2026 Winter Olympics Day 9 recap: Record broken for most gold medals

MILAN — With NHL stars back in the Winter Olympics for the first time in 12 years, organizers of the Milan-Cortina hockey tournament have seemingly done everything they can to make the players feel at home.

A horn blast marks goals and the end of each period, an NHL tradition since the 1970s; foreboding organ music plays whenever a player is banished to the penalty box; and the songs used during breaks in play lean heavily toward American artists such as Dean Martin, Neil Diamond and the Black Eyed Peas.

MILAN — She was the defending Olympic champion, but Erin Jackson entered Sunday’s 500-meter race feeling like an underdog. Against Dutch star Femke Kok, the pecking order for the sprint distance was clear.

Kok, the three-time world champion, dominated the race, setting an Olympic record of 36.49 seconds, almost seven-tenths of a second faster than silver medalist Jutta Leerdam, Kok’s countrywoman who finished at 37.15 seconds. Racing against Kok in the final pair, Jackson finished fifth at 37.32 seconds, five-hundredths of a second behind bronze medalist Miho Takagi of Japan.

“Femke has been the person to chase for the past few years,” Jackson said. “She’s just been amazing all throughout the season. ... I was expecting to land somewhere on the podium today, so to be just off, that’s a little tough, but it is what it is.”

In Beijing in 2022, Jackson became the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics, but she returned to the Games nursing injuries. In addition to only recently recovering from a hamstring issue, she is managing a long-term back ailment with three herniated disks.

The injury stems from an accident in 2019, but she underwent a procedure for it in 2025. The 33-year-old said she’s had to learn to limit her practice regimen to work smarter. Leading up to the 1,000-meter race, in which she finished sixth on Monday, Jackson said she had practiced her start only twice in the last week.

She was saving her energy for her signature sprint.

The crowd included Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul — who is engaged to Leerdam — and Snoop Dogg. The rapper was seated next to Jackson’s father and uncle in the stands. Wearing matching custom jackets with Jackson’s picture on the front, they were little red, white and blue dots in a sea of orange.

Jackson had the second-fastest start of the field, keeping almost even with Kok as they rounded the first corner. Only Kok had a faster first 100 meters than Jackson. The Florida native stumbled slightly going around the second corner, letting the Dutch star pull away to shatter the Olympic record. She was four-tenths of a second off her world-record time.

Here’s where the medal count stands Sunday at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games:

LIVIGNO, Italy — Move over Torvill and Dean. Britain has a great, new Winter Olympics pairing.

Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale won the first gold medal on snow in the island country’s 102-year history at the Winter Games after crossing the line first Sunday in the wild sport of mixed snowboardcross.

This “Cold Gold” also marks the first time Britain has won multiple titles at the same Games. It’s only the nation’s 15th overall gold medal at the Winter Games, five of which have come in figure skating.

Its most famous Winter athletes to this point: possibly Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, the ice dancers who captivated the world by dancing to “Bolero” and captured a gold medal in 1984 and bronze in 1994.

In mixed snowboardcross, the first set of riders go down the mountain four-wide, while the second set waits at the top of the hill in something resembling a relay race. Whichever team crosses the line first in the four-team final gets gold.

There are three rounds of elimination racing. Fittingly, the British came into the final as the underdog — seeded 13th out of the 16 teams that qualified.

There were no real signs this was coming. Bankes finished 13th in the women’s event and Nightingale 26th in the men’s event last week. But everything came together on a sunny day in Livigno.

“The singles were tough but now there are tears of joy,” Nightingale said.

Pells writes for the Associated Press.

ANTERSELVA, Italy — Lisa Vittozzi secured Italy’s first Olympic gold medal in biathlon, hitting all 20 targets in the 10-kilometer pursuit biathlon race at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday.

Vittozzi bowed, pumped her arms and collapsed in the snow after crossing the finish line with a time of 30 minutes, 11.8 seconds to the roar of a crowd of 20,000 fans.

Maren Kirkeeide of Norway trailed by 28.8 seconds for silver, and Suvi Minkkinen of Finland came in 34.3 seconds back for bronze. Minkkinen also cleared all 20 targets.

Vittozzi overcame a back injury from last season and periods of inconsistent shooting to become an Olympic champion.

The pursuit was the first race that France did not have a biathlete on the podium.

