Olympic

As the upcoming Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 approaches, attention naturally shifts to records, rivalries, and the prestige of making it to the podium. But after the celebrations end, a practical question always resurfaces: What are those medals actually worth?

The answer depends on how you define “worth.” There’s the literal value of the metal, the tax implications that follow, and then the much bigger value that comes from status, visibility, and opportunity.

Are Olympic Gold Medals Actually Solid Gold?

Despite the name, Olympic gold medals are not solid gold. Even though the tradition of a solid gold medal was established in 1904, forging the medals 100% out of gold didn’t last long, as it became too costly after World War I. As a result, the top medal hasn’t been made of solid gold since the 1912 Olympic games.

Today, gold medals are primarily made of silver, with a relatively thin coating of pure gold on the surface. The exact specifications vary slightly, but the general formula has remained consistent. A modern Olympic gold medal typically contains 523 grams of sterling silver, with approximately six grams of gold plated on top. This allows it to look like gold and feel substantial, while also carrying enormous symbolic weight.

Silver medals are indeed solid, made of 525 grams of sterling silver. Bronze medals meanwhile contain no precious metals at all, typically containing 90 percent copper and other alloys, such as tin and zinc.

As a result, the true value of each medal comes more from the prestige of being a medalist and the opportunities it may offer than from the raw materials that comprise each medal.

What Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals Are Worth at Today’s Metal Prices

Metal prices fluctuate constantly, so any estimate is a snapshot in time. Using current pricing, gold is trading around $4,900 per troy ounce, and silver around $85 per troy ounce. Six grams of gold works out to be worth about $945 at current prices, while the silver portion of a gold medal, about 523 grams, is worth about $1,430. Added together, the raw metal value of a gold medal currently lands around $2,375.

Silver medals, made of 525 grams of sterling silver, would be worth around $1,435, while bronze medals are worth far less from a materials standpoint. With copper currently priced at about $0.38 per ounce and a bronze medal comprising 495 grams of copper, the third-place medal would be worth less than $7 at today’s prices.

Do Olympic Athletes Have To Pay Taxes on Their Medals?

Fortunately for U.S. athletes, the tax picture has changed over time. In the past, medals and associated prize money were treated as taxable income, meaning athletes could owe federal taxes on both the cash bonuses and the fair market value of the medal itself.

That shifted in 2016, when Congress passed the United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act of 2016. The legislation allows most U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes to exclude medal-related prize money from federal income taxes if their overall income falls below a certain threshold. The intent was to prevent athletes, many of whom train for years with limited financial support, from being hit with tax bills simply for winning.

Why Medals Are Worth Far More Than the Metal

If medals were only worth their metal content, they’d be impressive keepsakes, but not life-changing ones. The real value comes from what the medal represents and what it unlocks.

An Olympic medal can raise an athlete’s profile overnight, leading to endorsements, sponsorships, and paid appearances that weren’t on the table before. The impact often lasts well beyond competition, opening doors to coaching, leadership roles, and media opportunities long after the Games are over.

Those opportunities don’t look the same for every medalist—or arrive all at once. For some athletes, especially gold medalists, the exposure of winning on the sport’s biggest stage can translate quickly into major endorsement deals. For others, the payoff is more gradual, showing up as smaller sponsorships, speaking fees, or a clearer path into post-competition careers built on recognition and trust.

Winning multiple medals can also amplify the effect, creating a sustained spotlight that brands and audiences tend to value more than a single podium finish.

While the metal in an Olympic medal may only be worth a modest sum, the visibility it brings can reshape an athlete’s earning potential in ways that far outlast the Games themselves—making its true value less about what it’s made of, and more about what it makes possible.

MILAN — Ilia Malinin leaned his head back and wagged his tongue. This perhaps wasn’t the start to his Olympic career that he wanted.

The 21-year-old took it easy in the short program of the team figure skating competition Saturday, forgoing his signature quad axel, but even with a watered-down routine, the “Quad God” looked shockingly mortal.

