The Winter Olympics begin in Italy. From the ice rink to the ski slopes, a new generation of stars is emerging in pursuit of gold medals. We’ll keep you updated on all the exciting moments and headlines as we track the medal race at the Olympics every day.
The U.S. team’s medal tally reaches 21 after two second-place finishes in Italy on Tuesday. Team USA also has plenty of opportunities to add to that number on Wednesday. And, while there are no medals up for grabs yet, the men’s hockey team resumes play in a must-win quarterfinal against Sweden.
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Here are the top five things to watch for Wednesday at the 2026 Olympic Games in Cortina, Milan:
Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals (5:20 a.m. ET)
With the race rescheduled due to weather, three Americans will be trying to get on the podium in what promises to be an interesting final. Perhaps the most notable of them all is Red Gerrard, who won gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics when he was just 17 years old. However, four years ago he missed the podium entirely. Jack Kander and Oliver Martin will also compete for Team USA.
Canada’s Mark McMorris will also be trying to win a fourth consecutive medal in the event. Four years ago, he won a bronze medal. Beijing Olympic silver medalist Su Yiming of China also entered the finals.
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Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals (8:30 a.m. ET)
Like the men’s competition, the women’s snowboard slopestyle final has been rescheduled to Wednesday. All eyes are on New Zealand’s Zoe Sadowski-Sinnott, the favorite to defend her gold medal four years ago. She had the highest score in qualifying and won a silver medal in the big air event earlier in the Olympics.
Jessica Perlmutter and Lily Dhawornvej are the two American finalists, although they still have some work to do to get on the podium in this challenging field.
Women’s and Men’s Curling vs. Great Britain (3:05 a.m. ET/8:05 a.m. PT)
The U.S. men’s and women’s curling teams will each face Great Britain in their group matches on Wednesday.
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The women’s team defeated Denmark 10-3 on Tuesday in their biggest win of the Olympics so far, maintaining a 5-2 record in the group stage so far. They have a game against Switzerland on Thursday before the knockout stages begin.
The men’s team entered the game in poor shape. After losing to China and Italy on Tuesday, they maintain a record of 4 wins and 4 losses and are ranked fifth. A win would be crucial but might still not get them into the finals.
Men’s Hockey Quarterfinals vs. Sweden (3:10 p.m. ET)
After going undefeated in the group stage, the U.S. men’s hockey team will play again in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. They will face Sweden, who beat Latvia 5-1 in Tuesday’s qualifiers.
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The men’s hockey team beat Germany 5-1 on Sunday to end their group stage play after a slow start, although they were nowhere near as dominant as they should have been. Sweden also entered Milan as medal favorites, but only qualified from the group on goal difference. Wednesday’s game looks to be anything but easy for Team USA.
Men’s 500-meter short track speed skating finals (2:15 p.m. ET)
Andrew Heo passed the qualifying round on Monday so he will have a chance to medal in Wednesday night’s men’s 500m short track speed skating final. The 24-year-old won the ISU Short Track World Tour title last fall and easily won her qualifying heats.
Heo must overtake Canada’s Steven Dubois, who won bronze at the event in Beijing four years ago, and William Dandjinou, the favorite to finish on the podium. The Canadian pair posted two of the three fastest times in Monday’s qualifying session.
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Wednesday, February 18 (Day 12) Olympic Games Schedule
All times ET
alpine skiing
slalom
biathlon
relay
Cross-country skiing
team sprint
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3:45 am: Men’s and Women’s Qualifying Rounds (airs at 5 a.m. on USA Network)
Curling
Women’s round robin
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3:05 am: United States vs. United Kingdom (aired at 9:15 a.m. on USA Network), China vs. Denmark, Sweden vs. South Korea
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1:05 pm: England vs. Japan, Switzerland vs. Denmark, Canada vs. Italy (aired at 8 p.m. on USA Network), China vs. Sweden
Men’s round robin
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8:05 am: United States vs. United Kingdom (5 p.m. on CNBC), Italy vs. Canada, China vs. Czech Republic, Norway vs. Switzerland
freestyle skiing
antenna
hockey
Men’s Quarterfinals
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6:10 am: Slovakia vs. Germany (1 p.m. USA Network)
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10:40 am: Czech Republic, Virginia, Canada (US Network)
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12:10 noon: Finland vs. Switzerland (6 p.m. USA Network)
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3:10 pm: United States vs Sweden (NBC)
short track speed skating
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2:15pm: Men’s 500m, Women’s 3000m Relay (aired at 2:30pm on USA Network) 🏅
snowboarding
Men’s Slopestyle
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5:20 am: Men’s finals (USA Network coverage begins at 5:20 a.m.; NBC airs at 2:15 p.m.)🏅
Women’s Slopestyle
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8:30 am: Women’s Finals (Peacock coverage begins at 8:30 a.m.) 🏅
