"
On Feb. 6, Italy was lit up a little extra for the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, bringing nations together in support of their athletes and their dreams of winning gold. Acts such as Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini and Andrea Bocelli bridged the distance between the two destinations, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
This marked the first time that the opening ceremony occurred in two cities (one for urban events and one for mountain events), making the event more grandiose and accessible to all competitors. These locations captured the uniqueness of Italy and enabled athletes competing near the Swiss and Austrian borders to participate in the parade and ceremony, truly encapsulating the year’s theme: harmony.
The theme was chosen because even amidst chaos and political unease, the Olympics serve as a reminder of global unity. Organizers of the Olympics claim they intended these games to reflect the original intention of the games: to promote peace through sport. When the Olympic Truce was first written, it was said that any violence between the city-states for a week before and after the games must cease.
For Americans — both competing and simply watching — finding peace amongst our fierce, competitive spirit has been challenging. Many Team USA favorites met stumbling blocks, while others overcame seemingly impossible barriers to find great success. These games were a beacon of hope to break our medal drought and attempt to reach the previous record set in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics that resulted in 37 medals.
Still, even with so much hope, there were some circumstances out of our control. Months before the games, snowboard champion Chloe Kim tore the labrum in her shoulder in training, and Jessie Diggins bruised her ribs within the first few moments of her race. One week before the opening ceremony, Linsey Vonn ruptured her ACL in her left knee, then suffered a complex tibia fracture after attempting to compete only seven days later.
While Kim and Diggins still earned silver and bronze, others, such as Ilia Malinin, defied the odds in an unexpected, heart-wrenching way. The gold-medal favorite’s dreams melted away as his blades betrayed him twice, leaving him to watch the podium from 8th place.
Speculation surrounds this upset, sparking a storm of online debates about whether his performance was impacted by the pressure to succeed or the temperature of the ice not being up to Olympic standards. Many other figure skaters in the men’s free skate event found themselves trading in vertical jumps for horizontal slides during their routines, perhaps proving the competition was too hot for the ice to handle.
At the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 22, Team USA left with 33 medals: 12 gold, 12 silver and nine bronze. For most, that was the end of their close surveillance and compassion for the American athletes competing on behalf of Team USA. But for Notre Dame family and alumni everywhere, we are just getting started. …
