Golden Days: Key Takeaways from the Winter Olympics for Metro Detroit
- Dan Cooke
- 5 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Happy Victory Week, Detroit - and the rest of the U.S.A.! Now that the 2026 Milan Cortina Games have officially come to a close in historic fashion, here are Team Expedition Detroit's "Key Takeaways from the Winter Olympics" for Metro Detroit's recreational development.
Forty-six years, erased in a single flutter of the back of the net.
Beating hearts across the world paused to verify the gravity of the moment. Even Jack Hughes, the American hockey player that had released the overtime shot towards arguably the best goaltender in the world, seemed to question the veracity of his shot for a moment.
Then, like a bolt of lightening striking the surface, the celebration erupted. The referee didn't even have an extra second to signal that the puck had found its mark.
Canton's Hughes turned towards his teammates, arms raised high in the universal posture of victory. Waterford's Dylan Larkin turned so sharply towards his "golden goal" teammate that a speed skater would've experienced whiplash. Grosse Point Woods' Zach Werenski, provider of the "golden assist," tossed his now unnecessary gloves into the air. And the battered, unsung hero - Commerce Township's Connor Hellebuyck - breathed out the unimaginable stress that only a goalie playing overtime Olympic hockey could endure.
Yes. All 4 American players on the ice of the golden moment were Olympians from Metro Detroit, Michigan. Better yet, the men weren't even the first U.S. team to defeat their "rivals to the south" in an overtime victory.
Megan Keller of the U.S. Women's Hockey Team scored our country's first overtime winner on Thursday, setting the standard for her male counterparts to follow suit. And guess what: Keller is from Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Hockeytown? How about Hockeynation. The closing hockey acts provided far more than just historic victories over immensely talented Canadian teams. Victories that will inspire generations of American hockey players to come, similar to the "Miracle on Ice" nearly half a century ago.
No - these victories also cemented Metro Detroit's standing as a major producer of not only cars, but Olympians. Champions. The embodiment of everything good and admirable about sport. World-class athletes capable of uniting a nation immensely battered by political division. True heroes, which is a term that I use without any fear of hyperbole.
Here at Expedition Detroit, our core belief is that the Detroit region is a world-class outdoor destination worth exploring, celebrating, and protecting. That belief covers not only our outdoor amenities - the stunning parks, trails, hills, and waterways that we call home - but the community of people that care for, explore, and advocate for them.
On a global stage, our Olympians are undoubtedly some of our best ambassadors for the professional-class athletic and recreational capacity of our region. Beyond just Olympic success, our region can glean immense value from these past 2+ weeks of glorious winter games. Key takeaways that should both affirm and inspire our region's outdoors and the athletes that enjoy them.
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games have come and gone, but in the spirit of an enduring Olympic flame, here are 4 "Key Takeaways" from the Winter Olympics for Metro Detroit's outdoor community.
1. MOTOR CITY GRIT DELIVERS ON A GLOBAL SCALE
Detroit's famous work mantra holds true and performs under peak pressure
Grit. The noun has been synonymous with the City of Detroit and it's surrounding region since, well, the founding of the city itself on the edge of the known world in 1701.
From progressing and prospering through its initial settlement and colonial wars, rising from the ashes of the Great Fire of 1805, embracing the hustle and muscle required for sustaining the global automative industry, and rising from the economic depths of bankruptcy, our region has embodied "Grit" from Day 1. Most recently, the unprecedented revival of the Detroit Lions under Coach Dan Campbell provided a recreational embodiment of the term - further propagated by the turnaround success of the "Gritty Tigs" and dominance of the Pistons and Red Wings this season.
The singular identity between the Detroit region and its representative athletes is anything but a happy coincidence. Coach Campbell even explicitly stated that the Lions relish in the shared persona with their city:
"It's important ... It’s not the first thing you think of when you go to L.A. or just in general. Here, man, it's harsh winters, auto industry, blue-collar. Things aren't always easy, and I think that's what we're about.”
