2026 Winter Olympics live updates: Ilia Malinin stumbles and misses the podium

Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov performed to an upbeat song from his home country, and delivered a strong performance in the men’s free skate, pumping his fists after he finished his routine.

Shaidorov posted a total score of 198.64, a personal best, and he’s the new leader in the men’s single skate.

Korea’s Junhwan Cha was the first performer in the final free dance group tonight. He overcame an early fall to post a total score of 181.2, vaulting him into second place with five skaters to go in the men’s competition.

Team Canada hockey's 19-year-old star Macklin Celebrini just scored his second Olympic goal. The San Jose Sharks player brought today's score to 3-1 versus Switzerland.

Don't blink or you'll miss a U.S. goal.

Laila Edwards is the latest to score in the second period for the U.S., which now leads Italy 4-0 in this women's hockey quarterfinal.

The dam has broken for the U.S. offense, which has now scored twice in the last three minutes — both by Kendall Coyne Schofield — to lead Italy, 3-0, in women's hockey quarterfinal, after being able to score just once in the first period.

Italy has taken a timeout to discuss strategic changes after seeing its upset bid made all the more difficult.

Look back on Japanese figure skater Yuma Kagiyama’s trip to Italy in 2023 to visit Carolina Kostner, his coach, and explore how Italy was a "laboratory" used to inspire more artistry in his skating.

Kendall Coyne Schofield somehow snuck in a shot from the left side of the goal underneath the Italian goaltender's pads for a second U.S. goal, less than two minutes into the second period of the hockey quarterfinal.

They just announced the final seven competitors tonight in men's single competition and Ilia Malinin received by far the loudest applause from the packed crowd.

He will go right after Yuma Kagiyama of Japan.

British skeleton racer Matt Weston won gold today with a time of 3:43.33, shooting to first place in the final run of today's event.

German competitors Axel Jungk and Christopher Grotheer earned silver and bronze respectively.

Andrew Torgashev, the second American skater to compete in tonight’s men’s free skate, scored a 170.12 on his routine — a personal best — bringing his total score to 259.09, good for fifth place.

Torgashev delivered a mostly clean performance with several stunning jumps and epic choreography at the end of the program. But he only had two quadruple jumps and lost points with a messy landing on one of them, a quadruple toe loop.

Torgashev faced stiff competition, with other skaters landing more quadruple jumps and earning more points as a result.

We are six skaters away from Ilia Malinin.

Italy rarely had possession and opportunities to attack in the first period of their quarterfinal against the U.S., but goes into the period break trailing just 1-0. The U.S. has 20 shots to Italy's two, but has been unable yet to break the game open.

On their 16th shot of the game, the U.S. women finally scored against Italy on Megan Keller's shot for a 1-0 lead with 6:29 to play in the opening period. It came after a setup pass from Laila Edwards while each team had a player in the penalty box.

Pius Suter scored Switzerland's first goal against Canada in today's men's hockey face-off. The St. Louis Blues player brought the score to 2-1 during a power play.

The U.S. figure skater, who lost both of his parents in the plane crash outside D.C. last year, spoke with NBC News about his Olympic experience and making his parents proud.

After Olympics performance, Naumov says he hopes late parents are proud

02:17

Thomas Harley scored Canada's second goal today with an assist from Connor McDavid and Tom Wilson. The Dallas Stars player brought Canada's score to 2-0.

U.S. goaltender Gwyneth Philips faced the biggest threat of the first period with 11 minutes to go when Italy recovered a loose puck behind the U.S. defense and skated toward the goal all alone. But Philips got her pads down to block a low shot to the disappointment of the home audience.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid scored for Canada in the first six minutes of today's game. The power play goal gives Canada a 1-0 lead over Switzerland.

Italy received spirited cheers from a heavily pro-Azzurri crowd tonight, but the host country will be up against a major challenge when it faces the United States, the top seed of the quarterfinals.

The U.S. is pursuing its first Olympic gold medal since 2018.

Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka soared on the halfpipe today, earning gold with a score of 95.00 in his second run

Scotty James was close to completing his medal set today, but took a fall in his final run, and that cemented him in second place. James previously won a silver medal at the Beijing 2022 Games, and a bronze medal in 2018 in PyeongChang. He took home another silver medal in Milan.

Ryusei Yamada, competing for Japan, won the bronze medal with a score of 92.00.

Speaking with the NBC broadcast after his free skate, Maxim Naumov said he was proud of his effort tonight.

