Nancy Kerrigan overcame extraordinary adversity to win silver at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics — just weeks after being attacked at the US Figure Skating Championships. While her bronze medal at the 1992 Albertville Games established her as an elite figure skating competitor, her 1994 comeback defined her legacy on and off the ice.
Kerrigan's grace under pressure and technical precision — particularly her signature spiral sequences — inspired millions and propelled figure skating into mainstream consciousness during one of the sport's most scrutinized and memorable eras.
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan stands as the most decorated figure skater in US history. Despite never winning Olympic gold, Kwan captured silver at the 1998 Nagano Games and bronze in 2002, all the while revolutionizing creative expression in women's figure skating.
Her five world championship titles and nine US national championships represent unparalleled consistency and dominance across more than a decade of elite competition. Kwan's lyrical style and emotional depth transformed artistry expectations, influencing generations of skaters who followed.
Tara Lipinski
At just 15, Tara Lipinski etched her name in Olympic figure skating history by becoming the youngest individual gold medalist at any Winter Olympics. Her groundbreaking triple loop-triple loop combination in the 1998 Nagano Games pushed the limits of the sport's physical boundaries. Lipinski's victory over favorite Michelle Kwan marked a generational shift in women's figure skating, as the field turned toward younger, more technically ambitious athletes. Currently a commentator for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Lipinski also remains the youngest world champion in history, winning the 1997 title at age 14.
Sarah Hughes
Sarah Hughes claimed gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics with a stunning free skate performance, rallying from fourth place after the short program to become the third US women's figure skater to ever win Olympic gold.
Hughes's calm under pressure — landing two triple-triple combinations — proved that artistic form and technical excellence could coexist at the highest level. And her upset victory over favorites Michelle Kwan and Irina Slutskaya continues to rank among the sport's most memorable Olympic moments.
Amber Glenn
The first athlete to win three consecutive US national championships since Michelle Kwan, Amber Glenn represents figure skating's modern era. The 26-year-old Texas native also became the oldest US women's singles competitor in 98 years when she took the ice at this year's Winter Games.
Known for her athletic prowess — and consistently landing triple Axels in international competition — Glenn has emerged as an important voice for inclusivity as an openly queer athlete advocating for greater representation and equity in the sport. Furthermore, Glenn's perseverance through years of near-misses before finally capturing her first national title in 2024 epitomizes her dedication to the future of figure skating.
New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott claimed silver in Wednesday's women's snowboard slopestyle, as the defending Olympic champion finished with 87.48 points — just 0.35 points short of a gold medal.
Japan's Mari Fukada won the event in her Olympic debut. The 18-year-old scored 87.83 on her third and final run, while Fukada's teammate Murase Kokomo took bronze with 85.80 points.
Sadowski-Synnott went last, saving her best performance for the crucial third run. The 24-year-old landed her tricks cleanly and jumped into second place with her closing effort. However, Fukada's earlier score held up for gold.
This marks Sadowski-Synnott's fifth Olympic medal across three Winter Games, tallying one gold, three silvers, and one bronze. The Wānaka resident became the first snowboarder in history to win five Olympic medals.
"What a special athlete and person," coach Tom Willmott said afterward. "Zoi is just amazing, and she does it time and time again."
Sadowski-Synnott qualified first for the final, posting 88.08 in the preliminary round after winning silver in this year's Big Air competition. The New Zealand Olympic Committee went on to name her Sportswoman of the Year at the Halberg Awards this week.
After winning slopestyle gold at Beijing 2022, Wednesday's silver extends Sadowski-Synnott's Olympic podium streak, as she remains one of the sport's most consistent performers on the biggest stage.
The International Skating Union issued a pre-emptive statement on Monday, after controversial Russian figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze appeared at a Milan practice with neutral Olympic athlete Adeliia Petrosian.
Petrosian, 18, is competing as a neutral athlete at the 2026 Winter Games. Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted the country's exclusion from international sport, with the skater subsequently participating in just one senior event outside Russia in the past two years: September's Olympic qualifiers.
Tutberidze's coaching methods have drawn scrutiny since the 2022 Beijing Olympics, after her former student Kamila Valieva became embroiled in a doping scandal. However, WADA did not find Tutberidze guilty of any offense related to Valieva's positive test. She never faced sanctions.
Tutberidze currently holds Olympic accreditation through Georgia, coaching that country's European men's champion Nika Egadze. The ISU statement clarified the organization had formed "a robust series of protocols for the screening of proposed athletes and their support personnel." The ISU also noted that "the Olympic Winter Games and related rules are the responsibility of the IOC."
Nevertheless, World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Bańka expressed his discomfort. He admitted he did not "feel comfortable with her presence at the Milano-Cortina Games."
On Monday, Adeliia Petrosian told reporters she felt "excellentt" after her session with Tutberidze. She skated for half an hour at the practice rink next ahead of Tuesday's women's short program qualifiers.
