Team USA has officially unveiled its complete 232-athlete roster for the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, with the announcement made on Monday. The squad is headlined by alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn, who will be competing in her remarkable fifth Winter Games.
Veteran Olympians Lead the Charge
Overall, there are seven athletes who have achieved the incredible milestone of making five Olympic appearances. Alongside Vonn, the distinguished group includes bobsledders Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor, hockey player Hilary Knight, figure skater Evan Bates, and snowboarders Faye Thelen and Nick Baumgartner.
Meyers Taylor leads a substantial contingent of 33 returning Olympic medalists. She has an impressive collection of three silver medals and two bronze. Meanwhile, Humphries boasts an outstanding record of three gold medals. Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and snowboarder Chloe Kim have each secured two gold medals in their previous Olympic campaigns.
Shiffrin in Imperious Form
Mikaela Shiffrin is arguably the most prominent name heading to Italy, and she arrives in dominant form. She recently locked up the slalom season title, becoming the first skier in the six-decade history of the World Cup to achieve nine season titles in a single discipline.
However, the American star might soon have to share this record. Teammate Lindsey Vonn has eight downhill titles and currently holds a commanding lead in those standings during her second season back from her initial retirement in 2019.
Shiffrin demonstrated her supremacy in the final slalom before the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday. She won both runs decisively, beating runner-up Camille Rast, the world champion from Switzerland, by 1.67 seconds. The rest of the field, led by Germany's Emma Aicher, trailed by more than two seconds. This victory came just a day after Shiffrin earned her first giant slalom podium finish in two years.
Diverse and Experienced Squad
The Team USA roster showcases a broad range of experience and youth. It consists of 117 men and 115 women, with ages spanning from 15 to 54. The youngest athlete representing Team USA is the aptly-named freeskier Abby Winterberger, while the oldest is curler Rich Ruohonen.
Logistics and Broadcasting
The opening ceremony is scheduled for February 6 in Milan, although some competitions will begin as early as February 4. For viewers in the United States, the games will be broadcast exclusively on NBC.
These Winter Olympics are set to be the most geographically spread-out in history. Milan will serve as the primary hub for hockey, figure skating, and speedskating events. Meanwhile, Cortina and several other mountain clusters will host skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, sliding sports, and the new Olympic sport of ski mountaineering.
