Entering the 2026 Olympics with a newly torn ACL, Team USA skiing icon Lindsey Vonn will race in the women's downhill event on Sunday — with the 41-year-old using it as a test case before committing to additional events at the Winter Games.
Vonn is also hoping to compete in Tuesday's team combined slalom event — possibly alongside fellow US star Mikaela Shiffrin — but the recent knee injury could derail her fifth, and likely final, Winter Olympics run.
"It will be objective performance that will define what our teams look like," USA women's skiing head coach Paul Kristofic clarified. "In the end, my job is to put the best pairings together so we can perform and get a medal and potentially win."
With Vonn's status technically still unclear, Italy is eyeing a home win, as 2018 gold medalist Sofia Goggia teams up with fellow decorated veteran Federica Brignone on Tuesday.
That said, Vonn successfully completed an early Friday training run — on the same Cortina course where she holds a record 12 World Cup wins.
"She was smart. She didn't go all in," said Vonn's coach Aksel Lund Svindal after her 11th-place run. "There was reserves today.... It's going to be hard but I think she could possibly [medal] on Sunday."
"No one would have believed I would be here…but I made it!!" Vonn posted to social media prior to Friday's downhill training. "I'm not going to waste this chance.... Let's go get it!!"
How to watch Lindsey Vonn at the 2026 Winter Olympics downhill event
Vonn will make her 2026 Olympic debut in the women's downhill event at 5:30 AM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on USA Network.
USA Hockey is off to a hot start in Milan, taking down Czechia 5-1 on Thursday to open their 2026 Winter Olympics campaign in style.
While Barbora Juříčková registered Czechia's lone tally, Hayley Scamurra scored a brace and Alex Carpenter notched both a goal and an assist in the rout, with Ohio State junior Joy Dunne also finding the back of the net before USA captain Hilary Knight scored the 13th Olympic goal of her career.
"It was incredible," Scamurra told reporters postgame. "Whenever I go out there, I just try to bring all the energy that I can to the team. To be able to produce is the cherry on top."
The US will next turn their attention to Saturday's showdown against Finland, with the Finns still recovering from a norovirus outbreak that postponed their Thursday opener with Canada.
The IOC rescheduled the Finland vs. Canada matchup for next Thursday, but the weekend game remains on the official Olympic hockey schedule.
"I think we're planning on playing Finland, until somebody tells me differently," said USA Hockey head coach John Wroblewski. "But, I hope that they're okay. That's the most important part."
How to watch USA Hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Team USA will take on Finland at 10:40 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on USA Network.
Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto delivered a commanding performance in this morning's figure skating team event, scoring 78.88 points to lift Japan to second place at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The 25-year-old finished first in the women's short program at Milano Ice Skating Arena, edging out reigning world champion Alysa Liu of Team USA by nearly four points.
Sakamoto skated near-flawlessly despite an edge error on her opening triple Lutz, going on to earn top levels on all her spins and footwork sequences. The two-time Olympic medalist expressed relief after Friday's performance, acknowledging her nerves while maintaining composure.
The Milano-Cortina Games mark Kaori Sakamoto's final Olympic appearance. After narrowly missing a fourth consecutive world championship win in June, she announced plans to retire from competitive figure skating following this season. With three world titles, she's currently tied with Japanese legend Asada Mao for the winningest Japanese women's figure skater.
Sakamoto won bronze in the individual event and silver in the team competition at Beijing 2022, after finisheing sixth at her 2018 Olympic debut in PyeongChang. This year, she aims to complete her medal collection by capturing Olympic gold.
After retirement, Kaori Sakamoto discussed plans to pursue coaching in her hometown of Kobe, hoping to develop the next generation of world-class Japanese figure skaters.
What's next for figure skater Kaori Sakamoto at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Japan currently sits two points behind Team USA heading into the second day of team competition. Five nations remain in contention to advance to the final round, with Italy, Georgia, and Canada also in the running.
Sakamoto will likely return to the ice on Sunday, when the figure skating team event concludes with women's free skate at 2:45 PM ET, live across NBC and Peacock.
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu will defend her titles at the 2026 Winter Olympics this weekend, competing in halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air. But the 22-year-old San Francisco native, who represents China internationally, has also emerged as the Winter Games' highest-paid athlete.
According to Sportico, Gu brought in approximately $23 million in 2025, making her the world's fourth-highest-paid women's sports athlete and topping all Winter Olympic competitors. However, just $100,000 of her earnings came from skiing. Endorsement deals with Red Bull, Porsche, and Tiffany, plus Chinese companies like Anta Sports and TCL, account for the vast majority of her income.
“There is a massive audience out there for a Chinese athlete with global appeal,” former US Olympic Committe CMO Rick Burton told Sportico.
“Gu checks all the marketability boxes and has so much going for her. Cross-cultural appeal, Olympic champion, young and dynamic.”
Eileen Gu made history in 2022 as the first Olympic freestyle skier to medal three times. In Beijing, she captured gold in big air and halfpipe while also winning silver in slopestyle. At just 18, she became the youngest-ever Olympic freestyle skiing champion.
In January 2025, Gu achieved her 20th career World Cup victory at the Laax Open, becoming the first-ever freestyle skier to reach the milestone. Now she shoots for Olympic slopestyle gold — the only medal that's eluded her.
