NBC Olympics figure skating coverage at Milano-Cortina 2026 showcased a cultural shift, as competitors displayed friendship and support rather than the icy rivalries that once defined women's figure skating.
The most visible example came from Team USA's self-proclaimed Blade Angels, as NBC showed Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, and Isabeau Levito celebrating together throughout the Games. While Liu won gold, all three skaters expressed genuine affection for each other.
"I just adore these two ladies," Glenn told reporters in January. "I've seen them grow up since being little children, and to see them here as incredible women is probably one of the most wonderful experiences I've had in skating."
After topping the podium in Milan, Liu also praised her US teammates.
"I love Isabeau's wittiness. Truly, she's the funniest person I've ever met," Liu said. "And then Amber, she has so much love, and I love that."
Former Olympian Gracie Gold described the isolation women's figure skaters often experienced during her competitive years. "I still love skating, but it was how I coped with everything around it, and some parts of the culture and some people in the sport that I think need to change," she said in 2024.
26-year-old Glenn also remembers that intensity. She said younger women like Liu, 20, and Levito, 18, don't understand why NBC reporters keep calling their Olympic friendship unusual.
"They don't quite know what the atmosphere might have been like before," she explained. "Not that it was all bad, but there was definitely some intensity."
Figure Skaters Showcase Support as NBC Olympics Cameras Watch On
Japanese bronze medalist Ami Nakai exemplified this shift when she celebrated with Liu as the judges read the final scores, with NBC Olympics cameras capturing Liu and Nakai hugging and jumping up and down as Nakai's coach wiped away tears.
"I honestly didn't think that I was going to win a medal, so when I found that out I was overjoyed," Nakai later reflected via a translator. "Alysa Liu actually came up to me and said, 'Congratulations, it's amazing that you won a medal on your first Olympics.'"
"She's just so cute. She's so happy on the ice," Liu said. "I was like, 'I gotta celebrate like she did.'"
US short track speed skater Kristen Santos-Griswold received a penalty on Friday, after her illegal lane pass contributed to a frightening collision during the 1,500-meter women's short track event.
The incident led to Poland's Kamila Sellier being stretchered off the ice after a competitor's blade sliced her above the left eye. Italy's 15-time Olympic medalist Ariana Fontana also went down in the crash.
31-year-old Santos-Griswold was subsequently disqualified from advancing to the Olympic short track semifinal, despite her quarterfinal efforts.
Illegal Kristen Santos-Griswold pass spurs short track pile-up
Race officials paused the competition while medical personnel attended to Sellier. A large white sheet blocked the injured skater from the packed arena crowd during treatment. Sellier eventually flashed a thumbs-up to spectators as workers wheeled her out, the ice stained red with blood where she fell.
Polish officials confirmed Sellier received stitches at the arena before heading to the hospital for additional tests.
Fontana's skinsuit sustained damage in the collision, and she received treatment from her physiotherapist during the pause. Despite the crash, Fontana finished second to Belgium's Hanne Desmet and advanced to the semifinal round.
Fontana later reached the finals by narrowly beating China's Chutong Zhang to the finish line, preventing the reigning 1,500-meter silver medalist from tying Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen as the world's most decorated Winter Olympian.
The penalty marked a disappointing end to Santos-Griswold's 2026 Olympic campaign, after the US speed skating star failed to reach the podium over the course of two Winter Games.
US Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu and her father Arthur Liu were among those targeted in a spying operation ordered by the Chinese government ahead of the Beijing Olympics, according to the Justice Department.
In March 2022, Arthur Liu told The Associated Press that the FBI had contacted him the previous October, warning him about a Chinese spying scheme as his daughter prepared for her debut Olympics. Arthur subsequently chose not to tell Alysa about the situation, hoping to avoid throwing the then-16-year-old off her game.
"We believed Alysa had a very good chance of making the Olympic team and truly were very scared," the elder Liu said at the time.
