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The United States earned 33 total medals at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, and many came from the athletes who performed in Italy this month.
American athletes won 17 medals, including eight of the 12 gold medals.
While many Americans were enjoying 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 New York premiere of “Happy Gilmore 2” 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 of the Winter Olympics for the first time in person. It’s amazing to see all these competitors,” he told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview. “I have to see [silver medalist] cloe [Kim] do his halfpipe, and that was amazing.
“Women’s hockey is amazing. I had to go to the first game and everything was off.”
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 watching athletes achieve their dreams.
“This whole Winter Olympics season has been so… I think every Olympic season is so uplifting,” he said. “But this one in particular was very inspiring, and it seems like the athletes really knocked it out of the park.
“I feel like every Olympics really excites me. I get to see the athletes achieve their dreams and it’s cool. It was really cool to see it in person.”
Gold medalist Alysa Liu of Team USA poses for a photo during the medal ceremony in women’s single skating on day thirteen of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Wie West also added that Lindsey Vonn’s “heartbreaking” fall, after competing with a torn ACL, was difficult to watch. However, “watching her journey up to that point and even after has been very inspiring to me.”
Breanna Stewart, a three-time gold medalist with the US women’s basketball team, shared Wie West’s feelings about seeing American success abroad.
“I think there were a lot of events that I really learned a lot about, whether it was bobsledding, curling or watching hockey,” he said. “I just wanted to cheer on America in whatever event they were doing and see the pride and passion the athletes felt 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 2025 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 28, 2025, in Dublin, Ohio. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Stewart even mentioned that he got goosebumps thinking about what it feels like to have a medal around your neck and, better yet, 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 those difficult times,” he explained. “For me, the Olympics are the pinnacle of the pinnacle. You’re playing your sport at the highest level against everyone else in the world, and you see it. 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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