For a little over two weeks in northern Italy, Olympic stars from Mikaela Shiffrin to Alysa Liu to Elana Meyers Taylor to Jordan Stolz wowed us, while we all became experts on curling ethics and ice dance twizzles.
On Sunday, a handover ceremony will take place, and a flag will be passed to representatives of French Alps 2030. Like the Milan Cortina Games, the 2030 Olympics will be spread throughout the country — and possibly speedskating will even be held in the Netherlands or Italy.
Although it’s way too early to make predictions, that has never stopped us before. Here’s what to expect from the 2030 Olympics.
The United States will enter as gold-medal favorites in women’s hockey
USA-Canada has been one of the best rivalries in sports, but in these Olympics, the ice seemed tilted very much in the Americans’ favor for the first time. Yes, Canada played its hearts out in the gold medal game, a 2-1 OT win by the U.S. But if you paid attention in the lead-up and during the Games, it’s clear Team USA is building a potential dynasty.
Canada could have some growing pains this cycle considering it brought such a heavily veteran team to Milan. USA breakout Olympic stars Caroline Harvey (tournament MVP), Abbey Murphy and Laila Edwards are all 23 or younger and would have been the youngest players on Team Canada. Aerin Frankel allowed just two goals on 99 shots and set the Olympic record for most shutouts (three). She’ll return as a 31-year-old in France. Then there’s Taylor Heise (25), Hannah Bilka (24) and Tessa Janecke (21). This crop of players is just getting started. — Emily Kaplan
his ultimate eighth-place result, it’s hard to think it wasn’t at least a factor.
If the ISU and the Olympics want to continue getting the best skaters to compete in the team event, they will need to take action to ensure proper rest and recovery — and that it doesn’t affect the individual performances. — Maine
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik are the future of American ice dance
Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ status in the sport is unknown, but it seems clear the country will be well represented in the discipline going forward. Competing in their first Olympics following a breakout season, Zingas, 23, and Kolesnik, 24, finished in a surprising fifth place — an anomaly for such a new team — and ahead of teams that have been together for over a decade. Anything can happen in four years, but Zingas and Kolesnik dominating this next quad and ending up on the podium in 2030 feels increasingly likely. — Maine
