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Every Olympic athlete was born for greatness, but some have it literally written into their DNA.
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Here are 25 athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics whose parents are former Olympians:
1. US bobsledder Azaria Hill is the daughter of US track and field athlete Denean Howard-Hill (who won gold at Los Angeles 1984, silver at Seoul 1988, and silver at Barcelona 1992) and boxer Virgil Hill, Sr. (who won silver at Los Angeles 1984).
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Azaria told Women's Health, "It definitely instilled the competitive nature, drive, and work ethic that I still have to this day. ... They're super excited because I'm the first athlete in our family to be pursuing a winter sport."
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2. Mexican alpine skier Lasse Gaxiola is the son of fellow alpine skier American Mexican Sarah Schleper, who's competed for both the US and Mexico. She skied for the US at Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006, and Vancouver 2010. Then, after becoming a Mexican citizen through her husband, Federico Gaxiola, in 2014, she competed for Mexico in PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022. Sarah had retired from skiing before deciding to return to the slopes to represent her new country.
Lasse and Sarah are both representing Mexico at Milano Cortina 2026. It's the first time in Olympic history that a mother and son will both compete in the same sport for the same country at the same time.
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Announcing the news on Instagram, she said, "Today's news reflects years of passion for my sport. Countless laps on the slopes and a total commitment to my son. This journey has also strengthened our relationship as mother and son, training together and always supporting each other. This reality is still settling in for us. We are proud and grateful for the love and support of our family, friends, sponsors, and the entire skiing community. It is an honor and a privilege to represent Mexico, the most spectacular country on the planet. Viva Mexico!"
3. US figure skater Maxim Naumov is the son of late Russian pairs skaters Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, who competed at Albertville 1992 and Lillehammer 1994.
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His parents were among the 67 who were killed in a plane crash with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in 2025. Competing in the Olympics was a dream that they talked about "every day, year after year," and he stepped up as the on-ice director of their Tomorrow's Champions program.
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Maxim told People, "I feel their presence everywhere that I go. ... I hear their voices, like what they say to me, all those lessons that we had every single day for years. I have memories that are burned into my head, of certain corrections on jumps and things like that...or they're laughing about something or telling me, 'Don't forget to point your toes.' ... They taught me values of resilience, hard work, dedication and never giving up."
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4. Malaysian alpine skier Aruwin Salehhuddin is the daughter of Malaysian slalom canoer Salehhuddin Bin Ayob (aka Sal Ayob), who competed at Atlanta 1996.
Aruwin is the first female athlete to ever represent Malaysia at the Winter Games, and she's one of only four Malaysian Winter Olympians in history. She told Olympics.com, "When I was little, I always told my mom, 'I want to be like my dad. I want to go to the Olympics for Malaysia.' ... All these years, he's done an amazing job supporting me. He's travelled the world for me, to help me, to guide me. I think that's the best part of having an Olympian dad. He's played such a huge part in my life as a skier, as an athlete. He is my role model.”
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5. US cross-country skier Novie McCabe is the daughter of fellow US cross-country skier Laura McCabe, who competed at Lillehammer 1994 and Nagano 1998.
Novie told KXLY, "I remember hearing stories of her Olympic experience when I was younger and trying on her clothes and stuff."
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6. Team GB curler Hammy McMillan Jr. is the son of fellow Team GB curler Hammy McMillan Sr., who competed at Albertville 1992 and Salt Lake City 2002.
Hammy Jr. told CBC Sports, "People always ask the question, am I Hammy's son? ... It was always a name I thought I had to live up to at one point."
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7. US ice dancer Anthony Ponomarenko is the son of Russian pairs skaters Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko. Competing for the Soviet Union, they won bronze at Sarajevo 1984 and silver at Calgary 1988. Then, competing for the Unified Team (a combined team consisting of athletes from five former Soviet countries — Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Uzbekistan), they won gold at Albertville 1992.
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Marina connected her son with his ice dance partner, Christina Carreira, after noticing her at the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championship.
Anthony told NBC Bay Area, "It's funny because they didn't want me to figure skate. They were like, 'Our sons will be completely normal. They won't see the ice rink.'" However, when he visited an ice rink with his mom, he was "like a wind-up toy just right away" and "just fell in love" with figure skating.
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8. Austrian alpine skier Johannes Strolz is the son of fellow Austrian alpine skier Hubert Strolz, who won a silver medal and a gold medal at Calgary 1988.
