On Sunday, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina concluded. Team USA finished second in the medal race with 12 gold medals — including ones in hockey, figure skating and speed skating — 12 silver and nine bronze. WSN’s office conversation revolved around the ever-popular figure skating, Olympic mascots and the curling revolution.
“Eileen Gu’s three medals from the 2026 Winter Olympics, along with her three from the 2022 Winter Olympics, made her the most decorated freeskier in Olympic history. This Olympics, she won silver in slopestyle and big air, as well as gold in halfpipe, making her the second athlete to ever win gold or silver in their first six Winter Olympic events. It is also notable that she didn’t get the opportunity to practice in the halfpipe training session, because the big air final and the training session overlapped and the International Ski Federation wasn’t willing to accommodate her. She also learnt of her grandmother’s passing following her halfpipe win. Gu is truly what it means to be strong and resilient.”
— Sherry Chen, Deputy Sports Editor
“Amber Glenn made history as the first openly queer woman to medal in Olympic figure skating, but what stuck with me more than anything was her resilience. After a devastating popped jump in her short program, she came back with a fire and delivered one of the most beautiful free skates of the event. The performance boosted her from 13th place up to the top five, and she landed the highest-scoring triple axel of her career. What a night.”
— Kiran Komanduri, Sports Editor
“Even though the last time widespread snowfall hit the Bay Area was over 50 years ago, the winter games reignited some of my local pride as I cheered on athletes representing the region, including gold medalists Alysa Liu from Oakland and Eileen Gu from San Francisco.”
— Krish Dev, Digital Director
“In an unexpected turn of events, I became obsessed with curling this Olympics. I have consumed hours of curling content over the past two weeks and still know almost nothing about the mechanics of the sport, but I’ve still had a tremendous amount of fun. Why is this a gendered sport? Who knows, man. All I know is that the stone needs to be in the bullseye, and that’s been enough information to keep me entertained. The aggressive yelling? Cinematic. The frantic sweeping? Poetic. The little lunge and slide movement? Serve. The best part of my viewing experience has been watching Mark Callan — the human Zamboni, ice master and king of my heart — get the ice ready before each game.”
— Chantal Mann, Performing Arts Editor
“Alysa Liu’s gold medal win couldn’t have been more thrilling. The 20-year-old marked a historic comeback in U.S. women’s figure skating, which hasn’t seen a U.S. champion since Sarah Hughes in 2002. But in my opinion, Liu’s edginess and carefree attitude are what make her most compelling. After Glenn’s and Ilia Malinin’s blunders, it’s refreshing to watch Liu put the crowd at ease. As a skater myself, I’m dying to know her secret to leaving all pressure behind.”
— Isabella Bickenbach, Staff Writer
“Imagine losing a game your country is known for and receiving a stuffed animal. Well, Canada’s men’s hockey team doesn’t need to imagine. After Canada lost the gold medal in a 2-1 loss to the United States team in overtime, they didn’t just get silver medals, but also plushies of the Olympic mascot. Winning gold is the goal for many players, but I think a cute stuffed animal inspired by the host city of this year’s Olympics would be an adorable symbol, although the players did not seem to have the same reaction.”
— Alessa Alluin, Copy Editor
“The results of the women’s figure skating short program were very unexpected, shockingly resulting in Ami Nakai in first place at only 17 years old, with her first Olympic debut performance — while Amber Glenn, one of the fan-favorites, missed a crucial element, dropping to 13th place. There were also a lot of speculations and controversies regarding potential overscoring and biases.”
— Sayako Ikeda, Contributing Writer
Contact Alessa Alluin, Isabella Bickenbach, Sherry Chen, Krish Dev, Sayako Ikeda, Kiran Komanduri and Chantal Mann at [email protected].