As Games draw to close, Olympic spirit shines through, fans cheer for athletes over politics

Amid a Winter Olympics shadowed by war, sanctions and partisan rhetoric, the clatter of skates on ice, swoosh of skis on snow and gasps from enthusiastic crowds have emerged as the central theme of the Games.

The world’s most prestigious winter sporting event had an inauspicious start earlier this month: there were protests in Milan about the inclusion of ICE agents within the U.S. security team, and Vice President JD Vance was greeted by hisses and boos when he appeared at the Olympic opening ceremony. 

Even after the Games got underway, concerns about global economic and security stability prompted some athletes to use their stage to voice personal beliefs. 

But when it comes to support for individual athletes, fans seem to have left their politics at the door.

Public opinion in Italy is broadly critical of Israel amid the country’s war in Gaza with Palestinian-backed Hamas. But when Israeli figure skater Mariia Seniuk appeared crestfallen with her performance in the women’s single skating competition earlier in the week, fans on hand applauded and encouraged her, with many throwing stuffed animals onto the ice in a traditional show of support. 

Italy remains one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine in that country’s four-year-old war with Russia, and because of that conflict the International Olympic Committee has barred the Russian Olympic team from participating in the Milan-Cortina Games. But individual athletes are allowed to participate as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” with uniforms bearing the French-language initials AIN in lieu of national symbols. 

One of the AIN participants, Russian-born speed skater Alena Krylova crashed in each of two qualifying rounds in the women’s 1,000-meter short-track race, and each time judges reinstated her as a victim of other skaters’ fouls, crowds roared their approval. 

Even fans and athletes from the U.S., which has drawn criticism in Italy because of controversial Donald Trump administration policies on tariffs and international security, have reported being treated warmly while in Italy. 

“There’s nothing here that I’m not enjoying,” U.S. figure skater Isabeau Levito told Just the News. “The Olympic Village is great, and in the streets, people shout support and wish me luck. I’m having the time of my life.”

It’s been a similar story for the thousands of U.S. sports fans who traveled to Italy for the Games, many of them decked out in star-spangled gear that left no doubt about their nationality.

“This is the fourth time we’ve traveled to the Olympics, and we’ve never felt such warm hospitality,” Karen Sandoval, 67, a retired schoolteacher from Annandale, Virginia, said in an interview. 

Sandoval, who wore a red-white-and-blue windbreaker with “Team USA” in broad letters stretched across the back, made the trip with her 71-year-old husband Alfred, a retired federal employee. 

“People have been giving us high-fives and shouting ‘USA! USA!’,” said Alfred Sandoval, who wore a “Team USA” baseball cap. “To be honest, we were a little worried when we read about the protests before our trip. But we couldn’t have felt more welcome.”

The Games are ending: the closing ceremonies will take place in Verona on Sunday. They’ll be followed March 6-15 with the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.