It’s been just under seven days since a spell-binding Opening Ceremony fired the starting pistol on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Apezzo, and at least a month’s worth of drama.
Here, Daily Mail Sport runs the rule over the biggest viral stories of the games so far, from heartbreaking crashes to unorthodox celebrations – and ranks which moments have packed the biggest punch in the first week.
Don’t celebrate too hard…
Another Olympic cycle, another medal controversy. While the medals of Milano Cortina don’t yet seem to have the same fast degradation of their Parisian counterparts, those awarded so far in Italy have not always made the expected grade.
USA athletes Breezy Johnson and Alysa Liu, who won gold for women’s downhill skiing and team figure skating respectively, both saw their medals snap off their ribbons amid overzealous celebrations.
‘Don´t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement, and it broke,’ Johnson said said. ‘´m sure somebody will fix it. It´s not crazy broken, but a little broken.’
Team USA star Breezy Johnson saw her downhill gold medal snap off its ribbon in minutes
Her compatriot Alysa Liu had the same issue with her Team USA figure skating team gold
German biathlete Justus Strelow saw his medal clatter to the ground as he celebrated winning bronze with his team-mates dancing along to music on the podium.
Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for the Milan Cortina organising committee, said it was working on a solution.
‘We are aware of the situation, we have seen the images. Obviously, we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem,’ Francisi said on Monday.
‘But obviously we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment. So we are working on it.’
Drama rating: 6/10
Dating Olympics-style
It’s no secret that the Olympic village has become a byword for potential amorous hijinks – one only has to think back to the infamous cardboard ‘anti-sex’ beds innovation of Tokyo and Paris.
But there have been few Olympians daring enough to publicly use the games’ reputation to their advantage. Enter, Team USA star Sophia Kirkby.
The 24-year-old luge star shared a video with her 23,000 Instagram followers captioned ‘Athlete Village’s Most Eligible Bachelorette Arrives Tomorrow’ in a bid to drum up interest.
Sophia Kirkby was a woman on a mission as she touched down in the Olympic village
The 24-year-old luge star has been keep to take advantage of Valentine’s Day bisecting the games’ two weeks
Kirkby added: ‘I’ll be sharing what it’s like navigating the dating world of competing athletes – wild schedules, early bedtimes, constant travel… and somehow still trying to be romantic,’ she said about her plans to document her Olympics journey, with a particularly romantic bent.
After finishing fifth in her double luge event on Wednesday, Kikby has since shared that she plans to stick around the games in a bid to potential make lasting connections.
Kirkby also let curious fans know that she had received 600 DMs after her international call-out – and already pencilled in two dates for Valentine’s Day on Saturday.
Drama rating: 6/10
‘Penis-gate’ takes over Milano Cortina
Before the curtain had been raised on the Opening Ceremony, the Olympic village was already a-buzz with roiling speculation of an unusual nature. Stemming from reports in the German media, the World Anti-Doping Agency were eventually forced to weigh in on rumours that ski jumpers were injecting their genitals with hyaluronic acid in a bid to increase the surface area of their competition suits.
The theory stems from science: that surface area of a skinsuit can have the effect of turning the jumper into a human glider, with every two centimetres of suit capable of a five per cent lift.
And concerns over unorthodox methods to gain a competitive advantage are very real indeed, with jumpers subject to a 3D body scan at the start of the season to ensure that there has been no tampering with suit.
But more drastic steps? In the words of USA jumper Kevin Bickner: ‘It’s definitely the spot on a suit that can make the biggest difference, so there is a lot of emphasis on trying to make that part of your equipment as efficient as possible.
Speculation ran rampant after an unsubstantiated report claimed that ski jumpers might be injecting their genitals with hyaluronic acid
‘But I think there are methods that most people would come up with before deciding that they wanted to inject themselves with something.’
Not that all of the press has been a bad thing.
‘It’s been a funny thing to watch go down,’ Bickner added. ‘It might not be the greatest thing to get attention for, but I’ve noticed a lot more people in America paying attention to ski jumping, which is cool.
Drama rating: 7/10
‘Coach Snoop’ steals the show again
Two years ago, Snoop Dogg became an unexpected avatar for Team USA when he was hired by NBC to provide unorthodox – and popular – coverage at the Paris Games. Two years later, and the multi-hyphenate rapper is back, and this time, as a Team USA ambassador.
Snoop has been a notable presence in the crowds at Milano Cortina in his new role, taking in downhill skiing, speed skating, and curling.
The 54-year-old drew smiles on social media when he tried his hand at the latter, and more when he slipped off a sled for a segment in his ongoing capacity as an NBC correspondent.
Snoop is thought to have raked in a staggering £393,000 ($500,000) every day for his role with the broadcaster in Paris.
But not everyone has enjoyed the American cheerleader’s foray into winter sports.
Dutch speed skating legend Marianne Timmer claims she was bundled out of the way by Snoop’s security team as she waited for interview with the medal winners.
Coach Snoop Dogg has been out in full force in his new capacity as a Team USA cheerleader
The rapper has taken in a number of events since landing in Italy after bursting onto the scene at the 2024 Paris Olympics
‘(The security guard) came back and started acting all up against me,’ Timmer said of her rough-and-tumble encounter. ‘Then I said something mean back:
”I’m not here waiting for Snoop Dogg, I’m waiting for Jenning de Boo. We want to see Joep (Wennermars), we want to talk to Kjeld (Nuis) for a moment’.’
Drama rating: 7/10
Sacre bleu!
