The preliminary round is over. It’s time to play for a medal in women’s hockey at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

U.S. figure skating star Ilia Malinin came into the 2026 Winter Olympics with sky-high expectations, but a catastrophic free skate performance cost him not just a gold medal in the men's figure skating competition but a podium appearance in general.

The Olympic Team Event came down to the final skater on Sunday. In front of a packed house inside the Milano Ice Skating arena, the United States narrowly defeated Japan for its second consecutive team gold.

Yuma Kagiyama entered tonight trailing Ilia Malinin by 5.09 points — and he’s going to have a difficult time catching him. Kagiyama didn’t have his cleanest performance in the free skate, stumbling lightly after a couple jumps on a night he needed to be both aggressive and perfect.

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — A generation ago, the sight of an Olympic halfpipe podium drenched in red, white and blue was as common as fresh powder on the mountain — a fitting and expected celebration for a sport born and raised in the United States.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are in full swing in Milan, Italy, and the Olympic medal count as of the end of the day on Friday, Feb. 13, has revealed that two countries are neck-and-neck for the top spot. Neither of those countries is the United States, either, but the United States is No. 3 in the standings, as of Friday.

Hirano is the reigning gold medalist in the event. He also took back-to-back silvers in 2014 and 2018. He can't be completely counted out of the medal race either. He won the first halfpipe event on the FIS World Cup circuit this season.