The Justice Department later announced charges against five men accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese government, including stalking and harassing Chinese dissidents in the US. A former political refugee, Arthur immigrated to California after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
Arthur Liu Took a Stand Against "Chinese Bullying"
By allowing his daughter to compete in Beijing, Arthur said his family took a stand against the Chinese government's bullying.
"This is her moment. This is her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games," Liu said at the time. "I'm not going to let them stop her from going, and I'll do whatever I can to make sure she's safe."
According to Arthur, Alysa received added protection in Beijing. She had at least two people escorting her at all times.
"They are probably just trying to intimidate us, to threaten us not to say anything, to cause trouble and say anything political or related to human rights violations in China," he continued. "I had concerns about her safety. The US government did a good job protecting her."
The USOPC supported Liu's efforts, stating that the safety and security of US athletes remained its "number one priority." Nonetheless, Alysa told her father that a stranger approached her at an Olympic cafeteria in Beijing, later following her and asking her to come back to his apartment.
"I've kind of accepted my life to be like this because of what I chose to do in 1989, to speak up against the government," Arthur said.
"I know the Chinese government will extend their long hands into any corner in the world. I'm going to continue to enjoy life and live life as I want to live. I'm not going to let this push me down, and I'm not going to let them succeed."
Alysa Liu Stages Olympic Comeback After Brief Retirement
After finishing seventh at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Alysa briefly retired from competitive skating.
"Heyyyyy so I'm here to announce that I am retiring from skating," she wrote in a since-deleted social media post. "I started skating when I was 5 so that's about 11 years on the ice and it's been an insane 11 years. A lot of good and a lot of bad but (you know) that's just how it is."
However, the younger Liu staged a remarkable comeback in 2024, rediscovering her love for the sport. She went on to win the 2025 World Championships in Boston, before capturing Olympic gold and ending a 24-year drought for US women's figure skating.
Alysa's triumphant return to the ice four years later proved her father's defiance was not in vain. Now a student-athlete at UCLA, the 20-year-old champion became the first US women's figure skater to win Olympic gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
"I'm so intentional now," Liu said this week. "I'm so grounded. Everything I do has a reason for why I do it."
Canada hockey captain Marie-Philip Poulin left it all on the ice in Thursday's gold medal match.
Despite battling through a lower-body injury that forced her to miss two preliminary games, the 34-year-old veteran's heroic effort fell short. After US captain Hilary Knight scored the equalizer near the end of regulation time, Team USA topped their northern rival 2-1 in overtime to claim the Olympic gold medal — forcing Canada to settle for silver.
With injury limiting her mobility, Poulin broke the Olympic women's goal-scoring record just days earlier, registering two goals against Switzerland in the semifinal. She reached 20 career Olympic goals in the win, surpassing former teammate Hayley Wickenheiser's previous record.
Canada led for nearly 40 minutes Thursday, after Kristin O'Neill scored a short-handed goal in the second period. O'Neill's tally marked Team USA's first goal allowed in over 352 minutes of play — a new Olympic hockey record. Goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens then kept the US scoreless through regulation, until Hilary Knight's deflection found the back of the net in the final two minutes.
"This one hurts," Poulin admitted after the loss. "We wanted to bring it back to Canada. We showed up and played hard until the end, but we came up short."
The defeat represents Canada's eighth consecutive loss to the US, a streak that dates back to the 2025 World Championships. Head coach Troy Ryan subsequently assembled a veteran-heavy Olympic roster that averaged three years older than youthful Team USA.
As for Poulin, her future remains uncertain. While the decorated captain may have played her final Olympic game, Canada hockey must now look ahead to 2030.
"We wanted to play relentless, in-their-face hockey, and that's what we did," an emotional Poulin said. "We came up short, but I'm truly, truly proud of this group."
Team USA got it done on Thursday, becoming the 2026 Olympic women's hockey champions with a comeback 2-1 overtime win over rival Canada.
Canada's Kristen O'Neill opened the scoring early in the second period, with her 1-0 lead holding until just outside the final two minutes of regulation time.
