Team USA made an immediate impact on the first full day of competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, headlined by another one-sided performance from the women's hockey team and a five-point lead in figure skating's team event that sets up a pivotal Sunday.

It was a rough day for the U.S. curling team. After a record-setting 4-0 undefeated start, Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin suffered back-to-back losses to undefeated Great Britain and the previously winless South Korea. Team USA is now 4-2.

What to watch for: Austria’s Anna Gasser is the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist, but she hurt her shoulder surfing during the summer and has been rehabbing with the hope of making it three straight. New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, the 2022 big air silver medalist and also a slopestyle star, is another favorite.

Italian police have used tear gas and a water cannon on protesters near a Winter Olympics venue. The protest that took place on Saturday involved a small group of violent demonstrators at the end of an otherwise peaceful march against the environmental impact of the Games and the presence of U.

European attitudes toward the U.S. have shifted dramatically over the past year, recent polls indicate.

Will the U.S. walk away with the most gold medals from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics? Will Team USA challenge for the most medals overall? We’ll know in a little more than two short weeks. The first gold medals were awarded on Saturday,

The Italians have 25 first-time Olympians and four NHL draft picks, including Clara, defenseman Thomas Larkin (Columbus Blue Jackets, fifth round, 2009), forward Matthew Bradley (Montreal Canadiens, fifth round, 2015) and forward Cristiano DiGiacinto (Tampa Bay Lightning, sixth round, 2014).

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off with an opening ceremony on Friday that averaged 21.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings and digital data from Adobe Analytics.