IOC president Kirsty Coventry says the athletes "showed us that the Olympic Games are a place for everyone" as she closes this year's Winter Games.

As the most geographically spread-out Winter Olympics in history, the Games' competition venues were divided into four clusters: the urban hub of Milan, and the mountain venues of Cortina, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme, spanning over 22,000 square kilometers in northern Italy.

The 2026 Winter Olympics saw a significant number of Black athletes from around the world, including two-time Olympian Erin Jackson, Laila Edwards, and Stevenson Savart, competing in sports traditionally dominated by white athletes from Nordic countries.

The Winter Olympics often bring stories that go beyond medals and times. Some athletes step onto the world’s biggest stage wearing a flag that is not the one they grew up with. Many of them were born and raised