The Seven Best Team USA Moments of the Winter Olympics, Ranked

Want to know what you missed or just relive all the triumphs you can’t get out of your head? From Alysa Liu’s wonderskate to Elana Meyers Taylor’s toddler sons to, of course, all that hockey domination, we've got you covered as the Milan Cortina closing ceremony airs on NBC. Gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor of Team United States celebrates after winning the women's monobob bobsleigh Heat 4 on Day 10 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Sliding Centre on February 16. Julian Finney/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment The United States was always going to have a good Winter Games. The country jumped from sixth in the medal count to second between the 1998 Nagano Games and the 2002 Salt Lake Games and has been holding in the top five ever since — thanks to impressive results in relatively newer disciplines like snowboarding and curling and newfound competitiveness in classic realms like bobsledding and speed skating.In Milan Cortina, the United States managed 33 medals, good for second overall and the most ever for the country at a Games outside North America. When you’re out-medaling Germany and the Netherlands at winter sports, you’re doing something right.But it’s not just how many you win — it’s how you win. And the U.S. had some truly wild and miraculous triumphs, from a figure skater who had been retired just two years go to a cross-country skier who raced with a badly damaged rib to a TikToker who waited at the last possible moment to grab his gold. Here in ascending order are Team USA’s seven most inspirational moments (from among many) as they played out on Peacock/NBC over the past two weeks. Read it and feel all over again. Related Stories TV California Dreamin': NBC Kicks Off 2028 L.A. Olympics Marketing Campaign With Kate Hudson (Exclusive) TV TV Ratings: Olympics, Nancy Guthrie Case Push 'Today' to Morning Show Lead 7. The U.S. Women’s Hockey Team Wins Gold By Beating Canada in OT In one sense, the U.S. women’s hockey gold was not a surprise: The team had come in a favorite and only got hotter from there, outscoring opponents 31-1 in the six games entering the final. But in another sense, the victory over Canada on Thursday night at Santagiulia Arena was a stone-cold shocker. The U.S. was down 1-0 to its archival with the clock coming up on two minutes and superstar goalie Aerin Frankel heading to the bench. Canada had beaten the U.S. in five of the previous seven gold-medal games they played, and it was about to be a sixth.Then the improbable happened. Veteran captain Hilary Knight tipped in a Laila Edwards shot to tie the score with 2:04 left and send the game into OT. That led to the snapshot moment: Taylor Heise springing Megan Keller with a stretch pass that the streaking defender took before deking a Canadian defender and tucking the puck into the goal on her backhand. Narrative reversed — the U.S. now had its third gold medal and a possible sendoff of sendoffs to a possibly retiring Knight. It was just a prelude of what was to come between the two hockey powers, but it was plenty gratifying in its own right. @nbcsports Megan Keller’s goal SEALED THE DEAL for the gold! 🤩 ♬ original sound – NBC Sports 6. Jessie Diggins Skis 10 Kilometers — and Medals — While in Agonizing Rib Pain Remember that time you had a cold and didn’t go to work? Jessie Diggins may have something to say to you. The decorated U.S. cross-country skier (she previously was a part of the best television Olympics moment of the 2010s with the stir-to-patriotism “Here comes Diggins” in PyeongChang) had badly bruised a rib in a nasty crash in skiathlon at the start of this Games. She seemed done, destined to head into retirement with her memories and three previous medals. “It’s easy to stress and think ‘this isn’t how it was supposed to happen,’” she posted meditatively on Instagram. “But there are always so many things that are totally out of our control.” Yet just days later, Diggins skied the 10 km freestyle and somehow ended up finishing in bronze position; at the finish, she collapsed, writhing in more pain than James Caan when Kathy Bates picked up that ax in Misery. “I thought i was gonna maybe pass or die. it would have been nicer if I could have passed out,” she said later. Fortunately she didn’t, and got to experience the bronze as it happened. Us too. 5. Alex Ferreira Wins His First Gold Medal on His Last-Ever Olympic Run Some Olympic athletes are phenoms. Then there’s Alex Ferreira. At 31, Ferreira had been a professional halfpipe skier for more than a decade, including at three Olympics. The ski TikToker landed on plenty of podiums, but he never has won an Olympic gold medal. After two runs at the freestyle halfpipe ski run, that didn’t seem likely to change — he was in fifth place and ready for the double cork 1260 in the sky (or, like, the exhibition circuit).