Team USA delivered a strong opening day at the 2026 Winter Olympics, highlighted by a historic goal from Hilary Knight, a confidence-boosting training run from Lindsey Vonn, and a dominant showing by American figure skaters.
Knight scored in the United States’ 5–0 victory over Finland in women’s hockey, tying the Olympic record for career goals with 14. The 36-year-old now shares the mark with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King, as the U.S. women posted their second straight five-goal performance of the tournament.
On the slopes, Vonn eased concerns about her fitness ahead of Sunday’s women’s downhill. The 41-year-old completed her second consecutive training run, improving her time by more than two seconds from the previous day and signalling she is ready to compete despite recent injury worries.
In figure skating, three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates led the Americans to the top of the team event standings with a commanding free dance score. Team USA holds a five-point lead heading into the final segment.
Not all results went America’s way. Curlers Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin saw their unbeaten run end with back-to-back losses, dropping to 4–2 in the standings. Meanwhile, new faces emerged in freestyle skiing, with teenager Avery Krumme qualifying for the women’s freeski slopestyle final alongside Mac Forehand, Alex Hall and Konnor Ralph on the men’s side.
Day 1 set the tone for a busy Olympic schedule, with multiple medal chances looming for the United States as competition continues.
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