French biathletes Oceane Michelon and Lou Jeanmonnot started second and third, respectively, but too many misses knocked them out of contention. Jeanmonnot missed three and finished fourth, 49.4 seconds back, while Michelon missed four, which set her 57.1 seconds behind Vittozzi for fifth place.

The pursuit biathlon start list is based on how the racers finished in the sprint race. Biathletes must ski a 150-meter penalty lap for each missed target.

Bellisle writes for the Associated Press.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn was preparing to fly back to the U.S. on Sunday after her terrifying head-over-heels crash in the Olympic downhill, the U.S. Ski Team’s chief told The Associated Press.

Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assn., told the AP the team’s medical staff has been coordinating Vonn’s recovery since the crash and subsequent helicopter evacuation at the Milan-Cortina Games and would try to accompany her home. Vonn has had multiple surgeries in Italy to repair a complex tibia fracture in her left leg.

“We’re working through all of that at the moment,” Goldschmidt said. “We’ve got a great team around helping her and she’ll go back to the U.S. for further surgeries.”

Spectators tuning in to see Vonn attempt to win a medal at age 41 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee and a partial titanium replacement in her right knee were thrown into shock when the American standout got hooked on a gate 13 seconds into her run — resulting in a spinning, air-born crash that sent her careening down the Dolomite mountain.

Vonn has no regrets.

“When I think back on my crash, I didn’t stand in the starting gate unaware of the potential consequences,” Vonn said in an Instagram post late Saturday. “I knew what I was doing. I chose to take a risk. Every skier in that starting gate took the same risk. Because even if you are the strongest person in the world, the mountain always holds the cards.

“But just because I was ready, that didn’t guarantee me anything. Nothing in life is guaranteed. That’s the gamble of chasing your dreams, you might fall but if you don’t try you’ll never know,” Vonn added.

Goldschmidt visited Vonn at the hospital twice and said, “She’s not in pain. She’s in a stable condition.”

Dampf writes for the Associated Press.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO — The curling controversy at the Winter Olympics widened Sunday as increased surveillance of the matches resulted in the removal of a stone thrown by the British men’s team for the same alleged violation that burned the Canadians two days in a row

In the ninth end of Britain’s robin match against Germany, officials said Scottish curler Bobby Lammie had touched a stone after releasing it down the ice. That is called “double-touching,” and it is against the rules. Britain won the match 9-4.

The controversy surfaced Friday night with an allegation against the Canadian men’s team by their Swedish opponents; a day later, a stone was removed from the Canadian women’s match against Switzerland. Videos circulating on social media appeared to show both Canadian curlers double-touching the rocks but both teams denied wrongdoing.

Beginning Saturday, World Curling said it would designate two officials to move between the four curling matches during each round but noted it was “not possible” to have umpires stationed at each hog line — where the stones must be released by hand — during every match.

It was not known whether officials were watching some teams more closely than others. World Curling says it does not use video replays for reviewing game play.

Until Sunday, the controversy had been limited to the Canadian curlers, who represent one of the world’s most fervent fan bases.

Frankel writes for the Associated Press.

ANTERSELVA, Italy — In an upset for the French men’s biathlon team, Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden dominated on the shooting range Sunday to take the gold medal in the 12.5-kilometer pursuit biathlon race at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, while Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid won silver — six days after making an unexpected personal confession during a post-race interview.

Emilien Jacquelin of France led the field coming into the last shooting stage, after cleaning his targets using his characteristic but risky rapid fire technique. But the speed got the best of him and he missed two, allowing Ponsiluoma, who hit all his targets, to exit the range first. Laegreid also cleared his targets and left the range in second place, leaving Jacquelin with bronze.

Ponsiluoma, winning the first medal in biathlon for Sweden in these Winter Games, crossed the finish line with a time of 31 minutes and 11.9 seconds. Laegreid was 20.6 seconds behind him while Jacquelin was 29.7 seconds back.

The Swede said he feared getting caught on the last lap.

“I was really afraid of the chasers,” he said. “I was nervous, but I felt (safe) on the last part of the loop, so I just tried to enjoy it. Doing this at the Olympics is really big. I’m super proud of the race today. I did everything I wanted: I was skiing really fast, shooting fast, the focusing was amazing. So, it was my day today.“

Laegreid said he took the race one step at a time.

“Ski one meter at a time. Shoot one shot at a time. Do my best with what I can right now and, in the end, we can count the results,” he said.

At the post-race press conference, Laegreid applauded Jacquelin’s aggressive tactics and the two men addressed comments both have made in the media this week.

