Team USA will send its largest Winter Games’ squad to the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be held across Lombardy and Northeast Italy. After the previous largest squad, with 228 athletes at the 2018 PyeongChang Games, the American team has increased its strength to 232 members this time.
The historic squad will include 98 returning Olympians, 16 athletes who have won multiple Olympic medals, and 33 Olympic medalists. It will also feature 15-year-old freestyle skier Abby Winterberger and 54-year-old Rich Ruohonen. The latter will serve as an alternate on the men’s curling team. Team USA will also have elite athletes, such as Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn. Let’s look at the top 10 athletes among these 232.
Top 10 Team USA Athletes To Compete At The 2026 Winter Olympics
#1 Mikaela Shiffrin
Mikaela Shiifrin will compete in her fourth Olympic Games at the upcoming edition. With the most World Cup victories (108) by any alpine skier, Shiffrin is a promising athlete to win a medal at the Games. She won a gold medal in the slalom event at the Sochi 2014 Games and in the giant slalom event at PyeongChang 2018.
#2 Lindsey Vonn
Even after suffering a nasty crash only one week before the Winter Olympics, Vonn is still being considered as a strong candidate to compete at the Games. Following her return to the sport after a knee replacement surgery, Vonn has been competing exclusively in downhill. She has previously won one gold and two bronze medals.
#3 Chloe Kim
With two gold medals in the Halfpipe event at the Olympic Games, Chloe Kim is viewed as the strongest contestant to elevate her performance and the team’s medal tally. She became the first woman to win two Olympic halfpipe gold medals after clinching them at the 2018 and 2022 editions.
#4 Jessie Diggins
The three-time Olympic medalist Jessie Diggins will compete as a threat to other athletes. After clinching a gold medal in the team sprint at the 2018 edition, Diggins went on to collect a silver medal in the 30km freestyle and a bronze medal in the individual sprint at the 2022 Beijing Games.
#5 Campbell Wright
Campbell Wright will compete in Biahlon, an event in which no USA athlete has claimed a medal to date. Having competed for New Zealand previously, Wright changed his nationality to the US after the 2022-23 season. He bagged a silver medal in the sprint event at the 2025 World Championships.
#6 Jordan Stolz
The young long-track speed skater, Jordan Stolz, will compete as a strong contender in speed skating at the Winter Games. The 21-year-old in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and mass start events. He showed his potential in the nine World Cup races at 500m, from which he secured five wins, two second-place finishes, and one third-place finish. Last year, he only lost once at 1500m and was unbeaten at 1000m.
#7 Nick Baumgartner
Nick Baumgartner will headline the American snowboard cross and parallel giant slalom at the Winter Olympics. He will compete in his fifth Games. He was the oldest U.S. Olympian at the 2022 Beijing Games (aged 40), where he won his first Olympic gold medal in mixed team snowboard cross.
#8 Cody Winters
Cody Winters will represent the USA squad in two events, the snowboard cross and parallel giant slalom. He made his debut at the last Games and became the only American to earn World Cup podium finishes in two disciplines by securing third place in snowboard cross in Cortina and third in parallel slalom in Bad Gastein.
#9 Stacy Gaskill
Stacy Gaskill competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and finished in seventh place overall in women’s snowboard cross. The University of Colorado Boulder student is the daughter of 1988 Paralympics bronze medalist Martha Hill.
#10 Iris Pflum
Iris Pflum will be the only American woman to compete in the parallel giant slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It will also mark her debut at the Games. She was placed third in the PGS team competition at a World Cup event in Simonhohe, Austria.
Read more:
Who Are the Flag Bearers For Team USA at the Winter Olympics 2026?
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