The 2026 Winter Games were packed with amazing imagery and incredible scenery. We compiled some of the best photos from Milan Cortina, capturing the most emotional and viral moments.
Superwoman
Mathilde Gremaud soars through the air with the Switzerland flag flowing behind her like a cape. Gremaud won gold in the women's freeski slopestyle event on Feb. 9. She already had gold locked up and was the final skier, so she took a victory lap in style.
'They're all completely gassed!'
USA cross-country skier Jessie Diggins lays on the ground, gasping for air after digging deep to net bronze in the women's 10km free race on Feb. 12. Diggins was contending with bruised ribs and was in visible pain, but still willed her way to a medal.
'GOALLLLL!'
Megan Keller scores four minutes and seven seconds into overtime to lift the U.S. women's hockey team to a gold medal over rival Canada on Feb. 19. Team USA turned in a dominant tournament, but trailed Canada 1-0 for most of the gold medal game before U.S. captain Hilary Knight found the back of the net with less than three minutes remaining in regulation.
The full gamut of emotions
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate with the U.S. flag high overhead and silver medals hanging around their neck on Feb. 11. The American duo finished one-and-a-half points behind France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron in the ice dance.
Chock and Bates helped the U.S. win gold in the team figure skating event, but gold in ice dance has eluded them at the Winter Olympics.
"It's definitely a bittersweet feeling at the moment," Chock said after the medal ceremony. "We have so much to be proud of. We've had the most incredible career, 15 years on the ice together, first Olympics as a married couple and we delivered four of our best performances this week. I'm really proud of how we've handled ourselves and what we've accomplished here."
A high-octane rescue
Lindsey Vonn is airlifted off the Alpine skiing hill on Feb. 8. Competing with a torn ACL, Vonn crashed only 13 seconds into her run, clipping a gate and collapsing in a cloud of snow. She suffered a complex tibia fracture, which led to five surgeries.
A family affair
The dad podium! Canada's Mikael Kingsbury (gold), Japan's Ikuma Horishima (silver) and Australia's Matt Graham (bronze) brought their kids to the podium to celebrate after men's dual moguls on Feb. 15, making for one of the most adorable photos of the Olympics.
Bow to the queen
Italy's Federica Brignone celebrates her gold medal giant slalom run while her competitors greet her with a bow of respect on Feb. 15. Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund and Sweden's Sara Hector tied for silver. It was the second gold medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics for Brignone in front of her home crowd. It punctuated an incredible comeback for Brignone, who suffered a major leg injury in April 2025 but returned to win two gold medals at age 35.
Night night
Italian speed skater Andrea Giovannini hit the U.S. team with the "night-night" celebration (made famous by NBA superstar Steph Curry) after winning gold in the men's speed skating team pursuit on Feb. 17. The U.S. speed skating squad was favored to win gold, but Giovannini and his team sped past them in the final.
NAZGUL!
A Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul wanders on the ski trail during the women's team cross-country free sprint event on Feb. 18 at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Nazgul ended up becoming a viral sensation and a fan favorite.
A euphoric conclusion
Save the best for last.
Moments after Jack Hughes found the back of the net in overtime, Team USA exploded into euphoria on Feb. 22. It's the first gold medal for the U.S. men's hockey team since 1980 and came 46 years to the day of that "Miracle on Ice."