SALT LAKE CITY — Countless stories will inspire the world as the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off Feb. 6-22 in Milan-Cortina, Italy, including several brewed on the Wasatch Front.
Few may be more inspiring than Lindsey Vonn.
The 41-year-old alpine skier who lives and trains out of Park City returned to competitive skiing in November 2024 after initially retiring due to an accumulation of injuries five years previous.
But Vonn, who became the first American woman to win a gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, will make a return to the highest levels of the sport where she was just the sixth woman ever to win World Cup titles in all five alpine disciplines (downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, slalom and super combined).
After a successful knee replacement surgery and help from U.S. ski team physician Dr. Tom Hackett, the part-time investor in Utah's NWSL franchise Utah Royals FC felt so good that a comeback bid felt completely natural. She blazed through the World Cup season, inspiring crowds and competitors alike, winning medals, and launching herself into contention for Olympic gold.
Vonn's Olympic comeback was nearly cut short about a week before the Opening Ceremonies, when a crash tore the ACL in her left knee, along with common bone bruising and meniscal damage.
Speaking at a news conference four days after the crash, Vonn did not visibly limp as she entered and exited in front of the media.
"My knee is not swollen," she said, per the Associated Press, "and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday. And as long as there's a chance, I will try. ... I will do everything in my power to be in the starting gate."
Her intention, she added, "is to race everything."
Vonn is among the most experienced of 82 Olympic athletes with ties to the state of Utah as she heads into her fifth Olympics, a group that also includes Salt Lake City native snowboard cross rider Faye Thelen, speed skaters Brittany Bowe and Emery Lehman, and freeski halfpipe rider Nick Goepper.
Some were born in Utah, like Herriman native and former Gatorade Utah girls track and field athlete of the year Kaysha Love, while others came to the Beehive State for school, including fellow U.S. bobsled athlete Caleb Furnell who ran track and field at Utah Valley from 2019-24.
The list also includes professionals, like Utah Mammoth captain Clayton Keller who will be among those ushering in NHL players' return to the Games for the first time in over a decade.
Keller's Mammoth teammates Karel Vejmelka (Czechia), Olli Maatta (Finland) and JJ Peterka (Germany) will also represent their home countries while also representing the Beehive State.
"These athletes represent the best of what Utah offers the world of Olympic and Paralympic sport," said Utah Sports Commission president and CEO Jeff Robbins in a statement. "Whether training, studying, or growing up here, their journeys reflect the state's Olympic and Paralympic heritage and its ongoing commitment. From Team USA to competitors from around the world, The State of Sport continues to make a significant global impact on winter sports."
Here's the complete list of athletes with Utah ties, courtesy of the Utah Sports Commission.
Team USA athletes with ties to Utah at Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics
Alpine Skiing
- Bryce Bennett; Westminster University
- Mary Bocock; Salt Lake native, Rowmark Ski Academy
- Keely Cashman; University of Utah
- Ryan Cochran-Siegle; Westminster University
- Katie Hensien; Rowmark Ski Academy
- Breezy Johnson; Rowmark Ski Academy
- Sam Morse; Utah resident
- Lindsey Vonn; Utah Royals FC investor, Utah resident
- Jacqueline Wiles; Westminster University, Utah Valley University
- Isabella Wright; Salt Lake native, Snowbird Sports Education Foundation, Utah resident
Bobsleigh
- Caleb Furnell; Utah Valley graduate (track & field 2019-2024), Utah resident
- Kaysha Love; Herriman native
Cross-Country Skiing
- Rosie Brennan; Park City native, Park City Ski & Snowboard
- Novie McCabe; University of Utah ski team (2020-2023)
Freeski Halfpipe
- Alex Ferreira; Westminster University
- Nick Goepper; Westminster University, Utah resident
- Hunter Hess; Salt Lake Community College, Utah resident
- Birk Irving; University of Utah
Freeski Slopestyle & Big Air