He finished second in the short program after struggling on multiple jumps, trailing Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama’s electrifying performance by almost 10 points. The United States still enters the final day of the team competition with a five-point lead after Madison Chock and Evan Bates dazzled in the free dance with 133.23 points that earned first place.

The three-time reigning world champions swept both dance programs in the team event to pace the United States to a 44-point team total. The Americans lead second-place Japan (39 points) and third-place Italy (37) before Sunday’s medal event that will feature men’s, women’s and pairs free programs. The United States has not named the skaters who will perform Sunday’s long programs.

Ilia Malinin said he simply was managing his energy to prepare for the individual event, which begins Tuesday.

(Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)

Bates pumped his fist at the end of the free dance. The seven-time U.S. champions have increased their scores for the bull and matador-themed program at each international competition they’ve performed at this season. Malinin, sitting in the U.S. box on the side of the rink, high-fived his teammates at the end of the stellar program and waved a large American flag along with singles skaters Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito.

Almost as much as his own performances, the unique environment of an Olympic Games is what he has been dreaming about since he started his rise to the top.

“It was such an unreal moment coming to the Olympics,” Malinin said. “Everyone has been talking about the Olympics for years, ever since I started skating from a young age. … Really just being out there on that Olympic ice was just the best moment of itself.”

Malinin, who earned nine team points for his second-place finish in the short program, entered his first Olympics as the overwhelming favorite to win individual gold. With his unmatched technical skill, it likely would take multiple mistakes from Malinin and perfect performances from his competitors for him not to claim the United States’ second consecutive men’s singles gold medal.

But to become just the second skater to win two golds in the same Games, Malinin may need help from his teammates after he fell short of the lofty expectations Saturday.

Malinin planned to open with his quad axel in combination with a triple toe loop but settled only for a quad flip. He got a negative grade of execution on his triple axel. He underrotated a quad lutz that he connected to the previously left out triple toe loop.

“Of course, it wasn’t the perfect ideal 100% skate that I would [have] wanted to have,” Malinin said, “but for the standard I set myself today, I think I achieved that.”

Malinin’s Olympic standard is a slow-play progression, he said. He wanted to be at about 50% of his capacity in the team event to manage his energy to prepare for the individual event, which begins Tuesday.

Kagiyama highlighted Japan’s performances Saturday, pumping both fists after his program. As the crowd showered him with applause, he spread his arms wide and threw his head back. When he looked at his teammates cheering from the sideline he jumped in excitement. He stood up in shock when his score of 108.67 flashed across the screen.

Waiting for his turn to finish the competition, Malinin appreciated Kagiyama’s moment. He wasn’t intimidated by his opponent’s success.

“So inspired,” Malinin said. “He just went out there. He looked so happy. He looked like he was enjoying every single moment. I’m so happy for him. It’s just so unreal that all of us come out here on this Olympic stage and really feel so much energy, so much excitement.”

While Malinin is undefeated in individual events since November 2023, he hasn’t been perfect. He was third after the free program in the Grand Prix Final in December, the last major international competition before the Olympics.

He answered in the free skate by becoming the first person to land seven clean quad jumps in a single program.

A proposed new consensus between sports leaders across the globe about gender policy would be a first uniform criteria.

Global sports leaders ‌have reached consensus on a new set of eligibility criteria for transgender athletes, with the new policy expected to be announced within the first half of this year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Saturday.

It would be the first uniform policy adopted by the IOC and international sports federations, applying to major events in dozens of sports, including the Games and world championships. Currently, federations have ⁠their own rules, which can vary.

Details of the new policy are unclear, but it is expected to severely restrict the participation of transgender athletes who compete in women’s categories if they have undergone full male puberty before any subsequent medical transition.

The IOC, under its first female president, Kirsty Coventry, took the lead in June, opting for a uniform approach.

