Here's the latest
• Chloe Kim’s run at history thwarted: The US snowboarder settled for a silver after South Korea’s Choi Ga-on bested her, dashing her hopes of a third consecutive Olympic gold in the halfpipe event.
• Ukrainian challenges IOC: Skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified for defying IOC guidelines banning his helmet featuring images of athletes killed during the war in Ukraine. He has appealed the decision.
• Team USA flexes NHL-loaded roster: After Canada thrashed the Czech Republic 5-0, the Americans dominated Latvia 5-1 in men’s hockey preliminary action.
• Italian glory in speed skating: Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida won the women’s 5000m final in sensational fashion in front of a raucous home crowd to win her second gold of the Games.
CNN Sports has all of the greatest feats of achievement – and funny anecdotes – from the Games, so sign up for our “Milano Memo” newsletter.
That's a wrap on Olympic Day 6. Here's what you need to know
Day six has officially come to a close and it seems no Olympic day is less eventful than the last.
Norway continues to lead with the highest number of gold medals with seven, closely followed by Italy with six and then the US with four. It was heavy medal day for Italy, which now boasts the most amount of medals at 17. The US and Norway are tied at 14 each.
Catch up on today’s wins:
USA and Canada’s hockey victories: The NHL player-packed Team USA opened up their 2026 Milan Cortina Games with a 5-1 victory against Latvia. Boasting a team full of NHL superstars, Team Canada dominated against the Czech Republic 5-0 in its first game at this year’s Olympics.
Dutch skating golds: There was no catching Xandra Velzeboer in women’s 500m short track speed-skating, who broke a world record and won a gold later on in the day. Dutch skater Jens van ‘t Wout won gold in men’s 1000m short track speed-skating about 15 minutes later, timing his finish to perfection to get his toe ahead of the pack.
Chloe Kim takes silver: Only for an athlete like Chloe Kim would it be an upset to get anything less than gold. The snowboarding superstar won Olympic silver in the women’s halfpipe, second to 17-year-old Choi Ga-on who Kim had been a mentor to earlier in her career.
Gold, more gold for Italy: Francesca Lollobrigida came in first in the women’s 5000m speed skating, walking away with a huge smile and her second gold of the Games. Italy’s Federica Brignone claimed gold in the women’s super-G (super giant slalom) in an extraordinary comeback after multiple leg fractures and a torn ACL in April last year.
And…Austria just makes it!: Alessandro Hämmerle slid across the finish line narrowly ahead of his competitors in a nail-biting men’s snowboard cross final.
Sweden’s one-two: Frida Karlsson claimed a second gold medal of these Games in the women’s cross-country skiing 10km, with fellow Swede Ebba Andersson in second. Team USA’s Jessie Diggins clinched the bronze.
Australia’s tie-breaker: Cooper Woods claimed gold in the men’s moguls with an equivalent score to Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury in second, but with better turns.
In other news:
Uproar over Ukrainian disqualification: Vladyslav Heraskevych, the Ukranian athlete disqualified from the Olympics for wearing a helmet with images of athletes killed in the Ukranian war, appealed his disqualification to the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation. He asked to be immediately reinstated in the Games, or to perform a “supervised official run” pending the court’s final decision. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him with one of Ukraine’s highest honors.
Team USA lost its curling game Thursday but made history: The 54-year-old Ruohonen became the oldest American Winter Olympian.
Breezy Johnson engagement: The American downhill gold medalist was proposed to at the finish of today’s super-G event and she said yes!
CNN’s David Close, Ben Church and Thomas Schlachter contributed to this report.
Team USA opens Winter Games with dominant win over Latvia
Latvia answered the pregame hype from the beginning. The NHL-packed Team USA wasn’t able to walk over their opponents at the start like many thought would happen. With the score 1-1 at the first break, Latvian fans were thrilled with the first 20 minutes.
But then the second period happened.
Three unanswered goals with a fourth tacked on in the third period meant the Americans opened up their 2026 Milan Cortina Games with a 5-1 victory.
Brock Nelson, the oldest player on the team, scored two goals for the US.
Next up is a game against Denmark on Saturday.
Disqualified Ukrainian athlete said Olympic rules lack clarity. What exactly do they say?
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to disqualify skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych this morning elicited intense backlash as it touches on one of the largest geopolitical conflicts looming over the Olympics.
