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Tag: Milan Cortina 2026

  • MGM Resorts Partnering with Flavor Flav on Las Vegas Women’s Hockey Team Bash – Casino.org

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    Posted on: February 26, 2026, 07:31h. 

    Last updated on: February 26, 2026, 07:58h.

    • MGM Resorts and Flavor Flav will co-host a massive Olympic celebration in Las Vegas this summer
    • The event, July 16-19, honors the women’s hockey team after they declined a White House invitation
    • A GoFundMe campaign already raised over $34,000 for direct athlete bonuses

    MGM Resorts International announced on Thursday, Feb. 26, that it will serve as a “full partner” with rap star Flavor Flav in a Las Vegas celebration of the victorious U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team this summer. “She Got Game” will be a weekend-long celebration, tentatively including a parade and concert, from July 16-19.

    Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav was the spark behind an Olympic party coming to Las Vegas July 16-19. (Image: GoFundMe)

    When Flav, who has lived in Sin City for decades, took to social media earlier this week to demand a “real celebration” for the team, the resort giant committed to providing more than 100 hotel rooms across its premier Las Vegas portfolio to accommodate the athletes.

    “Planning is underway and details will be shared soon as we get ready to celebrate our incredible USA athletes in a way only MGM Resorts knows how: World-class hospitality, high-energy fun, and memorable experiences,” MGM wrote in a statement, indicating that women-led sports media company The GIST will also serve as an official partner.

    Cold as Ice

    Captain Hilary Knight of the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team celebrates after winning the gold medal following a game with Canada on Feb. 19. (Image: Andreas Rentz/Getty)

    The alternative celebration was born out of a moment of historic success and political friction. On Feb. 19, the U.S. women’s hockey team defeated Canada 2-1 in a thrilling overtime victory in Milan. However, the victory was soon overshadowed by a public exchange involving President Donald Trump.

    After the U.S. men’s team also won the gold, Trump called the men’s locker room and joked that he would “probably be impeached” if he did not also invite the women’s team to the White House.

    The remark drew immediate fire from the athletes. Captain Hilary Knight appeared on SportsCenter to call the joke “distasteful and unfortunate,” noting that such comments “overshadow the amazing feats” of female athletes. (USA Hockey officially cited “academic and professional commitments” for the team’s decision to skip the State of the Union address.)

    MGM Resorts trumpets the Las Vegas weekend on social media. (Image: X)

    The players moved independently to accept Flav’s offer.

    The corporate support, and donations, keep coming. The Palms Casino Resort pledged “over-the-top” luxury suites and fine-dining experiences to supplement MGM’s. Alaska Airlines responded to Flav’s request for travel assistance by confirming they are coordinating flights to bring the athletes to the desert.

    And StubHub also responded on social media by stating it would be “happy to help with tickets to shows.”

    To gift the athletes more than a fleeting weekend of hospitality, Flav also launched a GoFundMe on Thursday to provide direct financial “victory bonuses.”

    Recognizing that many Olympic athletes must juggle second or third jobs to fund their training, Flav set a $50,000 goal to put cash directly in their pockets.

    As of Thursday evening, more $34K has been raised from more than 600 donors.

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    Corey Levitan

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  • Elana Meyers Taylor nearly lost hope. Her team, her husband and the Spurs helped her to Olympic gold

