American women shined during the 13th day of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as figure skater Alysa Liu and the U.S. women’s hockey team both won gold in historic fashion on Thursday (February 19).
Liu, 20, who had already won gold in the team event, delivered a near-flawless performance in the Olympic free skate, finishing with a score of 226.79 after entering third behind Japan’s Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto who swapped positions to take bronze and silver, respectively, in the final. Liu became the first American to win gold in the singles event since Sarah Hughes in 2002, having returned to the sport after taking a mental health break.
Megan Keller‘s overtime goal led the United States women’s ice hockey team to a 2-1 victory against Canada in the gold medal game on Thursday. Keller scored 4:07 into 3-on-3 overtime having also assisted, along with Laila Edwards, on Hilary Knight‘s game-tying goal late in the third period.
The golden goal gave the Americans their first Olympic gold medal since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and third all-time in Olympic play, with the first coming at the 1998 Nagano Games. Team USA avenged a 4-2 loss to Canada at the 2022 Beijing Games, coming off a 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship last April.
Knight, 36, who made her final Olympic appearance at the Milan Cortina Games, became a two-time gold medalist and three-time total medal winner and her second period goal moved her into sole possession atop the U.S. hockey record book for most Olympic goals (15) and points (33) in both men’s or women’s play. The historic goal followed Knight’s proposal to her partner, U.S. speed skater Brittany Bowe, two days prior to the gold medal match.
Edwards also made history as the first Black woman to win a gold medal with USA hockey. The U.S. women’s hockey team outscored its opponents, 33-2, which included five shutouts, while going a perfect 7-0 in Olympic play.
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