- Mac Forehand; Utah resident
- Alex Hall; Winter Sports School; Park City Ski & Snowboard, University of Utah, Utah resident
- Marin Hamill; Park City native and resident, Winter Sports School, Park City Ski & Snowboard, University of Utah
- Rell Harwood; Park City native, Winter Sports School, Park City Ski & Snowboard, University of Utah, Utah resident
- Grace Henderson; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Troy Podmilsak; Park City native and resident, Park City Ski & Snowboard
- Konnor Ralph; Salt Lake Community College, Utah resident
Freestyle Aerials
- Connor Curran; Park City Ski & Snowboard, Utah Valley University, Utah resident
- Quinn Dehlinger; Salt Lake Community College, Utah resident
- Kyra Dossa; Park City Ski & Snowboard, University of Utah, Utah resident
- Derek Krueger; Park City Ski & Snowboard, University of Utah, Utah resident
- Kaila Kuhn; Park City Ski & Snowboard, University of Utah, Utah resident
- Chris Lillis; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Tasia Tanner; Salt Lake native, Rowmark Ski Academy, Winter Sports School, Park City Ski & Snowboard, University of Utah, Utah resident
- Winter Vinecki; Park City Ski & Snowboard, University of Utah, Utah resident
Freestyle Moguls
- Olivia Giaccio; Utah resident
- Tess Johnson; Utah resident
- Jaelin Kauf; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Charlie Mickel; Wasatch Freestyle, University of Utah, Utah resident
- Nick Page; Park City native and resident, Winter Sports School, Wasatch Freestyle
- Landon Wendler; Wasatch Freestyle, Utah resident
Hockey
- Clayton Keller; Utah Mammoth, Utah resident
Luge
- Ashley Farquharson; Park City native and resident, Wasatch Luge Club
- Matt Greiner; Wasatch Luge Club, Utah resident
Nordic Combined
- Ben Loomis; Winter Sports School, Park City Ski & Snowboard, Utah National Guard, Utah resident
Short Track Speed Skating
- Clayton DeClemente; Utah resident
- Andrew Heo; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Brandon Kim; Utah resident
- Eunice Lee; Utah resident
- Julie Letai; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Kamryn Lute; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Kristen Santos-Griswold; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Corinne Stoddard; Utah resident
Ski Jumping
- Annika Belshaw; University of Utah
- Kevin Bickner; Utah resident
- Josie Johnson; Park City native and resident, Winter Sports School, Park City Ski & Snowboard
- Paige Jones; Park City native, Park City Ski & Snowboard
Snowboard Cross
- Stacy Gaskill; Utah resident
- Hanna Percy; Utah resident
- Brianna Schnorrbusch; University of Utah
- Faye Thelen; Salt Lake native, Westminster University, Utah resident
Snowboard Slopestyle
- Sean FitzSimons; University of Utah
Speed Skating
- Giorgia Birkeland; Salt Lake Community College, Utah resident
- Brittany Bowe; Utah resident
- Ethan Cepuran; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Casey Dawson; Park City native, Park City Speed Skating Club, University of Utah, Utah resident
- Erin Jackson; Salt Lake Community College, Utah resident
- Emery Lehman; Utah resident
- Mia Manganello; Utah resident
- Conor McDermott-Mostowy; Utah resident
- Cooper McLeod; Salt Lake Community College, Utah resident
- Greta Myers; University of Utah, Utah resident
- Zach Stoppelmoor; Utah resident
- Sarah Warren; Utah resident
International athletes with ties to Utah at Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics
Australia
- Madison Hoffman, Alpine Skiing; Rowmark Ski Academy, University of Utah ski team (2020-24)
Austria
- Avital Carroll, Freestyle Moguls; Wasatch Freestyle, Utah resident
Czechia
- Karel Vejmelka, Hockey; Utah Mammoth, Utah resident
Finland
- Olli Määttä, Hockey; Utah Mammoth, Utah resident
Germany
- JJ Peterka, Hockey; Utah Mammoth, Utah resident
Great Britain
- Zoe Atkin, Freeski Halfpipe; Winter Sports School, Park City Ski & Snowboard, Wasatch Freestyle
- Joe Davies, Cross-Country Skiing; University of Utah Ski Team (2023-2025)
Phillippines
- Tallulah Proulx, Alpine Skiing; Winter Sports School, Park City Ski & Snowboard, Utah resident
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
- Winston Tang, Alpine Skiing; Park City Ski & Snowboard, Utah resident
Saudi Arabia
- Fayik Abdi, Alpine Skiing; University of Utah
