Photo: Hershey's
Hilary Knight’s final Olympic run is upon us.
The most decorated player in U.S. women’s hockey history is preparing to hang up her skates after her fifth — and final — appearance at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. After more than two decades representing Team USA on the world’s biggest stage, Knight, 36, is ready to say goodbye to the Winter Games on her own terms.
“It’s rare — and something I don’t think we talk about enough — to be able to go out on your own terms,” she told iHeartRadio in an exclusive interview. “To have the opportunity to do that, to play with this group for one last go-around, it just felt right.”
Reaching this moment, she said, has brought a deep sense of gratitude — for where she is now and for everything she’s accomplished in the sport. “It all kind of aligned and made sense.”
That sense of alignment has extended beyond the ice and into her latest partnership with Hershey’s for its "Hershey's. It's Your Happy Place" campaign. With perspective now at the forefront, the four-time Olympic medalist has been intentional about soaking in the moments that exist away from the spotlight — finding joy in time with family and celebrating what she calls “the real gold.”
“The Olympic spirit — the Olympics — it’s about these incredible competitive performances,” she said. “But it’s also about the people who got you there.”
Before saying ciao to the Olympic ice, Knight isn’t easing off the gas. As captain of the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team, she’s heading into Milano Cortina focused on one final goal: leading her team to gold.
I’ve heard it said that you dreamed of competing in the Olympics before women were even competing in the Games. When you hear that now, what does it make you feel, and what does it mean to be here preparing for your fifth and final Olympics?
Yeah, I just think it’s crazy how things work out. It’s like you manifest something, and then it goes into play. I’m extremely grateful to be going to my fifth Olympic Games. It’s hard, it’s unique, it’s fun, it’s exciting — it’s all of those things. I love what I do every single day. I’m not saying every day is easy, but I genuinely enjoy what I do, and to be able to do it for this long is truly incredible. And to do it with the people I love most is so fun and really rewarding.
You’re the most decorated player in U.S. women’s hockey history, with a career so many athletes aspire to. At this stage, how do you continue to challenge yourself — and what’s still driving you?
I just have this insatiable hunger to win. It gets me up in the morning, it gets me through things. I want to win, and I want to be the best at what I do every single time. It’s not always going to work out that way, but that’s how I get out of bed. It’s like, let’s go — let’s attack this. I think it just keeps me hungry.
When I look at our room, we have a really good mix of newer faces and people who’ve been part of our core for a long time. There’s so much inspiration and motivation you can draw from that. You look to the right or the left and think, how do I not make the most of this opportunity? That’s really what drives me.
When you think back to preparing for your first Olympics and now preparing for your last, is there anything that overlaps — whether it’s how you train, how you mentally prepare, or how you feel?
Training is completely different, and that’s because the game has evolved and grown — it’s so fast now. If anything, I understand my body more, or I’d like to think I do. You know when to push and when to pull back. Pulling back doesn’t mean training less hard — it means taking care of yourself a little more.
Sometimes it’s not physical. Maybe I’m socially drained, and I know I just need a quiet moment or a few deep breaths. Once you really have a solid understanding of what you need as a human, I think it unlocks a lot of those performance and competitive pieces.
You’re the Olympic favorites going in, and I’m sure that’s something you hear a lot. When you hear that, what goes through your head? Is it just noise, or does it fuel you?
I think we have a natural confidence about ourselves — and it’s earned. You can’t just decide to have confidence; you have to feel it. I think our group genuinely feels that. If you could put that in a bottle and capture it, that’s exactly where you want this team to be, especially under the brightest lights, on the world stage, with all the expectations and demands.
You’re going to hear it. It’s going to show up on your feed. But I think it’s about letting it roll off your shoulders and just going to work.
I was preparing for this and read that you once slept with a hockey puck under your pillow. Do you still do that — or are there any other rituals or superstitions you have?
(Laughs.) No, I don’t still do that. I definitely have routines. We call them routines, but they’re probably a little superstitious. I wear the same bracelets all the time, and I actually just admitted this to one of my teammates — I’ve had the same playlist for over 10 years. Whatever new songs or playlists I have, I won’t let myself listen to them at the rink. It’s this one playlist only. When those songs come on, it’s like, okay, let’s go.
I have little habits like that. I love my pregame naps, especially for 7 p.m. games. And honestly, the journey — finding a good coffee in the morning to get the legs going — it’s all the same. But yeah, those routines matter.
What’s on the playlist? I have to know.
Oh my gosh — top secret. (Laughs.) Completely top secret. Maybe I’ll publish it one day. But I will say the genre of music is crazy. It's wild!
I’m going to be watching for that playlist drop. Focus on the important things, of course — but I’ll be waiting for that drop after the Olympics. That leads me to my last question — what are you most excited about heading into the Olympics this time around?
Being able to have an Olympic experience with friends, family, and community. I don’t want to call it a “normal” Olympic experience, but having people in the arena cheering us on means everything. I think about my brothers, who come no matter where the Olympics are — they always show up. It’s just so cool to have everybody there.
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
The Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will take place from February 6th to February 22nd, and iHeartRadio will provide 24/7 play-by-play audio channels of NBCUniversal's linear coverage of the Games, as well as premiere a new Winter Games season of the original iHeartPodcast "Two Guys, Five Rings," hosted by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, and produce Olympic-specific episodes from some of iHeart's top podcasts while promoting tune-in for NBCU's comprehensive coverage.