Every Olympics has their highlights, golden moments and scandals leaving speechlessness. The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are no different. Based in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, the two-week non-stop competitions brought widespread smiles, tears, gasps and gossip. As they have come to an end, let’s recap.

Medal counts

For a fifth straight Winter Games, Norway topped the medal chart with 41 total medals, of which 18 were gold—the most ever won by a nation at the Winter Games. America came second with twelve gold medals and 31 total medals, a national record.

The U.S. took several high-profile gold medals, especially in figure skating and ice hockey. The U.S. men’s hockey team won a nailbiter against Canada 2-1 in overtime in a shocking upset, as did the U.S. women’s team in what NBC calls a “storybook ending” to skip Hilary Knight’s Olympic career. Elsewhere on the ice, U.S. figure skaters shone, with standout performances by “Quad God” Ilia Malinin and Alysa Liu, who both brought home a gold medal.

(Side note: if you’ve not watched Alysa Liu’s long routine, you are missing out. She is so infectiously happy.)

Other strong performances came from the Netherlands and host nation Italy, both winning ten gold medals.

Public Infidelity 

Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid shocked viewers when he publicly admitted to cheating on his girlfriend. The affair happened three months into their relationship, and after coming clean shortly before he took the world’s snow-covered stage, he stated that he wanted to set the record straight after he had “nothing to lose.” Not long after his confession, his ex, whose name has been disclosed, reported that Laegreid’s actions are “hard to forgive.” She “did not choose to be in this position and it hurts to have to be in it,” despite it being Laegreid’s “biggest mistake” of his life. 

Condom Shortages 

Safe to say Laegreid will not be in need of the complementary condoms the Olympics graciously hands out. But even if he was, the shortage would postpone him anyway. Entering the 2026 season, Olympic officials had 10,000 condoms distributed for the 2,800 athletes competing; an average of only 3.5 condoms per athlete. Desperation only increased with Valentine’s Day hitting right in between the Winter schedule, where lovebirds, flings and medal highs all clash together. 

This is not out of the ordinary for the Olympics, however. In the 1992 Winter Olympics, 30,000 condoms were dispersed, and 70,000 in 2000, where there had to be an emergency delivery of another 20,000. In 2002, while hot tubs were provided for use, they were quickly retracted after many used them for sexual pleasure; 100,000 were given out that year. 130,000 condoms, with an additional 30,000 packets of lube, were available for athletes in the Summer Olympics of 2004, and in 2012, 150,000 were ordered, or approximately 15 condoms per athlete, leading British tabloids to call it the “Raunchiest Olympics Ever.”

Attempts to cheat

While the International Olympic Committee no longer flogs or fines cheaters, as was commonplace in the ancient Greek Games, athletes have been trying to cheat the system for three thousand years. Several cheating scandals were raised in Milan.

A notable attempt at cheating was discovered when Swedish curlers called out Canadian curlers for “double-touching” one of the 40-lb stones in violation of the rules. Allegedly, the Canadian pushing the stone told the Swede to “f— off.” Later that weekend, one of Canada’s stone tosses was disqualified due to double-touching, which became a sensitive topic after the Canadian team loss.

Ski jumping also brought intrigue after allegations that male ski jumpers were injecting hyaluronic acid into their genitalia to make them larger during the required body scan. (Ski jumpers’ suits are required to be skin-tight, with a small buffer). Studies on the topic suggested that two extra centimeters of fabric could add 5.6 meters (18.4 feet) to a jump, which could be the decider in a close jump. Maybe size does matter after all.

As the Games draw to a close in Milan, all eyes will turn on Los Angeles. It will be the third time the U.S. city has hosted the Summer Games (the others were 1932 and 1984), and the first instance of three-hosts by a non-European city. The 2030 Games will return to Europe in the French Alps.

Photo by Bo Zhang via Uplash.

Sept. 8, 2024 marked the end of an olympic summer in Paris. The stakes were high, as Paris had not previously hosted the Olympics since 1924. Between broken records and social unrest, let’s dive into my main takeaways from Paris 2024!

1. Marketing in Paris

Paris has been in the spotlight all summer with these Olympic Games, which have shown Paris in a spectacular and elegant light. Indeed, it all began on the very first day with the ceremony on the Seine, which despite the rain sent out a strong message to the whole world. The urban marketing worked, and the visual spectacle outshone the sport, with the use of mythical sites such as the gardens of the Château de Versailles, the Eiffel Tower and the Palais Garnier. The magnificent city of Paris was worthily represented, and as a reward, 12 million spectators from all over the world attended the games–an all-time record. 

2. 126 Medals for Team USA

The American delegation was sparkling this year, taking a well-deserved first place on the medal table in terms of overall medals won. Once again, the USA demonstrated the power of sport as soft power, and this dominance only seems to be increasing. This year, the USA won 13 more medals than at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, with a total of 126 medals, including 40 gold, (equalling China in the number of gold medals, but with a greater number of medals overall).

3. Paralympics: a catalyst for change

The Olympic summer came to a close with two exciting weeks of Paralympic Games, marked by an all-time record for the largest number of participating delegations. The sporting performances were once again breathtaking, but the real challenge of the Paris Paralympic Games was to raise public awareness. Indeed, the Games served as a bridge to create a sense of unity not only between different countries but also with communities of people with disabilities. Some politicians even asked themselves how they could do more to help those living with disabilities. Valérie Pécresse, a French politician, expressed her desire to renovate Parisian transport systems to adapt them to be fully accessible. That’s what the Paralympic Games are all about: bringing us closer to isolated communities and inspiring positive change.