Rule 50 in the Olympic Charter, the document that outlines the IOC’s principles, says no demonstration or “political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
“No form of publicity or propaganda, commercial or otherwise, may appear on persons, on sportswear, accessories or, more generally, on any article of clothing or equipment whatsoever worn or used” by Olympic participants, the rule continues, except for the “normal display” of a manufacturer’s sign.
The charter repeatedly establishes the role of the IOC to maintain and encourage “political neutrality” and “preserve the autonomy of sport,” as outlined in its mission statement.
Many world leaders want to keep politics out of sport, too, just as Vice President JD Vance said US athletes should not “pop off about politics” at the Games. The quest for political neutrality breathes down the IOC’s neck, though, as athletes from across the globe congregate and geopolitical tensions become hard to ignore. Take the Opening Ceremony’s crowd booing of Israel’s athletes, for example.
Heraskevych, backed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, did not insist on wearing the helmet as resistance to the IOC’s “political neutrality,” however, rather out of the belief the helmet was not political at all and served as a way to memorialize his peers. No different, he said, from the picture American figure skater Maxim Naumov held of his parents killed in a plane crash.
Heraskevych is one of several Olympians asked to alter their clothing to fit the IOC’s guidelines, including Ukrainian skater Oleh Handei and Haiti’s ski team for depicting an image of the country’s revolutionary leader on their uniforms. Heraskevych just refused to comply.
The athlete appealed his disqualification to the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation today. His court hearing will be at 3 a.m. ET tomorrow, but the timeline of whether or not he will be reinstated in this year’s Olympics is unclear.
Reasons my 19-month-old is out on these Olympics
My son, currently obsessed with anything plush with eyes, would be severely disappointed in the Milan Cortina Olympic organizers, who apparently did not account for the demand for mascot merch.
What are stoats and how did they become the mascots for the 2026 Winter Olympics? CNN’s Antonia Mortensen introduces Tina, Milo and the six snowdrops named "The Flo."
Apparently, toy versions of the ambassador stoats Tina and Milo are so highly sought after that official stores are running out of stock. Leaving at least one CNN correspondent bereft at the “disaster.”
“We are talking with all our suppliers. We will have the goods back again soon,” said Luca Casassa, the Games operations communications director. “It is an example of the enthusiasm behind the Games that the official stores are practically sold out.”
Sure, it’s also an example of being unprepared – for the obvious appeal of plush stoats.
USA takes a 5-1 lead and it's a laugher
Auston Matthews is just camped out in the middle of the ice and is begging for an opportunity to score. The Latvians just gave it to him.
Matthews was the target of Jack Eichel’s pass from the corner of the rink toward the slot but it looked like it’d be an easy interception for the Latvians. Instead, the puck bounces off a Latvian stick and right to Matthews.
An easy shot past Arturs Silovs – in for Elvis Merzlikins, the Latvian goalie who watched the puck go past him four times today – and it’s 5-1 to the US. There’s about 15 minutes to go in this game now.
The best photos from Thursday’s Olympic action
These Olympic Games just keep delivering dramatic moments.
We just saw an upset in snowboarding as South Korea’s Choi Ga-on dethroned American superstar Chloe Kim in the halfpipe final. Kim, who won the event in the last two Olympic Games, fell on her final run and ended up with the silver.
Earlier in the day, Italian speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida thrilled the home crowd on her way to winning the 5,000 meters. It’s her second gold medal of these Games, as she also won the 3,000 meters.
In alpine skiing, US downhill champion Breezy Johnson crashed out of the super-G but received an engagement ring afterward. And we saw a photo finish in the men’s snowboard cross, with Austria’s Alessandro Hämmerle narrowly winning the event for the second straight Olympics.
Check out the best photos we’ve seen at these Winter Olympics so far.
Team USA is starting to steamroll Latvia
The Americans are starting to roll now – and in style.
First, Tage Thompson somehow finds a way to get the puck past Elvis Merzlikins, the Latvian goalie who appears to have the entire net blocked.
But Thompson makes a nice recovery after the puck threatened to scoot off his stick and flicks the puck up over the Latvian’s shoulder, finding the smallest of holes to make it 3-1 in favor of the Americans with just a couple minutes remaining in the second period. The US takes advantage of the Latvian penalty in spectacular fashion.
With time ticking down in the final minute of the second period, the Americans stay on the attack and create a couple more scoring chances that they aren’t able to convert.
But with 11 seconds left, Team USA show their quality with a beautiful goal.