“Protecting the female category is one of the key reforms she wants to bring in,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams ⁠told a news conference at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games on Saturday.

“I would say it is going to happen shortly, within the next few months.

“It has been out to consultation phase and we had the ‘pause and reflect’ (period) on it,” Adams said. “Generally speaking, there is consensus within the sporting movement. I think you will have a new policy in the first half of this year. Don’t hold me to it, but that is roughly the timescale.”

In September, Coventry set up the “Protection of the Female Category” working group, made up of experts as well as representatives ‌of international federations, to look into how best to protect the female category in sport.

Before Coventry’s decision, the IOC had long baulked at any universal rule on transgender participation for the Games, instructing international federations in 2021 to come up with their own ‌guidelines. Under current rules, still in force, transgender athletes are eligible to take part in the Olympics once cleared by their respective federations.

Only a handful of openly ‌transgender athletes have taken part in the Games. New Zealand’s Laurel ⁠Hubbard became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in a different gender category to that assigned at birth when the weightlifter took part in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Currently, for example, World Aquatics allows transgender athletes who have transitioned before the age of ‌12 to compete. World Rugby bans all transgender athletes from elite-level competitions.

United States President Donald Trump has banned transgender athletes from competing in school, college and pro events in the female category in the US, as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Trump, who signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order in February, has said he would not allow transgender athletes to compete at the LA Games.

Former AC Milan and Sweden footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic opens the 2026 Winter Olympic Games for the BBC, as he explains what it takes to become “a champion in Milan.”

Follow the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics across the BBC from Friday, 6 February.

Watch more Winter Olympics videos.

Available to UK users only.

Right before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, relay participants passed the torch for the final few times in central Milan. The flame began its journey across Italy in December, starting in Rome and travelling through all 110 Italian provinces.

MILAN — Alysa Liu glided past her boards and held her hand out. She high-fived her coaches with a wide smile on her face.

She was ready.

Liu calmly skated through minor technical missteps on two jumps in her short program of the team competition at Milano Ice Skating Arena to finish second and earn nine points for the United States that leads the team competition after the first day.

Led by 10 points from rhythm dance leaders Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the United States has 25 points entering Saturday’s men’s short program to lead over second-place Japan (23 points) and third-place Italy (22). Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto finished first with a score of 78.88 ahead of Liu’s 74.90.

After the men’s short program, the top five teams advance to the long program portion. The United States selected two-time world champion Ilia Malinin to skate in the men’s short program.

Liu, competing in her second Olympics, was selected for the team competition for the first time. The reigning world champion worked through slight errors, including on her tricky triple lutz, triple loop combination. Her coach Phillip Diguglielmo grabbed the arm of choreographer Massimo Scali nervously as Liu floated through the air on the crooked loop. When she finished her program to a loud ovation, Diguglielmo wiped his brow in relief.

Liu was the second world champion competing for the United States on Friday. Chock and Bates edged out French pair Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron by less than two points in an early showdown of individual gold medal contenders.

In March 2025, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron rocked the ice dance world by announcing their partnership. He was the reigning Olympic champion. She was a former Canadian champion. But it wasn’t just that the pair became instant gold medal contenders 11 months before the Olympic Games. The reason for the sudden pairing caused a stir.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. finished first in the ice dance portion of the team competition Friday.

(Stephanie Scarbrough / Associated Press)

In October 2024, Fournier Beaudry’s partner Nikolaj Sorensen was suspended by Skate Canada for at least six years for alleged sexual assault. The pair competed for both Denmark and Canada over their decade-long partnership, winning three Danish championships and a Canadian national title and placing ninth in the 2022 Olympics.

Cizeron hadn’t skated since 2022. He and his ice dance partner of 20 years Gabriella Papadakis announced their retirement in December 2024, but wanted to return to competition. He had trained in Canada for more than a decade and maintained a friendship with Fournier Beaudry. The opportunity was open, but it would be complicated.

