Scott Gurvey's Public Offerings

Some events you remember. I thought back, as I watched the men’s U.S. ice hockey team win the gold medal at the 2026 Milan–Cortina Olympics, to the last time the team won. I remember it well. It was the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, in an event known as the “Miracle on Ice.” The team secured the gold medal on February 24, 1980, after defeating Finland, having upset the Soviet Union two days before on February 22, 1980.

It was a much different time. The 1980 U.S. team was made up of true amateurs, mostly college students, because the rules then in effect prevented paid athletes from performing in the Olympics. But the Soviet Union, America’s chief rival, flouted those rules. Their team was not paid to play hockey, technically staying within the rules. But its members were employed in state jobs, mostly in the Soviet Army and were well paid, well cared for, and seemed to spend most of their “duty” time playing hockey and representing their country. Thus the “Miracle.” The pros lost. The kids won. America had a new set of heroes.

Today the rules are different. The 2026 U.S. men’s hockey team is made up of professionals. The team consists of the best players in the business. Most play in the National Hockey League. And there is the irony. The chief rival for the U.S. in 2026 was not Russia, successor to the U.S.S.R., but rather Canada, our partner in the NHL! That rivalry ran deep and understandably so. Most of Canada’s players were also from the NHL. And in some cases, players who were on the same professional team were on opposite sides of the playing rink at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

In the end of it was an amazing game, with a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation time. That led to sudden death overtime. Victory, and the gold medal, was one goal away. Jack Hughes, who plays for the New Jersey Devils, supplied that “golden goal” at 1:41 of the overtime period. Canada took home the silver. It was the first U.S. hockey gold in 46 years.

“Unbelievable game, unreal game by our team,” Jack Hughes said after the game, “Ballsy, gutsy win. That’s American Hockey right there. That’s a great Canadian team, but we’re USA. We’re so proud to be Americans.”

The United States had a new set of heroes. But the men’s hockey team was not alone.

The U.S. women’s hockey team defeated their Canadian rivals 2–1 in overtime to claim the third-ever Olympic gold in women’s hockey. The Americans had dominated the tournament but found themselves in desperate straits when Canada took a 1–0 lead on a shorthanded breakaway goal early in the second period. With just over two minutes left in regulation and the goalie pulled, veteran captain Hilary Knight redirected a shot from defenseman Laila Edwards to tie the game. It was Edward’s 15th career Olympic goal, breaking the all-time U.S. record for goals and points in Olympic women’s hockey, a fitting milestone in what was her fifth and final Olympics.

Their game also went into overtime, where defenseman Megan Keller collected a pass from Taylor Heise, skated around a Canadian defender, and backhanded the puck past goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens at the 4:07 mark of the sudden death period.

I admit to a soft spot for hockey. But I have also had my eye on the figure skaters since being mesmerized by Peggy Fleming‘s 1968 gold medal performance in Grenoble, France. I felt the same way watching 20-year-old Alysa Liu deliver the performance of her life to claim the Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating. Liu was the first U.S. women’s figure skater to take gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002. And what a backstory she has!

Alysa Liu was born in Clovis, California, in 2005, and raised in the Bay Area town of Richmond. Her father, Arthur Liu, came to the United States as a political refugee from China after the Tienanmen-era pro‑democracy movement. He later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, built a career as an immigration attorney, and raised his children in California.

Liu was a prodigy from the start. She began skating at age 5 and, by 13, became the youngest U.S. women’s national champion and the first U.S. woman to land a quadruple jump in competition. She won another national title in 2020 and took bronze at the 2022 World Championships, the first U.S. woman to medal at worlds in six years.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Liu finished seventh in women’s singles. She was only 16, already a two‑time national champion, and widely seen as the future of U.S. women’s skating. But behind the scenes, she was exhausted, physically and emotionally, after more than a decade of nonstop training and competition.

Just months after Beijing, in April 2022, Liu shocked the skating world by announcing her retirement. She cited burnout, a desire to live a normal teenage life, and the need to explore interests outside skating. She wrote that she had been on the ice for 11 straight years and wanted to spend time with friends, family, and school.

Two years later, in early 2024, Liu rediscovered the spark. She described skiing for the first time and feeling a rush that reminded her of skating, enough to make her wonder what it would feel like to return to the ice. That curiosity turned into a full comeback. She officially returned to competition in October 2024 at the CS Budapest Trophy. Her comeback was legendary, 2025 World Figure Skating Championships: Gold, 2025 World Team Trophy: Gold, 2024 & 2025 U.S. Championships: Silver (behind Amber Glenn both times).

Then came Milan–Cortina 2026.

Liu won gold in the women’s singles, the first U.S. woman to do so since 2002, ending a 24‑year drought. She rose from third after the short program with a high‑energy, near‑flawless free skate to Donna Summer’s MacArthur Park Suite. She also earned gold in the team event, making her a two‑time Olympic champion at age 20.

Asked about another retirement, Liu said, “Yeah, I have no plans to leave yet. I can’t imagine not skating next year.” She emphasized that skating no longer feels like a “job,” a reversal from how she felt in 2022.

Anyone who watched the smile on her face during the free skate performance understood completely. She had skated how she wanted, wearing the costumes she wanted, using the music she wanted and, she explained, having trained eating the foods she wanted. She was in it for the sheer joy of the performance. And she brought us all along with her.

Hat’s off to the entire U.S. Olympic team.

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