Celebrating more than 100 years of athletic excellence, the 2026 Winter Olympics were far from uneventful. In athletics, nine world records were broken, torn ACLs were skied on, and 46 years of bad luck for the US men’s ice hockey team ended. However, in the background, drama ensued. From breaking medals, curling controversy, and anti-mafia raids, the Olympic Games had a lot to explain. 

The moment all athletes cherish is finally biting into their Olympic medal, a symbol of hard work, grit, and athletic achievement. However, this year some athletes, including the US figure skater Alyssa Liu, experienced medal malfunction. The issue stemmed from a safety mechanism that would break the medal off the ribbon under pressure. However, on some medals, this mechanism would cause even slight jumps to cause the gilded award to fall off. The Olympic committee urged those who experienced issues to return the medals for fixes. 

Additionally,  on-ice controversy emerged when Canadian curler Marc Kennedy was accused of double-touching: a rule that stops athletes from touching the stone after releasing it. Video replay available to spectators would show what appears to be a “double touch”; however, officials on the ice do not use video replay when making calls. The ruling was that no infraction had occurred. It was the profane outburst of Kennedy’s actions that would get Team Canada a verbal warning. 

The final controversy happened behind the scenes. In 2024, the Italian police raided the Milan-Cortina organizing committee headquarters. They did this based on suspicions of digital sponsorships being corrupt and possible mafia ties. The Olympic committee was cooperative, giving over financial documents and finally providing financial transparency.  

Overall, the historic winter games were not disappointing. Whether more involved in sports or drama, the Olympics never fail to be entertaining. It is now up to LA to live up to the legendary Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics 2026.