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The Winter Games are in full swing in Italy. From the rink to the slopes, a new generation of stars has emerged to chase gold. We’ll keep you connected to all of the thrilling moments and top stories as we track the medal race each day of the Games.

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Thursday's Olympic slate is action packed, featuring the Olympic debut of one sport and one of the Games' most anticipated medal rounds. 

Ski mountaineering will make its first Olympics run early in day. On the ice, Canada and USA will play for women's hockey gold. Jordan Stolz will compete for his third speedskating gold medal. And the women will compete in the free skate for coveted figure skating gold.

Here are the top five things to watch on Thursday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics:

Ski mountaineering (women's final: 7:55 a.m. ET, men's final: 8:15 a.m. ET)

The Olympics will hand out its first ever medals in ski mountaineering in the sport's Olympics introduction Thursday.

Not sure what ski mountaineering is? You're not alone. Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg has a full explainer, but here's the short version:

Ski mountaineering, aka skimo, involves athletes skiing up part of a hill, then taking their skis off to hike up steep climbs — and then skiing down that same hill. There's more to it, including specialized gear to give skis grip for the climb up. But that's the gist of it.

It's a grueling sport, and Thursday's competition promises to push athletes to their cardiovascular limits. It sounds like a fascinating watch. Women's sprint heats start early at 3:50 a.m. ET. with the men not far behind at 4:30 a.m. ET. The women's final is scheduled for 7:55 a.m. ET, and the men will compete for medals starting at 8:15 a.m. ET

Men's aerials final (8 a.m. ET)

Men's aerials take center stage in freestyle skiing Thursday, with qualifying starting early (4:30 a.m. ET) before the medal round kicks off at 8 a.m. ET. Chris Lillis, Quinn Dehlinger, Connor Curran and Derek Krueger lead a four-man U.S. contingent into the competition.

Dehlinger is a two-time silver medalist in world championship competition. Lillis is an Olympic veteran who helped USA to gold in mixed team aerials in Beijing. Curran and Kruger will be making their Olympic debuts. A loaded China contingent projects as the team to beat.

Men's speed skating 1,500-meter final (10:30 a.m ET)

USA's Jordan Stolz will look to make it three gold medals in three Milan Cortina events on Thursday. The 21-year-old phenom has already claimed speedskating gold at 500 and 1,000 meters.

He'll be the favorite in Thursday's 1,500-meter final. His top competition projects as the Netherlands' Kjeld Nuis, the three-time and reigning gold medalist in the event. Nuis, 36, is a 1,500-meter specialist. He faces a stiff test in Stolz in his quest to claim his fourth Olympic gold medal. 

After the 1,500 meters, Stolz will have one competition left in his debut Games, Saturday's mass start event.

Women's figure skating free skate (1 p.m. ET)

This is it. One of the marquee events of the Games will hand out some of the most coveted medals in Olympic competition when the women take the ice for their free skate.

USA entered Tuesday's short program with dreams of a podium sweep behind "Blade Angels" Alysa Liu, Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn. But Liu is the only skater of the three in medal position after a third-place finish in the short program.

Levito enters the free skate in eighth place, and Glenn is in 13th after a short rotation on a jump in the short program plummeted her to 13th place, leaving her in tears after her skate.

Instead, it's the Japanese team that's in position for a potential podium sweep. Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto enter the free skate in first and second place, and their teammate, Mone Chiba, isn't far behind in fourth.

Will Liu contend for gold? Will Japan pull off the sweep? Will Levito and Glenn recover to get into medal contention? It all adds up to intrigue with Olympic hardware on the line.

Women's ice hockey gold medal game (1:10 p.m. ET)

Gold will be awarded on hockey ice as well as USA and Canada square off in the gold medal match.

The two teams entered the Games as co-favorites for gold, but USA will take the ice Thursday as the clear-cut favorite. USA has dominated Olympic competition, scoring five-plus goals in each of its games. And it hasn't allowed a goal since its first game in group play.

The U.S. enters Thursday's game with a 31-1 goal differential in six games, a record that includes a 5-0 win over Canada in group play. Gold is the expectation for USA, while Canada will look to deliver a stunning upset to its rival.

Sweden and Switzerland will play for bronze at 8:40 a.m. ET.

Olympics schedule for Thursday, Feb. 19 (Day 13)

Curling

Men's round-robin

• 3:05 a.m.: Sweden vs. Czechia, Italy vs. Switzerland, China vs. Germany, Norway vs. Canada

Women's round-robin

• 8:05 a.m.: Switzerland vs. USA, Canada vs. South Korea, Japan vs. China, Great Britain vs. Italy

Men's semifinals

• 1:05 p.m.: Teams TBD (One semifinal airs on CNBC at 5 p.m., the other airs on USA Network at 8 p.m.)

Ski Mountaineering

• 7:55 a.m. ET: Women’s Sprint finals: Finals (USA Network)

• 8:15 a.m. ET: Men's Sprint finals (USA Network)

Figure Skating

• 1 p.m.: Women's free skate (NBC)🏅

Freestyle Skiing

Aerials

8 a.m.: Men’s final (USA Network)🏅

Halfpipe

• 4:30 a.m.: Men's qualifying (airs on USA Network at 8:45 a.m.)

• 1:30 p.m.: Women's qualifying (airs on USA Network at 4 p.m.)

Hockey

Women

• 8:40 a.m.: Bronze-medal game, Sweden vs. Switzerland (airs on USA Network 12 p.m.)🏅

• 1:10 p.m.: Gold-medal game, U.S. vs. Canada (USA Network) 🏅

Nordic Combined

Large hill

• 3 a.m.: Men's team jump (airs on USA Network at 5 a.m.)🏅

• 8 a.m.: 2x7.5km cross-country ski relay (USA Network coverage begins at 8:20 a.m.)🏅

Ski Mountaineering

• 3:45 a.m.: Men's and women's sprint heats (USA Network)

• 6:55 a.m.: Men’s and women’s finals (USA Network)🏅

Speed Skating

1,500 meters

• 10:30 a.m.: Men’s final (USA Network)🏅

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