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    It was a couple of weeks before Christmas. Elana Meyers Taylor was in Norway, prepping for a World Cup bobsled weekend. Things were going horribly. Her body was hurting, she wondered if she was doing right by her two deaf children, and the racing results were, well, bad.So, she texted her husband. The message: I’m done.”This is just impossible,” the U.S. bobsledding great wrote. “It’s never going to work.”Funny how an Olympic gold medal changes things. Barely two months after nearly quitting — her husband, former bobsledder Nic Taylor, flew to Norway after those texts to talk her out of it — Meyers Taylor won the women’s monobob gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games. And she was back on the ice Tuesday, prepping with Jadin O’Brien for the two-woman race that starts Friday.”The only thing that has really changed is I’m sleep-deprived now,” Meyers Taylor said. “I’m an Olympic gold medalist with a lack of sleep.”That’s a good problem to have.At 41, she became the oldest woman to win an individual gold medal in Winter Games history. (Anette Norberg, then 43, was on the Swedish team that won curling gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games.) Meyers Taylor’s sixth career Olympic medal tied Bonnie Blair for the most by a U.S. woman in the Winter Games, and it also extended her record for most medals by a Black woman in the winter showcase.”Oh, I don’t think I’m going to process this for a while,” Meyers Taylor said. “There were so many moments during this entire season, during this past four years, that we just thought it was impossible, or I thought it wasn’t possible. My team around me believed in me the entire time.”Turns out, so did her husband’s team. Nic Taylor is now a performance coach and works with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. When a Spurs player — the couple won’t say who — learned Meyers Taylor was struggling, Nic Taylor was gifted a plane ticket and told go to Norway immediately.Without that gift, who knows what would have happened.”As soon as I saw that E had won, I just started screaming, jumping, hugging anyone who was close. Almost passed out because I was excited,” said O’Brien, a bobsled rookie who was recruited to the team last fall by Meyers Taylor — and now is an Olympian. “Without a doubt, the coolest sports moment I’ve ever been part of.”To put that praise in perspective — “the coolest sports moment” she’s ever been part of — consider that O’Brien won three NCAA indoor track championships in pentathlon at Notre Dame and was a 10-time All-American there.”Yeah, that’s saying something,” O’Brien said. “It was beyond incredible.”Meyers Taylor, just in case, spent part of Monday before the final two monobob runs teaching her two sons sign language for various terms — like gold medal, and Olympic champion. She insists that she didn’t think they would actually need to use them.They’re going to get used a lot going forward. The boys — Nico, 5, and Noah, 3 — evidently knew what was happening. The coolest thing that happened in Day 1 as a gold medalist, Meyers Taylor said, was Noah putting on the gold medal.”He knew. He started signing, ‘Noah, champion,’” Meyers Taylor said. “I didn’t get it on video because he wasn’t wearing pants, of course, because what toddler wants to wear pants?”It’s somewhat understandable that Meyers Taylor didn’t think her kids would need to know terms like “gold medal.” Her results this season didn’t exactly make it seem likely.She was 10th in the World Cup monobob standings; eight women won medals on the circuit this winter and she wasn’t one of them. Her average finish was 10th and her result at Cortina during a race on the Olympic track in November was 19th — a whopping 2.43 seconds behind the winning time.And her Olympic history was simultaneously filled with heartbreak and accomplishment. At the 2014 Sochi Games, she led Kaillie Humphries Armbruster — then from Canada, now her U.S. teammate and the bronze medalist on Monday night — going into the final run of the two-woman race. She lost the final run by 0.21 seconds, enough to lose the gold medal by 0.10 seconds. Then at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, she lost the two-woman race by 0.07 seconds.Monday’s race was even closer — the margin between Meyers Taylor and silver medalist Laura Nolte of Germany was just 0.04 seconds.But this time, she got it done.”That’s a moment I’ve been working for every four years and that’s why I came back is for that moment, to be on that start line and feel that again,” Meyers Taylor said. “That is a crazy addictive feeling and I don’t know where I’m going to get it from after I leave this sport.”There’s the retirement talk again.She and her husband want a third child. Meyers Taylor has said countless times that she feels lucky to have her kids on tour, but it’s a daunting task, even with a nanny there to assist. Traveling with three might be too much.Besides, there’s nothing else to prove. She’s won everything the sport offers.”I was determined to keep fighting, determined to just put down the best runs I could,” Meyers Taylor said. “And look what happened.”

    It was a couple of weeks before Christmas. Elana Meyers Taylor was in Norway, prepping for a World Cup bobsled weekend. Things were going horribly. Her body was hurting, she wondered if she was doing right by her two deaf children, and the racing results were, well, bad.

    So, she texted her husband. The message: I’m done.

    “This is just impossible,” the U.S. bobsledding great wrote. “It’s never going to work.”

    Funny how an Olympic gold medal changes things. Barely two months after nearly quitting — her husband, former bobsledder Nic Taylor, flew to Norway after those texts to talk her out of it — Meyers Taylor won the women’s monobob gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games. And she was back on the ice Tuesday, prepping with Jadin O’Brien for the two-woman race that starts Friday.

    “The only thing that has really changed is I’m sleep-deprived now,” Meyers Taylor said. “I’m an Olympic gold medalist with a lack of sleep.”

    That’s a good problem to have.

    At 41, she became the oldest woman to win an individual gold medal in Winter Games history. (Anette Norberg, then 43, was on the Swedish team that won curling gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games.) Meyers Taylor’s sixth career Olympic medal tied Bonnie Blair for the most by a U.S. woman in the Winter Games, and it also extended her record for most medals by a Black woman in the winter showcase.

