Team USA athletes were heartbroken and excited on Sunday.
Lindsey Vonn withdrew from the Olympics due to a serious injury, while her teammate Breezy Johnson won gold at the same event.
Meanwhile, the U.S. figure skating team notched a dramatic team victory as they tied Japan to reach the finals. The U.S. curling team advanced Monday and is ready to compete for medals.
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Here are five of Sunday’s top stories:
1. Lindsey Vonn’s devastating Olympic ending
Lindsey Vonn’s 2026 Olympics, and almost certainly her Olympic career, ended in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday when she fell 13 seconds into the race in the women’s downhill race.
Vaughan suffered a broken left leg and had to be airlifted down the mountain. She underwent surgery to repair the fracture and was in stable condition late Sunday.
Vonn entered the game with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, which she injured during a practice on Jan. 31. Despite a torn ACL, she continued to compete and successfully trained with her injured knee ahead of Sunday’s Olympic final.
Lindsey Vonn falls during women’s downhill race.
(Associated Press)
Vonn, 41, competed with a torn ACL in what was widely expected to be her last Olympic appearance. If so, she will end her Olympic career with one gold medal (2010, Vancouver) and two bronze medals (2018, Vancouver, PyeongChang).
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2. Team USA beats Japan for gold in dramatic team figure skating competition
The United States won team figure skating gold in Sunday’s final, earning its second medal of the Olympics. The United States held a five-point lead heading into the first day of competition on Saturday, but entered Sunday’s men’s free skate – the final stretch of the competition – tied for first place with Japan.
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto won the women’s free skating championship, and American player Amber Glenn finished third. The two teams each scored 59 points in the men’s free skating competition, tied for first place.
There, Ilia Malinin’s score of 200.03 beat Shun Sato’s score of 194.86, with 69 points to secure the U.S. gold medal for the second straight Olympics. The Japanese team won the silver medal with 68 points, and the host team Italy won the bronze medal with 60 points.
After a full second day of competition, Team USA’s medal tally now stands at two. Host country Italy leads the way with nine medals, while Norway is the only country other than the United States. Multiple gold medals won so far, three of them.
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3. Breezy Johnson wins gold, then breaks it
Breezy Johnson won the gold medal in the same women’s downhill skiing race where Vonn was injured, giving the United States its first medal of the Games.
She won the title in 1:36.10, beating silver medalist Emma Aicher of Germany who finished in 1:36.14. Italy’s Sofia Goggia won the bronze medal.
Unfortunately for Johnson, as she was celebrating, the medallion ribbon hanging around her neck broke and her medal broke into three pieces.
“Well, I was jumping up and down excitedly and then it just fell off,” Johnson told reporters. “I thought maybe that’s why it broke.”
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It’s unclear whether she will receive an alternative medal.
4. U.S. Curling Team Advances to Medal Round
Sunday was a great day for the U.S. mixed doubles curling pair of Corey Thiese and Corey Dropkin.
The pair defeated Estonia’s Marie Kaldevi and Harry Riel 5-3, then beat Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Vrana 8-7 in a dramatic match that ended in a tie at 7-7.
With the victory, the United States improved to 6-2 in the round-robin tournament and advanced to the four-team knockout round against Great Britain (8-1), Italy (5-3) and Sweden (5-3). Three of the four teams will receive medals.
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The U.S. also plays Italy in a round-robin match on Monday, but both teams have already locked up spots in the medal race. The medal game is scheduled to begin at 12:05 pm ET on Monday.
5. Chilly topless celebration
Even Pita Taufatofua – aka the shirtless Tongan – wore a shirt during Friday’s opening ceremony.
But when Austria’s Benjamin Carr won his second career Olympic gold medal in the men’s parallel ski giant slalom on Sunday, it was time to take off the clothes, no matter the conditions.
After his victory, Carr stripped off several layers of clothing and let out a primal scream for the camera.
Carl then lay face down in the snow – still shirtless – and continued his celebration.
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These athletes love the snow.