Brock Nelson scores, but it’s almost not about what he does at all. Jack Hughes carries the puck into the zone and passes to his brother, Quinn, who drops it off to Matthew Tkachuk, who passes it back to Jack Hughes.
With the Latvians positively dizzied by the fancy puck movement, Jack Hughes slides it over to Brock Nelson who has an entire net to shoot at, and he does so with aplomb.
It’s 4-1 to the US going into the second intermission and there’s just 20 minutes left to go.
"It's life": Chloe Kim is staying positive following silver medal
Team USA’s Chloe Kim may not have made history in tonight’s halfpipe, but the two-time Olympic champion is staying upbeat.
“I feel amazing. It wasn’t looking too good for me a month ago, and I’ve hardly gotten to practice, so the fact that I was able to come out tonight, all this pressure in the world and land a run, I’m just so proud of myself,” Kim said after picking up the silver medal.
The preparation in the buildup to the Olympics wasn’t ideal for the 25-year-old who tore the labrum in her left shoulder just over a month ago.
“I wish I could have landed the run I wanted to out here, but it’s life and I’m so proud of myself for dealing with all these variables and still coming out and giving it my best,” she said.
Kim was beaten in the end by 17-year-old Choi Ga-on, an athlete who the Team USA star has been a mentor to early in her career.
It's 2-1 to Team USA
I literally was just writing about how not much was happening in this second period between the USA and Latvia
And then Brock Nelson — he who played a part in two different called-off US goals — makes an absolutely sick play to put the Americans ahead.
Nelson takes a pass from Jack Hughes, fakes a shot and then dangles his way through the slot and goes to the backhand to slot past an out-of-position Latvian goalie, a truly magnificent dangle from the Colorado Avalanche star.
No challenging that one for the Latvian team – clean as a whistle.
Nelson’s got 29 goals in the NHL this year, and now one in the Olympics.
Dutch skater Jens van 't Wout wins short track gold in dramatic finish
To underline how fast and furious short track skating is, we already have another gold medal moment, this time in the men’s 1000m event.
Dutch skater Jens van ‘t Wout timed his finish to perfection to get his toe ahead of the pack as they all descended on the line.
The 24-year-old could barely contain his excitement, skating over to his coaches with his face in a state of shock. He’s then hugged by all the Dutch team who had lined the track.
China’s Sun Long finishes with a silver medal and South Korea’s Rim Jong-un with bronze. There was a split second separating all the finalists.
A brilliant end to what was an eye-opening night of short track action. I will be back…
"The kind of story you only see in dreams," says shock champion
Teenager Choi Ga-on upset the odds in the women’s snowboard halfpipe with a shock win against Team USA’s Chloe Kim.
Kim had won gold in the last two Olympics and sat in top spot for much of today’s final. But that all changed when Choi completed her third and final run.
Choi bounced back from injury and two falls to score 90.25 to seal Olympic gold.
“It’s the kind of story you only see in dreams, so I’m incredibly happy it happened today,” Choi said after her win.
“During the final, mentally it was so tough. But right now, I am the happiest. My knees are a bit bad, but I feel like I’m overcoming it all with happiness.”
USA and Latvia tied at 1 after event-filled first period
The USA has hit the post approximately a million times in the first period (maybe actually like three?) and goes into the first break in a frustrating tie with Latvia.
Most of the action is centered in front of the Latvian goalie but when they do break, Latvia looks dangerous.
Forty minutes to go here.
Xandra Velzeboer wins gold in women's 500m short track
What a night for Xandra Velzeboer – a new world record earlier and now an Olympic gold medal.
The Dutch star was so dominant in that final, leading from the first corner. There was simply no catching her. She celebrated by jumping into her coaches at the side of the track and is now waving her nation’s flag above her head.
Italy’s history-making skater Arianna Fontana finished with silver, which takes her tally to 13 Olympic medals – her first coming 20 years ago when she was just 15.
Canada’s Courtney Sarault finished with the bronze medal and looked very happy with it.
Ukranian leadership rallies behind disqualified athlete
Ukrainian sports minister Matvii Bidny said in a press conference today that Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the Games this morning, is already the country’s champion. The praise elicited cheers in the room.
Bidny follows Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his support for the skeleton racer, who was barred from the Olympics for wearing a helmet with pictures of athletes killed in the Ukranian war. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made the decision to disqualify him in line with their rules that prevent athletes from making political statements.
Zelensky condemned the IOC’s decision as contrary to “peace, justice, or the principles of the Olympic movement.”
