25 US Winter Olympics Athletes Who Have Proven Themselves Already

25 US Winter Olympics Athletes Who Have Proven Themselves Already

We’re nearly halfway through the 2022 Winter Olympic games and there are already plenty of US Winter Olympics athletes that have represented their country well on the world’s biggest stage. With 10 total medals as of Friday morning, the United States has been impressive.

The Winter Olympics officially began on February 4th, 2022 with the opening ceremony, but several events began two days prior. The games are being held in Beijing, China, where 2,871 Olympic athletes from 91 different nations will gather to display their talent, skill, and grit. 

With 109 events across 15 disciplines in seven sports, the 2022 Winter Olympics will have more than 300 medals up for grabs – including over 100 gold medals. As of Friday morning, nearly half of those medals have already been awarded and the US is among the leaders.

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Which US Winter Olympics Athletes Have Impressed Us So Far?

25 US Winter Olympics Athletes Who Have Proven Themselves Already
Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock

Entering the games, the US Winter Olympics roster included 224 athletes – 73 in skiing, eight in biathlon, 12 in bobsled, 11 in curling, 16 in figure skating, 48 in hockey, eight in luge, seven in short-track speed skating, three in skeleton, 26 in snowboarding, and 12 in speed skating. 

As of Friday evening, the US Winter Olympics squad has won 11 total medals – five gold medals, five silver medals, and one bronze medal. They’re currently tied for fifth place in total medals behind Canada, Russian Olympic Committee, Austria, and Norway. 

The US Winter Olympics squad has won medals in men’s single skating, mixed team aerials, women’s halfpipe, women’s snowboard cross, mixed snowboard cross, men’s Super-G, figure skating team event, men’s freeski big air, women’s moguls, women’s slopestyle, and women’s sprint free. 

Let’s take a look at 25 US Winter Olympics athletes that have already impressed us with their performance in this year’s games.

25. John Shuster

John Shuster represents Team USA in men’s curling. He’s a five-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medalist, winning a bronze medal in 2006 and gold medal in 2019. His team consists of Chris Plys, Matt Hamilton, and John Landsteiner. Though round robin games are ongoing and medals haven’t been awarded, Shuster and Team USA are currently 2-1 (second place).

24. Tabitha Peterson

Speaking of curling, Tabitha Peterson represents Team USA in women’s curling. She’s a two-time Olympian and is still searching for her first Olympic medal. Her team consists of Nina Roth, Becca Hamilton, Tara Peterson, and Aileen Geving. Round robin games are ongoing, but the United States are currently 3-0 and tied with Switzerland for the best record thus far. 

23. Jason Brown

Jason Brown represents Team USA in figure skating. He’s a two-time Olympian that previously won a bronze medal in the team event in 2014 (he also placed ninth in the individual event. After missing out on the 2018 Olympics, Brown returned in 2022 in the individual event. While he didn’t have a podium finish, he finished in sixth place and looked better than ever.  

22. Hilary Knight

Hilary Knight represents Team USA in women’s hockey. She’s a four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist, winning a gold medal in 2018 and silver medals in 2010 and 2014. She currently has 4 goals, 3 assists, and 7 points (leads Team USA). They’re currently 1-0 after beating Czech Republic 4-1 in the quarterfinals. They’ll likely have to beat Canada for a gold. 

21. Sean Farrell

Sean Farrell represents Team USA in men’s hockey. He’s making his Olympic debut and did so in a major way in Team USA’s 8-0 win over China on Thursday. He scored a hat trick in the game and also dished two assists, marking a five-point game to kick things off in the preliminary round. He leads the team in both points and assists as they continue their run at a gold medal.

20. Shaun White

Shaun White represents Team USA in snowboarding. He’s a five-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist, having won a gold medal in 2006, 2010, and 2018. Although he didn’t earn a medal in what was his final run before retirement, White did come in fourth place in the halfpipe. He will retire as the most decorated snowboarder of all-time during his 20-year career. 

