Along with the recent snowstorms of 2026, the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina has also brewed its own kind of media storm. As fanfare for snow sports like freestyle skiing, skating, snowboarding and ice hockey are reignited, the media attention for athletes has reached an all time high. “It’s exciting to watch women competing in sports, especially in the Winter Olympics, because it feels like women’s accomplishments receive more coverage in the news,” senior Jocelyn Wang explains. In America in particular, female medalists like free skier Eileen Gu, snowboarder Chloe Kim and the entire women’s hockey team have been praised for continuing to break barriers in their respective sports.
However, women were not always allowed to compete under the lights of the world stage. Figure skating was the first sport added for women in 1924, but other highly popular sports like freestyle skiing, snowboarding and ice hockey did not include women until the 1990s. Even in the 2026 Olympics this year, the Nordic combined (an event that combines ski jumping and cross country skiing) still bars women for entry.
Still, women have been making leaps and bounds since they started competing. Hilary Knight, US women’s hockey team captain, tied the heated match against reigning champion team Canada in the last two minutes of the third period. It was a phenomenal finish to her five-time Olympic career; she officially broke the record for most goals scored in Olympic women’s hockey history. After defensemen Megan Keller scored the second goal in overtime, their team has officially tied with US men’s hockey in the number of gold medals won. This is especially remarkable given women started competing 78 years after the men.
Reflecting on her team, Knight gushes on “Good Morning America,” “When we come together as a collection, we are strong women that can do anything together. And I’ve never been a part of such a magical room.” As the team celebrates with America, they continue showing the world they belong in a space that has historically never been kind to them.
Switching to skiing, Eileen Gu, Chinese American medalist, was the only female freeskier who competed in three events: half pipe, slopestyle and big air. In her press conference she says, “I have done something that I took a big risk in trusting myself and I’m glad that I did. I walk away as the most decorated free skier of all time, male or female.” Between her 2022 Beijing Olympics run and this year, she has six medals as a 22-year-old.
However, beyond personal achievements, Gu is also extremely proud for leaving the path a little more open for women in extreme sports. She comments, “When people think of free skiing, maybe for the first time they hear about it is from someone who’s a young woman, who looks like them, speaks like them, and represents them in a way, so that they never question their place in the sport.” She hopes that more young girls are encouraged to try skiing because of her and continue betting on themselves, just like she has time and again.
As we continue seeing women dominate on the world stage, there is still a lot to be done to ensure athletes from all different genders and diverse backgrounds feel included. Fans and the general public always have the choice to use their numbers to advocate for change in sports equality. After all, Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee once said, “If women are given an opportunity on an equal playing field, the possibilities for [them] are endless.”
