The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina featured many American women, who should be recognized even further for their success. Team USA finished the Olympics with 12 gold medals, and exactly half of those victories, six in total, were secured by women. The women accounted for 50% of the team’s golden achievements, proving that the strength of U.S. winter sports has much of its power coming from their female competitors.
In alpine skiing, Mikaela Shiffrin added to her legendary status by capturing gold in the slalom. After years of intense pressure, Shiffrin described the win as a “spiritual” moment of peace. Shiffrin shared in a post, “This, right here, is the lottery, and I won. Oh, and I got a medal too.”
Meanwhile, Breezy Johnson showcased amazing speed in the downhill event. She clocked in at 1:36.10, and Johnson became only the second woman to win downhill gold. Earning her place on the podium was hard due to coming back from a recent injury, but she managed to win gold in the end. She stated, “Sometimes when you keep going, maybe you’ll make it back to the top.”
In an entirely different part of the Olympics, Elizabeth Lemley stunned everyone in her Olympic debut, winning gold in moguls. “I keep imagining introducing myself, like, ‘Hey, I’m an Olympic gold medalist, which is insane to me,” the freestyle skier laughed.
The collective power of Team USA was shown in the Women’s Ice Hockey team. In a high-stakes final against Canada, the Americans trailed 1-0 in the second period. However, this team refused to give up. Hilary Knight scored a goal, tying the game late in the third, and Megan Keller fired home the winning goal in sudden-death overtime to secure the 2-1 victory. “To be Olympic champions is something I know a lot of us will remember forever,” Keller said in the winning moment. “Champions walk together forever.”
Whether it was Taylor’s decades-long pursuit or Lemley’s immediate impact, these six gold medals represent a milestone in American sports history, proving that for these athletes, the climb was just as valuable as the view from the top.
One of the most emotional highlights of the games was Elana Meyers Taylor’s victory in the women’s monobob. At the age of 41, Taylor became the oldest U.S. woman to win an individual Winter Olympic medal. This was Taylor’s first gold in five Olympic appearances. She explained that, “My entire career has been a story of highs and lows and fights… It has never been a picture-perfect thing,” Taylor also continued to confess, “But for some reason, it feels picture-perfect right now.”
Now returning to the sport after a brief retirement, Alysa Liu captured gold in the women’s figure skating, the first for an American woman in 24 years. Immediately after her free skate, she went viral across multiple platforms, creating a large fan support base. Later, she reflected on her journey, “What is there to lose? Every second you’re there, you’re gaining something.”
The women of the USA team did more than just balance the scales with the men of this team. Though it’s truly not a competition within the team between men and women, these women of the 2026 Winter Olympics proved that while the gold is the ultimate prize, the stories of the women who won their medals will inspire more female athletes to do the same thing and finally get the recognition they have always deserved.