After pairing with Fournier Beaudry to launch Cizeron’s comeback, the new team expressed support for Sorensen in an interview with Canadian French-language newspaper La Presse. Fournier Beaudry continues her romantic relationship with Sorensen.

When asked of the allegations Friday, Fournier Beaudry said she did not have anything to add to her previous comments. The pair proceeded through the mixed zone.

Since teaming up, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron have won five of six competitions, a nearly inconceivable rise for such a new pair. The only blemish is a silver medal finish at the Grand Prix Final.

Chock and Bates’ 15-year partnership has yielded three world championships, a record seven U.S. titles and four trips to the Olympics. On one of the most talented teams the United States has ever sent to an Olympic Games, Chock and Bates still stand out for their experience. Of the 14 other U.S. figure skaters, only Liu has participated in the Games before.

“I think we have the best generation of figure skaters within the U.S. right now,” said pairs skater Danny O’Shea, who finished fifth with his partner Ellie Kam to earn six position points toward the team total. “Amazing people helping each other, supporting each other, and Madi and Evan leading the charge being the just experienced elders.”

O’Shea, making his Olympic debut at 34, laughed as he clarified Chock, 33, is younger than him.

MILAN — Laila Edwards finally got out from under the spotlight and onto the ice for the U.S. women’s hockey team Thursday. It was a simple act, but one that made history.

Yet for Edwards, it was just another day at the office.

“It didn’t feel different at all,” she said. “It’s still hockey at the end of the day. Even though it’s the highest level, it’s still hockey.”

With her first shift in Thursday’s 5-1 win over Czechia, on the first day of hockey at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, Edwards became the first Black woman to play for the U.S. national team in an Olympic tournament. On a team full of record-breakers, it was a significant milestone, one that has become a storyline for the world’s top-ranked team.

“Cameras constantly in her face. She does a good job of whatever she needs to do,” said teammate Tessa Janecke, who had two second-period assists. “It’s very inspiring for us as her teammates, but as well as the next generation.”

And that, of course, is the point.

“Representation matters,” Edwards said. “There’s been a lot of young kids or parents of young kids who have reached out or I’ve run into that say, ‘You know, my daughter plays sports because of you. And she feels seen and represented,’ and that’s just really motivating.”

Just 22, Edwards is already accustomed to breaking barriers and being the youngest this or the first that.

In 2023, she became the first Black player on the women’s senior national team in any competition; a year later, she became, at 20, the youngest player to win the MVP award in the World Championship.

But if doing that has been easy, talking about it has taken some work.

“I could not do interviews or not talk about it, but then the story doesn’t get out there,” she said. “And maybe a little girl doesn’t see me, who looks like her. So I think that’s what’s more important.”

On Thursday, playing before Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a packed house at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena, Edwards marked her Olympic debut by helping put the Americans ahead to stay, feeding Megan Keller in the high slot for a slap shot that Alex Carpenter redirected in a first-period power-play goal.

Second-period goals from Joy Dunne and Hayley Scamurra — both on assists from Janecke — and third-period goals from Scamurra and Hilary Knight, sandwiched around one from Czechia’s Barbora Jurickova, accounted for the final score in a game in which the top-ranked Americans outshot the fourth-ranked Czechs 42-14.

Still, the night belonged to Edwards, a player Knight calls “the future of the sport.” But she’s doing pretty well in the present too, having already won two national championships with Wisconsin and two world championship medals with Team USA.

Edwards started skating shortly after she learned to walk, then switched to hockey before starting kindergarten, when her father Robert, who played the game as a child, enrolled her and three siblings in a youth hockey program. By 8, she was so advanced she was playing with boys’ teams and for high school she left her native Cleveland Heights, Ohio, for the elite girls’ hockey program at Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, N.Y.

