Trump Honors Historic "Miracle on Ice" Team with Congressional Gold Medals

While not much was expected of the United States in the face of unquestioned favoritism by the Soviets, the Stars and Stripes ended up materializing one of the most remarkable and amazing sporting feats of all time.

US President Donald Trump attends a bill signing ceremony with members of the 1980 US Olympic men's ice hockey team.AFP

Published by

Luis Francisco Orozco

12 de diciembre, 2025

Topics:

President Donald Trump received members of the 1980 US Olympic men's ice hockey team that competed in the 1980 Olympics - famous for defeating the Soviet Union in the so-called "Miracle on Ice" - during the signing of a bill to award congressional medals in honor of that team. The legislation that the Republican leader signed during afternoon hours awarded Congressional Gold Medals to each and every player who was part of that team as recognition of the 45th anniversary of the U.S. victory over the arch-favorites Soviets in that sporting event. Several of those players accompanied Trump during the signing.

Society

Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, Kiss, George Strait and Michael Crawford to be honored at the Kennedy Center Honors by Trump

Agustina Blanco

"We're delighted to be joined today by true legends of American sports history, heroes for the entire nation, the 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team. This was one of the biggest moments that I've ever seen in sports, and I like sports. These are the men who gave us one of the most storied athletic wins of all time, it's called the miracle on ice, and I guess that's what it was," the president said after signing the bill into law.

The Miracle on Ice Olympic gold medal hockey team present President Trump with a cowboy hat worn during the opening ceremonies of the 1980 Olympic Games. 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/zbrwDnOYvW
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 12, 2025

Among the players from that gold medal-winning team who attended the signing in the Oval Office were, among many, captain Mike Eruzione, goalie Jim Craig, forward Buzz Schneider and the family of the late coach Herb Brooks, who presented the Republican leader with a hat similar to the ones they wore before the 1980 game. "President Trump will honor the legendary Olympic men's ice hockey team whose 'Miracle on Ice' resulted in a historic and symbolic victory against the Soviet Union. This triumph fueled a resurgence of national pride as Americans across the country watched Team USA unexpectedly take home the Gold Medal," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said before the signing.

A historic moment in sports

The game, played in New York, pitted the United States against a Soviet Union that was clearly the favorite to emerge victorious and eventually take the gold medal, being not only a field hockey superpower at the time, but also the champion of the previous four Winter Olympics.

While not much was expected of the United States in the face of unquestionable favoritism on the part of the Soviets, the Stars and Stripes ended up materializing one of the most remarkable and surprising sporting feats of all time by taking the victory 4-3, in a game in which they had to come from behind. And far from resting on their laurels, the U.S. team put the icing on the cake a few days later by defeating Finland to win the coveted gold medal.