Milan's San Siro Stadium played the role of primary host. But, in the spirit of these unusually widespread Games, simultaneous celebrations were also held in the clusters of Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina d'Ampezzo, which — for the first time ever — lit a second Olympic cauldron.

Simone Biles held off Brazil's Rebeca Andrade for all-around Olympics gymnastics gold. At 27, she's the oldest Olympic women's gymnastics champ since 1952.

Setting the opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics both in Milan and Cortina posed a challenge but also a thematic opportunity. For totally logical reasons, this year’s Winter Olympics in Italy is bucking the trend of a single host city and splitting its sporting events between two main locations,