Day 8 of the 2026 Winter Olympics saw the United States return to the podium after a tough Day 7 in which the Americans did not add to their medal count. On Saturday, however, one of Team USA’s brightest stars increased his growing legend. And the U.S. lost out on another gold, demonstrating how thin the line between first and second place can be.
Here are the top five stories of the day:
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Jordan Stolz speeds to second gold in Milan Cortina
Speed skater Jordan Stolz came into the Milan Cortina Games with an opportunity to join Eric Heiden among the greatest in U.S. history. He’s halfway to fulfilling his ambition of winning four gold medals after sprinting to victory in the 500 meters.
Stolz set an Olympic record on his dash to gold, finishing with a time of 33.77. That overtook Gao Tingyu’s 34.32, set at the 2022 Beijing Games, for the fastest in Olympics history. Stolz needed that record time to win as the Netherlands’ Jenning de Boo was only 11 hundredths of a second behind him. Laurent Dubreuil of Canada earned bronze, finishing a half-second behind Stolz.
Men’s hockey beats Denmark
Denmark played the U.S. tough in the first period and closed the margin to one goal at the end of the second. But Team USA increased its offensive pressure in the Danish zone, resulting in five goals over the final two periods and an eventual 6-3 victory.
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Six players scored goals for the U.S.: Matt Boldy, Brady Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Jake Guentzel and Jack Hughes. Team USA fired 47 shots on net, while Denmark managed 21.
Up next for the U.S. is Germany as pool play continues Sunday at 3:10 p.m. ET.
Slight mistake costs Jaelin Kauf gold in women’s dual moguls
Despite tripping over a mogul, U.S. freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf finished her semifinal race in women’s dual moguls against France’s Perrine Laffont. However, in the final, Kauf slightly bobbled when her left ski slipped out for just a second. That was enough for Australia’s Jakara Anthony to overtake her to win on the scorecard, 20-15, and earn the gold medal.
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Kauf’s silver medal is her second of the Milan Cortina Games and teammate Elizabeth Lemley took bronze over Laffont, adding to the gold she won in women’s moguls on Wednesday.
Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen first South American to medal at Winter Games
History occurred during Saturday’s men’s giant slalom with Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen winning gold. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Pinheiro Braathen became the first-ever South American athlete to earn a medal at the Winter Olympics.
With a combined time of 2:25.00, Pinheiro Braathen beat out Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, who won gold in 2022 at Beijing. Before competing for Brazil, Pinheiro Braathen began his Alpine skiing career representing Norway, his father’s home country. After retiring for less than a year, he returned to competitive ski racing for Brazil. He was one of the country’s flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony.
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U.S. women’s curling continues ascent; American men rebound
After defeating Canada on Friday for the first time since women’s women’s curling was introduced to the Olympics in 1998, the American women improved to 3-1 in round-robin competition on Saturday with a 7-4 win over Japan. At the moment, they are tied for second with Switzerland. Sweden is first and unbeaten.
The U.S. men’s team had dropped back-to-back games entering Saturday but returned to the win column with an 8-6 victory against a Germany squad that was 2-1 entering the weekend. Now the Americans and Germans are tied for sixth, meaning they’re both on the outside looking in at the four-team playoffs at the moment. Round-robin play is far from over, though. The U.S. still has five games left.
Team USA medal count is now up to 17
Highlight of the day
Stolz’s thrilling finish takes the cake. He barely held off de Boo and needed quite the final push to win his second gold. Four days earlier, Stolz overtook the Dutchman on the final lap of the men’s 1,000 meters.
One more thing
The Olympics are full of inspiring stories, including those of perseverance. Another of that kind was on full display Saturday when Swedish cross-country skier Ebba Andersson raced on one ski for about half a minute during the women’s 4 x 7.5km relay. Sweden entered the event as gold medal favorites, and remarkably, still won silver. But amid the second leg of the event, Andersson fell — more than once, actually, and ultimately lost her right ski. She retrieved it, except it was broken. She kept going, trudging through the course until a Swedish technician, after falling himself, handed her another working ski. By the time Andersson reached the handover zone, Sweden had plummeted to eighth.
Frida Karlsson followed with a strong third leg. Jonna Sundling brought the relay home and Sweden all the way back to second. Andersson’s relentless effort, however, will be remembered as well. She now has three silvers in these Games.