Day 2 of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 had it all. Drama, intrigue, heartbreak and eight newly-minted Olympic champions!
The first medal event got off to a harrowing start when Team USA three-time Olympic medallist Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the women’s Alpine skiing downhill before she was airlifted off course.
Vonn’s teammate Breezy Johnson brought the downhill to a climactic end, adding Olympic gold to her World Championship crown with a winning time of 1:36.10. She pipped Germany’s Emma Aicher to the top by just 0.04 seconds. Home favourite Sofia Goggia secured the bronze in 1:36.69.
Figure skating: The U.S. clinches second straight team event gold
U.S. figure skating star Ilia Malinin delivered the goods in his free skate, landing five quadruple jumps for a score of 200.03 points, breaking the overall team tie with Japan.
Japan had to be content with a back-to-back silver medal behind the U.S. team, with Italy finishing third.
The U.S. is the first team to repeat as champions in the team event, which debuted in Sochi 2014.
Cross-country skiing: Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo wins sixth career gold
Norway’s cross-country skiing G.O.A.T won a career sixth gold medal at the Olympics with his win in the men’s 10km + 10km skiathlon.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is now just four golds away from becoming the most decorated Olympic skier of all time.
The eight-time Olympic medallist was in fine fettle, taking a commanding win in 46:11.0, with Frenchman Mathis Desloges finishing second and Norwegian compatriot Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget in third.
Snowboard: King Karl wins historic fourth gold
Austria’s Benjamin Karl defied father time and embraced gravity to become the first athlete to win four Olympic snowboard medals.
The 40-year-old Karl successfully defended his men’s parallel giant slalom crown, with Kim Sangkyum earning silver. In the small final, Tervel Zamfirov of Bulgaria edged Slovenia’s Tim Mastnak in a dramatic photo finish to claim bronze.
In the women’s big final, Czechia’s Zuzana Maderová won her first Olympic gold by beating Austria’s Sabine Payer. Payer stunned double Olympic champion Ester Ledecká in the quarter-finals en route to the final. Italy’s Lucia Dalmasso won the small final for the bronze medal.
Luge: World champion Max Langenhan claims Olympic crown
Germany’s Max Langenhan added to his luge pedigree, now boasting both the World Championship and Olympic crowns.
The six-time world champion finished half a second ahead of the second-placed Jonas Mueller at the conclusion of the four-run event. Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller captured his second consecutive bronze medal.
Biathlon: France wins third consecutive mixed relay medal
The French quartet of Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Julia Simon and Lou Jeanmonnot reclaimed the Olympic gold from PyeongChang 2018.
Simon anchored the team to victory in a time of 1:04:15.5, beating the second-placed Italian team by 25 seconds. Germany rounded out the podium in third place, one minute adrift.
Speed skating: Sander Eitrem powers to gold in men’s 5000m
In one of the best performances on the day, Norwegian sensation Sander Eitrem smashed the Olympic record to claim gold in 6:03.95.
World No. 1 Metodej Jilek, who was up against Eitrem in the penultimate pairing, took silver with 6:06.48. Riccardo Lorello finished third with 6:09.22.