The 2026 Winter Olympics, hosted in Italy, have come to a close. Here are the things the public might have missed. Norway won the most medals, with 18 gold medals, 12 silver, and 11 bronze; overall, they had a total of 41 medals. The United States came in second place, with 12 gold medals, 12 silver, and 9 bronze, leaving them with a total of 33 medals. In third place was Italy with 30 medals total, with 10 gold, 6 silver, and 14 bronze medals.
There were many surprising performances at the 2026 Winter Olympics. According to Utah resident Rebecca Chidsey, a very surprising performance was “Alysa Liu. She was a bit of an underdog coming in. She left ice skating and came back on her terms when it was primarily driven by her passion, meaning she could let go of external pressures.” By the time she was done competing for the United States, Alysa Liu won gold and became one of the most celebrated athletes of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Her unique look of piercings above her upper teeth as she smiled on the winners podium will be remembered for a long time.
Along with surprising performances, there were also a few unfortunate injuries that occurred at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Lindsey Vonn, an Alpine skier for the USA, sustained a major leg injury due to a crash during the alpine skiing event. Kamila Sellier, a Polish short track speed skating racer, got a cut on her face made by American skater Kristen Santos-Griswold when the two crashed during the race. Austrian pilot Jakob Mandlbauer, who had to go to the hospital after crashing his sled in the bobsled event. All of the athletes are on the road to recovery and getting the help they need. Even though there were a few injuries during the Olympics, there were still many fun events, and locals are wondering about the future.
The 2026 Olympics were very fun and enjoyable to watch, but in the future, the Winter Olympics location has already been picked out. In 2030, the Winter Olympics will be held in the French Alps, and in 2034, the Winter Olympics will be coming to Utah. The games will have a big impact on Utah’s economy. Ada Anderson, a Freshman at Skyline High School, said, “It might be a weird couple weeks for the locals.” Anderson thinks that the 2034 Winter Olympics will have a good impact on Utah, but some locals have concerns about hosting. Chidsey said that she remembers going to the Winter Olympics when they were at Utah in the past, but she is concerned about the climate conditions recently and the lack of snow.
No matter what happens at the 2034 Winter Olympics, it will pull communities closer. Anderson thinks that the Winter Olympics will act as a centripetal force, bringing people closer together. That’s what the Olympics has been doing since it first started in 1896, and this year was no different; the 2026 Winter Olympics has had amazing surprises and was entertaining to watch. Watching it brought people together and helped to make the country unite. The 2026 Winter Olympics is just one of the many Olympic Games to have come, but the public can certainly say that it was a very impactful event, because it brought the world close and united it around one specific thing. “I enjoyed watching it and following the story line of several athletes,” Chidsey says.
