Olympics Edition: It’s not a goodbye, it’s arrivederci
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
And that’s a wrap!
Today’s newsletter (the last of our daily coverage) will put a bow on the Milano Cortina Olympics, but thankfully we still have the Paralympic Games to look forward to beginning on March 6th. It’s not a goodbye, it’s arrivederci.
Country | 🥇 | 🥈 | 🥉 | Total |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 18 | 12 | 11 | 41 |
| 🇺🇸 USA | 12 | 12 | 9 | 33 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
Ice hockey
🥇🏒 All that glitters
The GIST: It wasn’t a Miracle, but 46 years later, the result was the same: Team USA is back atop the men’s hockey world, beating Canada 2–1 in 3-on-3 overtime yesterday to win Olympic gold for the first time since 1980. Here’s how the red, white, and blue claimed the final hardware of the Milano Cortina Games.
👏 Connor Hellebuyck and Jack Hughes’ heroics power American victory: A toothless Hughes scored the Golden Goal, while goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stayed steady as the team’s backbone, putting on a 41-save clinic as the Canadians outshot the Americans 42-28. Brick wall, waterfall, Helly does it all.
💔 The bigger picture: The American-heavy crowd at Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena erupted after the win, but the mood turned briefly somber when Team USA honored their teammate Columbus Blue Jacket Johnny Gaudreau, who was tragically killed alongside his brother, Matthew, in 2024.
- Gaudreau’s family was watching from the stands, and after the win, players hoisted his kids onto the ice for a photo with the team, flanking their father’s Team USA jersey. Now that’s how you celebrate Johnny Hockey.
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🏅🇺🇸 Team USA authored its best Winter Olympics performance since 2014 at the Milano Cortina Games, winning 33 total medals (the second-most among all nations behind Norway), including a record-breaking 12 golds. Red, white, and boo-yah.
🏅🇮🇹 Let’s hear it for the gracious hosts. Italy delivered their best Winter Games performance ever, earning 30 medals (10 of them gold) — the second-most successful performance by a host country in Winter Olympics history, trailing Canada’s 14 gold medals at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
- How’d they do it? For starters, the Italian government is investing $400M annually to support its Winter and Summer athletes.
🥇⛷️ Team China skier Eileen Gu defended her halfpipe gold medal yesterday, adding to the two silvers she snagged at the Milano Cortina Games. The 22-year-old is now the most decorated freeskier of all time — male or female. Bravely making her grandmother proud.
🥇🎿 Two days earlier, American Alex Ferreira won long-awaited gold in the freeski halfpipe after finishing with a silver at the 2018 Olympics and a bronze at the 2022 Games.
⛷️ Legendary skier Jessie Diggins finished fifth in the first-ever women’s 50km cross-country event yesterday, closing the book on her Olympic career the same way she always competed: leaving it all on the snow.
👏 Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is the first athlete to win six gold medals at a single Winter Olympics after winning the men’s 50km event on Saturday. The win marks Klæbo’s 11th career gold across three Games. Only GOATs take selfies like this.
🇺🇸 Women’s hockey gold medalist Hilary Knight served as one of Team USA’s Closing Ceremony flag bearers yesterday, sharing the honor with silver medalist ice dancer Evan Bates. Well-deserved.
💚 Leaving a legacy
The Milano Cortina Olympics ended just as fashionably — and as sustainably — as they began, with some of the Closing Ceremony costumes made entirely from recycled materials. This video shows how the costume of Rigoletto, a character in the mini-opera within the ceremony, was hand-crafted using 40 pairs of thrifted jeans. Winning gold and being green.
❣️ Your favorite moments
How beautiful Milan Italy 🇮🇹 was — Roxanne
My favourite…moment was when Eileen Gu clapped back at a male reporter for basically saying silver/her efforts weren’t good enough. — Danielle
For surrrre USA Women’s hockey overtime winner! So poetic for Knight to score the equalizer and I’ll be thinking about that pass from Heise that led to the ultimate winning goal for a LONG TIME — Gabby
Nazgul joining the xc race — Amy
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, and Katie Kehoe Foster. Editing by Katie Kehoe Foster. Fact-checking and ops by Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Alessandra Puccio and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.