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The United States came away with 33 total medals at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, and many came from the female athletes who showed up in Italy this month.
17 medals were won by the American female athletes, including eight of the 12 gold medals.
As many Americans enjoyed watching the events at home, LPGA Tour legend Michelle Wie West was in Milan, watching the United States reach the podium in several events.
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Michelle Wie attends Netflix’s “Happy Gilmore 2” New York Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on July 21, 2025 in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
“I had the honor of being in Milan with Nike and got to see some Winter Olympics for the first time in person. It’s amazing to see all these competitors,” she told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview. “Must see [silver medalist] Chloe [Kim] doing her halfpipe and it was incredible.
“Women’s hockey, I mean, unbelievable. I was going to the first game and it was just lights out.”
From Mia Manganello in speed skating to Alysa Liu’s captivating gold medal in figure skating, Wie West admitted that the Olympics made her a little emotional as the athletes were able to achieve their dreams.
“This whole Winter Olympic season has been like that — I think every Olympic season is so uplifting,” she said. “But this one in particular was so inspiring and it feels like the female athletes really knocked it out of the park.
“I feel like every Olympics makes me really emotional. I get to see athletes achieve their dreams and it’s so cool. It was really cool to see it in person.”
Gold medalist Alysa Liu of Team United States poses for a photo during the women’s singles figure skating medal ceremony on day thirteen of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Ice Skating Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Wie West also added that Lindsey Vonn’s “heartbreaking” crash, after competing through a torn ACL, was hard to watch. But “watching her journey up until that moment and even afterwards has been so inspiring to me.”
Breanna Stewart, a three-time gold medalist with Team USA women’s basketball, shared Wie West’s sentiments about seeing American success overseas.
“I think there were so many events I really learned a lot about, whether it was bobsled, or curling, or watching hockey,” she said. “I just wanted to cheer for the USA in whatever event they were in and see the pride and passion the athletes had every time they stepped up to compete in their sport.”
LPGA player Michelle Wie West plays her shot from the 14th tee during the Golden Bear Pro-Am prior to the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday 2025 at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 28, 2025 in Dublin, Ohio. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Stewart even mentioned getting “goosebumps” thinking about how it feels to have a medal around your neck, and even better, to see the flag raised with the national anthem.
“It’s really just satisfaction and justification of why you’re doing it and why you’ve gone through the tough moments and times,” she explained. “To me, the Olympics are the highest of the high. You play your sport at the highest level against everyone else in the world and you see that. It’s just a goosebump feeling no matter how many times you do it. Just the pride and knowing that you’re representing something bigger than yourself always comes full circle.”
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