U.S. wins a nationwide greatest 12 gold medals at Winter Video games : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2813x1875+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F73%2F7b%2Fa57b4ef74d4cb0cf7178c8b9c05b%2Fap26049526604905.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2813x1875+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F73%2F7b%2Fa57b4ef74d4cb0cf7178c8b9c05b%2Fap26049526604905.jpg" class="img" alt="Mikaela Shiffrin from Colorado shows her gold medal of the alpine ski, women's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Wednesday." fetchpriority="high"/> Mikaela Shiffrin from Colorado exhibits her gold medal of the alpine ski, ladies's slalom race, on the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Wednesday. Robert F. Bukaty/AP cover caption

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Robert F. Bukaty/AP MILAN — Ultimately it turned out to be a Winter Olympics for the report books.

U.S. athletes arrived in Italy going through protests and questions on their nation's politics. In early competitors, among the greatest U.S. stars stumbled in dramatic trend on the snow and ice.

However when the highlight shifted to the closing ceremony in Verona, the U.S. had scooped up 12 gold medals — its greatest tally ever in a Winter Video games — with 33 medals total. That trails solely winter sport superpower Norway.

The medal got here on the energy of superstars like Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and pace skater Jordan Stolz, in addition to gorgeous staff performances by U.S. determine skaters, and the U.S. males's and girls's hockey groups.

"The boys of USA hockey are GOLDEN on the Winter Olympics for the primary time since 1980," the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee crowed on X.

Ultimately, the U.S. was additionally the one nation exterior Europe to crack the highest 5 within the medal rely.

"I do not assume I will course of this for some time," stated Elena Meyers Taylor from Georgia, who gained gold within the "monobob" bobsled occasion. "There have been so many moments throughout this complete season, throughout this previous 4 years, that we simply thought it was inconceivable."

Some U.S. states punched above their weight One notable factor concerning the sturdy medal harvest is that it got here even if winter sport stays a regional custom within the U.S.

The U.S. despatched its largest roster of athletes ever, 232 women and men, to those Winter Video games, however 18 states despatched no Olympians in any respect. Even some states the place winters are lengthy, like Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota, despatched no opponents.

That is in response to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's official tally of athletes and their "acknowledged dwelling cities."

It is vital to notice elite athletes are sometimes cell, residing and coaching in quite a lot of locations. Additionally, athletes from quite a lot of states contributed to staff medal wins.

Nonetheless, it is clear {that a} relative handful of U.S. states punched far above their weight, with Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Utah fostering elite winter athletes and scooping up medals.

States with tiny populations carry dwelling gold for U.S. <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5064x3376+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F53%2Fa1%2Fffed7df44ed6a4a3d325ebecc6fd%2Fap26039466499383.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5064x3376+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F53%2Fa1%2Fffed7df44ed6a4a3d325ebecc6fd%2Fap26039466499383.jpg" class="img" alt="Breezy Johnson from Wyoming. shows her gold medal in the alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. Wyoming is one of the U.S. states that punches above its weight in the Winter Games." loading="lazy"/> Breezy Johnson from Wyoming exhibits her gold medal within the alpine ski ladies's downhill race, on the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 8. Wyoming is among the U.S. states that punches above its weight within the Winter Video games. Andy Wong/AP cover caption

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Andy Wong/AP Colorado alone accounted for 5 medals, together with three gold. Vermont and Wyoming, two states with tiny populations, accounted for a gold and 6 silver medals.

"It has been a tricky street, however generally you simply need to hold going as a result of that is the one choice. And generally while you hold going, possibly you may make it again to the highest," stated Alpine skier Breezy Johnson from Wyoming, who gained gold in ladies's downhill. "It is actually particular."

There's one different accomplishment that makes the U.S. medal haul in Italy noteworthy: the vary of wins throughout sport.

Sure, Norway took dwelling extra gold and extra medals total. However its wins got here in a comparatively slender group of sports activities, with 25 of 41 medals gained in simply two disciplines: cross-country snowboarding and biathlon.

The U.S., in contrast, medaled in eleven totally different sports activities disciplines, from bobsled to determine skating to hockey to hurry skating.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2427x1618+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F48%2F03%2F31d51e2549c9857d67366ff09bf2%2Fap26042694100351.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2427x1618+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F48%2F03%2F31d51e2549c9857d67366ff09bf2%2Fap26042694100351.jpg" class="img" alt="Jordan Stolz from Wisconsin won two gold and a silver in speed skating in the Milan Cortina Games." loading="lazy"/> Jordan Stolz from Wisconsin gained two gold and a silver in pace skating within the Milan Cortina Video games. Luca Bruno/AP cover caption

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Luca Bruno/AP "It [the gold medal win] means so much to me," stated Stolz, from Wisconsin, who picked up two gold and a silver in Milan. "It is each 4 years that you simply get the possibility to win Olympic gold, so I am tremendous joyful."

A last footnote to this historic U.S. medal tally comes from Olympic historian Invoice Mallon, who famous that this 12 months's medal achievement "needs to be thought-about in opposition to the truth that there at the moment are many extra occasions on the Winter Olympics."

"Our earlier greatest [gold medal tally] was 10 in 2002, there have been 78 occasions. There at the moment are 116 occasions," Mallon advised NPR.

Even so, this 12 months's efficiency marks an enormous enchancment from the final Winter Olympics, in Beijing 4 years in the past, when the U.S. gained solely 9 gold and 25 medals total.