The 2026 Winter Olympics host country Italy just put the world-record holders Team USA to sleep, figuratively, after a fantastic finish and a taunting celebration that went viral.
Italian Star Andrea Giovannini Channels Steph Curry at 2026 Winter Olympics
After a 4.51-second cushion in the finals over the Americans, the Italian team—made up of Andrea Giovannini, Francesco Betti, and Davide Ghiotto—comfortably won the men’s speed skating gold medal, their first in the event since 2006.
Although they knew the gold was already theirs, Giovannini still rubbed the victory all over Team USA after a playful taunt. To add insult to injury, Giovannini trolled the American team, composed of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran, by breaking out a familiar gesture on center stage—hitting them with Steph Curry’s “Night, Night” celebration.
The 32-year-old Olympian is a huge NBA fan, and when he saw Curry’s heroics in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, made better with the same celebration, Giovannini knew he had to do it in the Winter Olympics. The only goal was just to win.
What made it more impressive for Italy was that USA was deemed the favorite to win the event after Dawson, Lehman, and Cepuran set the speed skating world record in November.
At the start of the event, the Americans were leading and looked like they were about to blow out the Italians. But when they began to break off unintentionally in the latter laps, the Italians used it to their advantage en route to victory.
Norway Remains on Top of 2026 Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, are still dominated by Norway, which has amassed a total of 26 medals (15 gold, 8 silver, and 10 bronze), while Italy isn’t far off with 26 of its own. Meanwhile, USA is a close third with 24 total medals.