“Sport should not be without memory and respect,” Zelensky said in his nightly address. “Ukrainians are already preparing for competitions in special conditions – in conditions of war. And it is not politics to talk about what is really happening.”
Another US goal taken off the board as Latvia uses its challenges well
Another apparent US goal taken off the board after Latvia successfully challenges.
Brock Faber throws the puck at the net and Brock Nelson gets his stick on the puck, knocking it lower and redirecting it. But Latvia challenges again – this time arguing that JT Miller was interfering with the goalie as the puck came in.
The goal was officially credited to New York Rangers captain Miller – it bounced off him and into the net – but the refs rule that he didn’t get out of the blue-painted crease in enough time before the shot came in.
Frustrating times for the US and the Latvians almost take advantage, flying down the ice and having a chance at an open goal before a US player gets back on defense and helps block the shot.
It’s still 1-1 here and the US is hoping they can just get the puck in the net without all the replays next time.
Disqualified Ukrainian athlete asks to be reinstated
Vladyslav Heraskevych, the Ukranian athlete disqualified from the Olympics for wearing a helmet with images of athletes killed in the Ukranian war, appealed his disqualification to the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation.
He asked to be immediately reinstated in the Games, or to perform a “supervised official run” pending the court’s final decision.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) disqualified Heraskevych this morning for “refusing to adhere” to their rules that prevent athletes from making political statements. The skeleton racer appealed his disqualification to the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation, arguing the “exclusion is disproportionate, unsupported by any technical or safety violation and causes irreparable sporting harm to him.”
Heraskevych, 27, arrived at a news conference outside the Ukrainian consulate in Milan to a round of applause, but looking visibly tired. He said his goal is always to compete and he will wait for the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will make the decision as to whether he will be reinstated.
“I never wanted this scandal and I’m not the person who created it,” he said.
Heraskevych contested the IOC’s basis that the helmet was political, saying the helmet did not have signs or logos and only showed people who were part of the Ukranian sports family.
The artist who painted the helmet worked from Kyiv without light, water or electricity, he said.
Heraskevych said his dream has been taken away without basis, adding he is still hoping for another “miracle on ice.”
The timeline for the court’s decision is unclear. for whether Heraskevych will be reinstated is unclear. The case’s hearing will take place at 3 a.m. ET tomorrow.
Latvia gets the puck past Hellebuyck to tie Team USA 1-1
Oh snap – a twist in the script!
The Latvians have scored after a goal-mouth scramble. Renars Krastenbergs pokes the puck past Connor Hellebuyck. There’s an appeal for an elbow thrown by a Latvian player in the turnover that led to the goal, but no whistle from the refs.
Within seconds, it goes from a possible 2-0 USA lead to a tie game.
Team USA looks angry, and they’ll need a positive response now.
Team USA on the board early against Latvia
And there’s the opening goal!
With 14:31 to play in the first period, Brady Tkachuk takes a pass from his brother Matthew and fires it past Latvian goalkeeper Elvis Merzļikins for the game’s opening goal.
The Tkachuk brothers are playing on the same line as each other here in these Games, a very nice moment for two guys who have always played on different NHL teams. The first time they had the chance to play together was in last year’s 4 Nations tournament.
In the time that it takes me to write this post, Quinn Hughes gets the apparent second goal of the game. It’s a wrist shot that flies over Merzļikins’ shoulder and into the top corner.
The Latvians challenged the play, claiming the US was offside in the build-up to the goal. There’s an interminable delay as we watch scores of replays in slow motion that doesn’t really show much.
The referees determine the play was offside and take the goal off the board. A sigh of relief from the Latvians.
Team USA's quest for men's hockey gold is underway
OK well, from a disappointment for Team USA to an opportunity for joy.
Team USA has got its men’s hockey quest for gold – or any medal, anyway – underway now against Latvia.
The Americans are a medal favorite and boast a roster full of NHL players. The Latvians are … not a medal favorite and are going to be up against it today.
It’s 0-0 early in the first period.
World record broken in women's 500m short track speed skating
The women’s 500m short track speed skating semifinals have just wrapped up and we have the first world record of the Games to celebrate.
Xandra Velzeboer delighted the Dutch crowd inside the arena as she broke the record with a time of 41.399 seconds. Velzeboer went 0.017 seconds faster than the old record, set by herself in 2022.
She naturally heads to the final, alongside the likes of Italy’s history-making skater Arianna Fontana.
Team USA’s Kristen Santos-Griswold sadly misses out after a far from smooth race in her semifinals.
