2026 Milan–Cortina definitely had its moments

One day in February 1998, my tenth-grade English teacher pulled me aside after class. She had asked why I wasn’t keeping up with my homework, and I admitted the truth: I had been watching the Winter Olympics. Later, she and my inclusion coordinator told me that if I wanted good grades, I would have to make sacrifices—and that meant not watching every big television event that came along.

But that just wasn’t me.

I was never going to miss the Grammys, the Oscars, the great MTV countdowns, or the Olympics. I wanted to get good grades, of course—but I also wanted to experience the world as it was happening. For me, the Olympics were part of that experience.

I’ve never considered myself a huge sports fan, but I’ve always loved the Olympics. The Summer Games may have more variety, but the Winter Olympics still bring unforgettable drama. And the 2026 Games delivered plenty of it.

Held across northern Italy, the Games were centered in Milan and the ski resorts of the Italian Alps. The setting was spectacular—historic cityscapes paired with breathtaking mountain views. While I wasn’t thrilled that events were spread across venues nearly 200 miles apart, the approach likely reduced the need for costly, wasteful new construction. In that sense, it was a smart compromise.

Not every aspect worked for me. I wasn’t particularly fond of Snoop Dogg’s NBC commentary; I would have preferred a different celebrity presence. Still, the athletic performances more than made up for it.

One of the most meaningful moments was Alysa Liu’s gold medal in women’s figure skating. An American woman had medaled in every Olympic Games from 1968 through 2006, but that streak ended—until now. I had waited years to see an American woman reclaim the top of that podium, and this time, it was gold.

There were plenty of other standout performances as well.

My Top Five Moments of the 2026 Games

5. Elana Meyers Taylor wins gold in bobsled

4. Johannes Klæbo wins gold in every event he entered, bringing his career total to eleven

3. Alysa Liu captures gold in women’s figure skating—the first for an American since 2002

2. The U.S. takes gold in hockey

1. Lindsey Vonn’s dramatic fall

My Top Five Winter Olympic Moments of All Time

5. The judging scandal in pairs figure skating at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City

4. Peggy Fleming wins gold in women’s figure skating at Grenoble in 1968, launching a decades-long American medal streak

3. Eric Heiden wins five individual gold medals at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid—a Winter Olympic record that still stands

2. The figure skating drama involving Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, and Oksana Baiul at Lillehammer in 1994

1. The “Miracle on Ice” — the U.S. defeats the Soviet Union in hockey at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid

Looking back, my teacher may have had a point about balance. But the Olympics have always been more than just sports to me. They’re history in motion—moments of triumph, heartbreak, scandal, and redemption unfolding live. And whether it was 1998 or 2026, I still wouldn’t want to miss that.