You know what's also not easy? Lining up against what the pundits anointed as the "best team in the world" - for both the men's and women's tournament. Both games went to overtime. Single goal elimination.
And, as the whole world now knows, Metro Detroiters were trusted as the last players standing. Celebrating. Arms raised high after scoring their respective "golden goals."
"We'll go a little bit longer. We'll push a little harder. We'll think a little deeper and a little sharper. It means we're unbreakable."
Yes, that's another Coach Campbell quote referring to the Lions. But, without any additional context, he perfectly described how our regional Olympians performed on the global stage, under unimaginable pressure. From hockey to figure skating to snowboarding and beyond, Michigan's Olympic athletes brought home 12 gold medals - the second most of any U.S. state.
Grit delivers, Detroit. Whether you're at home, hiking a new trail, learning a new skill, or performing for a worldwide audience, grit will see you through the deepest of valleys to the highest of summits.
Our Olympians just proved it. Again.
2. NORWAY REMAINS THE GOLD STANDARD
Emulating the nordic country's holistic approach to fitness and recreation is a key to world-class performance
We at Expedition Detroit are outspoken fans of Norway's approach to leading an active, outdoor lifestyle - on a national scale.
In 2023, I had the opportunity to visit my younger brother who had just moved to a small village in Norway called Rissa, near Trondheim. The irony of that trip was that we never ended up meeting - Rissa was so remote that the dates of my trip didn't coincide with the limited ferry schedule. I waved at him across the Trondheim Fjord.
Instead, I met something unexpected across the country's trails and parks: the concept of "Friluftsliv," a uniquely Norwegian approach to fostering a year-round outdoor culture, quality of life, and national heritage.
On a basic level, friluftsliv means prioritizing outdoor activity in every season, condition, and stage in life. Regardless of whether you're simply eating dinner outside or training for a record-breaking Olympic run, the cultural emphasis on interweaving outdoor recreation into the minutiae of everyday life has had a transformative effect on one of the world's coldest and darkest countries. Norway consistently ranks as as one of the world's happiest countries, has the longest life expectancy in Europe, has one of the lowest rates of deaths from treatable causes among Europe, and 75% of its population is categorized as being "in good health."
The 2026 Winter Olympics further emphasized the colossal impact that establishing outdoor recreation as a core component of your cultural identity can have. Norway decisively won the official count at 41 total medals - 8 more than second-place U.S.A. - with 18 gold medals in total. Better yet, cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo broke multiple records during the games, including most gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics (6) and most career gold medals won by any Winter Olympic athlete (11). He now only trails Michael Phelps as the most decorated Olympian of all time.
After returning from that 2023 Norway trip, we published an article regarding how the Detroit region could benefit from adopting Norway's friluftsliv concept into our regional identity. Now that we've all just witnessed that country's Olympic dominance broadcast in primetime, we figured now was an ideal time to reiterate just how transformative outdoor recreation could be for our region.
As one of my favorite authors Robin Sharma penned, "Success lies in a masterful consistency around the fundamentals." Such paradigm shifts like friluftsliv have bestowed untold blessings upon Norway. We can reap the same rewards here in Detroit.
3. RECREATION GOES HAND-IN-HAND WITH INNOVATION
As global sport continues to innovate and evolve, Detroit region athletes have unprecedented opportunities to break into new recreational pursuits
Huddled around a bar in Bologna, Italy, a few of my closest friends and I joked about which Olympic sport - if we had 3 years to train without any other responsibilities - we believed we could actually qualify for. Most of the crew reasonably elected sports like handball and water polo. I opted for a different approach.
"Biathlon," a said to a chorus of raised eyebrows. "If I were Scandinavian I wouldn't have a chance, but as an American that loves cross-country skiing and is a decent shot, I think I could do it."
As is tradition for close friends, they immediately ripped my case to shreds.
After watching the biathlon events at the Milan-Cortina Games, I largely agree with them.
