Japan's total of 24 medals was six higher than the previous record set at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

Gold medalist Alysa Liu of the United States and silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan celebrate during the medal ceremony in the women’s free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 19, 2026.

Three Japanese skaters are in position to earn medals heading into the final

There’s a familiar script that seems to play out almost every four years at the Winter Olympics. The host nation rides a wave of national pride, packed home venues, and federation funding into a medal surge that feels almost

MILAN (AP) — Ami Nakai and Japanese teammate Kaori Sakamoto upstaged Alysa Liu and the rest of the “Blade Angels” on Tuesday night. Nakai rode her opening triple axel to a career-best 78.71 points in her short program at the Milan Cortina Olympics,

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Su Yiming sat in the snow at the bottom of the snowboarding course, tears rolling down his cheeks. So close to winning China its first gold at the Milan Cortina Games, he still had a long wait to endure.

Only USA's Alysa Liu broke up Japan's trio of Ami Nakai, Kaori Sakamoto and Mone Chiba, who finished first, second and fourth after the short program.