The defining moments of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

The most geographically dispersed Olympic Games in history ended in Italy, leaving triumph and controversy in Milan and Cortina.

MILAN — These Winter Olympics were the most comprehensive in history, with speed skating, ice hockey and figure skating at four venues on the outskirts of the city, while the Games' other 12 sports were scattered for hours in hard-to-reach mountain towns.

But those who attempted to attend the Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan witnessed Olympians remembered as "kings", accidents, cheating scandals, drones, historic medals and host nation victories.

Team USA wins record 12 gold medals

These dozen gold medals are the most ever won by the United States in a single Winter Olympics.Early gold medalists included bobsledder Elena Myers Taylor, 41, who won the mono bob by four hundredths of a second;Jordan Stoltz, who won gold medals in the long course for 500 meters and 1,000 meters, and Alex Ferreira, the 31-year-old ski halfpipe winner.

United States Hockey Sweep Gold

By winning the gold medals in hockey, the American men won the Olympic tournament for the first time since 1980 and the women since 2018.

Trailing arch-rival Canada, 1-0, with two minutes remaining, captain Hillary Knight, who is competing in her fifth and final Olympic Games, sent the gold medal game into overtime.Veteran Megan Keller then scored the golden goal in a thrilling comeback to give the U.S. women their third Olympic gold and first since 2018. The victory capped a two-day streak for Knight, who had proposed to figure skater Brittany Bowe the day before.

The NHL's first men's tournament since 2014 also featured a Canada-USA final that ended with Jack Hughes' golden goal in overtime.

Great results in US Figure Skating

After the U.S. won the team events — men's, women's, double figure skating and figure skating — the country appeared to be on the verge of taking more power in the individual events.It didn't end that way.

Ilia Malinin, a heavy favorite for the gold medal in the men's singles, went into the final leading but crashed several times to drop to eighth place in arguably the biggest upset of the Games.He said the pressure got the best of him.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the pair's favourites, put in a great performance, but took the money after France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron were (somewhat controversially) eliminated.

But the Olympic standout might be Alysa Liu.The 20-year-old athlete, who quit figure skating four years ago, performed for a long time in the women's singles final and won the gold medal with these words.

"That's what I'm talking about," Liu said as he skated off the ice after his gold-winning performance.

Norway dominates the medal count

Despite its population of just 5.6 million, the Nordic nation has long been a powerhouse in Winter Olympic endurance sports like skiing and biathlon.

But Norway's dominance increased to historic levels in Italy, where it topped the list with 41 medals, becoming the first country to win more than 40 medals in a single Winter Olympics.(Opixin 1972)1988) and Michael Phelps (six each in 2004 and 2008) and gymnast Vitaly Sherbo (six in 1992).

Lindsey Vonn's comeback ends in an accident

Forced into retirement by injuries in 2019 before mounting a comeback in 2024, the American superstar skier, 41, entered the Olympics enjoying the healthiest season she could remember.

It was less than a week into the women's first round, when she tore knee ligaments in a match.Determined to compete in the hurdles despite the injury, Vonn entered the downhill final with the fastest time of the entire field.But just 13 seconds into his run, he grabbed the gate with his right hand and launched into a head-on crash that killed his teammates and Cortina d'Ampezzo silenced the family-filled crowd.He has had five surgeries and his father has said he does not want him to compete again.

Johnson and Shiffrin won skiing gold

In the same downhill race where Vonn fell, American teammate Breezy Johnson rode through a treacherous storm to join Vonn and become the only woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic gold medal.In the alpine skiing team event, Johnson and teammate Mikaela Shiffrin finished fourth, while Americans Paula Moltzan and Jackie Willis won the bronze medal less than a year after surviving the accident.

Johnson will end the Games on a happy note after her boyfriend proposed on the basis of the giant slalom competition.Shiffrin, who hasn't won an Olympic medal since 2018, capped the cathartic game by dominating the slalom for gold.

The Ukrainian football player was banned from the tournament

Vladislav Hryaskiewicz planned to compete in the skeleton competition while wearing a helmet bearing the images of Ukrainian athletes killed in 2022 after Russia invaded the country. However, the helmet did not comply with the "Athlete Statement Guidelines" of the Olympic Committee.Hiraskiewicz withdrew from the competition.His refusal to wear another helmet is due to his belief that "there are more important things than medals."

Trump called the American athlete a "loser"

When asked how he feels about representing the US, freestyler Hunter Hess said, "Just because I'm wearing the flag doesn't mean I'm representing everything that's going on in the United States."This quickly attracted the attention of President Donald Trump, who called Hess a "loser" on social media.Hess later said it was "tough" to deal with the attention the comment brought, but he stood by his comments and even flashed an "L" after the run, a nod to Trump's comments.

"I love the United States of America," Hess said."I can't say it enough. My original statement, I think I said it, but obviously people didn't get it that way."

Italy is enjoying its best ever Winter Olympics

This Olympics follows Italy's success at the 1994 Winter Olympics, when the Azzurri won a total of 20 medals, including seven golds.

At home this month, the host nation broke those records with 30 medals, the third of any nation, and 10 golds. Sprinter Francesca Lollobrigida won the 3,000-meter race at the Olympics at age 35, and celebrated with her 2-year-old son. She won another gold later in the Games.Pa won gold in the giant slalom, and speed skater Ariana Fontana won her 14th Olympic medal.

Fraudulent confessions and accusations

Norwegian skier Sturla Holm Legrad's emotional admission in a post-competition interview that he cheated on his girlfriend and hopes to get her back quickly has made him one of the most talked-about athletes of the Olympics."I hope social suicide [like this] can show how much I love you," she said.At the end of the Games, he won five medals, but not the previous one.

Lægreid was not the only player caught in the scam.On the ice, Canada and Sweden got into a shouting match after the Swedes accused Canada's Marc Kennedy of two illegal touches during the curling game.

Kennedy attacked the Swedish team.Asked why he was so upset, Kennedy said: "He's still accusing us of cheating and I don't like that. So I told him where to stick it, because we did wrong."

You never dreamed of the Olympics

For the first time, an athlete representing South America won a medal at the Winter Olympics.That is thanks to Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, the giant of the slalom race born in Oslo who once represented Norway, who retired from the sport, then returned under the flag of Brazil, where his mother was raised.

Snowboarders like Pinheiro Braten were captured during the Olympics from never-before-seen angles with small, agile drones that followed the athletes at speeds of up to 75 miles per hour.Spectacular views of athletes running downhill, downhill and speed skating impressed onlookers.