19. Jessie Diggins

Jessie Diggins represents Team USA in cross-country skiing. She’s a three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medalist, winning a gold medal in 2018 (team sprint freestyle) and most recently a bronze medal in 2022 (sprint freestyle). She also finished in eighth place in the 10km classic and seventh place in the 7.5km/7.5km skiathlon. She has two more medal events to go.

18. Jaelin Kauf

Jaelin Kauf represents Team USA in freestyle skiing. She’s a two-time Olympian and earned her first Olympic medal this year, winning silver in the women’s freestyle skiing moguls event. She was spectacular, posting scores of 79.32 in her first run, 80.12 in her second run, and 80.28 in her final run. It was an impressive run after placing seventh in the 2018 Winter Olympics. 

17. Ryan Cochran-Siegle

Ryan Cochran-Siegle represents Team USA in alpine skiing. He’s a two-time Olympian and earned his first Olympic medal this year, winning a silver medal in the Super-G event with a time of 1:19.94 – the winning time was 1:19.98, meaning Cochran-Siegle was five hundredths of a second away from a gold medal. He also placed 14th in the downhill event and has more to go.

16. Brandon Frazier

Brandon Frazier represents Team USA in figure skating pairs. He made his Olympic debut this year in the team event and helped Team USA win a silver medal. Alongside his partner, Alexa Knierim, he finished with the third-best score in the pairs short program (75.00 score) and the fifth-best score in the pairs free skate (128.97 score). Not bad for his first Olympic appearance.

15. Alexa Knierim

Alexa Knierim represents Team USA in figure skating pairs and is Brandon Frazier’s partner on the ice. She’s a two-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medalist, having won a bronze medal in 2018 (team event) and improving on that in 2022 with a silver medal (team event). She previously skated with her husband, Chris Knierim, during the 2018 Winter Olympics. 

14. Karen Chen

Karen Chen represents Team USA in women’s figure skating. She’s a two-time Olympian and recently won her first Olympic medal with a silver medal in the team event. She finished with the fifth-best score in the women’s short program (65.20) and the fourth-best score in the women’s free skate (131.52). She’ll have a shot at another medal during the women’s singles event. 

13. Vincent Zhou

Vincent Zhou represents Team USA in men’s figure skating. He’s a two-time Olympian and recently won his first Olympic medal with a silver medal in the team event. While he didn’t compete in the men’s short program, he finished with the third-best score (171.44) in the men’s free skate. Unfortunately, he didn’t compete in the singles event after testing positive for COVID-19.

12. Evan Bates

Evan Bates represents Team USA in figure skating ice dance. He’s a four-time Olympian and recently won his first Olympic medal with a silver medal in the team event. He skates alongside Madison Chock and the two finished with the top score in the ice dance free skate (129.07) 00 just 0.90 points ahead of the Russian Olympic Committee. They didn’t compete in the ice dance short program.

11. Madison Chock

Madison Chock represents Team USA in figure skating ice dance. She’s a three-time Olympian and recently won her first Olympic medal with a silver medal in the team event. She had an impressive run in the ice dance free skate with ice partner Evan Bates. The two will have an opportunity at another medal during the ice dance finals, which start on February 18th. 

10. Zachary Donohue

Zachary Donohue represents Team USA in figure skating ice dance with his ice partner Madison Hubbell. He’s a two-time Olympian and recently won his first Olympic medal with a silver medal in the team event. Him and Hubbell finished with the best score (86.56) in the ice dance short program (team event), beating the Russian Olympic Committee by 1.51 points.

9. Madison Hubbell

Madison Hubbell represents Team USA in figure skating ice dance with her ice partner Zachary Donohue. She’s a two-time Olympian and recently won her first Olympic medal with a silver medal in the team event. Her and Donohue were a large reason why the US secured second place and the two will have a chance to earn another medal in the ice dance finals. 