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When Johannes won gold at Beijing 2022, he told ESPN, "It's really a great moment for me, and I'm so thankful that I finally can live my dream and have this gold medal in my hands like my father did in 1988 in Calgary and, yeah, just a dream come true. The gold medal really means the world to me."
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9. US biathlete Joanne Reid is the daughter of US speed skater Beth Reid (formerly Heiden), who won bronze at Lake Placid 1980. Joanne's uncle, Eric Heiden, is also a former Olympic speed skater. He made his Olympic debut at Innsbruck 1976, and then he won gold medals at Lake Placid 1980.
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Beth told NPR, "[Joanne's skiing is] distinctive. It probably looks a little bit like my skiing because she skied lot of years behind me. People say I ski like a speed skater, and that she skis like a speed skater also."
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10. Canadian speed skater Béatrice Lamarche is the daughter of fellow Canadian speed skater Benoît Lamarche, who competed at Sarajevo 1984 and Calgary 1988. Additionally, her aunt, Canadian speed skater Marie-Pierre Lamarche, competed at Calgary 1988.
She told the Calgary Herald, "My parents signed us up, and I never felt any pressure. They were always very encouraging of us being active. For sure, I have some good genetics. All of my family is happy to see me do so well. My dad travels a lot to see me skate. It's fun to know that your parents know your reality and what you're going through."
Jurij Kodrun - International Ska / International Skating Union via Getty Images, NOS / Via youtube.com
11. US alpine skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle is the son of fellow US alpine skier Barbara Ann Cochran, who won the gold in giant slalom at Sapporo 1972. Additionally, his cousin is two-time Olympic skier Jimmy Cochran (Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010).
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He told WBALTV11, "I have grown up with her sharing that story. Getting to kind of hear that excitement that she has, even now, 50 years ago, knowing the impact and that emotional connection she has to the sport of skiing and to so many people is pretty empowering... To now fall in her footsteps in a certain way and experience that on my own, there's just so much connection we have because of that."
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12. US figure skater Ilia Malinin is the son of Uzbekistani figure skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, who both competed at Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002.
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Ilia told Time, "They didn't want me to skate. They didn't really talk about their careers or how they skated [at the Olympics]. They knew how hard it was — how much time, effort, and sacrifice goes into it — and they wanted me to have a different life." However, he started skating at the rink where his parents coached, because he was often there with them. As they realized how talented and dedicated their son was, they supported his skating dreams.
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13. Japanese figure skater Kagiyama Yuma is the son of fellow Japanese figure skater Kagiyama Masakazu, who competed at Albertville 1992 and Lillehammer 1994.
Atsushi Tomura - International S / International Skating Union via Getty Images
Yuma told Olympics.com, "My father is the rock to me. There were times when I don't think I could have made it on my own."
14. German speed skater Victoria Stirnemann is the daughter of fellow German speed skater Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, who has one bronze medal (Lillehammer 1994), four silver medals (Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994, and two from Nagano 1998), and three gold medals (two from Albertville 1992 and one from Nagano 1998).
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Watching her mom coach young skaters inspired Victoria to follow in her footsteps. She told Olympics.com, "I saw her at the track. I was there with my dad to pick her up. I said, 'Why can't I do that?' And then I was unstoppable. ... I'm really lucky because she’s my inspiration."
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15. Canadian speed skater Laura Hall is the daughter of fellow Canadian speed skater Michael Hall, who competed at Lillehammer 1994.
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16. Canadian speed skater Daniel Hall is Michael Hall's son. Daniel is two years younger than Laura. Both siblings are on the long track speed skating team.
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Daniel told CTV News, "I think it was really important to have a good role model in my dad. That was probably the biggest difference that it made." Michael built an outdoor skating rink for his family when his kids were little. Laura, who can remember skating with her little brother at age 4, said, "It has definitely brought us closer together."
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17. Australian biathlete Darcie Morton is the daughter of fellow Australian biathlete Cameron Morton, who competed at Torino 2006.
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Darcie is only the seventh Australian biathlete to compete at the Winter Games — and the first since her dad!
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18. US ice hockey player Matthew Tkachuk is the son of fellow US ice hockey player Keith Tkachuk, who played at four Olympics — Albertville 1992, Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002, and Turin 2006. Keith won silver at Salt Lake City 2002.
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19. And keeping it a family affair, Keith's other son, Brady, is also competing. He's two years younger than Matthew.
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Matthew told Forbes, "It's been a dream of ours to follow in his footsteps. I remember going to the last one in Italy — that was so special. This time around, being able to do it with Brady by my side, with my parents and our family that are going to be there watching, this is going to be the most special one yet, with a chance to bring [the] USA a gold medal back. It's going to be a really exciting time come February."