    “Oh, I don’t think I’m going to process this for a while,” Meyers Taylor said. “There were so many moments during this entire season, during this past four years, that we just thought it was impossible, or I thought it wasn’t possible. My team around me believed in me the entire time.”

    Turns out, so did her husband’s team. Nic Taylor is now a performance coach and works with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. When a Spurs player — the couple won’t say who — learned Meyers Taylor was struggling, Nic Taylor was gifted a plane ticket and told go to Norway immediately.

    Without that gift, who knows what would have happened.

    “As soon as I saw that E had won, I just started screaming, jumping, hugging anyone who was close. Almost passed out because I was excited,” said O’Brien, a bobsled rookie who was recruited to the team last fall by Meyers Taylor — and now is an Olympian. “Without a doubt, the coolest sports moment I’ve ever been part of.”

    To put that praise in perspective — “the coolest sports moment” she’s ever been part of — consider that O’Brien won three NCAA indoor track championships in pentathlon at Notre Dame and was a 10-time All-American there.

    “Yeah, that’s saying something,” O’Brien said. “It was beyond incredible.”

    Meyers Taylor, just in case, spent part of Monday before the final two monobob runs teaching her two sons sign language for various terms — like gold medal, and Olympic champion. She insists that she didn’t think they would actually need to use them.

    They’re going to get used a lot going forward. The boys — Nico, 5, and Noah, 3 — evidently knew what was happening. The coolest thing that happened in Day 1 as a gold medalist, Meyers Taylor said, was Noah putting on the gold medal.

    “He knew. He started signing, ‘Noah, champion,’” Meyers Taylor said. “I didn’t get it on video because he wasn’t wearing pants, of course, because what toddler wants to wear pants?”

    It’s somewhat understandable that Meyers Taylor didn’t think her kids would need to know terms like “gold medal.” Her results this season didn’t exactly make it seem likely.

    She was 10th in the World Cup monobob standings; eight women won medals on the circuit this winter and she wasn’t one of them. Her average finish was 10th and her result at Cortina during a race on the Olympic track in November was 19th — a whopping 2.43 seconds behind the winning time.

    And her Olympic history was simultaneously filled with heartbreak and accomplishment. At the 2014 Sochi Games, she led Kaillie Humphries Armbruster — then from Canada, now her U.S. teammate and the bronze medalist on Monday night — going into the final run of the two-woman race. She lost the final run by 0.21 seconds, enough to lose the gold medal by 0.10 seconds. Then at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, she lost the two-woman race by 0.07 seconds.

    Monday’s race was even closer — the margin between Meyers Taylor and silver medalist Laura Nolte of Germany was just 0.04 seconds.

    But this time, she got it done.

    “That’s a moment I’ve been working for every four years and that’s why I came back is for that moment, to be on that start line and feel that again,” Meyers Taylor said. “That is a crazy addictive feeling and I don’t know where I’m going to get it from after I leave this sport.”

    There’s the retirement talk again.

    She and her husband want a third child. Meyers Taylor has said countless times that she feels lucky to have her kids on tour, but it’s a daunting task, even with a nanny there to assist. Traveling with three might be too much.

    Besides, there’s nothing else to prove. She’s won everything the sport offers.

    “I was determined to keep fighting, determined to just put down the best runs I could,” Meyers Taylor said. “And look what happened.”

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  • ‘A long time coming’: Figure skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek makes Olympic debut at 42