8. Julia Marino

Julia Marino represents Team USA in women’s slopestyle snowboarding. She’s a two-time Olympian and surprised the world with her first Olympic medal this year. She scored a 71.78 (sixth-best) in the qualifying round, but followed that up with an impressive 87.68 in the finals to take home a silver medal. She was 5.20 points ahead of gold medalist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott.

7. Colby Stevenson

Colby Stevenson represents Team USA in freestyle skiing. He’s making his Olympic debut this year and already has a silver medal to his name with one more event to go on February 14th. He scored a 174.25 in the qualifying round of the freeski big air event, which was good for fifth place. He did even better in the finals with a score of 183.00, earning him a silver medal. 

6. Justin Schoenefeld

Justin Schoenefeld represents Team USA in freestyle skiing. He’s making his Olympic debut this year and already has a gold medal to his name in the mixed aerials event (a new event this year) alongside teammates Ashley Caldwell (girlfriend) and Chris Lillis. Schoenefeld scored an impressive 124.43 in the first run and a 114.48 in the second run. He was Team USA’s most consistent skier in the event. 

5. Ashley Caldwell

Ashley Caldwell represents Team USA in freestyle skiing. She’s a four-time Olympian and won her first Olympic medal with Schoenefeld and Lillis in the inaugural mixed aerials event. She scored a 104.31 in her first run and a 88.86 in her second run. Although she was the team’s worst performer, her teammates lifted her up with incredible second runs – that’s what teammates are for, right?

4. Chris Lillis

Chris Lillis represents Team USA in freestyle skiing. He’s making his Olympic debut this year and won his first Olympic medal alongside Caldwell and Schoenefeld in the mixed aerials event. Lillis scored a 101.81 in his first run, but helped catapult the US to the gold medal with a remarkable 135.00 in his second run. It was the highest score among all mixed aerial skiers. 

3. Lindsey Jacobellis

Lindsey Jacobellis represents Team USA in women’s snowboard cross. She’s a five-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist, having won a silver medal in 2006 and two gold medals in 2022. Her first gold medal this year came in the women’s snowboard cross and her second came in the mixed snowboard cross alongside American skier Nick Baumgartner

2. Chloe Kim

Chloe Kim represents Team USA in women’s snowboarding. She’s a two-time Olympian and two-time Olympic gold medalist, having won back-to-back gold medals in the women’s halfpipe event. She had the best score (87.75) after the qualifying round and followed that up with an impressive 94.00 in her first run in the finals – which was 3.75 points more than second place. 

1. Nathan Chen

Nathan Chen represents Team USA in figure skating. He’s a two-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist, having won a bronze medal (team event) in 2018, a silver medal (team event) in 2022, and a gold medal (men’s singles) in 2022. He was flawless every single time he stepped on the ice and even put up a world record in the men’s short program (113.97). 

There’s Plenty of US Winter Olympics Left to Watch

With the 2022 Winter Olympics nearing the halfway mark, there’s still plenty of US Winter Olympics athletes that have yet to perform. For example, there’s still a lot of hope for the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams – as well as the curling teams – to finish atop the podium.

At the same time, we’ve already seen so much from Team USA, evidenced by all the amazing US Winter Olympics athletes listed above. And that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the US Winter Olympics athletes that performed well, but came up short of a podium finish.

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Despite the 13-hour time difference between Beijing and the East Coast of the United States, you can still catch all your favorite US Winter Olympics athletes perform on television. It might be hard to catch it live, but all the major networks are doing their best to keep us all updated.

RANKED: Winter Olympic Sports

With the 2022 Winter Olympics just a few weeks away, it’s almost time to cheer on all the amazing athletes in your favorite winter Olympic sports. It’s something that only happens once every four years and is celebrated by countries all over the world, so yeah, it’s kind of a big deal!

