Olympic heroes Hilary Knight, Brittany Bowe to be welcomed home at Salt Lake event

SALT LAKE CITY — Olympic heroes and Salt Lake residents Hilary Knight and Brittany Bowe will be officially welcomed home when Salt Lake City begins its 2026 Paralympics watch party this weekend.

Knight, captain of the gold medal-winning U.S. women's hockey team, and Bowe, a past two-time bronze medalist who competed in her final Olympic Games last month, will be celebrated during the watch party, taking place outside of Library Square, 450 S. 200 East, on Saturday.

The event will begin at 10 a.m., before Knight and Bowe take the stage at noon, emceed by Utah Mammoth broadcast host Kim Becker, according to Salt Lake City. It will take place before a broadcast of the Team USA sled hockey team's matchup with Italy is aired at the square.

"We have so much sporting excellence to celebrate. Just two weeks ago, our country brought home a record 12 gold medals from the world's largest winter sports competition," said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, in a statement. "And over the next 10 days, we get to watch six extraordinary winter sports that shift our focus from disability to ability."

Knight and Bowe are coming back to Salt Lake City after a whirlwind last few weeks, which included their highly publicized engagement that took place the day before Knight helped lead the Team USA women's hockey team to a gold medal at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.

She scored a game-tying goal in the gold medal match against Canada, sending the game into overtime on Feb. 19. Megan Keller ultimately notched the golden goal, solidifying the team's third-ever Olympic gold medal.

It also marked Knight's second gold medal, alongside three silver medals she has garnered in her career. She also became Team USA's all-time leading Olympic goal scorer this year, despite playing injured. She recently revealed that she played in the Games with a torn MCL, which is why the Seattle Torrent placed her on the PWHL's injured reserve afterward.

Knight also made a cameo on "Saturday Night Live" with other members of Team USA men's and women's hockey stars, and appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" over the past week as part of a post-Olympics press junket.

"As of now, this is definitely my last," she told Fallon. "I mean, a storybook ending, (an) amazing team to go out with — just incredible win. Double golds. ... couldn't have written it better."

Salt Lake City's watch party will continue with daily events through the end of the Paralympics, March 15. It includes food vendors, live music and other festivities, in addition to the live broadcasts.

More details about the free event can be found on the event's website.

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