Standouts and upsets
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway was the headline performer at the Milan‑Cortina Games. The 29‑year‑old dominated cross‑country, claiming six gold medals — a haul the coverage compared with Eric Heiden’s 1980 single‑Games record — and pushing his career Olympic total to 11 golds, which reporters described as making him the most successful Winter Olympian ever.
Other big winners included Norway’s Jens Luraas Oftebro, who took three golds in Nordic combined, and Switzerland’s Franjo van Allmen, who collected three alpine skiing golds. On the women’s side Italy celebrated Federica Brignone’s home‑soil victories in the super‑G and giant slalom, and speed skater Federica Lollobrigida won two golds for the hosts.
Not every favorite delivered. U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin, who was in medal contention going into the free skate, fell twice and finished eighth. Ski racer Atle Lie McGrath, leading before his decisive slalom run, made a costly mistake, crashed and was seen running toward nearby woods in visible distress.
The atmosphere and logistics
Many athletes praised the organization of the Games but said they lacked a genuine Olympic atmosphere. The most common complaints were long travel times between venues, which made it difficult to watch or support other events, and venues where spectators were kept far from the action — especially on alpine courses. German skier Linus Strasser summarized the mood sharply, saying that if this was the Olympic experience, he was glad it was his last time.
Major controversies
Two incidents dominated the headlines. Veteran skier Lindsey Vonn attempted a comeback but crashed seconds into a downhill run, sustaining a complex tibia fracture that required multiple surgeries. Her accident and injuries were a major early shock.
A separate flashpoint involved Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych. He insisted on wearing a helmet that displayed images of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia’s full‑scale invasion. The IOC ruled the helmet constituted a political statement and disallowed it; the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the ban. The decision and the way it was communicated sparked debate about the line between personal expression and political messaging at sporting events.
Germany’s campaign
Germany sent a record 185 athletes and aimed for a top‑three finish on the medal table but fell short of that goal. The team performed strongly in luge and bobsleigh but underwhelmed in biathlon, Nordic combined and men’s alpine skiing, failing to medal in the latter. Ski jumping yielded only one standout result — Philipp Raimund’s surprise gold — while the rest of the jumpers returned without hardware. The men’s ice hockey team, even with NHL star Leon Draisaitl on the roster, were knocked out by Slovakia in the quarterfinals.
Lessons for the IOC
Organizers and the IOC face several clear takeaways. Large distances between competition sites undermined the sense of a compact, festival‑like Games; that issue will persist for 2030 if events are again spread between coastal cities like Nice and distant Alpine resorts. Bringing spectators physically closer to athletes on ski slopes could improve atmosphere. The Heraskevych case also highlighted the need for clearer, pre‑agreed rules and better communication on political expressions so disputes are handled transparently and consistently.
Originally translated from German.