Back in Columbus: Joy Dunne returns home after Olympic gold

Liv Rinaldi
Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:29:45 +0000
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Ohio State forward Joy Dunne stands with her Olympic gold medal. Credit: Liv Rinaldi | Sports Editor

Joy Dunne did not expect to cry.

When Megan Keller scored the golden goal that lifted Team USA over Canada and secured the Americans the Olympic gold in Milan, the Ohio State forward was overcome with emotion she had not planned for.?

“Just the overflow of emotion,” Dunne said. “Of how much work we put in, and the joy of winning together was so sweet, and how we did it is even sweeter.”

Less than a week later, Dunne was back in Columbus, rejoining her Ohio State teammates, attending practice and settling into the rhythm of college life—a stark contrast to the global spotlight of the Olympics.

For Dunne, the transition home has been both immediate and surreal. After competing alongside some of the most decorated players in the sport as the youngest player on the roster and starting on the first line in the gold medal game, she returned to a familiar locker room, a playoff push and the routines of being a student-athlete.

“I absolutely loved my Olympic experience, but I was also excited to come back,” Dunne said. “It was bittersweet leaving, but it was just nice to be grateful. I’m grateful that I love to come back here, and I love my teammates here, and I love to get to play here,”

That sense of gratitude defined much of Dunne’s Olympic mindset. Despite elevating to different lines throughout the tournament and the pressure of representing her country, she focused on contributing in whatever way the team needed rather than the magnitude of the moment itself.

“It’s not about you, especially at that level,” Dunne said. “It’s about the team and it’s about your country.”

Dunne’s expanded role during the Olympics, including two goals and three assists and a +7 plus-minus rating, placed her on the ice with some of the most accomplished players in women’s hockey, a moment head coach Nadine Muzerall said highlighted how much Dunne had earned her place—even if it required the Canadian head coach to set aside national loyalties for a moment.

“To play with [Alex] Carpenter and [Hilary] Knight, some of the most decorated women’s hockey players,” Muzerall said. “She earned that. And I was just so proud to see her wearing those colors. Although I’m Canadian, I was proud about the colors, the colors for her.”

Muzerall, who has known Dunne since she was a child through recruiting her older sisters, Jincy and Jessica, described the moment as deeply personal for the program as well.

“You feel like a parent, right?” she said. “You’ve known them since they were 16 years old, 15 years old. You’ve been watching them, [getting] to know them. And for us, it’s truly a family here at Ohio State, and you’re with them every day, sometimes four or five years right?”?

Even while competing on the world’s biggest stage, Dunne was still juggling the responsibilities of being a college student, completing schoolwork between practices, games and team obligations overseas. Rather than viewing it as an inconvenience, she saw it as part of the experience.

“Just anything is still a great day,” Dunne said. “Having to do schoolwork while I’m there. What an honor to do that. To have that as an issue.”

Now back in Columbus, Dunne is turning her focus toward the Buckeyes’ postseason run after Ohio State advanced to the WCHA Final Faceoff with a sweep of St. Thomas over the weekend.?

She acknowledged that the full significance of winning gold may not fully settle in until much later.

For now, the moment exists somewhere between disbelief and gratitude.

“I was just wanting to soak up everything,” Dunne said. “I was just like a doe eyed little kid on Christmas,”?