By Anna Corbett-Neal, Co-Editor-In-Chief
The Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics ended nearly two weeks ago, leaving fans with many stories and scandals that will live on in infamy. I am one of those fans who was incredibly shocked by the boldness of some athletes and judges, and I’m still thinking about some of the crazy things that happened.
Here is a list of some of the stories from the Winter Olympics that have really stuck with me:
- Athletes are loyal to their countries but not much else.
On Feb.10, Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid shocked audiences and caught teammates off guard after winning a bronze medal. During an interview, completely unprompted, he confessed his love for an ex-girlfriend, whom he had previously cheated on, admitting to the cheating on live television. He laid everything on the line only to have his ex-girlfriend tell the media how embarrassed she was about the confession. Guess rom-coms aren't always right.
- Canadian curlers make their own rules.
On Feb. 13, the curling teams from Canada and Sweden were playing in the gold medal event when both teams got into an expletive-filled argument after Sweden accused Canadian curler Marc Kennedy of double-touching over the hog line during his final push. While accusations flew, officials checked multiple camera angles that showed the Canadian curler pushing the granite stone with his pointer finger. No official cheating was confirmed, ending with a gold medal for the Canadians and outrage from Team Sweden and its fans. Maybe Canadians aren't as nice as their reputation lets on.
- How many condoms could you possibly need?
Being in a village of all the top athletes in the world has its perks, apparently, including those of the pleasure variety. Athletes in Milan were offered free condoms as part of a sexual health initiative, which seemed to be a very successful idea. There was a supply of 10,000 condoms set out for athletes, but the supply was completely depleted after the first three days, according to reports. The assumption is that athletes grabbed large amounts in hopes that they would go through the stockpile relatively quickly. Who's to say what actually happened?
- Aren't judges supposed to be impartial?
French judge Jezabel Dabouis was rumored to be biased towards French ice dancers after many commentators and spectators noticed a significant difference between her scores of French and non-French competitors. It was not the first time this judge had given scores that seemed out of line, yet the International Skating Union defended the judge, disputing the accusations and once again justifying the world's disdain for the French.
- Does that really make you more aerodynamic?
Rumors have flown about the current state of ski jumping and its jumpers' aerodynamics. There were claims that a few unnamed American ski jumping athletes had gone to a plastic surgeon to receive hyaluronic acid injections to increase their genital size. The science behind this, supposedly, is that larger genitals create more surface area for the jumping suit, making the athlete more aerodynamic. There’s just too much surface area to cover here.
These Olympics were truly one to remember. With everything that has happened this year, I'm not sure any other Olympics will top it. I guess we will have to wait another two years to see what Los Angeles has in store for our top-notch athletes, Olympic judges, and all their unpredictable antics.
PHOTO: Courtesy, Unsplash