Few things are more satisfying than a well-timed celebration – with the ability to hold a finger to the lips and ‘ssh’ the haters likely even more satisfying than most.
That makes Julia Simon’s celebration after winning gold in the women’s 15km biathlon understandable. Understandable that is, before one delves into what the ‘haters’ might have been saying.
In October, Simon received €15,000 fine and a three-month suspended sentence after being found guilty of spending over €2,000 on a credit card belonging to her team-mate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet – who, incidentally, came 80th in the same race.
The biathlete denied the charges for three years, claiming that she herself had been guilty of identity fraud, before later confessing after pictures of Braisaz-Bouchet’s card details were found on her phone.
‘I confess the accusations but I don’t remember committing them,’ she said. ‘It’s like a blackout.’
France’s Julia Simon made a pointed gesture to her haters after winning the 15km biathlon
But just a few months ago, Simon was charged with fraud after being found to have used the credit card of her team-mate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet
Simon later received a six-month ban from her sport by the French Ski Federation, but five months were suspended, meaning that she only missed one event in the build-up to the Winter Games.
‘I put my finger to my mouth, it was for one person and they know who because we had a talk,’ Simon said after claiming her gold medal. ‘But I won’t tell any more about it, it’s over.’
Drama rating: 8/10
IOC’s Ukrainian helmet mis-step
In one of the more controversial episodes in the history of the Winter Games, Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from competing in the men’s skeleton for sticking to his desire to compete with a helmet bearing images of fellow Ukrainian athletes who had been killed since Russia’s invasion of their country in 2022.
Disquiet over his decision had been bubbling for several days as Heraskevych argued with the IOC that ‘remembrance is not a violation’ of the organisation’s rules on political statements. But despite the intervening of a tearful Kirsty Coventry, IOC president, an impasse could not be reached, and Heraskevych chose disqualification over abandoning his meaningful equipment.
‘I am disqualified from the race. I will not get my Olympic moment,’ Heraskevych, who had been Ukraine’s flagbearer days earlier told the assembled media as his father Mykhailo sobbed over the decision nearby.
‘They were killed, but their voice is so loud that the IOC is afraid of them. I told Coventry that this decision plays along with Russia’s narrative.
Ukrainian skeleton star Vladyslav Heraskevych chose to wear a helmet decorated with pictures of athletes who had died since the Russian invasion four years ago
IOC president Kirsty Coventry made a teary 11th-hour plea to Heraskevych to abandon his plan to compete wearing it
Heraskevych’s father Mykailo was beside himself after his son stuck to his guns and was duly disqualified on Thursday
The Ukrainian luge team mounted a protest supporting Heraskevych’s act of remembrance while competing on Thursday night
‘I sincerely believe that it is precisely because of their sacrifice that these Olympic Games can take place at all today. Even though the IOC wants to betray the memory of these athletes, I will not betray them.’
The organisation’s decision has been condemned by Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Klitschko, with a number of his compatriots mounting their own protests – expect this moment to run and run as the games continue.
Drama rating: 9/10
Lindsey Vonn’s heartbreaking comeback
Few sporting storylines have provided more heart-in-mouth drama than Lindsey Vonn’s preparation for Milano Cortina. The US skiing legend announced her intention to comeback from retirement at the age of 41 to make the games, and had been enjoying a blockbuster World Cup return. Until, just over one week out from her downhill event, she ruptured her ACL.
No matter – Vonn would ski without one, and was sharing videos of herself deadlifting weights that would have most physically fit members of the general public quailing. Strapped up, she prepared to go toe-to-toe with her team-mate Breezy Johnson on Sunday when she left the gate for her first event wearing bid number 13.
It was unlucky 13, with Vonn at full-send crashing into a gate just 16 seconds after her Olympic return. The heavily decorated Olympian’s horror accident was made all the more heartbreaking by the sound of her in obvious pain and distress broadcast for all to hear.
Vonn was airlifted off the mountain and later underwent three separate surgeries after being diagnosed with a complex tibia fracture.
The athlete has continued to show unimaginable bravery, sharing a statement on social media on Thursday doubling down on her decision to race in the first place.
‘Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches,’ Vonn explained.
Lindsey Vonn suffered a complex and heartbreaking leg break just seconds into her Olympic return on Sunday
The heavily decorated Olympian was airlifted off the mountain and taken for emergency surgery
‘I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.
‘While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget.’
Drama rating: 10/10
Why some confessions are best kept under wraps
After making the podium at an Olympic Games, one can imagine a few messages might be top of mind to deliver in your first on-air interview. But Sturla Holm Lægreid had an idea few else might have thought of.
‘There’s someone I wanted to share this with who might not be watching today,’ the 28-year-old said in a television interview after winning bronze in men’s 20km individual biathlon.
‘Six months ago, I met the love of my life and the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. And three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her.’
He tearfully declared: ‘I had a gold medal in my life… I only have eyes for her. I don’t know what I want to achieve by saying this… I wish I could share it with her.’
Naturally, this piqued global interest, and by his press conference later that day, Lægreid said that had no regrets about dropping his ‘nuclear bomb’, as she already ‘hated him’ and might now know how much he loves her.
Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid made a baffling confession after winning bronze
Alas. His ex-girlfriend gave an anonymous interview with Norwegian outlet VG, she stressed that his cheating remains ‘hard to forgive’.
‘I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it,’ she added. ‘We have had contact and he is aware of my opinions on this.’
Worse still, Lægreid has come under further fire for upstaging his compatriot Johan Olav Botn’s gold medal in the discipline after exposing himself as a love rat. Cue a second apology.
Drama rating: 10/10