Colorado’s Olympic Pipeline Is Alive and Well — Look Who’s Heading to Italy

Colorado will once again have a major presence on the world stage as the 2026 Winter Olympics get underway in Italy. The Milan–Cortina Games open Friday and will run for just over two weeks, featuring more than a hundred medal events across skiing, skating, hockey, snowboarding, and other winter sports.

Team USA is sending more than 200 athletes, and Colorado leads the nation with the highest number of hometown competitors. That’s no surprise, considering the state’s deep ties to winter sports, world-class training facilities, and mountain towns that produce elite skiers and riders year after year.

The opening ceremony will be one of the most unique in Olympic history, taking place across multiple venues in northern Italy. Once competition begins, several familiar Colorado names will be among the favorites, including Olympic legends and rising stars competing in alpine skiing, freestyle events, snowboarding, and ice sports.

Here from Fox31 are the athletes representing Team USA who have Colorado hometowns:

Mikaela Shiffrin — Alpine Skiing — Edwards
Annika Belshaw — Ski Jumping — Steamboat Springs
Chase Blackwell — Snowboarding — Longmont
Jake Canter — Snowboarding — Silverthorne
Jason Colby — Ski Jumping — Steamboat Springs
Lily Dhawornvej — Snowboarding — Copper Mountain
Alex Ferreira — Freestyle Skiing — Aspen
Stacy Gaskill — Snowboarding — Golden
Red Gerard — Snowboarding — Silverthorne
Birk Irving — Freestyle Skiing — Winter Park
Svea Irving — Freestyle Skiing — Winter Park
Riley Jacobs — Freestyle Skiing — Oak Creek
Tess Johnson — Freestyle Skiing — Vail
Lauren Jortberg — Cross-Country Skiing — Boulder
Ellie Kam — Figure Skating — Colorado Springs
Elizabeth Lemley — Freestyle Skiing — Vail
Niklas Malacinski — Nordic Combined — Steamboat Springs
Oliver Martin — Snowboarding — Vail
Charlie Mickel — Freestyle Skiing — Durango
Kyle Negomir — Alpine Skiing — Littleton
Danny O’Shea — Figure Skating — Colorado Springs
Jake Pates — Snowboarding — Eagle
Hunter Powell — Bobsled — Fort Collins
River Radamus — Alpine Skiing — Edwards
Madeline Schaffrick — Snowboarding — Steamboat Springs
Jaccob Slavin — Ice Hockey — Erie
Cam Smith — Ski Mountaineering — Crested Butte
Hailey Swirbul — Cross-Country Skiing — El Jebel
Lindsey Vonn — Alpine Skiing — Vail
Landon Wendler — Freestyle Skiing — Steamboat Springs
Cody Winters — Snowboarding — Steamboat Springs

With so many athletes tied to the state, Colorado fans will have plenty of reasons to tune in. From mountain towns to the Front Range, the 2026 Winter Olympics are shaping up to feel a little closer to home.