The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics are hitting the home stretch, and some of the biggest Team USA stars will be fighting for gold on Thursday.
The U.S. women’s hockey team will be aiming for a gold medal on Thursday, as will U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu.
A trio of American speedskaters will also be competing for a gold medal, and a brand new sport will make its debut with an Illinois athlete battling it out on the slopes of Italy.
The biggest event of the day will unfold at the hockey rink, as Team USA will battle Canada for the gold medal in women’s hockey.
Ashlyn Sullivan and Jordan Hall break down the key players to watch in the USA-Canada women’s hockey final at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The two teams are no strangers on this stage. The United States and Canada have won all seven gold medals awarded in the sport, with Canada earning four and the U.S. earning two, most recently in 2018.
This time around Canada will have revenge on their minds after a 5-0 drubbing during the group play stage of the tournament, but the United States has been standing tall throughout the Games, outscoring opponents 31-1 and not allowing a goal since their opening contest.
The game could be a swan song for several iconic stars, including Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne-Schofield, who would love nothing more than to defeat Canada on the biggest stage imaginable.
Puck drop is set for 12:10 p.m., with the game airing on USA and in the player below.
In figure skating, the United States had held hopes of earning multiple medals in the women’s singles competition, but rough performances by Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito left that dream in doubt, as they sit in 13th and 8th place, respectively.
Still, there is an American with a shot at gold, as Liu will enter the free skate portion of the event in third place, trailing Japan’s Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto.
That event will take place at noon, and you can check out coverage on NBC and at the link below.
Three American men will also be aiming for gold in speedskating, with Oak Park’s Emery Lehman among that trio competing in the 1,500-meter event.
Lehman won a silver medal in the team pursuit in this year’s Olympics, but will be hoping for his first individual medal on Thursday.
He’ll be joined by Casey Dawson, who also won the silver medal in the team pursuit, and by Jordan Stolz, who won gold medals in the 500-meter and 1,000-meter events while setting Olympic records in both.
Competition will get underway at 9:30 a.m., and you can catch the action at the link below.
Finally, the first-ever medals in Olympic history will be awarded in the sport of ski mountaineering, an event that sees competitors climb a steep slope on both their skis and then on foot, then descend on a technical downhill course to the bottom.
For the first time in over 20 years, a new sport is debuting at the Winter Olympics. Ski Mountaineering, or SkiMo for short, will have five events. Steve Kornacki breaks down the ins and outs of the Olympics’ newest endurance competition.
The first American-born man to compete in the event will be an Illinois native, as Cameron Smith, born in Rockford, will be the nation’s representative.
He will also compete in the team event, which will be held on Saturday.
You can catch all the action in ski mountaineering at the link below.
Another sport to watch will be women’s curling, as Team USA’s women’s squad will take on Switzerland in their final round-robin game.
If they can earn a victory, they would advance to the medal round, as Canada and Korea will be duking it out for the other spot.
The U.S. men still have an outside shot, but their round-robin play is complete, and they would need Italy, Norway and China all to lose on Thursday in order to get into the medal round.