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Keith said, "I'm so proud of them. They've set their goals — they wanted to be NHL players. They've worked hard. They took two different paths. And obviously, you know, Matthew's had a little more success being down in Florida, being to the Stanley Cup three years in a row. We're a close-knit family — to be able to celebrate that with them, and then seeing them play together at the 4 Nations representing USA was really, really special for my wife and I. And they had a blast. They went to hockey camp back in the day just to be with each other. It's been a whirlwind, the last few years."
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20. Canadian speed skater Laurent Dubreuil is the son of fellow Canadian speed skaters Ariane Loignon (Calgary 1988) and Robert Dubreuil (Albertville 1992).
Laurent's love for the sport started on a rink his dad built in the backyard, but, as a kid, he didn't understand that his parents were elite athletes. When he was around 6, or 7, he dismissed his mom's technical advice because he thought she didn't even know how to skate.
21. Unlike many of his teammates, Canadian speed skater Cédrick Brunet doesn't have family ties to his sport. His father, Michel Brunet, took to the ice in a different way — he competed as an ice dancer at Nagano 1998. His uncle, Canadian freestyle skier Dominick Gauthier, also competed at Nagano 1998. Additionally, Cédrick's aunt, Canadian freestyle skier Jennifer Heil, competed at Salt Lake City 2002, won gold at Turin 2006, and won silver at Vancouver 2010. Traveling to Vancouver to watch her compete inspired him to pursue his own Olympic dreams.
Cédrick told the Ottawa Sports Pages, "It's going to be fun sometimes, it's going to be shit sometimes. Just to know that they are in my corner every time, every time anything happens, it's nice just to have them and understand what you’re getting through."
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22. US snowboarder Stacy Gaskill is the daughter of US para-alpine skier Martha Hill Gaskill, who competed at the 1984 Winter Paralympics and won two silver medals at the 1988 Winter Paralympics. Both events were held in Innsbruck, Austria. During Calgary 1988, Martha skied in exhibition races to bring attention to the Paralympics.
Ahead of her daughter's Olympics debut in 2022, Martha told NPR, "Oh, it's awesome. It is so awesome. I have dreamed about this day since she was born." Stacy said, "It was so special to me to be able to call my mom after [the opening ceremony in Beijing]. ... And she was so excited and, like, was telling me about her opening ceremony when she walked, and, like, she wanted to hear about everything, and, like, getting to share that, like, really unique experience and feeling is amazing and something that me and my mom will cherish forever."
BEN STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images
23. German ice hockey player Lukas Reichel is the son of fellow German ice hockey player Martin Reichel, who competed at Salt Lake City 2002. Additionally, Lukas's uncle, Czech hockey player Robert Reichel, competed at Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002. Martin and Robert played against each other in 2002, marking only the second time in history that brothers have faced off on the ice hockey rink at the Olympics.
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Lukas told the Cloverdale Reporter, "I think it's going to be a lot of fun, and I'm going to try and enjoy every moment. My dad said it was probably the best time in his career."
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24. US ice hockey player Brock Nelson doesn't have Olympic athlete parents, but he's a third-generation Olympian nonetheless. His grandfather, Bill Christian, and his great uncle, Roger Christian, were on the gold medal-winning US team at Squaw Valley 1960. Roger also played at Innsbruck 1964. His other great uncle, Gordon Christian, won silver at Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956. Additionally, Brock's uncle, Dave Christian (Bill's son) won gold at Lake Placid 1980 — aka the famous "Miracle on Ice."
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Brock told NHL.com, "It's unique. I mean, it gives me the chills. For me growing up, I didn't even really know any better; they were just family. It was just grandpa to me. Now obviously growing up and learning more about the game, playing and being involved, learning the history of USA Hockey and seeing what they did, it's all the more special. ... I remember being 10ish and seeing their medals. I still view them as grandpa and Uncle David. It's just a great hockey family, and I'm fortunate to be a part of it and to grow up in that environment."
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25. And finally, Czech skier and snowboarder Ester Ledecká is the granddaughter of Czech ice hockey player Jan Klapáč, who won bronze at Innsbruck 1964 and won silver at Grenoble 1968. On the other side of her family, Ester's dad is the famous Czech singer and musician Janek Ledecký!
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She actually got her start playing hockey, too! However, she picked up skiing at age 4 and later fell in love with snowboarding as well.
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