Melissa Donovan
Just over two weeks and 33 medals later, Team USA said goodbye to the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games on Sunday at the closing ceremonies. An evening of opera, flag-bearing and traditional Italian culture capped off the 17 days of competition and unified the countries that went head-to-head.
The largest group of American athletes made their mark at the biggest winter games yet. Before the Olympic craze wears off, let’s recap the performances of athletes who have Florida roots close to home.
Brittany Bowe, Women’s Speed Skating
Brittany Bowe, 37, from Ocala, is a 4-time Olympian and 2-time bronze medalist in speed skating.
In the 2026 Winter Games, Bowe came up short of the podium, finishing 4th in the 1,000-meter, 1,500-meter and Team Pursuit races.
Despite going without a medal this Olympics, Bowe did leave with a fiancée, as she and Hilary Knight, Team USA women’s hockey player and gold medalist, got engaged at the Milano Cortina Games. From meeting in 2018 at the PyeongChang Games to having their first dates walking around the Olympic village in 2022 at the Beijing Games, the couple said it just felt right to add another part to their love story at their last Olympics together.
“The Olympics brought us together. This one made us forever.” The couple wrote on their announcement on Feb. 18.
Erin Jackson, Women’s Speed Skating
Erin Jackson, 33, welcomed Team USA into Milano Cortina as a flag-bearer at the opening ceremonies on Feb. 6.
The speed skater from Ocala came into the 2026 Games having already made history in Beijing in 2022 as the first Black woman to win a gold medal in an individual sport. Jackson finished the Olympics in Italy in 6th place for the 1,000-meter and 5th in the 500-meter races.
Mia Manganello, Women’s Speed Skating
Mia Manganello, 36, another speed skater, is from Crestview and made history in her specialty event, the Mass Start, earning herself a bronze medal in her last ever Olympic event.
Manganello is now the only American to have ever made a Mass Start podium.
She also placed 4th alongside Bowe in the speed skating Team Pursuit race.
Jack Hughes, Men’s Hockey
Orlando-born Jack Hughes, 24, scored the game-winning goal in the men’s hockey final against rival nation Canada on Feb. 22, the 46th anniversary of the winning “Miracle on Ice” match against the Soviet Union.
The U.S. men’s hockey team had not earned an Olympic gold medal since the historic 1980 team, until the Milano Cortina Games. With a matched-up 1-1 game against Canada, the final went into overtime and Hughes scored the gold medal goal shortly after taking a high stick to the face and losing a couple of front teeth.
The 2-1 match against the Canadians not only made history as the third time the U.S. men’s hockey team won gold, but also marked the first time the American men’s and women’s hockey teams both stood first on the podiums in the same Olympics.
Quinn Hughes, Men’s Hockey
Brother to Jack, Quinn Hughes, 26, also Orlando-born, helped lead the men’s hockey team to gold. Quinn has been named the best defenseman at the Milano Cortina Games and scored the most goals out of any other defenseman at a Winter Olympics.
He scored eight points throughout the Games, most notably one game-deciding goal in overtime against Sweden, allowing Team USA to progress through the tournament and ultimately win gold.
Andrew Torgashev, Figure Skating
Andrew Torgashev, 24, is from Coral Springs and has been dubbed the ‘pizza guy’ for his 53-day streak of strictly eating pizza.
His Olympic debut placed him 12th in the Men’s Single Skating competition. He recorded a personal best in his singles short program electrifying performance to “Maybe I Maybe You” by the Scorpions.
Frank Del Duca, Men’s Bobsled
Fellow opening ceremonies flag-bearer, Frank Del Duca, 34, was born in Fort Lauderdale.
In his second Olympic appearance, the Bobsledder missed the podium by a tenth of a second, placing 4th in the Two-Man Bobsleigh Competition and placed 12th in the Four-Man Bobsleigh.
Josh Williamson, Men’s Bobsled
Sanford native Josh Williamson, 29, also placed 4th in the Two-Man Bobsleigh and 12th in the Four-Man Bobsleigh alongside Del Duca.
This was his second Olympics after his made his debut in the 2022 Beijing Games.
Nick Page, Freestyle Skiing (Mogul)
Hollywood-born Nick Page, 23, placed 7th in Freestyle Skiing Men’s Moguls and 15th in the Dual Moguls competition.
Ben Richardson, Men’s Curling
Ben Richardson, 27, was born in Miami and made his curling Olympic debut at the Milano Cortina Games. Alongside posting food reviews of bites from the Olympic Village on his @curlingcelloguy social media accounts, Richardson assisted in a statement win over previous gold medalists Sweden.
The men’s curling team finished in fifth place.
As the Winter Olympics wrap up, Milano Cortina sets the stage for the Paralympic Games to begin on March 6.
Comments