It’s hard to believe, but the Milan Cortina Olympics are coming to an end. The Closing Ceremony is on Sunday in Verona, Italy, where Team USA will be led by two of its brightest stars.
It announced Friday that U.S. women’s hockey hero Hilary Knight and ice dance icon Evan Bates will carry the American flag during the ceremony.
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Knight, fittingly known as “Captain America,” is coming off a dramatic win over Team Canada in the gold-medal game. The U.S. was trailing 1-0 with a bit more than two minutes left in regulation on Thursday. That was, before the 36-year-old Knight scored a game-tying and record-breaking goal to force overtime.
She now has 15 goals in her Olympic career, the most any U.S. women’s hockey player has recorded. That third-period strike lifted her above Natalie Darwitz and Katie King-Crowley, who both piled up 14 Olympic goals in their playing days.
Knight had been stuck at that mark after tying the record on Feb. 7 in a group-play rout of Finland.
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She set the U.S. women’s hockey all-time Olympic goals record at the perfect moment, and she set the stage for a spectacular finish that saw Megan Keller light the lamp in OT with a game-winning goal for the ages. Together, they helped the American women win their third-ever Olympic gold medal, and their first since the 2018 Games in PyeongChang.
Knight isn’t just leaving this year’s Games with a gold medal. She’s also heading back to the States engaged. She proposed to American speedskater Brittany Bowe this week. The couple connected at the 2022 Games, and their relationship has blossomed since.
This was Knight’s last Olympics. Meanwhile, in what could be Bates’ final Games as well, the soon-to-be 37-year-old took silver in the ice dance competition with his partner, and wife, Madison Chock.
They now have three Olympic medals. They’ve won two golds in the figure skating team event, including one this year.
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Chock and Bates had a legitimate case for ice dance gold, too. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron were given the top score, a result that caused fan confusion and judging controversy.
Nevertheless, U.S. Figure Skating did not appeal.
Still, while bittersweet, the silver remains monumental for Chock and Bates, who have won the past three ice dance world titles and now have an ice dance Olympic medal after skating together for 15 years.
Their run started in 2011, and they married in 2024.
This year’s Games have been packed to the brim with exciting moments and breathtaking storylines. But it’s natural that two of Team USA’s most veteran performers will serve as flag bearers during the Closing Ceremony.
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