Off the slopes, Gu studies international relations at Stanford University, where she also takes quantum physics classes. She also models for major brands including Louis Vuitton and Victoria's Secret, contributing to her growing income.
How to watch Eileen Gu at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Gu opens her Olympic campaign on February 7th with slopestyle qualifiers. She next competes in big air on February 14th and halfpipe on February 19th.
All events will air live across Peacock and NBC.
Every Wednesday in February, JWS celebrates Black History Month by spotlighting a prominent Black figure in women's sports history.
More than 20 years ago, Team USA bobsledder Vonetta Flowers changed the Olympics forever, becoming the first Black athlete — in any sport, from any country — to win a Winter Games gold medal when her team topped the podium in Salt Lake City in at the 2002.
Originally a standout sprinter and long jumper at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Flowers turned her track and field dreams into bobsled success by transitioning to become a brakeman for the 2002 USA team, earning gold in the inaugural Olympic women's bobsled event alongside driver Jill Bakken.
After giving birth to twins, Flowers returned to the bobsled track to compete with driver Jean Racine-Prahm and the pair raced to bronze at the 2004 World Championships before finishing sixth at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
Retiring after the 2006 Games, Flowers blazed a trail for Black women in winter sports all the way to Team USA's 2026 flag bearer, Olympic champion speed skater Erin Jackson.
The 2022 US flag bearer, 41-year-old bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor — already the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history before competing in her fifth straight Games this month — counts Flowers as an inspiration.
"Vonetta Flowers is the reason I'm here," Meyers Taylor said after winning both silver and bronze in Beijing in 2022.
"It's just been such a long legacy of Black athletes at the Winter Olympics and hopefully it just continues."
The Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony promises a groundbreaking celebration on February 6th, as Milano-Cortina 2026 becomes the first Winter Games officially co-hosted by two cities.
The three-hour showcase kicks off at 2 PM ET on NBC, with global superstars and Italian icons coming together around the theme of "Armonia" (AKA harmony) inside Milan's San Siro Stadium.
Five-time Grammy winner Mariah Carey headlines the Opening Ceremony bill, joined by renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who returns to the Olympics 20 years after performing in Turin. Other confirmed participants include Grammy-nominated pianist Lang Lang, Golden Globe winner Laura Pausini, opera star Cecilia Bartoli, and White Lotus star Sabrina Impacciatore.
What to Expect at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
The 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony breaks tradition, instituting an innovative dual-location approach. While 77,000 spectators gather at San Siro Stadium for the Parade of Nations, simultaneous events will also occur in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Predazzo, and Livigno, allowing athletes across all venues to join in on the celebration. It marks the most geographically broad Winter Games in Olympic history, with competition sites spanning more than 400 kilometers.
For the first time, two identical Olympic cauldrons inspired by Leonardo da Vinci will light up at the same time — one at Milan's Arco della Pace and the other in Cortina's Piazza Dibona, where large screens will broadcast San Siro's Opening Ceremony, creating a unified experience across both cities.
Bobsledder Frank Del Duca and speed skating gold medalist Erin Jackson will carry the flag for the US contingent, while Italy's alpine skiing legend Federica Brignone and curling champion Amos Mosaner will bear the host country's flag.
What to Expect at the Closing Ceremony
The 2026 Winter Olympics wrap up on February 22nd, staging the Closing Ceremony at historic Roman amphitheater and UNESCO World Heritage site Verona Arena. Ballet star Roberto Bolle, principal dancer at La Scala Theatre Ballet, will headline the event before Milano-Cortina officially passes the torch to the French Alps for the 2030 Winter Olympics.
How to Watch the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony kicks off on Friday, February 6th at 2 PM ET, live on Peacock.
NBC will later air a primetime encore with special coverage at 8 PM ET.
US skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender will not compete at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport denied her appeal concerning alleged point manipulation by Canadian officials.
The tribunal determined that Uhlaender's dispute fell outside the 10-day window preceding February 6th's Opening Ceremony. The decision appears to exhaust all options for the five-time Olympian to compete in what would have been her sixth Winter Games.
The controversy dates to Uhlaender's final qualifying race on January 11th in Lake Placid, New York. That's when Canadian skeleton coach Joe Cecchini texted Uhlaender telling her he had bad news. In a recorded phone conversation, he subsequently appeared to outline his plan to manipulate the qualifying competition's point system.
"We've had some crazy races that have not gone our way this year," Cecchini said in the recording. "And I'm like, 'I can just eliminate any possibilities here.'"
Cecchini withdrew four Canadian athletes from the race, reducing available ranking points and preventing Uhlaender from earning enough points to qualify for Milan Cortina.
Canada remains unsanctioned despite widespread Katie Uhlaender support
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation investigated the Uhlaender case and supported her allegations. Afterwards, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee concluded she was sidelined due to unfair actions at Lake Placid. However, Team Canada remains without any international sanctions.
Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton defended the decision as appropriate and aligned with athlete welfare and sport integrity. Despite growing support from officials acknowledging the system was manipulated, no one has intervened.
41-year-old Uhlaender as competed in five Winter Olympics, registering her best performance in 2014 with a fourth-place final finish at the Sochi Winter Games.