USA captain Hilary Knight then registered the equalizer — becoming the nation's top scorer in Olympic history — before Megan Keller slotted in the game-winner four minutes in to sudden-death overtime.
Though either Canada or the US has earned every one of the sport's eight Olympic titles, Thursday's gold is the third for Team USA, who topped the inaugural podium at the 1998 Nagano Games before snapping a 20-year drought with a second gold in PyeongChang.
USA Hockey's 2026 campaign will go down as one of the most dominant Olympic runs on record, with the US tallying a 33-2 goal differential — including five shutouts — through their seven matches in Milan.
"I've been on some great teams, with a lot of great teammates, great players, Hall-of-Famers," US veteran Kendall Coyne Schofield said. "But this one is special."
The USA's stacked roster ultimately claimed four of the Top-5 spots on the Olympic stat sheet, where Keller and University of Wisconsin star Caroline Harvey each posted a tournament-leading nine points — a run that saw Harvey also honored as the 2026 Games' MVP.
As for 36-year-old Knight, the USA hockey legend wraps her final Olympics with a Hollywood ending, capping an historic international career with an engagement and a gold medal.
"It's been an incredible ride," she said on Thursday. "I have to soak this all in because this room is just so special, this team is so special. This is the best US hockey team I've ever been a part of. That is just so tremendous."
Team USA's Blade Angels made history on Thursday, as the halo-haired Alysa Liu became the first US women's figure skater to win singles gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002 — three years before Liu was even born.
After finishing third in Tuesday's short program, Liu posted a competition-high score of 150.20 on Thursday, leapfrogging Japan's silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto and bronze medalist Ami Nakai with her clean, high-energy free skate.
The medal punctuates Liu's emphatic comeback, with the US star returning to the ice in 2024 after retiring at the age of 16 following her Olympic debut in Beijing.
"I think my story is more important than anything to me, and that's what I hold dear," the 20-year-old said. "And this journey has been incredible."
Alysa Liu ultimately ended a 20-year Olympic medal drought for the US, as the last USA women's figure skater to being home hardware was 2006 Turin Games silver medalist Sasha Cohen.
Team USA saw additional triumphs off the podium, as reigning three-time US champion Amber Glenn claimed redemption following her disappointing 13th-place short program, performing a stunning free skate — complete with a flawless triple axel — to prove her resilience and secure fifth place.
"I told myself, no matter how the program was going to go, I was going to look up and tell myself, 'You're at the Olympics,' and I did that," she said. "I'm just really proud of that moment."
US women's curling has eyes on the prize, with Team USA surviving a four-team race for the final two Olympic semifinal spots by defeating Switzerland in a 7-6 thriller on Thursday.
Kicking off the matchup tied for third on a 5-3 round-robin record with Canada and South Korea — with defending champion Great Britain's semifinal hopes trailing just behind on a 4-4 tally — the USA's most direct path to this weekend's Olympic medal rounds required a win over the already-qualified Swiss squad.
Led by newly crowned mixed doubles silver medalist Cory Thiesse, the US entered Thursday's win-and-in game coming off a stinging 8-7 loss to Great Britain — a contest that would have clinched their semis spot had the USA claimed victory.
"That one hurt a little more," captain Tabitha Peterson said postgame. "I think maybe I just attacked wrong on my second-to-last shot, and then I just didn't make my last one either. That's unfortunate, but they made a fantastic shot, so not much you could do about that."
Peterson flipped the script on Thursday, however, coming in clutch after Switzerland forced an extra frame with a stunning 10th-end three-stone tally to tie the US 6-6.
The 36-year-old skipper then broke the deadlock with her final shot to secure both the win and the USA women's second-ever trip to the Olympic semifinals — the team's first medal round berth in 24 years.
The Stateside quartet will now take aim at a first-ever podium finish alongside Canada, who secured the final spot in the knockouts by defeating South Korea 10-7 on Thursday, Switzerland, and the top-seeded three-time champion Sweden.
