The best Olympic moments capture the culmination of a lifetime of triumphs and tribulations. On the biggest stage in sports, athletes from around the world took us along for every emotional moment. When they cried, we did too.

Here's a list of the moments at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games that made the tears flow.

Skating at the Olympics was the dream Maxim Naumov shared with his parents, who were both killed on American Airlines Flight 5342 in January 2025. He achieved that and more in their honor, earning a 85.65 with a sublime short program to Chopin's "Nocturne No. 20."

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were two of 28 members of the figure skating community who were on board the commercial flight that collided with an Army Blackhawk helicopter over Washington, D.C. They were returning from a development camp in Kansas, where they were coaching the next generation of American figure skaters.

"All I could do was look up at the sky and say, 'Look what we just did,'" he told NBC's Andrea Joyce after his Olympic debut.

Under enormous pressure to reaffirm her generational talent on the Olympic stage, Mikaela Shiffrin won Olympic gold in slalom, her signature event. It was her first Olympic title since 2018 and the sudden passing of her father, Jeff, six years ago. The loss was so all-consuming that she contemplated leaving the sport. After she secured her win by a historic margin, Shiffrin touched on the enduring grief of experiencing life's best moments without him.

“Everything in life that you do after you lose someone you love is like a new experience,” she said. “It’s like being born again, and I still have so many moments where I resist this. I don’t want to be in life without my dad.”

Ahead of the Milan Cortina Olympics, few people would have predicted anyone other than Ilia Malinin winning gold in men's singles. Even fewer had Mikhail Shaidorov as their predicted winner. After qualifying to the free skate in 5th, Shaidorov delivered the program of a lifetime, blending technical prowess and artistic gravitas. He landed four quad jumps and broke down in tears upon seeing his titanic score of 291.58 points. He sat in the leader's chair for four more skaters, looking on as each subsequent skater faltered on the ice. Shaidorov became the first Olympic champion in figure skating from Kazakhstan and only the second medalist. His win evoked the trailblazing life of Denis Ten, who won bronze at Sochi 2014 and died in 2018 at just 25. "Denis Ten influenced not only me, but the entire figure skating in Kazakhstan," Shaidorov said of the late skater. "He opened the doors for many figure skaters, including myself. It's incredibly important and I hope that this medal, this gold medal, will open new doors to the new generation of Kazakhstani children who will know that sky is the limit."

Gaon Choi rallied after two consecutive crashes to swipe halfpipe gold with a commanding final run. Nobody appeared to be happier for the emerging South Korean talent than the rider she beat out for gold, Chloe Kim. The American sensation had the chance to three-peat as halfpipe champion in historic fashion, but fell on a cab double cork 1080 to claim silver behind the 17-year-old. After working through a shoulder injury to compete at the Games, Kim was elated to be on the podium and even more pleased at her mentee's success. "I’ve known Gaon since she was little," Kim said. "She won her first Olympic gold medal at the same age as I did. It’s such a full-circle moment."

Elana Meyers Taylor had nothing to prove at the Milan Cortina Olympics, having already established herself as one of the Winter Games' most prolific figures. She was a five-time Olympic medalist, but gold had eluded the 41-year-old throughout her storied career. A flawless final run in monobob completed her collection of Olympic hardware. Her gold made her the oldest U.S. woman to win a Winter Olympic medal and tied speed skater, Bonnie Blair, as the most decorated American women at the Winter Olympics. "It actually happened. It’s going to take a while for this to sink in," Meyers Taylor said of the win. "I still can’t believe it. I can’t even put into words what this means, I’m just so excited."

Vermont-born skiier, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, carried a continent on his back as he sailed to 1st in men's giant slalom. He became the first South American athlete to win a Winter Olympic medal of any color. The Brazilian, 25, bested his former Norwegian teammates and Swiss favorite, Marco Odermatt, by almost a second. He brought further Latin flair to Bormio with a victory samba and donned not only the red bib, but the words “Vamos Dancar," or “Let’s Dance," on his helmet. "It cost everything, but we finished off on top," he said after the win. "I am so grateful to everyone around me. My friends, my family, my team, the country of Brazil have supported me day in and day out, ever since I started representing."

Child prodigy Alysa Liu became the first U.S. Olympic champion in women's figure skating since Sarah Hughes in 2002. It may seem like a natural progression for an athlete who won her first national title at just 13, but Liu's path to gold was anything but straightforward. After making her Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, she retired, then returned to the sport after two-and-a-half years, determined to chart her own path for the first time in her young career. Her uninhibited approach to the Olympic spotlight marks a cultural shift in her sport, as well as elite athletics at large. Liu was already adorned in gold when she took Olympic ice for her free skate to Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park Suite." Her vivacious skate reflected the disco anthem and her lack of anxiety was apparent throughout. "I really don't feel nervous. I don't feel the pressure. There's nothing holding me down or holding me back," she said ahead of the competition. "I invite it all in. So, no matter what happens, it's a story."

For the first time in Olympic history, both American hockey teams won gold at the same Games. For the men's team, the win over Canada came exactly 46 years after the 1980 win in Lake Placid that became the source material for "Miracle on Ice." In tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau, an NHL veteran who was struck by a drunk driver in 2024, the Americans hung a jersey bearing his name in their locker room during the tournament. The U.S. women's hockey team ended a considerably shorter gold medal drought, also prevailing over Canada after losing out in Beijing four years ago. Hilary Knight further shrouded the game in Olympic majesty by setting the record for most goals and points in the history of U.S. Olympic women's hockey. “There was no way we were losing this game," Knight said. "That’s all. Simple as that. We had some awesome heavy hitters on the ice. I knew we were going to get possession, so I just had to find a place in front of the net."