“From the start to the finish, I was trying to stay calm the whole time,” Naumov said. “Even though the landings weren't there, I fought with everything that I have.”

When asked about the emotions of the moment, Naumov said, “It's difficult to put into words, what we've dreamed of since the very beginning, I was able to make that into reality. I couldn't be more proud of the courage and strength I had to get to this moment.”

Maxim Naumov scored a 137.71 in his free skate tonight, giving him a total score of 223.36 in the men’s single skate, meaning he will ultimately fall short of a medal.

It wasn't a perfect performance — Naumov fell on two quadruple salchow jumps. But he fought through the stumbles, skating with power, passion and grace. 

It has been an emotional Olympic cycle for Naumov, who lost his parents last year in a plane crash. As he did when he received his scores in the short program earlier this week, Naumov held up a photo of himself with his parents tonight as he waited for his total.

Scotty James shook up the competition during today's men's snowboard halfpipe final, scoring 93.50 on his second run and leaping over a few of his Japanese competitors. He had scored a 48.75 in the first run.

Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka also overtook first place from his fellow countryman Ryusei Yamada.

Georgia’s Nika Egadze is set to perform his free skate and then it will be the United States’ Maxin Naumov’s time on the ice.

Naumov, 24, is competing in his first Olympics. He scored an 85.65 in his short program to begin the single skating event, 14th best in the 24-skater field.

Japan’s Kao Miura is still in first place after nine skaters.

Captain Hilary Knight, playing her fifth and final Olympics, could break records tonight. Knight will appear in her 27th career Olympic game to extend the record she already owns. But with one more goal, she will break the U.S. record she shares with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King for most career Olympic goals.

Knight also is one point from breaking Jenny Potter’s U.S. career record for most points at the Olympics.

One more: The most points any U.S. player has ever amassed in a single Olympics is 11, by Potter and Darwitz, both in 2010. Knight enters tonight's game with 10 already, with possibly three games to go.

Three Japanese snowboarders shot to the top of the leaderboard after the first run of the men's snowboard halfpipe final.

Ryusei Yamada currently leads with a first run score of 92.00, while Yuto Totsuka and Ruka Hirano trail with scores of 91.00 and 90.00 respectively. American snowboarder Jake Pates held the fourth place spot after the first run with a score of 77.50.

Three-time gold medalist Shaun White watched slopeside for the first run.

Five skaters have performed in the men’s free skate tonight, with Japan’s Kao Miura currently in the early lead.

Maxim Naumov is scheduled to skate 11th, so six skaters from now. And Florida native Andrew Torgashev will perform 19th.

Still quite a bit of time to go until we see Ilia Malinin, who skates last.

Japan's Kao Miura competes today. Piero Cruciatti / AFP via Getty Images

In a 10th end comeback, the U.S. women’s curling team defeated Canada on Friday in the third session of play. It’s the first time the Americans have defeated Canada in eight Olympic Games.

In the men's singles final in figure skating, the NBC telecast just cut to a shot of American Max Naumov, who was juggling a soccer ball. Could be a good way to keep himself on his toes, before his free skate coming up?

Big figure skating day in Milan, as a medal will be handed out in the men’s single skating event. After performing their short program on Wednesday, the men will do their free skate routines tonight.

American Ilia Malinin enters in first place, with a lead of 5.09 points over Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama. Two other Americans will also skate tonight: Maxim Naumov and Andrew Torgashev.

Strap in because this will be a long evening. Twenty-four skaters are scheduled to perform, with Malinin slated for the final spot.

U.S. figure skating superstar Ilia Malinin has nearly every accolade in the sport. He’s a two-time world champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion and a four-time U.S. national champion. He’s the only person to ever complete a quadruple axel and regularly back flips on the ice — a move that was previously banned for close to 50 years.

The only thing that has eluded him so far is an Olympics gold medal in men’s singles. That could change Friday night when he competes for the honor at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. Malinin is currently in first place with a 108.16 score, more than five points better than his biggest rival, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama.

The Virginia native, 21, says he does not feel a responsibility to push the boundaries of the sport.

“It’s more like a passion and being able to show how I am as a person, and express myself through my technical abilities or my artistic values,” he said after Tuesday’s short program. “I always tell people that figure skating is an extension of your personality, and everyone should have that in their skating. That is what can make skating so beautiful and intimate.”