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    A seasoned U.S.-born figure skater is making history: Deanna Stellato-Dudek is among the oldest figure skaters to make her Olympic debut in the last century, doing so at the Milan Cortina Games at 42 years old.Related video above: 44-year-old snowboarder Nick Baumgartner embraces experience and humor on his way to fifth Olympic GamesIt’s a dream that’s been many years in the making, but particularly over the last decade.Stellato-Dudek is competing in the pairs event with partner Maxime Deschamps for Canada’s Olympic team. They had a strong short program on Sunday until Stellato-Dudek’s fluke fall at the end of their reverse lasso lift. They scored just 66.04.”That has never happened before. It was the first time,” Stellato-Dudek said. “I guess it cost us around 10 points.”As of the end of the short programs for pairs, they sit in 14th place. They’re among the 16 teams that qualified for the free skate.”I feel like I’m going 100 miles per hour going down the highway,” Stellato said of her first Olympic experience to Olympics.com. “I hope that people learn to never limit themselves. The only limits are the ones that you put on yourself.”It’s far from her only recent setback. The former world champion and Dechamps weren’t even sure they would compete at these Olympics when she sustained a head injury in a recent practice fall. A remarkable comebackStellato-Dudek was a top singles skater for the U.S. in the late 1990s, but several injuries led her to retire from competition in 2001.Her comeback from retirement came more than a decade later in 2016, specifically seeking out the dream to compete on Olympic ice.Her return was prompted by a question she answered at a work retreat as an aesthetician. The question? “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?”Her answer surprised even her.”I would win an Olympic gold medal.”That instance prompted her to lace up her skates and return to the ice. She began skating pairs at 34 years old with Nathan Bartholomay.She and Bartholomay medaled at the U.S. Championships, but he decided to retire due to nagging injuries.Her comeback success gained steam after she began skating with her current pairs partner, French-Canadian Maxime Deschamps. She continued to see through her Olympic dream, quitting her job and moving to Montreal to do so.The pair won the world title in 2024. With that win, Stellato-Dudek became the oldest woman to win a world title in any figure skating discipline.Stellato-Dudek retained Canadian citizenship in 2024.Olympic dream realizedHer arrival at the Milan Cortina Games has been surreal for the veteran skater. “Since we arrived here and we saw the Olympic rings, like, we’ve taken a bunch of photographs, and I’ve cried before every one, so I’ve looked hideous in every picture I’ve taken,” she told the Associated Press. “When I set out on this journey in 2016, not one person told me I would make it to the Olympics, and I thought I would be there at – god, 34, and I’m 42.”So to know me is to know that I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.”But beyond anything else, her hope is to spark a trend among skaters who are older.It’s something that Hearst Television’s Get the Facts Data team has seen across all winter Olympians, too.During the past 40 years, the average age of winter Olympic medalists has steadily risen from 24 to 28 by the 2022 Games. The increase is even more pronounced among women, whose average age climbed from 23 to 28.Stellato-Dudek is among those paving the way for older Olympians.”I’m always really happy to represent for the millennials and the women in their 40s,” she told NBC Olympics. “You know, we’re constantly underestimated, and we’re constantly told no, and there’s not one person that told me that I could achieve this when I started.”She called her Olympic debut “a long time coming.””I always hope in the future that someone breaks my record,” she told Olympics.com. “That’s something that I would love to see.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    A seasoned U.S.-born figure skater is making history: Deanna Stellato-Dudek is among the oldest figure skaters to make her Olympic debut in the last century, doing so at the Milan Cortina Games at 42 years old.

    Related video above: 44-year-old snowboarder Nick Baumgartner embraces experience and humor on his way to fifth Olympic Games

    It’s a dream that’s been many years in the making, but particularly over the last decade.

    Stellato-Dudek is competing in the pairs event with partner Maxime Deschamps for Canada’s Olympic team.

    They had a strong short program on Sunday until Stellato-Dudek’s fluke fall at the end of their reverse lasso lift. They scored just 66.04.

    “That has never happened before. It was the first time,” Stellato-Dudek said. “I guess it cost us around 10 points.”

    As of the end of the short programs for pairs, they sit in 14th place. They’re among the 16 teams that qualified for the free skate.

    “I feel like I’m going 100 miles per hour going down the highway,” Stellato said of her first Olympic experience to Olympics.com. “I hope that people learn to never limit themselves. The only limits are the ones that you put on yourself.”

    Elsa/Getty Images

    Deanna Stellato-Dudek and partner Maxime Deschamps of Team Canada compete in Pair Skating – Short Program on day nine of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 15, 2026, in Milan, Italy.

    It’s far from her only recent setback. The former world champion and Dechamps weren’t even sure they would compete at these Olympics when she sustained a head injury in a recent practice fall.

    A remarkable comeback

    Stellato-Dudek was a top singles skater for the U.S. in the late 1990s, but several injuries led her to retire from competition in 2001.

    Her comeback from retirement came more than a decade later in 2016, specifically seeking out the dream to compete on Olympic ice.

    Her return was prompted by a question she answered at a work retreat as an aesthetician. The question? “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?”

    Her answer surprised even her.

    “I would win an Olympic gold medal.”

