Olympics 2026 recap February 19: Finals highlights, Ukraine results, medal count
Team USA and Canada in women’s hockey final (photo: x.com/milanocortina26)
On Thursday, February 19, seven medal finals were scheduled at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. However, not all participants were able to start. Changes to the competition schedule also affected Ukrainian athletes.
RBC-Ukraine reports on who became champions, the results of Ukrainian athletes, and the updated medal standings.
Bad weather hits Ukraine’s medal hopes
The Games organizers once again updated the date and time of the men’s freestyle skiing aerials event.
According to the initial schedule, the qualification rounds in women’s and men’s aerials were supposed to take place on Tuesday, February 17, but were postponed due to bad weather. As a result, the women’s event was held on February 18, while the men’s competition was set for February 19. However, it was postponed again, this time to Friday, February 20.
It is worth noting that Ukraine’s main medal hope in this event, Dmytro Kotovskyi, is set to compete. Oleksandr Okipniuk, Maksym Kuznietsov, and Yan Havriuk will also represent Ukraine in this discipline.
Ski mountaineering: first champions in history
On February 19, the first-ever Olympic champions in ski mountaineering were crowned at the 2026 Games, as the sport made its debut at the Olympics.
The discipline involves completing a course as fast as possible that combines uphill climbs and descents. Athletes first ascend on skis, then tackle a steep section on foot with skis carried on their backpacks, before returning to skis for the final segment.
In the women’s competition, Switzerland’s Marianne Fatton won gold. France’s Emily Harrop claimed silver, while Spain’s Alonso Rodríguez took bronze.
Marianne Fatton (photo: x.com/milanocortina26)
In the men’s event, Spain’s Oriol Cardona Coll claimed victory. Neutral athlete Nikita Filippov finished second, while France’s Thibault Anselmet won bronze.
Oriol Cardona Coll (photo: x.com/milanocortina26)
Nordic combined: Oftebro’s historic success
The team sprint officially concluded the Olympic Nordic combined program. Gold was won by the Norwegian duo Andreas Skoglund and Jens Lurås Oftebro, who edged out Finland’s Ilkka Herola and Eero Hirvonen at the finish line. The Austrian pair of Stefan Rettenegger and Johannes Lamparter completed the podium.
This triumph allowed Jens Lurås Oftebro to write his name into history: he became only the second Nordic combined athlete ever (after Finland’s Samppa Lajunen in 2002) to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games. In addition, the Norwegian became a four-time Olympic champion, matching the tally of his compatriot, record holder Jørgen Graabak.
Ukraine was represented in this discipline by Oleksandr Shumbarets and Dmytro Mazurchuk. The Ukrainian duo finished 12th overall. After the jumping round, they were in 14th place, but during the race, they managed to overtake the teams of Poland and China.
Speed skating: Chinese gold with a record
In the men’s 1500 meters, China’s Ning Zhongyan won gold with a new Olympic record of 1:41.98.
China’s Ning Zhongyan won gold with a new Olympic record
Second across the finish line was American Jordan Stolz, for whom this became his third podium at the 2026 Games. Earlier, he had triumphed in the 500 m and 1000 m events. The podium was completed by decorated Dutch skater Kjeld Nuis, a two-time champion of PyeongChang 2018 and a gold medalist of Beijing 2022.
Hockey: Team USA’s third title
In a tense final of the women’s hockey tournament, Team USA defeated Canada 2–1. The Americans scored the winning goal in overtime, after first saving the game from defeat late in the third period.
The U.S. team claimed its third Olympic women’s hockey title. Only Canada has won more — five gold medals. At the 2026 Games, this was already the fifth consecutive Olympic final featuring these two teams, which remain the main favorites in world hockey.
In the match for third place, Switzerland secured bronze by defeating Sweden in overtime as well (2–1).
US women’s hockey team win Olympic gold (photo: x.com/milanocortina26)
Figure skating: Liu’s sensational triumph
Figure skating competitions have concluded at the Olympics. The final set of medals was decided in the women’s singles event, where American skater Alysa Liu delivered a stunning victory.
After the short program, the 20-year-old from the United States was in third place, trailing Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and leader Ami Nakai. However, a flawless free skate allowed her to top the final standings and secure the first women’s Olympic gold for the U.S. in 24 years, since the triumph of Sarah Hughes in 2002. Overall, this marks the eighth victory for American women in this discipline in the history of the Games.
The silver medal went to Kaori Sakamoto, while the young Ami Nakai claimed bronze in her debut senior season.
Alysa Liu finishes the Olympics as a two-time champion, having also helped Team USA win the team event earlier.
Olympics 2026, all medalists on February 19:
Ski mountaineering, sprint
Women
- Marianne Fatton (Switzerland)
- Emily Harrop (France)
- Alonso Rodriguez (Spain)
Men
- Oriol Cardona Coll (Spain)
- Nikita Filippov
- Thibaut Anselmet (France)
Nordic combined, team sprint
- Andreas Skoglund / Jens Luraas Oftebro (Norway)
- Ilkka Herola / Eero Hirvonen (Finland)
- Stefan Rettenegger / Johannes Lamparter (Austria)
Speed skating, men’s 1500 m
- Ning Zhongyan (China)
- Jordan Stolz (USA)
- Kjeld Nuis (Netherlands)
Ice hockey, women
- USA
- Canada
- Switzerland
Figure skating, women
- Alysa Liu (USA)
- Kaori Sakamoto (Japan)
- Ami Nakai (Japan)
Medal table
As of February 19, the United States made the biggest push in the medal standings, securing two key victories in women’s hockey and figure skating. This allowed the Americans to climb to second place overall, which they now share with hosts Italy in terms of gold medals.
Norway remains the undisputed leader. Thanks to another gold in Nordic combined, the Norwegians increased their total to 16 victories, maintaining a seven-gold gap over their closest rivals.
Top 10 medal table:
- Norway — 16 gold + 8 silver + 10 bronze = 34 medals
- USA — 9 + 12 + 6 = 27
- Italy — 9 + 5 + 12 = 26
- France — 6 + 8 + 5 = 19
- Netherlands — 6 + 7 + 3 = 16
- Sweden — 6 + 6 + 3 = 15
- Switzerland — 6 + 4 + 4 = 14
- Germany — 5 + 8 + 8 = 21
- Austria — 5 + 8 + 5 = 18
- Japan — 5 + 7 + 12 = 24
Top 10 medal table at Milano Cortina 2026