If you’ve watched even a small amount of figure skating at the Winter Olympics, you’ve probably seen Benoît Richaud. He’s the tall, slender, bald man sitting next to seemingly every athlete after they compete, when their scores are read aloud.

One moment, he’s next to American Maxim Naumov. The next, he’s with France’s Adam Siao Him Fa. Then, Canadian Stephen Gogolev. Then, Mexican Donovan Carrillo. And all in different national team jackets.

But that’s just the start for Richaud, the choreographer for 16 competitors in Milan — 12 single skaters and four pairs — from 13 countries. No rule prohibits coaches from working with different skaters.

He says he has about 10 jackets he cycles through depending on who is competing. He’ll only need a handful of those Friday when five of his skaters take the ice in the men’s single final.

“I just come with all of (the jackets) and then I make quick changes,” Richaud told NBC News. “The people from the federation or team leaders, they help me and we make quick changes and that’s how it goes. Sometimes it’s quite slow and sometimes it’s quite crazy when it’s one after the other one.”

Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid won his second bronze medal of the Olympics today, and this time kept his focus on his athletic feats.

Laegrid made waves earlier in the Milan Cortina Games when, after winning a bronze in the men’s biathlon 20-kilometer individual event, he admitted to cheating on his girlfriend in an effort to win her back.

Today Laegrid again won bronze in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint, but opted against making any grand romantic gestures in his post-event comments.

“This is what I’ve been doing my whole life. I’ve been training to focus for many years now, and it’s paying off,” Laegrid said about keeping his focus amid the self-created controversy.

He added: “I’m just working with what I can do, one step at a time, one shooting at a time, and trying to stay focused.”

Metodej Jilek won gold for Czechia in the 10,000-meter men's speed skating competition today, finishing with a time of 12:33.43.

Jilek brought home Czechia’s first-ever Olympic speed skating medal with a silver medal in the speed skating men’s 5,000m last weekend.

Vladimir Semirunniy won silver for Poland and Jorrit Bergsma took bronze for the Netherlands.

Metodej Jilek made history today. Jamie Squire / Getty Images

Andrew Musgrave crossed the finish line in cross-country skiing today in a tank top, and the cold didn’t seem to bother him one bit.

Musgrave finished in sixth place for Great Britain in this morning's cross country skiing race — but the real feat was competing sleeveless.

Team USA skeleton star Austin Florian set a new start record in the men’s skeleton competition yesterday morning. Yet Florian really caught people's attention for his helmet, which featured Marvel villain Venom.

Viewers praised Florian's "badass" look on X, yet Florian's viral moment comes as Ukrainian competitor Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Winter Games for wearing a helmet honoring people killed in the Russia-Ukraine War. The International Olympic Committee told Heraskevych that his “helmet of remembrance” violated its rules prohibiting political statements.

Austin Florian, a Team USA skeleton athlete, in a Venom helmet on Tuesday. Al Bello / Getty Images

U.S. women's curling defeated gold-medal favorites Canada during today's round robin competition.

The United States women's team had never beaten Canada in Olympic play, but after a back-and-forth match, Team USA won 9-8. The American underdogs previously knocked off the South Korean team, another top competitor, out of the tournament.

Cory Thiesse, Taylor Anderson-Heide and Tara Peterson of the U.S. Misper Apawu / AP

Gaon Choi spoiled Chloe Kim’s bid for a halfpipe three-peat, upsetting the American in dramatic fashion to win gold.

From the rink to the slopes, hear the sounds of the Games so far:

Team Australia's Josie Baff just won the country's first gold in women’s snowboard cross, flying ahead of her competitors to make Olympic history.

It was a day of firsts, as Baff also became the first Australian woman to win a medal at the Milan Cortina games.

Eva Adamczyková of Czechia finished second, winning her third Olympic medal in this event. This made her the first athlete — female or male — to climb onto the Olympic podium three times in this event. Italian competitor Michela Moioli of Italy, who won gold at PyeongChang 2018, took home bronze today.

Josie Baff holds her gold medal. Michael Reaves / Getty Images

Today wraps week one of the Milan Cortina Winter Games, and the President of the International Olympic Committee Kirsty Coventry is reflecting on the inspiring moments that define the competition.

“It’s the best of humanity that we’re getting to see day to day, and we’re getting to see that live here," Coventry told the TODAY show.

She praised the athletes' sportsmanship and compassion, as well as the "toughness and the grit" of the competitors.