Although she was a high-scoring forward in high school and college — she led the nation with 35 goals as a junior at Wisconsin — she’s proven versatile enough to play on the blue line in the Olympics. That’s a little like playing a running back at right guard.

“I couldn’t even imagine that,” forward Abbey Murphy said of Edwards, who skated a team-high 25 shifts Thursday. “She took it and she just kind of ate it up and she made defenseman look easy. She’s magic on the blue line.”

At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds — making her the biggest and most physical player on the U.S. team — Edwards was well-suited for the move.

“She’s so dynamic, so athletic, you could put her in goal and she would perform,” said Caroline Harvey, a teammate in high school, college and now with the national team. “She’s just adjusted so well. It’s seamless. It doesn’t even seem like she’s switched positions.”

Edwards hasn’t made her journey to the Olympics alone, however, a fact she acknowledged after Thursday’s game. Although her father is responsible for her start in hockey, it looked like he wouldn’t be able to travel to Milan to see his daughter make history. So Edwards’ parents started a crowdfunding campaign to pay for flights and accommodations.

Jason and Travis Kelce, brothers and former Super Bowl players who also grew up in Cleveland Heights, learned of the campaign and quickly kicked in $10,000, allowing 14 members of Edwards’ family to come to Italy — where their cheers were audible every time her name was announced.

“They show support,” Edwards said. “And they’re really cool guys.”

After her Olympic debut Thursday, there are a lot of little girls who can say the same about Edwards.

A top Los Angeles politician said Tuesday that LA 2028 Olympics committee chair Casey Wasserman should resign following revelations about racy emails he exchanged with convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell.

“I think Casey Wasserman needs to step down,” said L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who along with other L.A. politicians is working with the LA28 Olympics organizing committee on planning of the Games.

“Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028,” said Hahn, who represents an area of south Los Angeles County that includes coastal neighborhoods.

A representative for Wasserman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wasserman and other top officials with LA 2028, which is in charge of paying for and planning the Games, are in Italy for meetings ahead of the Winter Olympics.

Hahn’s comments follow the release of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein released last week by the Justice Department that include personal emails exchanged more than 20 years ago between Wasserman and Maxwell, Epstein’s former romantic partner.

In emails sent in March and April 2003, Wasserman — who was married at the time — writes to Maxwell about wanting to book a massage and wanting to see her in a tight leather outfit.

She offers to give him a massage that can “drive a man wild,” and the pair discuss how much they miss each other, according to files released and posted online by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a statement released Saturday, Wasserman said he regretted his correspondence with Maxwell, which he said occurred “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”

“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them,” he said in the statement.

The Daily Mail in 2024 published an extensive story on Wasserman’s alleged affairs during his marriage with Laura Ziffren, whom he divorced. He denied the accusations.

Think of Mike Buckley as a kind of double agent.

Not the sinister kind, who give away state secrets for money or revenge; Buckley is privy to much lower-level intelligence. But that doesn’t mean it’s not just as valuable to the people involved.

Buckley is the Kings’ goaltender coach and his chief pupil is Darcy Kuemper, who will be playing for Team Canada in the Milan Cortina Olympic hockey tournament. Buckley will be in Milan coaching for Team USA. And if the competition goes to form, Canada and the U.S. will meet in the final.

You can see where this is going.

So would Buckley give up the goods on his NHL goalie if it meant helping his national team win a gold medal?

“I probably have a little bit more insight being with him on a day-to-day basis. But at the end of the day, the players still have to execute,” said Buckley, like Kuemper, a first-time Olympian. “So if I tell someone to shoot somewhere at a certain time or a certain spot, they’re going to have to be able to execute that.”

The answer then is maybe.

Still, that’s a dilemma Buckley will probably never face since Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues, who was spectacular in goal in last year’s Four Nations Face-off, will probably start for Canada in Milan. But with the Kings sending four other players (defenseman Drew Doughty, Canada; and forwards Adrian Kempe, Sweden; Kevin Fiala, Switzerland; and Joel Armia, Finland) plus Canadian equipment manager Darren Granger to the Olympics, there’s a good chance guys who have shared a dressing room since September will be competing against one another.