Laegreid drew national attention on Tuesday after the men’s individual race when during an tearful interview with Norwegian television, he revealed on camera that he had been unfaithful “to the love of my life” in an apparent attempt to win her back. He released a statement the following day, saying he regretted sharing his personal story, which detracted from teammate Johan-Olav Botn ‘s gold medal.

After Friday’s sprint race when Laegreid finished third and Jacquelin fourth, the Frenchman joked to VG Sport that he “was beaten by an unfaithful guy,” and vowed to strike back during the pursuit race.

When asked about it on Sunday, Jacquelin said he says what he thinks, but that may not always be wise.

He said after he saw Laegreid’s interview, he felt sad for him “because honesty sometimes is not the best thing in our society. Sometimes we should say nothing. In a way you can think what you want. Is it good or not. It’s on your mind what you think. But having honesty and say what you say, what I say after the sprint, it’s part of a duel.”

He said they have since discussed it and “everything is fine.”

Laegreid said he took Jacquelin’s comment “with a sense of humor.”

“Of course we talked about it later when I met him at the hotel and there was no hard feelings but even though we had squared up I think he used it a bit for energy today,” Laegreid said. “For him to be in the mode he was today, if this was what he needed and then attacking like he doing it is for me really impressive.

“And I told him after the race, the way he attacked today, the way he was giving a show was really honorable to watch.”

Olympic biathlon pursuit champion Quentin Fillon Maillet, having won the sprint race days before, started off 14 seconds ahead of the field, but missed three shots during his two prone shooting stages, dropping him down to eighth place. He finished seventh, 1:13.5 behind the Swede.

The pursuit biathlon start list is based on how the racers finished in the previous sprint race, with the sprint winner going off first, and all others starting in the seconds-back order based on their sprint finish. Biathletes must ski a 150-meter penalty lap for each missed target.

Bellisle writes for the Associated Press.

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — What’s behind her has been well documented — the Olympic disappointments, the crash that nearly ended her career — but it was what unfurled in front of her Sunday that transfixed Mikaela Shiffrin.

She saw it while standing in the start gate at Tofane Alpine Ski Centre, the Olympic giant-slalom course in the foreground and the Dolomites in the distance so majestic they almost look fake.

“You’re standing there and you can see the whole GS course laid out in front of you,” said Shiffrin, who has won more World Cup races (108) than anyone in history. “It just goes down, down, down, down. ... Normally with GS, you see the first 10 turns, the first eight turns. It’s rare that you see the entire course laid ahead of you.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Laura Nolte of Germany emerged Sunday as the leader after the first two runs of the women’s monobob competition at the Milan-Cortina Games.

And right on her heels — Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Humphries Armbruster, chasing even more Olympic medals for their collections.

Nolte finished her two runs in 1 minute, 59.12 seconds on Sunday, giving her a lead of 0.22 seconds over Meyers Taylor and 0.31 seconds over Humphries Armbruster going into Monday night’s final heats that will decide the medals.

From there, the gap to the rest of the pack is a bit sizable: Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler is fourth, 0.78 seconds off Nolte’s lead, and Kaysha Love of the U.S. is fifth — 0.89 seconds back.

It is a loaded leaderboard, as would be expected.

Nolte is the reigning World Cup overall monobob champion. Humphries Armbruster won monobob gold at Beijing when the sport debuted in the Olympic program four years ago. Meyers Taylor won the silver in that Olympic race. Love won the world monobob title last year at Lake Placid.

Australia’s Bree Walker, a winner of five medals — three gold — in seven World Cup races this season, struggled in her first heat and but rallied to be seventh going into Monday, one spot behind Lisa Buckwitz of Germany. But they’re both about a full second behind Nolte, and well over a half-second behind the bronze-medal spot.

Reynolds writes for the Associated Press.

LIVIGNO, Italy — Freestyle skiing great Mikael Kingsbury has upheld his reputation as the best in the bumps by winning the first Olympic gold in men’s dual moguls in the Italian Alps on Sunday.

The 33-year-old Canadian beat top rival Ikuma Horishima of Japan in the head-to-head final as the men’s side of the sport made its Olympic debut at the Milan-Cortina Games.

The gold was Kingsbury’s fifth Olympic medal.

This was the first Games to have dual moguls, with two skiers competing side-by-side as they carve through the bumpy course and complete two acrobatic jumps. They are judged for their skiing, the execution and difficulty of their jumps, and their times.

