Women’s ice hockey at the Olympics: A brief history

Regarding the Olympics, it’s important to go over some context: the Winter Olympics officially began in 1924. Men’s ice hockey had already been introduced, at a week of winter events included in the 1920 Summer Olympics. But women’s ice hockey wouldn’t be included until the 1998 Winter Olympics. So when I say this is a brief history, that’s because this is all there is.

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1998 – Nagano, Japan

Women’s ice hockey made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. Six nations competed, including the host. There were no qualification tournaments at the time.

A United States team that included prominent names like Angela Ruggiero, A.J. Mleczko and captain Cammi Granato won gold after sweeping the preliminary round and beating Canada 3-1 in the final. Canada’s team included Jennifer Botterill, Jayna Hefford, Hayley Wickenheiser and Manon Rhéaume.

Finland won bronze after a 4-1 victory over China, while Sweden placed fifth and Japan rounded out the table. Here’s a fun trivia fact: Petra Vaarakallio scored the first-ever goal in women’s ice hockey at the Olympics.

2002 – Salt Lake City, U.S.

When the Winter Games came to Salt Lake City, the field expanded to eight countries, with qualification determined by the 2000 Women’s World Championships and a qualification tournament that featured Germany, Kazakhstan, Switzerland and Russia. For the first time, teams were split into groups for the preliminary round, and a more advanced classification round was introduced.

Canada won its first gold medal with a 3-2 win over the United States, while Sweden captured bronze over Finland. Kim St-Pierre registered a 1.25 GAA and .936 save percentage in five games for the Canadians.

2006 – Turin, Italy

Italy, as the host country, made its Olympic women’s hockey debut in during the 2006 Winter Games. The IIHF World Ranking was used for qualification purposes, with the top four teams automatically earning an Olympic bid. The remaining teams were determined through a qualification tournament.

Canada won its second gold medal, this time via a 4-1 win over Sweden. Canada’s roster included some more familiar names, including Ottawa Charge head coach Carla MacLeod and PWHL analyst Cheryl Pounder. With 17 points in just five games, Canada’s Wickenheiser was named Most Valuable Player, Best Forward and a Media All-Star.

The United States had to settle for bronze, which they snagged thanks to a decisive 4-0 victory over Finland. The American roster included players like Julie Chu, Jenny Potter and captain Krissy Wendell.

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2010 – Vancouver, Canada

Once again, the qualification format changed a bit for the Olympics. This time, the top six teams in the IIHF World Ranking qualified. Again, a more advanced qualification tournament format was introduced, which even included teams ranked 13th and below in the IIHF ranking. This truly started to open up the field and give lower-ranked nations a chance at an Olympic bid.

That said, this was Slovakia’s Olympic debut in women’s hockey; they made it in by virtue of the qualification tournaments, despite being ranked 17th by the IIHF.

Canada and the United States both went undefeated throughout the preliminary group play, and naturally, the two were set up for a gold medal rematch after the U.S. failed to make it there in 2006. By way of a 2-0 win, Canada captured its third straight gold, while Finland defeated Sweden 3-2 in overtime for bronze.

This year marked the Olympic debuts of both Marie-Philip Poulin and Hilary Knight. They skated alongside players like Toronto Sceptres GM Gina Kingsbury, Montréal Victoire assistant coach Caroline Ouellette, Jocks in Jills cohost Tessa Bonhomme, and PWHL Special Consultant to Hockey Operations Meghan Duggan.

2014 – Sochi, Russia

For the 2014 Olympic Games, the top five teams in the IIHF World Rankings received automatic spots. Russia, as the host, was also automatically qualified. The other teams went through a qualification tournament to determine the final spots. While eight teams remained in the tournament, a new format was introduced to determine how teams were split among groups and how the quarterfinals played out.

This year was historic for a few reasons: Canada won its fourth consecutive gold medal in ice hockey, a feat that had only been achieved at the Olympics twice before. Also, Switzerland won its first Olympic ice hockey medal in 66 years and its first in the women’s tournament.

Canada beat the U.S. 3-2 in overtime to win gold, while Switzerland bested Sweden 4-3 in the bronze medal game. Russia, who finished sixth in the tournament, was disqualified due to doping violations, which led to the reallocation of the sixth- and seventh-place finishes to Germany and Japan, respectively.

2018 – Pyeongchang, South Korea

Qualification & formatting remained the same, with South Korea as the host country gaining an automatic berth. This was truly historic, as a group of North Korean players joined the South Korean players and formed a united team that competed under the South Korean banner.

The United States broke Canada’s gold medal spell with a 3-2 victory in game-winning shots (similar to a shootout) in the final. Finland, meanwhile, bested the Olympic Athletes from Russia in the bronze medal game. (Russia was suspended from competition by the IOC in December 2017, but the athletes themselves were cleared to compete under this different title.)

Many of the players on these rosters are still active with their respective national teams today, including PWHLers Cayla Barnes, Megan Keller, Renata Fast and Natalie Spooner.

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2022 – Beijing, China

New format alert! The international growth of women’s hockey led to the further expansion of the Olympic field, allowing 10 countries to qualify. Six teams got automatic berths through their IIHF World Rankings, and China automatically qualified as the host country. The other three slots were determined by a qualification tournament.

The Czech Republic and Denmark made their Olympic women’s hockey debuts during the 2022 Games.

In the end, was as rinse and repeat as it has been nearly every other tournament, with Canada and the U.S. meeting in the gold medal game. Powered by two goals from Marie-Philip Poulin, Canada edges the U.S. 3-2, with Ann-Renée Desbiens making 38 saves. Elsewhere, Finland shut out Switzerland, 4-0, for bronze.

All of the scoring leaders are now PWHL players, including: Sarah Nurse (Vancouver), Poulin (Montréal), Brianne Jenner (Ottawa), Natalie Spooner (Toronto), Claire Thompson (Vancouver) and Sarah Fillier (New York).

And now, 2026!

Women’s hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics begins on Thursday, Feb. 5 in Milan, Italy. Get ready with The IX Sports Hockey Podcast, where Maya and Lydia provided a preview of the tournament; then, check out an Olympian’s scrapbook with Team Italy defender Nadia Mattivi.

Stay tuned to The Ice Garden, as we’ll have full coverage of the tournament, including team-by-team previews, regular game coverage, features and more!