    That instance prompted her to lace up her skates and return to the ice. She began skating pairs at 34 years old with Nathan Bartholomay.

    She and Bartholomay medaled at the U.S. Championships, but he decided to retire due to nagging injuries.

    Her comeback success gained steam after she began skating with her current pairs partner, French-Canadian Maxime Deschamps. She continued to see through her Olympic dream, quitting her job and moving to Montreal to do so.

    The pair won the world title in 2024. With that win, Stellato-Dudek became the oldest woman to win a world title in any figure skating discipline.

    Stellato-Dudek retained Canadian citizenship in 2024.

    Olympic dream realized

    Her arrival at the Milan Cortina Games has been surreal for the veteran skater.

    “Since we arrived here and we saw the Olympic rings, like, we’ve taken a bunch of photographs, and I’ve cried before every one, so I’ve looked hideous in every picture I’ve taken,” she told the Associated Press. “When I set out on this journey in 2016, not one person told me I would make it to the Olympics, and I thought I would be there at – god, 34, and I’m 42.

    “So to know me is to know that I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.”

    Deanna Stellato-Dudek and partner Maxime Deschamps of Team Canada compete in Pair Skating - Short Program on day nine of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 15, 2026, in Milan, Italy.

    Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

    Deanna Stellato-Dudek and partner Maxime Deschamps of Team Canada compete in Pair Skating – Short Program on day nine of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 15, 2026, in Milan, Italy.

    But beyond anything else, her hope is to spark a trend among skaters who are older.

    It’s something that Hearst Television’s Get the Facts Data team has seen across all winter Olympians, too.

    During the past 40 years, the average age of winter Olympic medalists has steadily risen from 24 to 28 by the 2022 Games. The increase is even more pronounced among women, whose average age climbed from 23 to 28.

    Stellato-Dudek is among those paving the way for older Olympians.

    “I’m always really happy to represent for the millennials and the women in their 40s,” she told NBC Olympics. “You know, we’re constantly underestimated, and we’re constantly told no, and there’s not one person that told me that I could achieve this when I started.”

    She called her Olympic debut “a long time coming.”

    “I always hope in the future that someone breaks my record,” she told Olympics.com. “That’s something that I would love to see.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Ilia Malinin’s stunning free skate secures US figure skating team gold at Milan Cortina Olympics

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    Ilia Malinin beat Japanese rival Shun Sato in a head-to-head showdown at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday night, helping the U.S. defend its team figure skating gold medal by breaking a deadlock with Japan in the final session of the competition.The 21-year-old nicknamed the “Quad God” landed five quadruple jumps and scored 200.03 points for his free skate, atoning for his mediocre short program — at least by his lofty standards — one night earlier. Sato followed him with three quads in his program, but he could only manage 194.86 points, leaving the Japanese with a second straight silver medal in the team event.The U.S. ended up on 69 points while Japan finished with 68. Matteo Rizzo delivered one of the best free skates of his career as Italy was trying to hold onto the bronze medal, allowing the host nation to finish third with 60 points.Georgia wound up fourth with 56. It still has never medaled in any sport at the Winter Games.The U.S. had a five-point lead over Japan after two days of competition. But the advantage dwindled to nothing when world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs free skate and Kaori Sakamoto won the women’s free skate earlier Sunday night.Leave it to the best closer in the business to deliver for the Americans.Malinin opened with a big quad flip, opted for a safer triple axel over his quad, and overcome a couple of mistakes along the way to finish with aplomb. The son of Olympic skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov ended with back-to-back combos, a quad toe-triple flip and a quad salchow-triple axel, leaving a crowd full of American and Japanese fans roaring in approval.Sato did everything he could to give Japan a chance.From his opening quad lutz to his finishing triple lutz, the Japanese star was nearly perfect, producing an easier but cleaner program than Malinin had earlier. He pumped his fist the moment his music ended, then had to wait to hear whether it was enough.It wasn’t quite.The pairs were first on the ice Sunday night, and Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea delivered the best free skate of their pairs career when the U.S. needed it the most, beating the Canadians to avoid dropping a much-needed point to the winning Japanese pairs team.Kam and O’Shea scored 135.36 points for their program, which opened with “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics and finished with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. Miura and Kihara won the segment with a career-best of their own of 155.55 points, pulling the Japanese to within two points of the Americans with two events remaining.”We couldn’t be more proud to be able to perform under what we felt was so much energy,” said the 34-year-old O’Shea, who was an Olympic alternate in 2018 but is making his debut at the Winter Games. “We walked into the day, walked into the rink with positive emotions, with an offensive attitude, and that showed out there on the ice.”Then the women took the stage with the U.S. swapping out world champion Alysa Liu for Amber Glenn.The three-time national champion spun out of her opening triple axel, the most difficult triple jump and one only she tried among the women, and Glenn had to add a late double toe loop after missing an earlier triple as part of a combination. Those two mistakes, and a couple of other errors along the way, left her with 138.62 points — and more crucially, third in the segment.Kaori Sakamoto, the individual bronze medalist at the Beijing Games, won the free skate with 148.62 points, pulling Japan into a tie for the lead. Anastasiia Gubanova took second in the free skate as she tried to keep Georgia in the race for bronze.”It wasn’t how I wanted to feel,” Glenn said afterward. “The adrenaline was really up and I think I just crashed a little bit.”Malinin was there to pick her and the rest of the American team up.