Kings forward Kevin Fiala controls the puck while playing for Team Switzerland at the 2025 world championships.

(Michael Campanella / Getty Images)

The same goes for the Ducks, who are sending four players — goalie Lukas Dostal and defenseman Radko Gudas, Czechia; forward Mikael Granlund, Finland; and defenseman Jackson LaCombe, U.S. — to Milan. Ducks star Leo Carlsson, who was expected to start for Sweden, will miss the Games after undergoing surgery to repair a rare injury in his left thigh last month.

So while the Olympics may bring countries together, it also has the potential to turn teammates against one another — at least temporarily.

In the group stage of the tournament, for example, Armia and Finland will play against Kempe’s Sweden. And Canada, with Kuemper and Doughty, will face Switzerland, which is led by Fiala.

“It’s obviously going to be a little strange,” Gudas said. “It’s only for a few games. For that amount of time, you can put things aside a little bit.”

Those kinds of match-ups were rare in the last two Olympic tournaments since NHL players didn’t take part, sidelined by a dispute over insurance, travel costs and scheduling issues. This year 147 NHL players are on the 12 Olympic rosters, with all 32 NHL clubs represented.

Not all the top NHL players will be in Milan, however. Russia has been banned from the tournament because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, meaning Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, won’t play.

Granlund, who won a bronze medal with Finland in 2014, the last time NHL players participated in the Olympics, is glad to be back.

“It was such a cool experience,” he said. “It’s one of the biggest honors I can have as a hockey player, playing for a country in the Olympics. There’s no player in the NHL who wouldn’t go.”

That’s due in large part to the rush that comes with wearing your country’s colors on your chest.

“It’s tough to explain how much it means,” he said. “You grow up in a country like Finland, watching the national team play. As a kid you’re dreaming to play for that team.

“Every single time you put that jersey on, it’s such a pride you feel.”

Doughty, who already has two gold medals, agreed, saying the only time he sings along with the Canadian anthem is at the Olympics.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty controls the puck while playing for Canada in the Four Nations Face-Off last year.

(Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

“When we hear it in the NHL, I’m not singing,” he said. “But when you’re wearing a Canadian jersey, that’s one of the biggest moments you can have.”

Not just for the guys on the ice. Granger, the equipment manager, will be making his third trip to the Olympics with Canada. And the journey never gets old.

“It’s not something that you apply for. It’s something that you’re asked to do,” he said. “So I don’t take that lightly. It’s an honor.”

The equipment managers may have the most difficult job in the Olympic hockey tournament since they must prepare and maintain the sticks, skates, gloves and uniforms for 25 players, some of whom they’ve never met. That means checking in with the equipment managers of rival NHL teams to get prepared.

“We have quite a few players that are particular about certain things,” he said. “After a while, you just kind of get used to what those things are. If it’s a player that likes to use three sticks a game, then making sure he has that. If it’s a guy that likes to change gloves every other game, making sure you have enough.”

Yet if Canada wins the tournament, Granger’s reward won’t be a gold medal. Olympic rules say medals only go to the players, leaving the equipment managers, trainers and coaches — even coaches with inside information like Buckley — out in the cold.

“That’s OK,” Buckley said. “I just want the players to get one.”

Hundreds of protesters in Italy have denounced plans to bring ICE agents from the US to the Winter Olympics in Milan that begin on Friday. Italy’s interior ministry says ICE will only operate at US diplomatic offices and won’t be patrolling on the ground.

Olympic gold medallist Sha’Carri Richardson has been arrested for “dangerous excessive” speeding, according to jail booking records.

Richardson was booked into Orange County Jail in Florida at 19:39 local time on Thursday.

