US Athletes Compete in Milan Cortina Olympics

- The U.S. women's hockey team enters the gold medal game against Canada on a seven-game winning streak against their rivals. This includes a dominant 5-0 victory in the preliminary round of the current Olympic tournament. - This gold medal matchup is the seventh time the U.S. and Canada have faced each other in the Olympic final, with Canada having won five of the previous encounters. - The U.S. is the reigning world champion, having defeated Canada 4-3 in overtime at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship. - Figure skater Alysa Liu, the reigning world champion, is currently in 3rd place heading into the free skate, with a score of 76.59 in the short program. She is just behind Japan's Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto. - Liu, who is 20 years old, came back to the sport after retiring following the 2022 Olympics. In her short program, she landed a difficult triple lutz-triple loop combination. - The U.S. is seeking its first Olympic medal in women's singles figure skating since Sasha Cohen won silver in 2006. - The 2026 U.S. women's hockey roster includes 11 returning players from the 2022 Olympic team and 12 Olympic debutants. Key veterans include Hilary Knight, who is competing in her fifth Olympics. - Alysa Liu's teammates, Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn, finished the short program in 8th and 13th place, respectively. Glenn attempted a triple Axel but had a costly error on a triple loop.