    Ilia Malinin beat Japanese rival Shun Sato in a head-to-head showdown at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday night, helping the U.S. defend its team figure skating gold medal by breaking a deadlock with Japan in the final session of the competition.

    The 21-year-old nicknamed the “Quad God” landed five quadruple jumps and scored 200.03 points for his free skate, atoning for his mediocre short program — at least by his lofty standards — one night earlier. Sato followed him with three quads in his program, but he could only manage 194.86 points, leaving the Japanese with a second straight silver medal in the team event.

    The U.S. ended up on 69 points while Japan finished with 68. Matteo Rizzo delivered one of the best free skates of his career as Italy was trying to hold onto the bronze medal, allowing the host nation to finish third with 60 points.

    Georgia wound up fourth with 56. It still has never medaled in any sport at the Winter Games.

    The U.S. had a five-point lead over Japan after two days of competition. But the advantage dwindled to nothing when world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs free skate and Kaori Sakamoto won the women’s free skate earlier Sunday night.

    Leave it to the best closer in the business to deliver for the Americans.

    Malinin opened with a big quad flip, opted for a safer triple axel over his quad, and overcome a couple of mistakes along the way to finish with aplomb. The son of Olympic skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov ended with back-to-back combos, a quad toe-triple flip and a quad salchow-triple axel, leaving a crowd full of American and Japanese fans roaring in approval.

    Sato did everything he could to give Japan a chance.

    From his opening quad lutz to his finishing triple lutz, the Japanese star was nearly perfect, producing an easier but cleaner program than Malinin had earlier. He pumped his fist the moment his music ended, then had to wait to hear whether it was enough.

    It wasn’t quite.

    The pairs were first on the ice Sunday night, and Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea delivered the best free skate of their pairs career when the U.S. needed it the most, beating the Canadians to avoid dropping a much-needed point to the winning Japanese pairs team.

    Kam and O’Shea scored 135.36 points for their program, which opened with “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics and finished with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. Miura and Kihara won the segment with a career-best of their own of 155.55 points, pulling the Japanese to within two points of the Americans with two events remaining.

    “We couldn’t be more proud to be able to perform under what we felt was so much energy,” said the 34-year-old O’Shea, who was an Olympic alternate in 2018 but is making his debut at the Winter Games. “We walked into the day, walked into the rink with positive emotions, with an offensive attitude, and that showed out there on the ice.”

    Then the women took the stage with the U.S. swapping out world champion Alysa Liu for Amber Glenn.

    The three-time national champion spun out of her opening triple axel, the most difficult triple jump and one only she tried among the women, and Glenn had to add a late double toe loop after missing an earlier triple as part of a combination. Those two mistakes, and a couple of other errors along the way, left her with 138.62 points — and more crucially, third in the segment.

    Kaori Sakamoto, the individual bronze medalist at the Beijing Games, won the free skate with 148.62 points, pulling Japan into a tie for the lead. Anastasiia Gubanova took second in the free skate as she tried to keep Georgia in the race for bronze.

    “It wasn’t how I wanted to feel,” Glenn said afterward. “The adrenaline was really up and I think I just crashed a little bit.”

    Malinin was there to pick her and the rest of the American team up.