Jail records state the 25-year-old American was charged with driving dangerously and at “excessive speed of 100mph or more”.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Richardson was allegedly traveling at 104 mph tailgating and crossing lanes of traffic to pass other drivers, BBC’s US partner CBS News and Reuters reported.

It has been reported her bond was set at $500 (£363).

The American won silver in the 100m at the Paris Olympics and gold as part of the USA’s 4x100m relay team.

The state of Florida introduced new penalties for speeding offences in July.

Under a new statute – known as the “Super Speeder” law – drivers can be fined up to $1,000 (£727), be mandated to appear at court if the allegation is more than 50 miles per hour over the limit, face jail time or have their license revoked for repeat breaches.

In August, Richardson was arrested over allegations of domestic violence. She was released the following day and later said she would seek help.

Richardson missed the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after testing positive for marijuana.

Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who allegedly became the head of a billion-dollar drug trafficking organization, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges against him Monday and was ordered detained as his case proceeds.

Wedding, who authorities say was in hiding for more than a decade and on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list, was arrested last week. He faces 17 felonies in two separate indictments.

During the court hearing at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, Wedding, who wore a beige jail uniform and black Crocs, scanned the gallery and occasionally smirked. Hulking and tattooed, the 6’3” Wedding towered over his attorney and the deputy marshals standing guard in the courtroom.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Early ordered Wedding jailed without bond and set the next hearing for February 11.

The judge set a tentative trial date in March, although Wedding’s attorney, Anthony Colombo, said it would likely take more time for the case to unfold.

Colombo did not argue for his client’s release on Monday afternoon, later citing “the whirlwind” Wedding had experienced since his apprehension.

“It takes time to put the sureties in place, to have the information for the court to establish that there’s a condition or combination of conditions that could secure his release,” Colombo told reporters. “We were not in the position today to do that and we anticipate addressing that at a later date.”

Colombo said he first met with his client several days ago, after his arrival in the U.S., and described him as being “in good spirits.” Colombo disputed claims from federal authorities that Wedding had been in hiding out in Mexico.

“Hiding out and living somewhere are two different things,” Colombo said. “I would characterize him as living, the government can characterize it their way.”

Colombo added that his client was arrested and “he did not surrender.”

Wedding, who was known by many aliases, including “El Jefe” and “Public Enemy,” is accused of becoming a major trafficker of cocaine into Canada and the United States and a ruthless leader who ordered killings, including one of a witness in a 2024 federal narcotics case against him. The alleged order resulted in the victim being shot to death in a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia, in January 2025, prosecutors said.

The former Olympic snowboarder was charged in a 2024 indictment with running a continuing criminal enterprise, assorted drug trafficking charges and directing the murders of two members of a family in Canada in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment.

“Just to tell you how bad of a guy Ryan Wedding is, he went from an Olympic snowboarder to the largest narco trafficker in modern times,” Patel said in a news conference Friday announcing the arrest. “He is a modern-day El Chapo, he is a modern-day Pablo Escobar. And he thought he could evade justice.”

When questioned about authorities likening his client to El Chapo and Pablo Escobar, Colombo said “I think it’s overstated, that’s their spin.”

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said last week that Wedding’s alleged global drug trafficking organization “used Los Angeles as its primary point of distribution.”

Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles FBI field office, said after Wedding’s capture that his alleged organization shipped approximately 60 metric tons of cocaine through Southern California on its way to Canada.

Authorities have arrested 36 people in connection with their role in the transnational organization and the U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned 19 people, including Wedding, according to Davis.

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi previously said Wedding’s operation was responsible for generating more than $1 billion a year in illegal drug proceeds.

Wedding competed for his home country, Canada, in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

An experienced attorney, Colombo previously represented Rubén Oseguera González, also known as “El Menchito,” the son of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Oseguera González was sentenced last year to a term of life in prison plus 30 years to run consecutively for his role in a major drug trafficking conspiracy.