How to watch US women's curling in the 2026 Olympic semifinals
At the same time that Canada faces Sweden — arguably the toughest team in the field — Team USA will look to hand Switzerland a second straight loss when the pair meet again less than 24 hours after Thursday's result.
Both semifinals begin at 8:05 AM ET on Friday, airing live on Peacock and USA Network.
US women's hockey captain Hilary Knight proposed to speed skater Brittany Bowe at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina this week, marking a special moment for two Team USA athletes competing on the world's biggest stage.
Bowe accepted Knight's proposal on Tuesday, as the US women's hockey star got down on one knee to ask the question. Bowe later shared the engagement news on social media complete with photos from the event.
The couple first connected during the 2022 Beijing Olympics, with Bowe and Knight taking long evening walks together during those Winter Games. The walks provided both athletes a break from the competition — and their relationship blossomed.
Bowe, a two-time Olympic speed skating bronze medalist, competed in multiple events in Milan, finishing fourth in both the 1,000-meter individual race and the team pursuit.
Knight will compete for gold against archival Canada this afternoon after representing US women's hockey across multiple Olympic cycles. Bowe's own Olympic journey spans several Winter Games, cementing her legacy in speed skating.
Should US hockey win gold, it would give Knight and Bowe a chance to celebrate with an Olympic championship.
The news makes Bowe and Knight the second Team USA couple to say yes in Milano-Cortina this year, after alpine skier Breezy Johnson got engaged at the women's super-G event finish line last week.
Ski mountaineering made history on Thursday, as Switzerland's Marianne Fatton won the sport's first-ever Olympic gold after claiming the women's sprint title in Bormio, Italy.
Fatton finished with a time of 2:59.77 to beat favorite Emily Harrop of France. Harrop earned silver in 3:02.15, finishing 2.38 seconds behind, while Spain's Ana Alonso Rodriguez captured bronze with a time of 3:10.22.
Harrop had posted the fastest time heading into the final at 3:03.34 after winning both her heat and semifinal. But reigning world champion Fatton managed to capitalize on Harrop's slower transitions to win the final.
Ski mountaineering, often called "skimo," requires athletes to ascend mountains both on skis and on foot before a downhill race decides the winner. The women's sprint featured three ascent stages, with athletes starting with skis attached before removing them to tackle the course on foot. They subsequently reattach their skis for another ascent, later stripping off the skins for the final descent.
Snowy conditions at the Stelvio Ski Centre made conditions particularly challenging for athletes, as they showcased ski mountaineering to Olympic audiences for the first time. The International Ski Mountaineering Federation was founded in 2007 and gained IOC recognition in 2016.
"It's a magical day," the 30-year-old said after Thursday's win. "It's history for our sport, and for us as athletes, and it's wonderful."
As the women's singles free skate hits the ice in Milan on Thursday, the Olympic fate of USA figure skating is on the line — and it rests on the shoulders of reigning world champion Alysa Liu.
Liu finished third in Tuesday's short program with a score of 76.59, slightly behind Japan's first and second place finishers Ami Nakai (78.71) and Kaori Sakamoto (77.23).
"I'm really confident in myself, and even if I mess up and fall, that's totally okay, too," Liu said following her short program finish, as the US looks to end a 20-year women's singles medal draught.
Thursday's event also offers Liu's fellow Blade Angels — eighth-place Isabeau Levito and 13th-place Amber Glenn — a chance to right the ship after mixed short program results.
"I wanted to enjoy today, and unfortunately I didn't get to," an emotional Glenn said Tuesday, after a popped triple loop ended her own medal hopes. "So hopefully I can try to find some happiness in the free skate."
"I felt very good out there," said 18-year-old Levito. "I feel very well-trained, so I was able to enjoy the moment."
How to watch Alysa Liu and Team USA in Olympic women's free skate
Liu and her fellow Blade Angels will close out the 2026 Olympic figure skating competition in the women's singles free skate at 1 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on NBC.