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  • Milan Cortina Olympics opening ceremony: Follow live updates

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    stadium is 99 years old and has *** capacity of nearly 80,000 people. It is the largest stadium in all of Italy, therefore the perfect place to host the opening ceremony. It has *** really cool design feature spiral staircases that surround the exterior of the building, and as people are walking up and down, it gives off an optical illusion that the staircase itself is rotating. Yes, it should be amazing. England, lots to see. It’s owned by two of the top European soccer clubs, AC Milan and Internazion. Now these two clubs actually bought this building last November. Their plan was to demolish it at some point and build something new and modern. Sansero Stadium did host World Cup matches in 1934 and 1990, but it is going out big, hosting an Olympic opening ceremony at the Milan Cortina Olympics. I’m Deirdre Fitzpatrick.

    Milan Cortina Olympics opening ceremony: Follow live updates

    Updated: 1:04 PM PST Feb 6, 2026

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    Featuring tributes to da Vinci and Dante, Puccini and Pausini, Armani and Fellini, pasta and vino, and other iconic tastes of Italian culture – plus Mariah Carey hitting all the high notes in “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” aka “Volare” – an unprecedented four-site, dual-cauldron opening ceremony got the Milan Cortina Olympics officially started Friday.Video above: San Siro Stadium hosting its final grand event: The Olympics opening ceremonyThe opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympics is centered in Milan’s landmark San Siro stadium, featuring the Parade of Athletes and entertainment over the course of the nearly three-hour spectacle.Pop star Mariah Carey and crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli are among the performers. Some 60,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony live in San Siro, including a U.S. delegation led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.Because the Games are spread out across Italy, elements of the opening ceremony, including the procession of athletes, will also be conducted in three other locations. Moments will be beamed to the televised audience from Cortina in the heart of the Dolomite mountains, Livigno in the Italian Alps, as well as Predazzo in the autonomous province of Trento.Who will light the Olympic cauldrons? Yes, pluralThere will be two cauldrons — an Olympic first — inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies: one in Milan, at the Arco della Pace, some 2 1/2 miles from San Siro, and the other at Piazza Dibona in Cortina, some five hours and 250 miles away. The cauldrons will be lit simultaneously.Of course, the identities of the final torchbearers won’t be revealed to the world until they step into the spotlight Friday night.What is the theme of the Milan Cortina Olympics opening ceremony?The theme is “Harmony,” an especially potent message with many populations exposed to violence. The concept of an Olympic Truce, originating in ancient Greece and revived by Olympic officials in the 1990s, is even more urgent this year, opening ceremony creative director Marco Balich told The Associated Press recently. The truce aims to promote peace and dialogue through sport by ceasing hostilities for a week before the Olympics and a week after the Paralympics, which close March 15.

    MILAN —

    Featuring tributes to da Vinci and Dante, Puccini and Pausini, Armani and Fellini, pasta and vino, and other iconic tastes of Italian culture – plus Mariah Carey hitting all the high notes in “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” aka “Volare” – an unprecedented four-site, dual-cauldron opening ceremony got the Milan Cortina Olympics officially started Friday.

    Video above: San Siro Stadium hosting its final grand event: The Olympics opening ceremony

    The opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympics is centered in Milan’s landmark San Siro stadium, featuring the Parade of Athletes and entertainment over the course of the nearly three-hour spectacle.

    Pop star Mariah Carey and crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli are among the performers. Some 60,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony live in San Siro, including a U.S. delegation led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

    Because the Games are spread out across Italy, elements of the opening ceremony, including the procession of athletes, will also be conducted in three other locations. Moments will be beamed to the televised audience from Cortina in the heart of the Dolomite mountains, Livigno in the Italian Alps, as well as Predazzo in the autonomous province of Trento.

    Who will light the Olympic cauldrons? Yes, plural

    There will be two cauldrons — an Olympic first — inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies: one in Milan, at the Arco della Pace, some 2 1/2 miles from San Siro, and the other at Piazza Dibona in Cortina, some five hours and 250 miles away. The cauldrons will be lit simultaneously.

    Of course, the identities of the final torchbearers won’t be revealed to the world until they step into the spotlight Friday night.

    What is the theme of the Milan Cortina Olympics opening ceremony?

    The theme is “Harmony,” an especially potent message with many populations exposed to violence. The concept of an Olympic Truce, originating in ancient Greece and revived by Olympic officials in the 1990s, is even more urgent this year, opening ceremony creative director Marco Balich told The Associated Press recently. The truce aims to promote peace and dialogue through sport by ceasing hostilities for a week before the Olympics and a week after the Paralympics, which close March 15.

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