International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry lauded Milan-Cortina 2026 as a "new kind of Winter Games" as she declared them closed on Sunday.

These Olympics used mainly existing venues for 16 days of medal-filled action spread for hundreds of kilometres across the Italian Alps.

"You delivered a new kind of Winter Games and set a new standard for the future," Coventry told her Italian hosts at the closing ceremony in the Verona Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheatre.

After Coventry spoke, the two cauldrons in Milan and in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the chic mountain resort that hosted the women's alpine skiing, were extinguished to formally signal the end of the Olympics.

Earlier, the Olympic flag was handed over to the leaders of the two regions that will host the next Winter Olympics in the French Alps in 2030.

Fittingly, Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo was awarded one of the six gold medals he won at the Games during the closing ceremony.

Klaebo made history by winning all six races in which he was entered – and his 11 career golds are a Winter Olympics record.

In the final events, Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu won the gold that had eluded her at these Games, while the USA beat Canada in an overtime thriller to win the men's ice hockey title for the first time in 46 years.

Gu had won two silver medals in Italy, but her favoured halfpipe event always looked the likeliest to deliver the third gold of her career.

The 22-year-old delivered a stunning performance, soaring high above the lip of the halfpipe and executing her tricks with precision.

She edged out her teammate Li Fanghui, while Britain's Zoe Atkin took bronze.

In doing so, Gu became the most decorated freestyle skier in the history of the Winter Games.

"In all three events I showcased my best skiing and as far as performance goes, that's all I can ask for – to be able to show the world the best that women's skiing has to offer at the moment, that it really counts," said Gu.

"I'm the most decorated freeskier of all time, male or female," she added.

In a keenly-awaited men's ice hockey showdown, Jack Hughes scored the winning goal 1min 41sec into overtime to give the US men a 2-1 victory and their first Olympic triumph since the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid.

Matt Boldy put the Americans ahead in the first period before Cale Makar equalised for the Canadians.

Once the game went into overtime, Hughes applied the golden touch to send his teammates and the US fans into raptures.

US coach Mike Sullivan said his squad "was built with personality in mind."

"You know, we were loaded with personality up and down our lineup.

"There are whisky drinkers and milk drinkers, and we got a lot of whisky drinkers on this team."

With US President Donald Trump ratcheting up the tensions with his North American neighbour over the past year, the game had an added political edge.

"Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!" Trump said on Truth Social, adding: "WHAT A GAME!"

The White House meanwhile posted a picture of a bald eagle pouncing on a Canada goose.

Norway finished atop the medals table with 18 golds and 41 medals overall. The USA were second with 12 golds and the Netherlands third with 10, the same number as host nation Italy.

China had sent its largest-ever delegation to an overseas Winter Olympics, fielding 126 athletes in 91 events across 15 disciplines.

The team finished with five gold, four silver and six bronze medals, marking its best result at an overseas Winter Games and also equalling its overall medal count from Beijing 2022.

A highlight of China's campaign came in the men's 1,500m speed skating, where Ning Zhongyan clinched gold, breaking the century-long dominance of European and North American skaters in the event.

"Ning has fought extremely hard," said Tong Lixin, deputy head of the Chinese delegation. "He kept his focus and took the lead in a sport long dominated by Western athletes, helping China break new ground in an event where we previously had little chance to compete for medals."

Tong said China's medal haul of 15 consolidated the medal-winning structure established at Beijing 2022 and sustaining balanced development across both ice and snow disciplines. He added that the depth of China's winter sports talent pool is also growing.

Tong also stressed that despite the strong showing, China's overall standing in global winter sports remains that of a "chaser," with long-term development still required.

"We must recognize that we still lag behind the world's winter sports powers," he noted. (AFP/ Xinhua)



Edited by Cecil Wong