They couldn’t catch the Norwegians, who piled up 41 and a record 18 golds to top the table again, winning more than half of them in the Nordic events (surprise!) and another 11 in first-cousin biathlon.
But the US, which finished fifth in Beijing four years ago with 25 medals, upgraded to a solid second ahead of the host Italians, whose 30 were the stuff of fantasy.
As usual the freestylers led the way from above, collecting eight medals. But there also were solid contributions from the speedskaters, Alpine skiers and figure skaters who chipped in a dozen medals, half of them gold.
History was made in those three sports. Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin became the first American women to win the downhill and slalom in the same Games.
Jordan Stolz’s two golds and a silver were the most medals by a US long-tracker since Eric Heiden’s gilded five in 1980. And Alysa Liu’s figure skating gold was the first by a countrywoman since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
But the undeniable highlight of these Games were the two hockey gold medals snatched from archrival Canada in overtime.
The women had dropped four of their previous five meetings with their northern neighbors, three times by one goal. The men hadn’t beaten the Canucks with a gold medal in play since 1960 when the Cleary brothers suited up in Squaw Valley.
Theirs was a double shot for the ages. Megan Keller and Jack Hughes never again will have to pay a bar tab — except maybe in Ottawa.
The most notable aspect to the US overall haul of precious metal was its breadth across sports — the medals came from 11 disciplines, with cross-country skiing providing an eye-opening trio.
The Norwegians don’t have to worry about being overtaken by the Yanks in their kick-and-glide specialty. But they’ll be looking over their shoulder next time. “We’re here to stay!” Ben Ogden declared.
A sport-by-sport assessment with gold and total medals in parentheses:
ALPINE SKIING (2/4): A significant upgrade from the sole silver in Beijing. Johnson took the downhill and Shiffrin owned the slalom. The repeat silver from Ryan Cochran-Siegle in the men’s Super G and the bronze from Paula Moltzan and Jackie Wiles in the team combined were pleasant surprises.
BIATHLON (0/0): There were hopes that Campbell Wright, who’d won two world medals last year, would end the 0-for-forever drought at the Games. That didn’t happen, but the men’s relay did place fifth, the best-ever US showing in any event.
BOBSLED (1/3): As expected the women grabbed another trio to go with their Beijing set. Elana Meyers Taylor won her first gold in her fifth Games in monobob and Kaillie Humphries picked up the bronze plus another in two-woman with Jasmine Jones. Frank Del Duca couldn’t crack the German wall in the two-man but did place a creditable fourth.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING (0/3): Historic performance by the men who ended a 50-year drought with silvers from Ogden in the sprint and Ogden and Gus Schumacher in the team sprint. Jessie Diggins was hampered by bruised ribs from her opening race but went on to claim bronze in the 10 kilometers.
CURLING (0/1): The mixed doubles silver from Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse was an encouraging appetizer. The men (fifth) and women (fourth) missed the podium but they improved greatly from last year’s forgettable world tournament.
FIGURE SKATING (2/3): With three reigning world champions, odds of an unprecedented four gold medals were favorable. Then Ilia Malinin fell apart and dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates were edged by the French. But the team won gold with Malinin anchoring, and Liu ended a 24-year gap without a women’s gold.
FREESTYLE SKIING (3/8): As expected the midair majesties carried the load for Team USA. Alex Ferreira (men’s halfpipe), Elizabeth Lemley (women’s moguls), and the mixed team aerials all claimed gold. There were silvers from Jaelin Kauf (women’s moguls and dual moguls), Alex Hall (men’s slopestyle) and Mac Forehand (men’s big air) and a bronze from Lemley (dual moguls
ICE HOCKEY (2/2): The first double gold was unforgettable. The men, who’d never won outside of the US, were victors for the first time since Lake Placid in 1980. The women picked up only their third title since the inaugural tournament in 1998. Both squads provided inspiration for upcoming generations.
LONG-TRACK SPEEDSKATING (2/5): A distinct upgrade from Beijing was carried by the men. Jordan Stolz went double gold in the 500 and 1000 meters before settling for silver in the 1,500, his best event, and his buddies took silver in team pursuit. The women just missed medals in three events but Mia Manganello picked up a bronze in mass start.
LUGE (0/1): One women’s medal was expected, and Ashley Farquharson delivered a bronze. Both doubles and the relay placed among the top six but the men were well away from the podium.
NORDIC COMBINED (0/0): Could this be the beginning of a renaissance? Rookie Niklas Malacinski was 13th in the large hill event, and he and veteran Ben Loomis both were among the top 20 in normal hill.
SHORT-TRACK SPEEDSKATING (0/1): Corinne Stoddard’s bronze in the 1,500 salvaged what had been another frustrating fortnight for the Yanks and prevented consecutive blankings. The men need to get back up to speed or clone Apolo Ohno’s DNA.
SKELETON (0/0): After consecutive podium shutouts, the head-firsters had a shot with world medalist Mystique Ro and in the relay with Ro and Austin Florian, who came in as global champs. But she came in 15th and they were seventh.
SKI JUMPING (0/0): A decidedly better effort than last time when no jumper made the top 35. Tate Frantz, Jason Colby, and Kevin Bickner all broke into the top 20, Annika Belshaw was 21st on the women’s side, and the mixed relay was seventh.
SKI MOUNTAINEERING (0/0): Anna Gibson was ninth and Cam Smith 11th in the sprints, but they combined for an encouraging fourth place in the mixed relay in this new Olympic sport.
SNOWBOARDING (0/2): Chloe Kim’s injured shoulder hampered her bid for a third halfpipe crown but she did grab silver and Jake Canter earned bronze in men’s slopestyle.
How did Team USA do at the Winter Olympics?
