MILAN — The 2026 Winter Olympics continue Friday, highlighted by figure skating’s first day of action and Lindsey Vonn’s first day of downhill training. And, of course, the opening ceremony.
Also happening Friday: The U.S. mixed doubles curling team faces Canada; there’s a slate of preliminary round women’s hockey games; and luge, ski jumping and men’s Alpine downhill all hold training sessions.
USA TODAY Sports is bringing you the latest updates, news and Olympics results from here in Italy. Follow along.
Olympics figure skating: Team USA leads after Day 1
Day 1 of figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics wrapped on Friday with the United States sitting in first place of the team competition standings.
American and reigning world champion Alysa Liu skated the women’s short program portion of the team event, scoring a 74.90 to secure nine points and bring the Americans’ point total to 25. Japan is in second (23 points) after Kaori Sakamoto delivered an impressive 78.80 score in the women’s short program to add 10 points to her team’s total. Italy is in third with 22 points. – Jordan Mendoza
Lindsey Vonn ACL injury: Coach pleased after training run
Vonn is now eligible to do the downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics, having completed her training run without any issues She made a small mistake at the bottom of the course and wasn’t going anywhere close to top speed; her time of 1:40.33 was the 11th-fastest of the day and third-best of the Americans.
But Vonn wasn’t favoring her left knee — the one with that torn ACL — and that counts as a win.
‘Just good skiing, no big risk,’ said Aksel Lund Svindal, the two-time Olympic champion who is now Vonn’s coach. ‘And to me it looked symmetrical. I didn’t see any differences right and left. And I think that’s kind of what we’re looking for today.’ – Nancy Armour
USA mixed doubles curling beats Canada
Lindsey Vonn completes downhill training run
Lindsey Vonn didn’t appear to be going at full speed during her first run down the Cortina course, but she wasn’t backing off, either, despite dealing with a torn ACL. She completed her run in a time of 1:40.33.
There was applause for Vonn when she crossed the finish line. American teammate Breezy Johnson, who skied just ahead of Vonn, was waiting for her, and Vonn gave her a triumphant fist bump.
Vonn stayed in the finish area to watch Austria’s Cornelia Huetter, then exited the course between some temporary walls decorated with the Olympic logos. Vonn appeared in good spirits, smiling and letting out a whoop as teammate Jackie Wiles came across the finish line in first place through 20 of 47 competitors. – Nancy Armour
Some USA figure skaters won’t be at opening ceremony
Some of the top U.S. figure skaters won’t be at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will not walk out with the rest of Team USA at San Siro Stadium on Friday, Feb. 6, they said after their rhythm dance in the team competition earlier in the day. Ilia Malinin and Amber Glenn will not attend either, opting to rest and recover instead, according to U.S. Figure Skating.
“We’ll maybe have our own little Olympic small celebration, take some team photos,” Bates said.
Is Russia banned from the Olympics?
Officially, Russia is banned from the Olympics because Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the Milano Cortina Games, there will be no Russian flags, no Russian anthems and no Russian national colors incorporated in the competition. (The same holds true for Belarus, which has supported Russia in the war.
USA luger Sophia Kirkby brings handmade pins to Olympics
USA Luger Sophia Kirkby fancies herself “the MiCo ‘26 pin trading queen.” What started as an outlet for her grief blossomed into a dutiful enterprise to promote women’s winter sports at the Olympics.
JD Vance attends figure skating
After arriving in Milan Thursday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance watched Team USA women’s hockey beat Czechia 5-1 and also was seen in the stands watching the first day of figure skating Friday morning.
Madison Chock, Evan Bates dazzle in rhythm dance
How to watch Olympics opening ceremony
NBC will broadcast the opening ceremony live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. An encore presentation of the opening ceremony will air on NBC at 8 p.m. ET for the American primetime viewing audience. Here are more details about the opening ceremony today.
Lindsey Vonn, women’s alpine live coverage
Women’s alpine skiing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics kicks off Friday, Feb. 6 with the first downhill training session.
Lindsey Vonn will finally have an opportunity to test out her knee after the training session was postponed Thursday due to heavy snowfall in Cortina. Vonn tore her ACL and suffered bone bruising as well as meniscus damage in her final World Cup competition before the Olympics last week.
Lindsey Vonn on social media before first training
CORTINA d’AMPEZZO, Italy ― Lindsey Vonn appeared to be in good spirits ahead of her first training run on the Olympic downhill course, an all-important test of her injured left knee.
Vonn posted several photos to her Instagram story as she made her way up to the famed Olimpia delle Tofane course. In the first, she was beaming as she rode a snowmobile with other members of Team USA.
The second was a view of the downhill course with the caption, “I don’t think it gets any better than this.” ― Nancy Armour
Ilia Malinin to skate men’s short
The Winter Olympics debut “Quad God” is officially set.
Ilia Malinin will skate the men’s short program for the U.S. in Day 2 of the team event on Saturday, Feb. 7, confirming a widely expected decision from U.S. Figure Skating. — Jordan Mendoza and Christine Brennan
Read all the details.
Figure skating results
It is the first day of the team competition at the Milano Cortina Games. It’s a busy day with the ice dance rhythm dance, the pairs’ short program and the women’s singles short program.
See all the results in our figure skating live file.
Olympics schedule today
All times Eastern.
3 a.m.: Ski Jumping – Women’s NH Official Training 2 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Predazzo)
4 a.m.: Luge – Men’s Singles Official Training (Runs 5-6) | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
4:05 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
SWE vs. GBR; ITA vs. SUI; USA vs. CAN
5:30 a.m.: Alpine Skiing – Men’s Downhill 3rd Official Training | Stelvio Ski Centre (Bormio, Valtellina)
5:30 a.m.: Alpine Skiing – Women’s Downhill 2nd Official Training | Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre (Cortina)
3:55–8:55 a.m.: Figure Skating – Team Event | Milano Ice Skating Arena (Milan)
Team Event, Ice Dance/Rhythm Dance: 3:55 a.m.
Team Event, Pairs’ Short Program: 5:35 a.m.
Team Event, Women’s Singles Short Program: 7:35 a.m.
6:10 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | FRA vs. JPN | Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
8:35 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
CZE vs. USA; vs. ITA; KOR vs. GBR; SWE vs. NOR
8:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | CZE vs. SUI | Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
2:30 p.m.: Opening ceremony | San Siro Olympic Stadium (Milan)
Where is Winter Olympics 2026?
The Winter Olympics always sprawl, because of the need for mountains. But the Milano Cortina Games are the most geographically spread out in Olympic and Paralympic history, with a footprint just slightly smaller than the entire state of New Jersey.
2026 Winter Olympics TV schedule today
Peacock is streaming every event live today.
Steam Olympics on Peacock
When is Olympics opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony is Friday, Feb. 6, starting at 2 p.m. ET and lasting around three hours. This year’s opening ceremony will be held at San Siro Stadium in Milan, a 100-year-old venue that will now play host to the likes of Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and athletes from more than 90 countries around the world. Officials previously announced an inclusive theme featuring a show inside the stadium as well as ‘satellite events’ in Olympic territories.