In moguls, which has been an Olympic event since 1992, skiers go down the course individually before their scores are ranked.

Kingsbury, who has amassed a record 100 World Cup wins, first won Olympic gold in moguls at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

He collected his third Olympic silver medal Thursday when he lost in an upset to Australia’s Cooper Woods. He also finished second in the event in 2014 and 2022.

This was Canada’s first gold medal of these Games.

Horishima, 28, added the silver to his two bronze medals in moguls that he won earlier this week and in Beijing in 2022.

Australia’s Matt Graham edged Japan’s Takuya Shimakawa for the bronze.

On Saturday, Australia’s Jakara Anthony won gold in the debut of women’s dual moguls.

TESORO, Italy — Norway cross-country skiing star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo has won his ninth gold medal, setting a Winter Games record.

The 29‑year‑old anchored Sunday’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay in the men’s competition for his fourth gold of the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

He had shared the record with three retired Norwegian athletes, Marit Bjoergen and Bjorn Daehlie in cross-country skiing and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in the biathlon.

He now stands alone at the top.

“I like the sound of that! It’s a pretty nice title,” Klaebo said after the race.

“But it’s special to do this together with this group. In Norway, winning the relay is what really matters — and today we all delivered,” he said. “We’ve had so much fun — both here and at training camps throughout the year. It’s been a great season. Today, even though everyone was nervous, there was still a relaxed atmosphere.”

Klaebo put in a flawless but casual-looking race, slowing down before the finish to wave to cheering supporters before finishing in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 24.5 seconds. France continued its strong performance for second place, 22.2 seconds behind, while Italy placed third with a 47.9 second lag.

Despite a strong start, the United States finished sixth behind Finland and Canada.

Cheered on by the home crowd, Italy finished with Federico Pellegrino who is racing in his final season. He celebrated with fans, dancing to Italian pop classics played on a trumpet.

“This is something that I was dreaming of for a long time,” Pellegrino said. “I think two years ago, when I started to think about the home Olympics and see teammates increase in their level, the dream became a goal and today we achieved it. It’s something! Maybe the thing that I’m the most proud of in my career.”

Gatopoulos and Melley write for the Associated Press.

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — The crowds have disappeared and so has the sun, dipping behind the frigid Dolomites as another day of Olympic racing is in the books.

This is the golden hour for the hidden heroes of the sport. You can find them in metal storage containers and dimly lit concrete garages, warmed by space heaters and hunkered over skis that will carry their clients down harrowing hills, places where 80 mph is routine and a seemingly minuscule mistake can spell disaster.

They scrape. They wax. They file. They meticulously pore over every detail, these ski technicians — commonly referred to as ski techs — whose work is graded in milliseconds.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Controversy is swirling in curling at the Winter Olympics and it’s all centering on whether the mighty Canadian team is cheating.

Both men’s and women’s teams have now been accused of the same infraction: double-touching the curling stone after it is released.

Here’s a look at the whole controversy and why it has exploded:

On Friday, Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian curler Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by touching the rock again after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice. Kennedy blew up, launching an expletive-laden outburst.

That was before video appearing to show a clear double-touch by Kennedy circulated on social media, taken by Swedish public broadcaster SVT. Still, he maintained his innocence. The Canadians won the match, 8-6.

Late Saturday, an umpire accused acclaimed Canadian skip Rachel Homan of the same infraction in Canada’s match against Switzerland. The umpire stopped play and the stone was removed from play. Homan looked shocked and denied the allegation.

Again, video spread on social media appearing to show her double-touch. The Canadians lost to the Swiss, 8-7.

After the uproar, World Curling clarified that double-tapping is not allowed, issuing a statement: “During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed. This will result in the stone being removed from play.”

Asked about the footage, Kennedy said: “If somebody said to you, ‘Hey, do you double-touch all the time?’ I honestly, in that split second of a moment, I couldn’t even tell you if I do or not.”

He then suggested the whole thing might have been “premeditated planning to try to catch us.”

“They’ve come up with a plan to catch teams in the act,” Kennedy said.

Homan, meanwhile, postulated that she was being unfairly targeted because of the controversy on the men’s side.

“I don’t understand the call. I’ll never understand it. We’ve never done that,” she said. “It has nothing to do with us.”

Frankel and Douglas write for the Associated Press.

U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin was seventh after her first run in the women’s giant slalom Sunday, 1.02 seconds back of leader Federica Brignone of Italy.

