After winning the gold medal for their country in the 2026 Olympics, the players of the U.S. men’s ice hockey team joined a phonecall with President Trump where they were invited to the State of the Union address on Feb. 24. The men’s team laughed alongside the President as he joked about being impeached if he did not also invite the women’s hockey team, who also brought home the gold medal from Milan.
The video of the team’s postgame exchange with President Donald Trump has quickly taken over the internet, sparking public debate on the treatment of women in sports by their male counterparts.
While the men’s hockey team’s complicit behavior was distasteful and unacceptable, The Antelope editorial staff’s focus is on recognizing the historic performance of American women in Milan.
Team USA finished second in the total medal count with 33 and set a national record after bringing home 12 gold medals. The women’s side secured eight of the nation’s total gold medals as well as 21 of the 33 total Olympic medals.
This marked the sixth consecutive Olympic Games where the United States’ female athletes outperformed the men.
The women’s hockey team won gold after defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime. They went on the longest run of 5-plus goals in a single tournament in U.S. women’s Olympic ice hockey history after scoring five or more goals in each of their first five games, while maintaining a record-breaking 352-minute shutout streak en route to the final.
Hilary Knight became the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Olympic women’s ice hockey history with 15 goals and 33 points. Laila Edwards became the first Black woman to make the U.S. Olympic roster and the first Black woman to score a goal for Team USA.
Alysa Liu was the first American to win gold in the women’s figure skating event in 24 years.
Mikaela Shiffrin won the gold in women’s slalom with a combined time of 1:39.10, beating her competitors by 1.50 seconds in the largest margin of victory in Olympic Alpine skiing history since 1998.
Elana Meyers Taylor became the oldest American woman to win an individual winter medal after earning the gold in monobob at 41 years old.
Chloe Kim became the first female snowboarder in history to medal in three separate Olympics after taking home the silver. She won gold medals in 2018 and 2022.
The historic performance of American women in Milan will inspire young girls across the country to pursue athletics, while continuing to fuel the rapid growth of women’s sports globally.
Highlighting the success of female athletes in all sports brings visibility to issues like the massive pay gap and lack of investment that persist in women’s sports. ESPN recently announced Women’s Sports Sundays, a weekly programming window that will launch in the summer and dedicate primetime coverage to WNBA and National Women’s Soccer League matchups.
March is Women’s History Month – a time to celebrate the grit and determination of the female athletes who fought for the opportunity to compete. More history is in the making in women’s sports.
