Lindsey Vonn, Chloe Kim Among American Athletes to Watch at Winter Olympics

by Julian Spivey

Lindsey Vonn (Alpine Skier)
Lindsey Vonn qualified for her fifth and final Winter Olympics after returning from multiple retirements that spanned nearly five years and a successful partial knee replacement in 2024. The 41-year-old alpine skier, who won the gold medal in the Downhill event at the 2010 Vancouver Games and two bronze medals (2010 in Super-G and 2018 in Downhill), is targeting the Downhill and Super-G events in Italy. The Downhill event is scheduled for Sunday, February 8 and the Super-G event is scheduled for Thursday, February 12. It’s possible Vonn could also compete in the team combined event, which means she might compete with the next athlete on this list. If she does, that event will be on Tuesday, February 10.

*Lindsey Vonn injured herself in a pre-Olympic training session. Among her injuries is a ruptured ACL in her left knee. She is still going to attempt her Olympic events.  

Mikaela Shiffrin (Alpine Skier)
Mikaela Shiffrin has had a hit-and-miss relationship with the Winter Olympics. Her highlights include becoming the youngest gold medalist in the Slalom event at 18 years old during the 2014 Sochi Games. She also took gold in the Giant Slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. One of the biggest stories of the 2022 Beijing Games was her failure to finish in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom events. The 30-year-old looks to rebound at Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Slalom (Wednesday, February 18) and Giant Slalom (Sunday, February 15) and could potentially team up with Lindsey Vonn in the team combined event.  

Chloe Kim (Snowboarder)
There was perhaps no bigger American Winter Olympics star at the 2022 Beijing Games than snowboarder Chloe Kim, who won a gold medal in the snowboarding halfpipe event to defend the gold she won at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. The 25-year-old comes to Italy looking to make it a three-peat in the event, though she is recovering from a shoulder dislocation in early January. The women’s halfpipe event will be on Thursday, February 12.

Ilia Malinin (Figure Skater)
American figure skater Ilia Malinin, known as the “Quad God” for being the only person to have ever landed a fully rotated quadruple axel in competition (once thought impossible), is the favorite to win the gold medal in men’s figure skating. Malinin, who has won the last four U.S. National Championships, will compete in his first Winter Olympics in Italy. Malinin is looking to make it two Winter Games in a row for an American to win the gold, following Nathan Chen’s victory in Beijing. It would be the first time Americans have won gold in back-to-back games since Scott Hamilton (1984 Sarajevo) and Brian Boitano (1988 Calgary).  

Amber Glenn & Alysa Liu (Figure Skater)
The Americans have two women's figure skaters with a chance of winning gold in Italy: Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu. Glenn is the first skater to win three consecutive U.S. national titles in more than 20 years, at will become the first openly queer figure skater in U.S. team history. At 26, Glenn is also the oldest American figure skater to qualify for the Olympics in nearly 100 years. Alysa Liu was the 2025 World Champion and has finished second in the last two U.S. Championships to Glenn. The 20-year-old makes her Olympic debut in Italy, and the competition between Glenn and Liu should be one of the most fun intra-American duels of the Games.

Erin Jackson (Speedskater)
Speedskater Erin Jackson made Team USA history at the 2022 Beijing Games when she became the first African American woman to win a gold medal in an individual Winter Olympic event when she won the 500-meter speedskating event. Jackson looks to defend her title in Italy on Sunday, February 15. She will also compete in the 1000-meter event on Monday, February 9.

Kaillie Humphries (Bobsledder)
Kaillie Humphries, one of the greatest women’s bobsledders in Winter Olympics history, returns for her fifth Winter Games. The 41-year-old has won three gold medals, two in the two-woman race at the 2010 Vancouver Games and 2014 Sochi Games, while representing her home country of Canada, and the first-ever monobob event at the 2022 Beijing Games, representing Team USA. Humphries aims to defend her monobob gold at Cortina d’Ampezzo (Monday, February 16) and will join Jasmine Jones in the two-woman event (Saturday, February 21).

Jessie Diggins (Cross-Country Skier)
The 2026 Winter Games will be the fourth for American Cross-Country Skier Jessie Diggins, who won a gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in the team sprint event, a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Games in the 30 km mass start event and a bronze medal in Beijing in the sprint. Diggins, who has announced this will be her final Olympics, is expected to compete in all six women’s cross-country skiing events in Italy and is a potential medal contender in the 10 km freestyle (Thursday, February 12) and skiathlon (Saturday, February 7).

Connor Hellebuyck & Auston Matthews (Hockey)
The United States men’s hockey team may not be the favorites to take gold at the 2026 Games, but it does feature a talented squad filled with National Hockey League (NHL) stars, including the league’s most recent M.V.P. in Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, who was the league’s M.V.P. in 2022. Hellebuyck and Matthews look to lead Team USA to its first ice hockey gold medal since the 1980 Miracle on Ice squad. Team USA hasn’t medaled since winning silver at the 2010 Vancouver Games. The men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament begins on Wednesday, February 11, and the gold medal game will take place on Sunday, February 22.

Hilary Knight (Hockey)
The U.S. women’s hockey team has had more success than its male counterparts since the women’s game was added to the Winter Olympics in 1998. Team USA has taken gold twice, most recently at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, and has medaled in all seven games. Hilary Knight was on that 2018 gold-medal-winning team and, at age 36, returns to the Olympics for her fifth time, her first as captain. Knight has 12 goals in 22 career Olympic games and is looking to add a second gold medal to go along with her three silver medals. The women’s Olympic ice hockey tournament begins Thursday, February 5, and the gold medal game will take place on Thursday, February 19.