Olympic Sports | The GIST

Olympian Colleen Quigley’s athlete collective is designed to break the sponsorship mold

The elite track & field business model is complicated, especially when it comes to athlete pay. The competitors shine globally every four years at the Olympics but, beyond that, fandom and media attention are devoted yet niche, which is why startup leagues like Athlos are trying to reach a wider, year-round audience. Athletes are also considering new, innovative ways to navigate today’s landscape. We recently spoke with Colleen Quigley, a former Olympic steeplechase competitor and Meridia co-founder who’s breaking the mold of the sport’s team structure with a new sponsorship and revenue-sharing model.

July 10, 2026

American sprinter Allyson Felix unretires, intends to compete at 2028 LA Olympics

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Legendary American sprinter Allyson Felix, the most decorated female track & field athlete in Olympic history, announced her comeback on Monday. The 40-year-old Felix intends to compete at the 2028 LA Games — and yes, she’s aware it’ll be an uphill climb.

April 29, 2026

Mikaela Shiffrin explains the value of sponsorship from U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Stifel, and luxury brands

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Mikaela Shiffrin was one of the most recognized athletes heading into Milano Cortina 2026, and she emerged from the Games with more hype than ever before. Shiffrin is enjoying a new era for women Winter Olympians, who can now leverage their athletic success beyond the Games through fashion and media.

April 02, 2026

Team USA defeats Canada to win first men’s hockey Olympic gold since 1980

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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.

February 23, 2026

Team USA sparks comeback to defeat Canada 2–1 for the Olympic gold medal

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It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish — and yesterday, Team USA women’s hockey embraced the adage, posting a dramatic 2–1 overtime comeback to clinch their third-ever gold medal…all against their archrival Canada, no less. Here’s how the historic dub went down.

February 20, 2026

Figure skater Alysa Liu becomes first American woman to win individual Olympic gold medal in 24 years

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For the first time in 24 years, an American woman has won individual Olympic figure skating gold: Former retiree Alysa Liu rose to the occasion yesterday, clinching the title with a breathtaking freeskate. Grab some tissues because this story’s inspiring as heck.

February 20, 2026

Team USA is the heavy favorite heading into Milano Cortina Olympics gold medal game

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It’s all hockey, all the time with the Team USA women’s gold medal game against Canada set for today at 1:10 p.m. ET while the boys recover from yesterday’s taxing quarter-final (QF) dub. Channel your inner Herb Brooks — great moments are born from great opportunity, after all.

February 19, 2026

Olympic, Paralympic brands dazzle in front of record global audience at Milano Cortina 2026

The Call Up

Olympic, Paralympic brands dazzle in front of record global audience at Milano Cortina 2026

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February 19, 2026

Americans dig the Winter Olympics. Last week, the first five days of the Winter Olympics wrapped with 26.5M viewers across NBC platforms, a 93% increase over a comparable period at Beijing 2022. This has been followed with record-breaking global audiences fueled by digital and social growth: Social engagement has doubled since Beijing 2022, with Olympic digital platforms surpassing 100M users.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #602

Women’s hockey is so back: Our Worlds preview

November 05, 2026

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Women’s hockey is so back: Our Worlds preview

It’s Steph Rotz’s favorite time of the year: Women’s hockey season. The annual IIHF Women’s World Championship begins tomorrow in Denmark, bringing the best international teams together to compete for the world title. This is the biggest competition in women’s hockey outside of the Olympics and, just like at the Olympics, the competition almost always comes down to Team USA vs. Team Canada. The Americans enter this edition of Worlds as both the reigning Worlds and Olympic champs, which means the Canadians have a chip on their shoulder the size of Saskatchewan. Tune in for this super fun tourney preview.