The three-time gold medalist took a ride on the half pipe at this year's games, wiping tears from his eyes before catching air.

“It’s been a little bittersweet,” White said. “But still sweet.”

Two decades after competing in Torino for his first medal, a few moments on the Italian halfpipe reminded White of how much he misses the competition. "I'd be lying to say I didn't dream about potentially competing here," White said from the Italian Alps.

White is attending this year's Games as a commentator for NBC and of course, to support Team USA athletes like Chloe Kim as they win big for the United States.

See Shaun White Take Post-Retirement Ride at 2026 Olympics

01:02

We have two men’s ice hockey results from the early afternoon in Milan.

Finland beat Sweden 4-1. A tough loss for the Swedes, who outshot Finland 35-24 but still struggled to get the puck in the net.

Meanwhile, Slovakia held off Italy with a 3-2 win. The Italians are the only country in Group B without a win, and they are at the bottom of the standings as a result.

Team USA snowboard legend Chloe Kim joins "TODAY" to celebrate her silver medal win, just weeks after suffering a shoulder injury.

She opens up about the support she received from her mentors and peers, including Shaun White, as well as her boyfriend, NFL star Myles Garrett. “He understands the pressure…he’s been an amazing person. He’s my rock. My best friend,” she says.

Chloe Kim talks to 'TODAY' about silver medal and Myles Garrett, More

04:44

Norway’s Johannes Klaebo won the men’s 10km freestyle cross-country ski race today to earn his eighth Olympic title and equal the record for the most cross-country gold medals at the Winter Games.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo lies on the snow after crossing the finish line. Tobias Schwarz / AFP via Getty Images

Mathis Desloges of France won silver, his second of these Olympics, while Norway’s Einar Hedegart won the bronze.

The victory was the 29-year-old’s third of these Olympics and tied the Norwegian skier with three of his compatriots — fellow cross-country skiers Marit Bjoergen and Bjorn Daehlie and biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen — on eight gold medals overall.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates are joined by their mothers to break down their marriage, their origin story and their journey to the Winter Olympics.

Breezy Johnson gets engaged at the finish line

01:29

Connor Watkins’ plan to propose to his girlfriend, American skier Breezy Johnson, was almost foiled Thursday because of another man: Italian President Sergio Mattarella. 

Watkins was making his way down from the stands when Mattarella arrived at the venue, with his security locking down the path Watkins needed to traverse to make it to Johnson. Fortunately, Watkins was able to outlast the brief delay and get into position before the medal ceremony began.

Johnson had dropped a hint during the 2024 Paris Olympics, mentioning offhand to Watkins “how cool” she thought it was when Olympians got engaged at the Games. Watkins planned a surprise proposal and clued in Johnson’s teammates and coaches, who were in on the secret. Even the stadium announcer caught wind, alerting the fans in Cortina just before Watkins popped the question. 

As part of the proposal, Watkins gave Johnson a piece of wood inscribed with Taylor Swift lyrics. Later, Swift commented on an Instagram post of the couple, congratulating them. Johnson pinned Swift’s words at the top of the post and responded, “I don’t know what’s better, Olympic gold or this comment.”

After six days of competition, Italy leads all nations with 17 total medals.

The host nation was tied with winter sport-powerhouse Norway heading into yesterday, but a four-medal day gave Italian athletes the edge.

Less than half of the medal events at the 2026 Games have been contested, but Italy has already matched its total medals won during the 2022 Beijing Games.

After finishing first in Tuesday’s short program, American star Ilia Malinin enters today’s free skate as the clear gold medal favorite in men’s singles. Malinin holds just more than a five-point lead over his biggest rival, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, with scores from both the short program and free skate added together to determine a winner. 

This will be Malinin’s fourth skate of these Games after competing in both men’s segments of the team event and Tuesday’s individual men’s short program. 

Ilia Malinin on winning Olympic gold and redefining figure skating

27:14

With the score deadlocked at 6-6, China and Norway required an extra end to settle their match in the third session of the men’s round robin curling. Ultimately, it was the Norwegians who triumphed, scoring two stones and securing the tie 8-6.

Team Norway competes during the Men's Curling Round Robin match against Team China today. Mattia Ozbot / Getty Images

Elsewhere, Italy produced a surprise to beat Beijing 2022 silver medallists Great Britain and Team USA, who were defeated by Canada 6-3.

Switzerland, meanwhile, earnedan early handshake from the Czech Republic with the score at 7-3.