A victory in Milan would make Adeliia Petrosian the fourth consecutive Olympic women's figure skating champion from Russia or the Russian system. Previous champions include Adelina Sotnikova (2014), Alina Zagitova (2018), and Anna Shcherbakova (2022).
Adeliia Petrosian has previously landed quadruple jumps at Russian national competitoins. However, none of the other skaters at the Milano-Cortina Games are able to match that high-scoring element.
What's Next for Olympic Figure Skater Adeliia Petrosian
Following Tuesday's qualifiers, Petrosian will next compete in the women's figure skating medal event on Thursday at 1 PM ET, live across NBC and Peacock.
Petrosian will skate to music by Michael Jackson in the short program. She faces a competitive field that includes Team USA trio Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, and Isabeau Levito. Japanese frontrunners Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai also present strong challenges.
The US women's curling team made history on Friday, beating Canada 9-8.
The round-robin nail-biter also made history, marking the first time Team USA has ever defeated Canada in Olympic women's curling. Meanwhile, the neighboring countries have met at every Winter Games since the sport's 1998 Olympic premiere.
The US capitalized on several weak shots from Canada's top-ranked Team Homan. After the final stone, Team USA walked together down the ice with fists raised. The moment caught even the winners off guard.
"If that's true," said Minneapolis native Taylor Anderson-Heide. "I think we just played a really good game. They're No. 1 in the world."
Tara Peterson put it more simply: "It just always feels really good to beat Rachel Homan," she said. "Any team to beat them — that's pretty impressive."
The US women's curling squad is comprised of everyday athletes. Tara Peterson is a dentist, while her older sister and team skip, Tabitha Peterson, works as a pharmacist. Cory Thiesse, who already won silver in this year's mixed doubles tournament, serves as a lab technician.
Three of the four also have young children at home: Tara's son Eddie was born in September 2024, while Tabitha had daughter Noelle just months later.
The victory moves Team USA to 2-1 in round-robin play, with a win over Korea and a loss to Sweden rounding out their record so far.
How to watch Team USA in the Olympic women's curling tournament
The US next faces Japan in Saturday's Round Robin Session 5 - Sheet B, taking the ice at 1:05 PM ET, live on Peacock.
Austrian skeleton athlete Janine Flock leads the women's skeleton competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics after two strong runs on Friday — and history is on the 36-year-old's side.
Flock opened the event as the first slider down the track, posting a time of 57.22 seconds to set a new track record. She backed it up in Run 2 to finish the first day of heats with a combined time of 1:54.48, holding a 0.04-second lead over the field.
Germany's Susanne Kreher sits second, with PyeongChang 2018 silver medalist Jacqueline Pfeifer in third. Reigning Olympic champion Hannah Neise now sits fourth, 0.24 seconds back.
Though defending world champion Kimberly Bos subsequently finds herself in a deep hole at 13th — 1.38 seconds off the pace.
The midpoint lead carries historical weight in the women's skeleton: in every previous four-run Olympic women's skeleton event, the halfway leader has finished no worse than second.
However, Flock knows that statistic doesn't guarantee a podium finish. She led through three runs at the 2018 PyeongChang Games before a rough final run dropped her to fourth — missing the podium by 0.02 seconds. She finished ninth at Sochi 2014 and 10th at Beijing 2022.
Flock is one of the most decorated skeleton athletes never to win an Olympic medal. She has three World Cup overall titles, 15 World Cup wins, and 45 career World Cup podiums.
"I just tried to do what I've been doing for 20 years now," Flock said. "Having a really good run, enjoying what I'm doing."
How to watch women's skeleton at the 2026 Winter Olympics
The final two skeleton runs are set for Saturday.
Run 3 starts at 12 PM ET, with the final medal event starting at 1:35 PM ET, live on Peacock.
Connor Watkins had been planning the moment for a year. And on Thursday, at the base of the Winter Olympics Super-G course in Cortina d'Ampezzo, he made it happen.
Watkins dropped to one knee in the finish line, proposing to his girlfriend, downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson. Wearing a Team USA jacket, Watkins raised a silver ring with a blue gem at its center as competitors and coaches from multiple countries gathered nearby. Johnson said yes as her US teammates and skiing officials cheered.
Apparently, Johnson gave Watkins the idea. "I may have told him that I just always kind of had the dream of getting engaged at the Olympics," she said.
The Connor Watkins proposal capped a rollercoaster morning for the 30-year-old downhill champion. Johnson crashed out of the Super-G final and did not finish, joining more than a dozen skiers who failed to complete the course.
Just the day before, Johnson and teammate Mikaela Shiffrin finished fourth in the women's team combined after Johnson led the downhill portion.
However, none of it dimmed the occasion. "There's nothing better than doing well and having somebody to share it with," Johnson said after Watkins proposed.
The new engagement ring now joins Johnson's women's downhill gold medal, after she became just the second U.S. woman to claim the top Olympic title after Lindsey Vonn in 2010.
Milano-Cortina marks Johnson's second Winter Olympics. She also competed at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, finishing seventh in the downhill and 14th in the Super-G, before sitting out Beijing 2022 with injury.