Watch: Quinn Hughes keeps U.S. Men's Hockey dreams alive and which sport produces the best athletes?

NPR | By Becky Sullivan,

Pien Huang, Jonathan Lambert, Juliana Kim

Published February 5, 2026 at 7:15 PM CST

Updated February 19, 2026 at 2:50 PM CST

Jordan Stolz continued his hot streak Thursday, taking silver in the men's long track 1500m race, and Quinn Hughes kept the U.S. men's hockey team's golden dreams alive with a goal in sudden-death overtime. Plus, a preview of U.S. women's hockey from Sports Correspondent Becky Sullivan. General Assignment Reporter Juliana Kim explains what's up with the metal inside the 2026 Olympic medals. And Science Correspondent Jonathan Lambert breaks down VO2 max and why everyone's obsessed with theirs. NPR is bringing you the latest from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina with Up First Winter Games hosted by A Martínez.

Tags

NPR News NPR News

Becky Sullivan

Becky Sullivan has reported and produced for NPR since 2011 with a focus on hard news and breaking stories. She has been on the ground to cover natural disasters, disease outbreaks, elections and protests, delivering stories to both broadcast and digital platforms.

See stories by Becky Sullivan

Pien Huang

Pien Huang is a health reporter on the Science desk. She was NPR's first Reflect America Fellow, working with shows, desks and podcasts to bring more diverse voices to air and online.

See stories by Pien Huang

Jonathan Lambert

See stories by Jonathan Lambert

Juliana Kim

Juliana Kim is a weekend reporter for Digital News, where she adds context to the news of the day and brings her enterprise skills to NPR's signature journalism.