Seven victories from nine games will guarantee a place in the semifinals, although fewer may well be sufficient.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport began hearing Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych’s appeal today, with a decision expected later in the day on whether he can return to competition after his disqualification over his “helmet of remembrance.”

Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, with his helmet, which features pictures of people killed in the war with Russia.  Andrew Milliga / PA Images via Getty Images

The 27-year-old was removed from the Olympics yesterday when the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation jury ruled that imagery on the helmet — depicting athletes killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 — breached rules on political neutrality at the Games.

Heraskevych is seeking reinstatement or at least a CAS-supervised run, pending a decision by sport’s highest court ahead of the final two runs set for tonight.

“I’m pretty positive about how it went,” he told reporters outside the office of CAS in Milan following his appearance before the court. “I hope the truth will prevail and I know that I was innocent.”

With all the focus on the United States and Canada in the men’s hockey tournament, it’s easy to overlook an early and critical Group B matchup between two medal contenders.

Sweden and Finland — two elite Scandinavian hockey nations and rivals on the ice — are set to clash today at 6:05 a.m. ET.

In the last Olympic hockey tournament at Beijing 2022, with no NHL players competing, Finland won gold. But the Finns were upset in their opening fixture against Slovakia this week in Italy. The 4-1 defeat puts them in a challenging position with immediate pressure to perform against the tough Swedish team. 

There’s a new chocolate-based star at the Olympics.

It’s not a muffin or lava cake — it’s a giant Nutella dispenser.

On Feb. 4, U.S. snowboarder Hahna Norman posted a video from the Milan-Cortina Olympics that attracted a lot of hungry eyeballs — and it had nothing to do with her talent on the slopes.

While showing viewers around the inside of one of the Milan Olympic Village’s dining halls, viewers noticed a giant Nutella dispenser in the background.

Read the full story here.

The men’s free skate kicks off today, and it’s hard not to think of the Olympic men’s individual figure skating final as the Ilia Malinin show. 

The “Quad God,” who has been undefeated for well over two years — 15 consecutive competitions — said he’s been taking it relatively easy at the Olympics so far. 

Ilia Malinin performs a somersault during his routine on Sunday. Tim Clayton / Getty Images

“I wanted to take [the short program] a little more slowly, a little more calm, and just push the autopilot button, see what happens,” Malinin said after skating on Tuesday. This came after some uncharacteristic wobbles in the team event, where he said he was affected by “Olympic excitement,” and that he had intended to preserve himself for the individual event, skating at “50 percent” of his capacity.

Today, however, he is expected to hit full throttle, warning that fans can expect to witness things never before seen on ice. 

It’s hard to imagine what that may be, given he has already redefined the technical ceiling of the sport. He regularly completes his signature quadruple Axel in competition, and recently landed an historic seven quadruple jumps in a single free skate, also setting a new benchmark for the highest free skate score ever, at the Grand Prix Final.

Read the full story here.

Mike Tirico looks at the drones being used during the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, explaining why fans are getting “never-before-seen perspectives.”

Shaun White was emotional after riding the halfpipe once again, explaining how much he misses the rush of competition.

Reigning world champions Great Britain are taking on their Italian hosts at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, where the third session of men’s round robin matches are underway.

Britain's Bobby Lammie, Grant Hardie and Hammy Mcmillan compete in the curling men's round robin against Sweden yesterday. Odd Andersen / AFP via Getty Images

Team USA are fighting it out with Canada, while China take on Norway and Switzerland are playing against the Czech Republic.

Dual winter and summer Olympic medalist Eddy Alvarez recalls his experience competing in speed skating and baseball and shares his thoughts on the current Games.

Summer and winter Olympic medalist recalls competing in Games

04:14

Win-or-go-home hockey begins today as the USA women’s team faces host nation Italy in the quarterfinals. “Quad God” Ilia Malinin takes the ice again, hoping to cement his status as the best male figure skater and win gold.

All times are in Eastern, and an asterisk signifies a medal event.

3:05 a.m.: Curling, men’s round-robin (Canada vs. USA, Italy vs. Great Britain, China vs. Norway, Switzerland vs. Czechia)

4 a.m.: Snowboarding, women’s cross run 1

4:55 a.m.: Snowboarding, women’s cross run 2

5:45 a.m.: Cross-country skiing, men’s 10km interval start

6:10 a.m.: Men’s hockey, Finland vs. Sweden, Italy vs. Slovakia