With the 2022 Olympics over, it’s time to start looking to the future.
The 2026 Winter Games will be held in the northern Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, and the Olympics will be officially titled Milano Cortina.
While it’s impossible to know exactly who will be competing in 2026, we can at least make some educated guesses. There were plenty of young American stars that emerged in Beijing, and many of them will likely return for Milano Cortina.
Here are five Team USA athletes to watch for the 2026 Olympics:
Chloe Kim, snowboarding
The 21-year-old star is already a veteran having competed in 2018 and 2022. In Italy she could triple in the women’s halfpipe with another gold medal. Kim continues to elevate her game every time she enters the halfpipe.
It’s just a matter of how long she wants to keep competing. As long as she decides to make it to the Games, she will likely be the favorite to win halfpipe gold again. Kim will be 25 when the Milano Cortina Olympics take place. If she wins a third gold medal in 2026, she would hold the distinction as the oldest and youngest women’s halfpipe gold medalist.
Erin Jackson, speed skating
Jackson, 29, became an Olympic star in Beijing after winning gold in the women’s 500m speed skating event. She exceeded expectations and proved she was ready for the biggest stage for the moment.
The first black American woman to medal in speed skating, Jackson is expected to return in 2026. She only started speed skating in 2018 before making her Olympic debut in PyeongChang. Now that she has a taste for success, it is hard to see her leaving before defending her gold in Italy.
“Yeah, I don’t think I can get this over with yet,” Jackson said on TODAY after returning home. “I’m just starting to understand things. I’ve only felt good on the ice for a year and a half, so I want at least four (years) more. »
Jordan Stolz, speed skating
At just 17, Stolz won in Beijing without winning a medal. He became the third youngest American to compete in long track speed skating. The Wisconsin native finished 13th in the 500m and 14th in the 1,000m after setting track records in both events at the Olympic trials.
There is no doubt that Stolz, who turns 21 for the 2026 Games, will be America’s next speed skating star. No American has won a medal in the 500m or 1000m since 2006 and 2010, respectively. The United States has been waiting for a skater of Stolz’s caliber for a long time, and he should be here for a long time.
Alysa Liu, figure skating
If you didn’t think there would be a younger athlete than Stolz listed, you were sadly mistaken. Sixteen-year-old Liu is enjoying a similar rise to stardom after a strong Olympic debut in Beijing. She placed seventh overall in the free skate.
Liu will be in the middle of her prime when she turns 20 and travels to Italy in 2026. She will obviously face stiff competition from the three Russian women who came before her – all were 17 or younger in these years. Olympic Games. But with the United States singularly focused on helping Liu, Milano Cortina could be the Games where America returns to the top step of the podium.
Hanna Faulhaber, freestyle skiing
Here’s another American athlete who can’t vote, but performed in Beijing. Faulhaber, 17, finished ninth in the qualifying round of the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe. In the medal races, she improved to sixth place, finishing ahead of all other Americans.
Faulhaber won bronze in the halfpipe at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics. By 2026, she could be a 21-year-old battling for medals in Italy. She finished fourth in the halfpipe at the 2021 World Championships, so an Olympic medal in 2026 is within reach.
Bonus: Breezy Johnson, alpine skiing
Johnson, now 26, competed at the 2018 Games and finished seventh and 14th in the downhill and super-G respectively. She had hoped to complete her resume in Beijing, but an injury just before the Olympics forced her to pull out. But she’s not done chasing her Olympic dreams.
“Although I have always wanted to win an Olympic gold medal, I have many other goals in ski racing,” Johnson wrote in an Instagram post. “Goals that I can work on for the next four years before I hopefully get back to the hill that stole that Olympic dream from me, for another shot at winning that gold medal. 2026 baby.
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