Only four days remain in the 2026 Winter Olympics, and big stakes are still on the line down the stretch. As of Wednesday, Team USA is in fifth place overall with 18 medals, behind Norway, which leads with 33. Norway is also in first place in the gold medal count with 15, followed by the United States with 7. Italy, the host country, is in second place in both gold medals (9) and total medals (26).

In all, nine African-American athletes are competing in the Winter Olympics in Italy across speed skating, bobsled, skeleton, and ice hockey. There are also 15 African athletes from 8 countries competing in the games. In all, 2,916 athletes are competing in the games.

Laila Edwards, the first Black female hockey player, will compete with her Team USA teammates against Canada for the gold medal on Thursday. Edwards scored her first goal in the Olympics in the early round in a 5-0 win against Canada.

“I get to be the first of something and a role model for others,” Edwards said. “Representation matters. No matter how uncomfortable it can be, it’s for the next generation. I could not do interviews or not talk about it, but then the story doesn’t get out there. And then maybe a little girl doesn’t see me, who looks like her — and I think that’s more important.”

The 22-year-old Edwards is a senior at Wisconsin and is guaranteed to bring home a medal from the Winter Games. The winner gets the gold, and the loser of that match gets the silver.