The First Ever Black Woman On The USA Hockey Team, And 22 Other American Olympians To Root For At This Year's Winter Games

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The 25th Winter Olympics are somehow this year and will be hosted in Milano-Cortina, kicking off on Friday, February 6th, with a 3-hour opening ceremony.

In honor of that, let's look at all of the badass Americans participating in this year's games! Some you may already know about, and others may be new to you.

1. Lindsey Vonn: American skier, 3-time Olympic medalist, and 4-time World Cup Champion, still plans on competing following a crash where she ruptured her ACL on January 30th during a World Cup race in Switzerland.

2. Jessie Diggins: The best American cross-country skier of all time, who already has 3 Olympic medals (gold, silver, and bronze), is back for her final run.

3. Chloe Kim: American snowboarder and 2-time Olympic gold medalist who became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics at 17 years old.

4. Kaysha Love: Former sprinter-turned-bobsledder is making her 2nd Olympic appearance after becoming the 2025 Monobob World Champion.

5. Ilia Malinin (a.k.a. the Quad God): Making his first Olympic appearance, this 2-time world champion is only 21 years old, and the first ever to land 7 quadruple jumps in a single program!

6. Maxim Naumov: He's skating his first Olympic games this year after losing both of his parents (who were also his coaches) in last year's DC plane crash.

7. Amber Glenn: A 3-time U.S. champion figure skater who has her sights set on becoming the first U.S. woman to medal in figure skating since 2006.

8. Alysa Liu: This will be her Olympic comeback after retiring at 16 (YES, 16). She was previously the youngest U.S. women's champion at 13, the first U.S. woman to land 3 triple axels, and the first U.S. woman to land a quadruple jump in a competition.

9. Isabeau Levito: Making her Olympics debut, this 2-time U.S. Championships medalist and 18-year-old has been skating since she was 3!

10. Erin Jackson: Speed skating star and the first Black woman to ever win an individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics is returning for her 3rd Olympics to defend her medal.

11. Madison Chock and Evan Bates: They're 3-time world champions, Olympic gold medalists in the team event, and one of the most decorated power couples on the ice (they're actually married). This will be their last Olympics.

12. Summer Britcher: This 3-time Olympian with the most World Cup wins in USA Luge history is returning for her 4th Olympics.

13. Ryan Cochran-Siegle: From the famous family of Alpine skiers that produced 6 Olympians, this will be his 3rd Olympics (he won a silver medal in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing).

14. Laila Edwards: This 2-time NCSS National Champion and 2025 World Championship gold medalist has already made history as the first Black woman to play for the U.S. Women's National Ice Hockey Team. Now she's also the first Black woman to play for the U.S. Olympic hockey team!

15. Chevonne Chelsea Forgan and Sophia Kirkby: These luge partners used to compete against each other before they became one of the world's best doubles team and won 7 World Cup medals during the 2024-25 season.

16. Connor Hellebuyck: Positioned to be the next U.S. Olympic golden goalie, he's the first American goalie to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.

17. Jordan Stolz: This American long track speed skater is returning for his 2nd Olympics after amazing feats like being the first male skater to win 3 individual gold metals at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championship in 2023, which he repeated again in 2024.

18. Hilary Knight: 4-time Olympic hockey medalist and 10-time World Championship gold medalist will be the first U.S. hockey player to ever compete in five Olympic Winter Games! She's also the team captain.

19. Brady and Matthew Tkachuk: These brothers are pushing their family hockey legacy forward with their debut at the 2026 Olympics for the U.S. Olympic hockey team.

20. Jack and Quinn Hughes: Another set of hockey brothers from a hockey family are teaming up to bring home a gold for the 2026 U.S. Olympic hockey team.

21. Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor: After winning gold and silver at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, these U.S. bobsledders are contenders for the gold medal once again.

22. Mystique Ro: 2024 World Cup Champion and 2025 Pan American Championship gold medalist is making her Olympic debut for Team USA Skeleton.

23. Campbell Wright: After this New Zealand-American biathlon athlete and dual citizen competed for New Zealand at the 2022 Games in Beijing, he'll be playing on our team this time around!

This isn't an exhaustive list. So, tell us, who did we miss that you're excited to watch this year? Let us know in the comments below.

And if you want to follow more of our Olympics coverage, head here!

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