4.  When sports meets business

As with every Olympics, money is king, and the Olympics were particularly expensive, costing in excess of 10 billion euros. Indeed, with such a huge investment, the French government confiscated over a hundred student housing units for more than 3 months, and increased the cost of bus and metro tickets by almost 2.5 times the normal amount. These controversial decisions gave rise to numerous demonstrations and social demands.

5.  Hypocrisy in the land of human rights 

Every Olympiad brings its share of controversy, and this year’s Olympics were no exception. France has a reputation for openness, yet Muslim athletes were banned from wearing the hijab (a sign of belonging to Islam). This ban has also been criticized as anti-feminist. Further fueling these concerns, Steven Van de Vede, a Dutch volleyball player convicted on three counts of rape involving a minor, was allowed to participate in the Olympics. Although, the opening ceremony showed France to be a country of love and tolerance, these contradictions have been believed by many to run counter to the very spirit of sport.

Honorable Mention: Snoop Dogg, Paris Olympics true mascot

World-famous artist Snoop Dog made a sensational contribution to the magic of the Olympic Games. Snoop Dogg was hired by NBC as a presenter to cover certain sporting events, as well as a promoter for the Olympic Games. He seemed to be everywhere, and his charisma and humor brought a lot of levity. His energy was so iconic that these Olympics will be remembered as part of Snoop Dog’s legacy.

From college students to little children to tired parents, everyone takes naps. However, there are some expert nappers that don’t receive the credit that they so rightly deserve.

For some, napping is something that should be quick – about 20 to 40 minutes, while others say that it should be longer – between two to four hours. We were able to reach out to some students to get their opinions on how long a nap should be.

“Personally, I believe that naps are something that should be short and sweet. For me, all I need is a power nap; a good 15 to 20 minutes will do and I feel rejuvenated,” one anonymous student said.

A different student had the exact opposite feeling.

“Napping is a talent. You have to be willing to put in work in order to be a great napper. A solid nap should take about two hours,” said the second student, whose identity will remain confidential.

Whatever the time length, napping is a skill. This raises the question of whether or not napping should be an Olympic sport. While some argue napping should be recognized as an intensive, skill-based endeavor, this simply does not elevate it to the level of Olympic sport.

The rules would have to be too specific, plus when would the nappers wake up? Would it be to see who goes the longest? It’s just not a good idea to make napping an Olympic sport because it is accessible to everyone. The fact that everyone is able to take a nap makes it less of a sport.

Not everyone can ice skate, run extremely fast or play tennis, so why should napping – something everyone can do – be an Olympic sport? Simple answer: it should not be.

Although napping is a great way to get some energy, it’s not something that should be professionalized as an Olympic sport. It’s too accessible and too easy to be called an Olympic sport; however, naps are too enjoyable to not love!

She left Rio with four gold medals, setting a new American women’s gymnastics record for most gold medals won in a single Olympics. Queen B(iles) still managed to take home the bronze in the balance beam final after nearly falling off and receiving a full point deduction for grabbing the beam. Almost any other gymnast would have seen their chances of medaling go out the window with a mistake of that magnitude, but Biles’s start values were so high compared to other competitors that she still medaled.

Biles has rewritten the sport of gymnastics, doing tricks that would previously have been thought of as impossible. She created a new skill, the Biles, which she performs in the second tumbling pass of her floor routine. The Biles is a double layout with a half twist. The half twist adds a blind landing to the skill which makes it harder for the athlete to stick it.

The difficulty and precision at which Biles executes her routines is nearly flawless. She redefines what it means to “stick it” and flies through the air as if she is defying gravity. When other gymnasts would already be on their descent back to the floor, Biles is still ascending, all while twisting and turning faster than I can even wrap my head around.

But what’s really important about Biles is that even when she finishes her routine and my jaw has dropped, she still critiques herself. She is constantly pushing herself to be better when the world believes that she is already perfect.

The alteration in gymnastics scoring ten years ago opened the door for gymnasts like Biles. The elimination of the perfect 10 encouraged gymnasts to reach for new levels. Now, each routine is given a start value based on difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the higher the possible score. Gymnasts now have to push the limits instead of focusing on perfecting smaller, easier tricks.

Aside from being the greatest gymnast, Biles shows wisdom beyond her years in the way she handles adversity. During the games, Biles received negative comments from NBC anchor Al Trautwig in regards to her family dynamics. Biles and her sister Adria were adopted by their grandparents in the early 2000s as their biological mother dealt with substance abuse. The sisters have known them as mom and dad ever since. Trautwig critiqued the label.

“They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents,” said Trautwig on Twitter.

Biles response did not show anger, but instead showed poise and eloquence.

“I personally don’t have a comment. My parents are my parents and that’s it,” said Biles.

More recently, Russian hackers posted medical records of US Olympic athletes online. Biles was among one of the targeted. Her records showed that she had tested positive for Ritalin, a common medicine for treating ADHD. Biles was quick to respond to this accusation.

“I have ADHD and I have taken medicine for it since I was a kid. Please know, I believe in clean sport, have always followed the rules, and will continue to do so as fair play is critical to sport and is very important to me,” said Biles to her followers on Twitter.

The president of USA Gymnastics has affirmed this claim and reported that Biles had completed all the necessary paperwork for the medication.

Disclosing medical records is a personal invasion in itself, but Biles spoke out for the mental illness community and said that she is not ashamed to share her disorder with the world.

Overall, words cannot do enough to describe Biles as a gymnast and a person. Sometimes, we might even consider her to be superhuman. But in the end, we are reminded that she is still a human teenage girl because she literally collapsed when she met Zac Efron.