Day 8 of the Milano Cortina Winter Games will be remembered as the moment the “Winter map” officially expanded. From a historic first for South America to the crushing fall of a figure skating icon, the drama on Saturday was unmatched.
Three Stories You Need to Know
1. Brazil’s “Samba on Ice”: Lucas Pinheiro Braathen
In what is already being called the “Miracle in Bormio,”
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the Men’s Giant Slalom, securing Brazil’s first ever Winter Olympic medal.
The Drama: Braathen, who formerly competed for Norway before switching to his mother’s native Brazil, delivered a flawless second run to beat Swiss legend Marco Odermatt by 0.58 seconds.
- The Impact: This is the first Winter Olympic gold medal for any nation in the Southern Hemisphere in Alpine Skiing since 1998, and the first ever medal for South America.
2. Jordan Stolz: The New King of Speed
American Jordan Stolz (21) solidified his status as a generational talent. He won the Men’s 500m in an Olympic record time of 33.77 seconds.
- The Record: He is now the first man since Eric Heiden (1980) to win both the 500m and 1000m in a single Olympics.
- The Margin: His 0.11 second gap over silver medalist Jenning de Boo (Netherlands) was the largest winning margin in this sprint since 1988.
3. The Figure Skating Shock
In a stunning turn of events at the Mediolanum Forum, the “Quad God” Ilia Malinin (USA) fell from 1st place to 8th after a disastrous free skate.
- The Winner: Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov rose from 5th to take the Gold, landing five quadruple jumps. This is Kazakhstan’s first ever Olympic gold in figure skating,
a victory Shaidorov dedicated to the late Denis Ten.
Official Medal Table After Day 8 (Top 10)
Norway holds the lead, but the battle for the top 5 is incredibly tight between Italy, Germany, and the USA.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Norway | 10 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
| 2 | Italy | 6 | 3 | 9 | 18 |
| 3 | United States | 5 | 9 | 5 | 19 |
| 4 | Germany | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| 5 | France | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 |
| 6 | Sweden | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 8 | Austria | 3 | 6 | 4 | 13 |
| 9 | Japan | 3 | 5 | 9 | 17 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
Day 9 Preview: Sunday, Feb 15 (9 Gold Medals)
The competition doesn’t slow down. Today features some of the most anticipated events of the Games:
- Alpine Skiing (9:00 AM): The Women’s Giant Slalom. Mikaela Shiffrin is on a mission to reclaim gold in her signature event against Austrian star Julia Scheib.
- Biathlon Pursuit (10:15 AM): High speed drama as the Men and Women battle it out in the 12.5km and 10km pursuit races.
- Men’s Ice Hockey: A massive Sunday for hockey fans.
- USA vs. Germany: A rematch of the 2023 World Championship thriller.
- Canada vs. France: Canada looks to bounce back and secure their seeding.
- Bobsleigh (9:00 AM): The Women’s Monobob begins its first two heats, a test of pure individual power and precision.