Shiffrin is still within striking distance of a medal heading into the second run, which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 a.m. PST.

Four years ago, Shiffrin was a favorite in Beijing but went 0 for 6 on podiums and failed to cross the finish line three times. Her best individual result was ninth in the super-G. On Tuesday, she finished 15th in the slalom portion of the women’s team combined.

American Paula Moltzan (+1.16) was tied for 13th after her first run and Nina O’Brien is in 22nd (+2.58). Teammate A.J. Hurt failed to finish her run.

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Freezing cold speed suits, sleek airbags and cut-resistent underwear. There’s more to Olympic ski racing than meets the eye.

A look at some of the procedures, methods and equipment you might not know about when you tune in:

What are those blue lines on the course?

U.S. skier Breezy Johnson competes in Alpine downhill at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Feb. 8. Johnson won gold in the event.

(Christophe Pallot / Agence Zoom / Getty Images)

Those blue dye lines were introduced in 2001 on the World Cup tour to help racers — particularly in the speed events of downhill and super-G — navigate courses at high speed, especially in poor visibility. The skier has no obligation to stay within the blue borders, but the markings help them determine the best line down the hill.

MILAN — It pays to be the power couple of the Winter Olympics.

In 2024, when Brittany Bowe and Hilary Knight were leaving their home in Salt Lake City to make a cross-country drive to Boston, they got only about 20 minutes outside of Park City, Utah, before getting pulled over for the tint on Knight’s windows. The captain of the U.S. women’s hockey team explained she was on the way to her professional team in Boston with Bowe, an Olympic speedskater.

They got off with a warning.

“You gotta throw the card out there sometimes,” Bowe said with a hearty laugh.

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Axel Brown, the pilot of Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsled team, came to the Milan-Cortina Winter Games with a simple goal.

“Just don’t come last,” he said. “We know that there is a 0% chance of us contending for medals. It doesn’t matter if we have the absolute best day we’ve ever had.

“That’s just the reality of it. It’s not defeatist, it’s not negative. It’s just being realistic.”

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — There’s much more to Olympic ski racing than what goes on between the gates. A lot of it has to do with what’s going on inside the helmet, and Mikaela Shiffrin hinted at that after a disappointing finish this week in the slalom portion of the women’s combined.

“I didn’t quite find a comfort level that allows me to produce full speed,” Shiffrin, the most decorated skier in history, said after a 15th-place finish that denied a podium spot to her and Breezy Johnson, who finished first in the downhill portion.

“So I’m going to have to learn what to do, what to adjust in the short time we have before the other tech races. There’s always something to learn, so I’m going to go back and analyze with the team and learn that.”

MILAN — Can you picture it in your head?

Olympic ski racers can and do. Again and again and again.

Visualization is a huge part of racing, particularly in the speed disciplines of downhill and super-G, and a lot of competitors close their eyes and run the course on a loop in their minds, dipping and swaying with every turn, roller and jump.

MILAN — When she skated, Tara Lipinski was always nervous. But it was different before the free skate of the 1998 Olympics. The teenager cried that morning. She called her parents after the six-minute warmup and said she couldn’t do it. Her legs were physically shaking in her beginning pose. She didn’t know what to do.

“When you go to the Olympics, there’s no training for that,” said Lipinski, now an analyst for NBC. “You don’t know what it’s going to feel like ‘til you’re actually feeling it.”

The awe-inspiring dream that often starts as a child can quickly turn into a nightmare for athletes who get blinded by the bright Olympic spotlight. While Lipinski realized her dream, becoming Olympic champion in Nagano, she knows the suffocating feeling of competing under the Olympic rings.

Here are the athletes who’ve won medals heading into Day 8 of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics:

Sunday’s live TV and streaming broadcasts for the Milan-Cortina Olympics unless noted (subject to change). All events stream live on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com with a streaming or cable login. All times Pacific. 🏅 — medal event for live broadcasts.

MULTIPLE SPORTS

8 p.m. — “Primetime in Milan” (delay): Skiing, figure skating, bobsled, speedskating and more. | NBC

ALPINE SKIING

1 a.m. — Women’s giant slalom, Run 1 | USA

4:30 a.m. — 🏅Women’s giant slalom, Run 2 | NBC

The first eight days of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games offered plenty of memorable achievements.

Here’s our daily recaps from the 2026 Winter Games:

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Feb. 11, 2026

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Feb. 10, 2026

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Feb. 9, 2026