The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games, which conclude on Sunday, witnessed the confirmation of the names of their brilliance and the brilliance of others who created surprise and silently on a distinguished path throughout the stages of the global sporting event. On the other hand, the competition was not devoid of less glorious moments for athletes who were unable to reach the podium, and the international context cast a shadow over the games.

Published on: 02/22/2026 - 13:52

Between moments of overwhelming joy, sorrow, and controversy, the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games reflected mixed feelings for its participants, clearly evident in the crowning of American Alyssa Liu in figure skating, and the dominance of the Swiss in men’s alpine skiing competitions, but also in the horrific accident that occurred to Lindsey Vonn, and the exclusion of Ukrainian Skeleton player Vladislav Heraskevich because he refused to give up his helmet, which was decorated with pictures of Ukrainian athletes killed in the war. Continuous communication between Moscow and Kiev since 2022.

Read also: A Canadian-American clash in the ice hockey final at the Olympic Games against the backdrop of Trump’s hostile statements

Here are six highlights from the two weeks of competition:

Swiss Franio von Allmen... three golds

The 24-year-old Swiss skier equaled the legends of alpine skiing, Austrian Tony Seiler and Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy, to become only the third athlete to win three gold medals in the same sport during one Olympic cycle.

Von Allmen won the downhill and super long races, and also won the mixed relay alongside Tanguy Neff in Bormio.

The Swiss men's team was the most prominent team in northern Italy, as it won four out of five possible gold medals, and won eight medals out of a total of 15.

American Lindsey Vonn...a dangerous fall for a female icon

Vonn made headlines, but for an unfortunate reason, after she suffered a serious fall seconds into the downhill race, sustaining a broken leg.

Even her participation was surprising, as she had torn her anterior cruciate ligament just one week before the Games.

Vonn, one of the female icons in global sports, underwent four surgeries in Italy before returning to the United States, where her left leg was reattached. It seems that her return to competitions again is very unlikely at the age of forty-one.

Norwegian Johannes Klabo...six races. Six golds

Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klabo achieved a historic achievement. His six gold medals in Tesero raised his Olympic tally to 11, making him the first athlete in history to win all six cross-country skiing races in one session.

He joined only two athletes to have won all their events at a Winter Games: American Eric Hayden (five golds in the sprint in 1980) and Norwegian Ole Einar Bjorndalen (four golds in the biathlon in 2002).

He is surpassed in the number of Olympic gold medals only by American Michael Phelps, who won 23 gold medals.

American Ilya Malinin... “The issue was completely mental.”

Malinin entered the figure skating competitions as first candidate for gold after leading the United States to the team title for the second time in a row.

Everything was going well after he advanced by five points after the short program, but disaster struck in the free skate, causing him to fall to eighth place in a shocking result.

“It was completely mental,” said the 21-year-old skater, who revolutionized the game, after falling twice in a seemingly unfamiliar performance.

"On the world's biggest stage, the strongest athletes may be fighting the most invisible internal battles," added the two-time world champion, who has been undefeated for more than two years.

American Alyssa Liu... a lively performance

Liu ended the United States' 24-year wait for women's figure skating gold with a spirited freestyle performance that included seven triple jumps.

After coming sixth in Beijing four years ago at the age of 16, Liu took a two-year break before returning and winning the world title last year.

Like Malinin, she also contributed to winning the team title.

Ukrainian Vladislav Heraskevich... excluded from the competition

Skeleton player Heraskevich refused to give up his helmet, which was decorated with images of Ukrainian athletes killed since the 2022 Russian attack.

He was excluded from the competition, which brought the International Olympic Committee into direct confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Games charter prohibits any political expression during competitions, and the committee said Heraskevich did not respect "the expression guidelines for athletes."

As for Zelensky, he considered the committee’s decision, which came after a direct meeting between Heraskevich and the head of the Olympic Committee, to be “in the interest of the aggressors.”

France 24 / AFP

Keywords related to the article

The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.