In one of the most viewed athletic competitions in the world, the 2026 Winter Olympics marked an incredible chapter for the history of women’s sports. Sunday, February 22 marks the end of the winter games. Throughout the past seventeen days, viewers watched a variety of winter sports including snowboarding, skiing, ice hockey, figure skating, and many more! Beyond all the medals and ice surrounding northern Italy, these women who competed broke barriers and reshaped the view of female athletes.
Alysa Liu: A comeback champion
After a two-year break from skating, American figure skater, Alysa Liu returned to skating in 2025 to compete on her own and win the World Championship. Now competing in the Winter Olympics, Liu made her mark in the figure skating world by winning gold for the United States. The first woman to win an individual medal since 2002.
Her comeback to the sport marks the importance of acknowledging mental health for athletes, as she took time away from figure skating due to her loss of passion and to prioritize herself. This is a powerful statement for athletes worldwide. Alysa’s comeback story rejects the narrative of unrealistic pressure and expectations in women’s sports to perform to the best of their ability constantly.
Watch Alysa Liu’s Gold Winning Performance here!
Elana meyers taylor: gold at 41
At 41 years old, Elana Meyers Taylor won her first individual gold medal in her Olympic career in monobob the race. This year marked her fifth time competing in the winter games, and over the course of these years she has become the most decorated Black female Olympian for her sport.
In addition to being one of the most decorated female Olympian in the bobsled race, she broke the age barrier of being 41 years old and still competing for the gold medal. This win proves that skill in a sport doesn’t disappear with age but can continue to enhance with the more experience you gain on the ice.
Watch Elana Meyers Taylor’s Gold Medal Winning Race here!
Team usa dominated their olympic schedule
If there was one team I would want to speak about in this piece, it would be the United States women’s ice hockey team. The sport has been seen as a male dominated, physical sport for generations. It wasn’t until the creation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) in 2024 that women in the sport began making their mark. In just two short years, the league and game have exploded by breaking records, barriers, and expectations.
Now players are competing at the highest level in the world, and team USA dominated their opponents and won gold for their country. The women’s team won all seven games and only allowed two goals to be scored by their opponents. Three shoutout goal games were recorded by goalie; Aerin Frankel, who recorded a 97.9 goal save percentage.
Competing in the Olympics since 2010, veteran forward, Hilary Knight broke history by scoring her fifteenth career goal in the winter games and now leads the all-time point scoring leaderboard with thirty-three points. Following the gold medal win over Canada, Knight announced her retirement from the Olympic sport, and proposed to her partner, Brittany Bowe.
In addition to all the other broken records this team has accomplished, I want to highlight a key defensive player. Laila Edwards is a college hockey player for the University of Wisconsin and has become the first Black woman to win gold for Team USA women’s ice hockey. Edwards showcased that ice hockey is made for women and for women of color, despite the hockey industry being a historically white male dominated sport.
Watch Team USA’s Highlights for their Overtime Comeback Win here!
Alysa Liu, Elana Meyers Taylor, Laila Edwards, and Hilary Knight are just a few of the incredible women and role models that competed and made history in the winter games. These women have broken age, gender, and racial barriers, which shows the previous stereotypes surrounding women’s sports and how their respective sports continue to improve and gain media attention.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 