We’re halfway through the 2026 Winter Olympics, and already many story lines have taken shape.
Lindsey Vonn’s comeback story came to a crashing halt 13 seconds into her first run. The fall brought an end to a storied career, according to her father.
“She’s 41 years old, and this is the end of her career,” Alan Kildow said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
Vonn hopes to go home after her fourth surgery, which is scheduled for Saturday.
Mikaela Shiffrin is still searching for the podium. But her journey isn’t over. The Edwards native came close in the women’s team combined event. Going into the finals with a lead, Shiffrin clocked the fourth slowest time in slalom run. That put her and teammate Breezy Johnson 0.06 seconds away from a bronze medal. Shiffrin took to social media to address her performance.
“I was quoted in an interview just about not wanting Beijing to be a reason that I feel fear going into Cortina,” said Shiffrin, who fell three times and didn’t medal at the 2022 Winter Games in China. “But at the same time, I think it’s unavoidable, because there are so many eyes on the event.”
Shiffrin, who has a record 108 World Cup wins to her name, has two more chances to reach the podium. She will compete in the giant slalom on Saturday and the slalom on Wednesday.
Probably the biggest surprise of the Winter Olympics is freestyle skier Elizabeth Lemley, who took gold in the women’s mogul. The 20-year-old Vail resident posted a score of 82.30 to win her first Olympic medal.
“I don’t have expectations for myself,” Lemley said to USA Today. “I just wanted this coming in. I’ve prepared myself to be in the mindset to win. But it’s just awesome to do it.”
APUnited States’ Elizabeth Lemley displays her repaired gold medal during a press conference after it broke during celebrations after the women’s freestyle skiing moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026.
Vonn’s comeback story dominated the headlines going into Milano-Cortina, but others like Lemley were making comebacks. Known as Lizzard, Lemley made her World Cup debut at 15 years-old. She won two gold medals at the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea. But, she tore her ACL prior to the 2024-2025 World Cup opener and was down for the season, before winning the gold medal this week.
Her teammate Jaelin Kauf joined Lemley on the podium. She took home her second Olympic silver medal for her career. The Alta, WY, native, who is a Steamboat Springs Ski Club alum, won in the same event at the 2022 Winter Games. She also competed in 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Other comeback stories fall short but are still rewarding
Snowboarder Jake Pates’ return to the Winter Olympics was marked by the number 8. The Eagle product finished eighth in the halfpipe final on Friday. It was the best finish among the Americans in that stage that included Alessandro Barbieri and Joey Chase.
Pates competed in his first Winter Olympics in 2018, where he also placed eighth in the halfpipe. But recurring concussions and mental health issues forced him to retire in 2021. Before Friday’s final, Pates spoke about his retirement.
“My reason for retirement was rooted in that loss of belief (in myself),” Pates told USA Today. “But it also had to do a lot with the presence of mental health issues that I was dealing with. Things like doubt, just negative spiraling, ruminating, depression. I had so much going on, so much anxiety.”
During his time away, he became a mental health advocate and started a non-profit called the Happy Healthy Brain foundation in 2020. After making it to Milano-Cortina, he said he was blessed
“It’s unreal, man,” Pates said. “The journey has just been crazy. I’m blown away that I’m even at the Olympics, nonetheless being in the finals. Just filled with gratitude.”
Maddy Schaffrick also battled mental health issues to make her first Winter Olympics. The Steamboat Springs resident finished 15th in the women’s halfpipe.
Schaffrick was a teen prodigy who competed in the X Games and Dew Tours. She twice attempted to qualify for the Olympics. At the age of 21, she walked away from the sport due to burnout.
“Back then, there was not as much talk about mental health,” Schaffrick told TeamUSA.com last year. “There were definitely resources out there, but we weren’t told about them, and they didn’t feel readily available.”
During her time away, she became a plumber and a coach. She found her joy for the sport while coaching 7-to-9-year-olds at the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. She rose to head coach of the Winter Sports Club’s junior and snowboard programs and eventually to the U.S. Halfpipe team as a coach.
She began training again and made the U.S. Snowboard Pro Halfpipe team. In her first competition back, she earned her first career podium finish by placing third at the 2024-2025 World Cup in Secret Garden, China.
Others to look out for over the weekend
River Radamus and Kyle Negomir will be competing in the giant slalom on Saturday. Radamus, who is from Edwards, is looking to make the podium after missing it by tenths of a second in the men’s team giant slalom event in 2022. Negomir is making his Olympic debut. The Littleton native battled injuries over the last two years to reach Milano-Cortina. The run begins Saturday at 2 a.m. MT.
Grand Junction’s Joanne Reid is competing in the women’s biathlon 7.5 km sprint. She already competed in the women’s 15km individual event, where she finished 68th. The women’s biathlon 7.5 km sprint begins at 6:45 a.m. MT.
Steamboat Springs’ Jason Colby will be competing in the men’s ski jumping large hill individual event on Saturday. The first round begins at 10:45 a.m. MT.