If that conversation were to happen today, however, I would have a new answer. One that's based not only on personal Strava data and race results, but personal, life-long interests.
Ski Mountaineering, aka "Skimo." A hybrid of sprint trail running and downhill skiing.
Two of my personal favorite recreational past times, fused into a glorious, ~3 minute race for Olympic glory.
Alright, so maybe I wouldn't be able to reach "Olympic-level" in that sport either (a man can dream though, damn it!). Nonetheless, I whole-heartedly believe that other adventure athletes from the Detroit region could - especially given our plethora of skiing destinations and steep trail ascents perfectly suited for skimo training.
As Michigan-based and gold medalist skier Kaila Kuhn, as well as Michigan-based Olympic snowboarders Jake Vedder and Nick Baumgartner, consistently prove, you don't need to hail from a "mountain state" to excel at a world-class level in "mountain sports." In fact, most of the skimo athletes in this year's Olympic debut of the sport were conventional trail runners vs. skimo-specific athletes.
While I am admittedly not a professional trainer (or athlete), I do have practical knowledge that you can systemically train for perceivably "out of region" recreational pursuits utilizing your "in region" amenities. Here in the Detroit region, our hundreds of trail miles following rugged glacial moraines provide optimal, accessible, and presumably more affordable training venues than conventional "out west" destinations. I trained for my 2024 summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro entirely on such trails in the Detroit region, which surprised many of the team that I trekked with. Our regional events like the Huron 100 and Milford Century Challenge annually humble world-class ultramarathoners and bikers that underestimate our terrain.
As the wide world of sport continues to evolve, "off the beaten path" recreational destinations like Metro Detroit should be regarded as prime destinations for "recreational innovation." While we're already renown for our skating-related training facilities, our parks and trails could also constitute hallowed training grounds for future skimo, Olympic mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and dare we say, biathlon athletes.
4. THE INVALUABLE ASSET OF WINTER
A true "Detroit winter" unlocks potential recreational opportunities on an Olympic scale
Let's call a spade a spade: a "Detroit winter" is not for everyone. Despite our best efforts to sing winter's praises from especially a recreational perspective, the majority mindset across the Great Lakes as a whole is that winter is a "necessary evil" for unlocking the bounty of the other seasons.
What a shame. I pray for the day that our region overwhelmingly recognizes the blessing of living and recreating within an objectively cold and snow-covered natural environment. Recreationists living in Colorado and Utah would've been willing to do who-knows-what to experience the powder that blanketed Metro Detroit throughout January and early February.
And guess what - as the prognosis for warmer winters across the country, but especially out west, continues to worsen, the envy of our lake effect snow will gradually become ever more palpable.
As the above maps demonstrates, accessible training venues for the winter olympics is heavily concentrated in northern climates - and especially in the great lakes, northeast, and sporadically across the mountain west region. While indoor venues will obviously remain unaffected, the availability of natural outdoor venues will become more of a luxury.
A blessing that a true "Detroit winter" currently affords our regional athletes, and one that could be used to draw hopeful Olympians to our state just as our world-class skating facilities have done for decades. Especially given Metro Detroit's ample supply of downhill skiing resorts, nordic skiing trails, and thousands of acres of rolling, snow-covered terrain - all within an hour's drive of the Motor City.
We'd like to close our this article by thanking not only the U.S.' olympic athletes, but every country's athletes, coaches, training staff, and volunteers that made the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics possible - and so enjoyable to watch. Getting up in the morning, making a fresh espresso, and watching the greatest winter athletes on earth competing at the highest level was a highlight of every day during the games. I can honestly say that I'm experiencing olympic withdrawals as I'm typing these words
We're far from being alone in this sentiment. Over 23.5 million Americans tuned into the Winter Olympics every day, making it the most-watched Winter Olympics in over a decade.
Wow. What a stage for Metro Detroit's Olympians to shine on.
Thank you for inspiring us, Olympians.
We can't wait to see you compete again in a short 4 years.