Here are the 13 Eagle County athletes who will represent the U.S. at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games
Robert F. Bukaty/AP photo
U.S. Ski & Snowboard named 97 athletes to its 2026 Olympic roster in a press release on Thursday morning. Thirteen have ties to Eagle County and/or Ski & Snowboard Club Vail.
“Throughout this season, we’ve seen quite remarkable results from our athletes across all 10 of our sports and I know this is one of the strongest teams we have sent to the Games,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt stated in the release.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games will take place Feb. 6-22 at 25 venues across four distinct regions: Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme. Men’s Alpine skiing events will take place in Bormio while women’s events will be based in Cortina. Val di Fiemme will host cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined and Livigno will serve up freestyle, freeski and snowboard events.
Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn and River Radamus are the three most legitimate local medal threats on the Alpine ski roster. Fellow SSCV alumni Kyle Negomir, who has been the men’s top finisher at multiple World Cups speed races this year, also qualified for his first Olympic squad.
“This is a deep, experienced and incredibly motivated alpine team that has earned its place on the Olympic stage,” stated Anouk Patty, chief of sport and Alpine ski team program lead. “From Olympic champions and world championships medalists to athletes making their Olympic debut, every skier on this roster has proven they can perform under pressure.”
Support Local Journalism
Tess Johnson and Liz Lemley lead one of the deepest moguls squads in history. They’ll join defending overall, moguls and dual moguls crystal globe winner Jaelin Kauf — who was also born in Vail. The team’s fourth member, Olivia Giaccio, also spent time at SSCV before moving to Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Meanwhile, Dylan Walczyk — who made the 2022 Olympics as an independent athlete — qualified for the men’s team at the age of 32.
“We have the best freestyle team in the world, and we are bringing an exceptionally talented group of athletes to the Olympics,” stated Matt Gnoza, the U.S. freestyle ski team program director. “Each athlete on this team has different strengths, and I know that they make each other better every day. Between the Olympic veterans and athletes going to the Games for the first time, every athlete has the capability to do great things in February.”
Vail’s presence on the snowboarding roster is strong, particularly in park and pipe. Two-time world championship bronze medalist Ollie Martin will team up with Silverthorne’s Red Gerard on the men’s side while Lily Dhawornvej and SSCV teammate Hahna Norman will make their Olympic debuts on the women’s side. Meanwhile, veteran Faye Thelen is making her fifth Olympic start in snowboard cross and Eagle’s Jake Pates qualified for his second Games after making the team in 2018.
“In many ways, making this team is even harder than the Olympics themselves. The depth of our field is incredible and selection truly came down to the wire. These athletes pushed each other all season and every spot was earned,” snowboard program director Rick Bower stated. “From seasoned veterans making their fifth Olympic team all the way to our youngest athlete at 16-years-old, the talent on this team is immense and we’re thrilled to head into the Games with this snowboard squad.”
According to the release, “athletes were selected to Team USA based on pre-determined Olympic Winter Games selection criteria by U.S. Ski & Snowboard and will be officially announced to Team USA on Jan. 26, 2026.”
The full U.S. Ski & Snowboard roster can be found at usskiandsnowboard.org.
Athletes with ties to Eagle County and/or Ski & Snowboard Club Vail
name (residence, club, past Olympics)
*denotes first-time Olympian
Alpine
- Paula Moltzan (Prior Lake, MN, SSCV, 2022)
- Mikaela Shiffrin (Edwards; SSCV, 2014, 2018, 2022)
- Lindsey Vonn (Vail; SSCV, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2018)
- *Kyle Negomir (Littleton, SSCV)
- River Radamus (Edwards, SSCV, 2022)
Moguls
- Tess Johnson (Vail, SSCV, 2018)
- *Liz Lemley (Vail, SSCV)
- Dylan Walczyk (Rochester, NY, SSCV, 2022)
Snowboard halfpipe
- Jake Pates (Eagle, CO, Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, 2018)
Snowboard slopestyle
- *Lily Dhawornvej (Frisco, SSCV)
- *Hahna Norman (Truckee, CA, SSCV)
- *Ollie Martin (Wolcott, SSCV)
Snowboard Cross
- Faye Thelen (Salt Lake City, UT, SSCV, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022)
This story will be updated throughout the day.
