2026 Winter Olympics: The Games as told by photos from each dayplayWhy Emily Kaplan calls it a ‘personal redemption tournament’ for Team USA (0:53)Emily Kaplan details what’s on the line in the Olympic finals for Team USA in men’s hockey. (0:53)ESPNMultiple AuthorsFeb 22, 2026, 04:07 PM ET
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After just over two weeks, the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics have come to a close, bringing thrilling action and memorable moments in spades.
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In a quest to provide both a general look at the breadth of competition that occurs at the Games as well as some of the more specific individual moments, we compiled collages that both take a look at the story of each of the Games’ days overall, as well as one specific snapshot of particular significance.
Here are the 2026 Winter Olympics, as told by photos.
Day 1:
Reuters: AP; Getty ImagesMoment of the day: Every Games needs its first gold medal winner, and Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen provided that moment in Milan, winning in men’s downhill in what was the 24-year-old’s first Olympic race.
Frank Heinen/VOIGT/GettyImagesDay 2:Reuters; AP; Getty ImagesMoment of the day: Breezy Johnson got the U.S. off the mark on the gold medal table on the Games’ second day, providing a small lift for Team USA to cap off a downhill event that had been dampened by Lindsey Vonn’s brutal crash earlier in the day.
Al Bello/Getty ImagesDay 3:Getty Images; AP; ReutersMoment of the day: The American mixed curling duo of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin delivered a thrilling 9-8 win over Italy in the event’s semifinal round, securing Team USA’s first trip to the final since the event’s Olympic debut in 2018.
Ding Xu/Xinhua via Getty ImagesDay 4:AP Photo, Getty ImagesMoment of the day: A rivalry matchup that would prove to be a gold medal game preview turned into a surprising rout, as USA women’s hockey delivered an emphatic 5-0 win over Canada in group stage play, paced by two goals from Hannah Bilka and three assists from Abbey Murphy.
Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesDay 5:AP Photo, Getty ImagesMoment of the day: Jordan Stolz, 21, entered Milan as a contender in four different speedskating disciplines, and he got his Games off to a fittingly impressive start in the 1000 meters — setting an Olympic record in a gold medal-winning performance.
Du Xiaoyi/Xinhua via Getty ImagesDay 6:AP Photo, Getty Images, ReutersMoment of the day: Chloe Kim entered Milan having won back-to-back gold medals in women’s halfpipe but saw her bid for a three-peat upended by an unlikely suspect: Choi Gaon, a 17-year-old from South Korea. Choi scored a 90.25 on her final run to secure a golden first Olympic medal.
Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesDay 7:AP Photo, Getty Images, ReutersMoment of the day: While Ilia Malinin entered the men’s singles figure skating event as a heavy favorite, the American fell twice in free skate, part of an unexpectedly poor outing that saw him finish eighth. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won gold, boasting a lead of more than 11 points over the rest of the field.
Jared C. Tilton/2026 Getty ImagesDay 8:Getty Images, Reuters, APMoment of the day: Recall that mention of Stolz’ contender status a couple of paragraphs ago? And his Olympic record to win gold in the 1000 meters on Day 3? Well, Day 8 brought a similar story. Stolz blazed through the 500 meters event, tallying another Olympic record and adding another gold medal.
Li Jing/Xinhua via Getty ImagesDay 9:Getty Images, ReutersMoment of the day: Canadian skier Mikaël Kingsbury had mentioned that the 2026 Games would be his last, and he made the most of his final ride on the big stage. Kingsbury earned his fifth career Olympic medal — and Canada’s first gold medal in Milan — with a win in men’s dual moguls on Day 9.
David Davies/PA Images via Getty ImagesDay 10:Getty ImagesMoment of the day: Elana Meyers Taylor has been in bobsledding for some time — Milan marked the American’s fifth games, with three silver and two bronze medals to show for her prior experiences. Meyers Taylor, 41, at last earned her first gold in 2026, winning in monobob.
Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images)Day 11:Reuters; AP; Getty ImagesMoment of the day: Norway’s Tormod Frostad needed to nail his final jump to earn a gold medal in men’s big air, with American Mac Forehand having edged ahead of him on the second-to-last jump of the event. Frostad did just that, finishing with a final score of 195.50 points out of a maximum 200 to secure gold.
Adam Pretty/Getty ImagesDay 12:AP Photo, Getty Images, ReutersMoment of the day: Once the youngest Olympic slalom champion at Sochi in 2014, Mikaela Shiffrin returned to the top of the podium after a disappointing medal-less 2022 Games in Beijing. Shiffrin became the second-ever skier to win slalom gold twice at the Olympics on Day 12.
Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty ImagesDay 13:AP Photo, Getty Images, ReutersMoment of the day: For all of Team USA women’s hockey’s dominance over Canada in the two teams’ group stage meeting, the gold medal match saw a reverse dynamic. Canada held a 1-0 lead for most of the game’s final two periods, before American captain Hilary Knight sent the game to overtime. Megan Keller delivered the winner with an iconic goal.
RvS.Media/Robert Hradil/Getty ImagesDay 14:AP PhotoMoment of the day: Finland built a two-goal lead in the men’s hockey semifinal, but Canada rallied to a 3-2 victory that booked a place in the gold medal game. Nathan MacKinnon was the hero for Canada, scoring the winning goal on a power play with less than a minute left in regulation.
Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesDay 15:AP, Getty Images, ReutersMoment of the day: After all the drama of figure skating in these Olympics, the ice dancing exhibition on Saturday was a chance for fans to see the biggest stars one last time. Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and more thrilled the crowd with some gorgeous and creative final routines.Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesDay 16:Getty Images, ReutersMoment of the day: While Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the U.S. men’s hockey team, the Americans wouldn’t have been there without the performance of goalie Connor Hellebuyck. The Winnipeg Jets goaltender had 41 saves against Canada — none more remarkable than denying Devon Toews with his paddle in the third period.
Connor Hellebuyck made the save of the tournament, using his paddle to deny Devon Toews. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
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