Milano Cortina 2026. / Milano Cortina

After losing the women’s ice hockey gold to its arch rival and neighbour, Canada has now set up yet another summit clash with the U.S., this time for the men’s ice hockey title as the Milano Cortina 2026 games steadily move towards conclusion. The day 14 delivered a fantastic feast of events showstopping action! 

The men’s ice hockey is reaching its business end with Team U.S.A. and Canada set for a mouthwatering final on Feb. 22. The short track speed skating programme has already  come to a dramatic conclusion, while winter games enthusiasts witnessed some daring tricks and aerial gymnastics in the freestyle skiing. 

Norway took a commanding lead in the medals tally with the U.S.A. maintaining number two position for the second day with the hosts Italy placed at number three. While Canada had the consolation of making the men’s hockey final with a powerplay goal, 35 seconds before the finish, over Finland, U.S.A. had a comfortable 6-2 win over Czechia in the other semi-final.

U.S.A. added yet another gold to its tally in the freeski halfpipe, as its star Alex Ferreira finally got his hands on the gold to complete his set. Wang Xindi of the People's Republic of China won men's aerials to set the standard for couple goals after his wife Xu Mengtao won the women’s event.

ALSO READ: Milano Cortina 2026: Canada’s women speedskaters retain gold on a day impacted by weather

Germany’s Daniela Maier led from start to finish to claim a maiden Olympic freestyle skiing gold medal in the women’s ski cross event. 

Maier added to her medal collection, which includes the bronze from Beijing 2022, becoming the first German athlete to win a freestyle skiing gold medal at the Games. 

The 29-year-old Maier beat Switzerland’s Fanny Smith and the Swedish defending champion Sandra Näslund into second and third place, respectively. Smith is the first athlete to win three ski cross medals with her silver and two bronzes from the last two Olympic Winter Games.

Wang Xindi of the People's Republic of China nailed a double full-double full-full for a narrow win in the men's aerials final. 

The freestyle skiers had just one jump for gold, with Wang making his count for a winning score of 132.60, narrowly beating reigning world champion Noé Roth (131.58) by 1.02 points. Li Tianma (123.93) rounded out the podium for a Chinese 1-3.

In a twist in the tale, Wang and his wife Xu Mengtao have both topped the podium in the aerials at these Games. Xu successfully defended her aerials title this week. 

Norwegian biathlete Johannes Dale-Skjevdal made no mistake in the range before racing to victory in the men’s biathlon 15km mass start. 

Dale-Skjevdal (39:17.1) shared the podium with compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid, who finished second 10.5 seconds adrift after missing one target. 

France’s Quentin Fillon-Maillet (39:42.7) finished third for his fourth medal at Milano Cortina 2026 and his ninth overall to become France’s most decorated Olympian — Winter or Summer.

Fillon-Maillet is also the first French athlete to win an Olympic medal in every biathlon event: individual, sprint, pursuit, mass start, men’s relay, and mixed relay.

Dutch speed skater Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong captured her first Olympic gold medal at her fourth Winter Games with her win in the women’s 1500m. 

The epitome of dogged determination, Rijpma-de Jong raced to a career sixth Olympic medal, adding to her two silvers and three bronzes. The gold was her second at Milano Cortina 2026, following the silver in the team pursuit. 

Rijpma-de Jong powered to victory in 1:54.09 with Norway's Ragne Wiklund (1:54.15) following in second place, and Canada's Valerie Maltais (1:54.4) in third. The victory continues the Netherlands' unbeaten run in the event since Vancouver 2010.

Sweden and Switzerland will lock horns in the women’s curling final after both teams came out on top in their semi-final clashes.

The teams skipped by Sweden's Anna Hasselborg and Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni will meet in the Olympic women’s curling final after besting Canada and the United States in the semi-finals, respectively.

Sweden rallied in the second half to beat Canada 6-3, marking their sixth consecutive podium finish in women’s curling. Hasselborg is guaranteed a third straight Olympic medal, following her gold from PyeongChang 2018 and bronze at Beijing 2022.

Switzerland defeated Team U.S.A. 7-4 in the second semi-final to book their place in the gold-medal contest. In doing so, the Swiss advance to the Olympic women's curling final for the first time since Turin 2006, where they were then pipped to gold by Sweden.

In men’s curling, Switzerland wiped the floor with Norway in its  bronze-medal match with a 9-1 win. With the win, the Swiss claimed the nation's fifth Olympic medal and their first since PyeongChang 2018.

U.S. freeski star Alex Ferreira completed the full set of Olympic medals, winning the gold in the halfpipe with a top score of 93.75 on his third and final run. The 31-year-old now boasts the full set of halfpipe medals at the Winter Olympics with his bronze from Beijing 2022 and silver from PyeongChang 2018. Ferreira narrowly beat Estonia’s Henry Sildaru (93.00) into second place with Brendan Mackay (91.00) of Canada finishing third.

The Dutch team, spearheaded by star speedster Jens van 't Wout, dominated the men’s 5000m final, racing the nation’s first Olympic short track speed skating gold medal in the event.  Van ‘t Wout, brother Melle van 't Wout, Teun Boer, and Friso Emons flew across the line in a time of six minutes, 51.847 seconds (6:51.847).

They finished well ahead of the Republic of Korea (6:52.239) in second place with Italy completing the podium in 6:52.335. Pre-race favourites and defending champions Canada finished fourth.

Kim Gilli pipped compatriot and defending Olympic champion Choi Minjeong to the line for a Republic of Korea 1-2 in the women’s 1500m.

The 21-year-old lunged at the line for a photo-finishing victory in a time of 2:32.076 with Choi (2:32.450) settling for silver. U.S. skater Corinne Stoddard claimed bronze ahead of the People's Republic of China's Yang Jingru in fourth and the fifth-placed Arianna Fontana of Italy. Kim secured her third medal of Milano Cortina 2026 after her women’s 3000m relay gold and bronze in the 1000m event. 

The stage is set for an epic men’s ice hockey final between powerhouses Canada and the United States of America. Canada scraped through in their come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Finland in their semi-final clash, while Team U.S.A. overpowered Slovakia 6-2 to book their place in the final. 

Defending champions Finland held a 2-0 lead before Canada roared back, first with an equaliser from Shea Theodore and a last-minute winner from Nathan MacKinnon. Canada is set for their first Olympic final since winning gold at Sochi 2014.The United States, who got two goals from Jack Hughes in their win over Slovakia, will feature in their first gold-medal game since Canada defeated them in the Vancouver 2010 final.

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