There was quite a bit of speculation about whether or not this year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing would happen, but here we are just a few weeks from the opening ceremony. The games are set to begin on February 4, 2022 and run through February 20, 2022 in Beijing, China. 

It’ll be the first time in Olympic history that a city has hosted both the Winter and Summer Olympics. Despite several countries taking part in a diplomatic boycott of the games, including the United States, athletes from those countries are still allowed to participate for a Gold Medal. 

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Ranking the 2022 Winter Olympic Sports

RANKED: Winter Olympic Sports
kovop58 / Shutterstock

The 2022 Winter Olympics will feature a record 109 events across 15 disciplines in seven main winter Olympic sports – including biathlon, bobsledding, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating, and skiing. For reference, the 2018 Winter Olympics had 102 events – an increase of seven events.

The new winter Olympic sports that were added this year include men’s big air freestyle, women’s big air freestyle, women’s monobob, mixed team freestyle skiing aerials, mixed team ski jumping, mixed team snowboard cross, and mixed relay short track speed skating. 

Countries that won’t participate in this year’s Winter Olympics, despite participating in 2018, include Bermuda, Kenya, North Korea, Tonga, Singapore, Togo, and South Africa. Countries that will participate include Peru, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, American Samoa, and Trinidad and Tobago. 

Without further ado, let’s take a look at how we rank the 2022 Winter Olympic sports and what to expect from each discipline in Beijing. 

15. Cross-Country Skiing

Cross-country skiing is set to begin on February 5, 2022 and will end on February 20, 2022. It has been featured in the Winter Olympics since 1924 and has continued to grow ever since. Although it originally included just two events, there will be a total of 12 events in 2022. 

Throughout the history of the Winter Olympics, Norway has been the best country with 47 gold medals and 121 total medals. Sweden, the USSR, and Finland have also seen a lot of success. This year, you’ll want to keep an eye on Sweden as they have put together a dominant team. 

14. Figure Skating

Figure skating is set to begin on February 4, 2022 and will end on February 20, 2022. It has been featured in the Winter Olympics since 1924, but was originally a part of the Summer Olympics back in 1908. There will be a total of five events at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. 

Historically, the United States has dominated the sport with 15 gold medals and 51 total medals. Russia, the USSR, Austria, and Canada have also had success in the sport. This year, you’ll want to keep an eye on Hanyu Yuzuru (Japan), Nathan Chen (USA), and Uno Shoma (Japan). 

13. Biathlon

The biathlon event is set to begin on February 5, 2022 and will end on February 19, 2022. It has been featured in the Winter Olympics since 1960 with just one event, but has grown to include 11 events since 2014. Germany and Norway have dominated the event since 1984. 

Germany enters 2022 with 19 gold medals and 52 total medals since 1960, while Norway has collected 16 gold medals and 41 total medals. Russia, France, and the USSR have also enjoyed success in the event. Expect Norway, Sweden, Germany, and France to perform well in 2022.

12. Speed Skating

Speed skating is set to begin on February 5, 2022 and will end on February 19, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1924 and it’s the largest sport at the 2022 Winter Olympics with 14 total events. Sven Kramer will be competing in his fifth Olympic Games. 

Since it was added to the Olympic roster, the Netherlands has dominated the sport with 42 gold medals and 121 total medals – 37 more medals than the next closest. The United States, Norway, and the USSR all have at least 24 gold medals and 60 total medals since 1924. 

11. Short Track Speed Skating

Short track speed skating is set to begin on February 5, 2022 and will end on February 16, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1992, though it was a demonstration sport in 1988. There will be a total of nine events in the sport with the mixed team relay making its debut.

The sport has been dominated by South Korea, which has collected 24 gold medals and 48 total medals. China is the only other country with double-digit golds (10), but is tied with Canada with 33 total medals. The United States comes in fourth with 4 gold medals and 20 total medals. 

10. Nordic Combined

Nordic combined is set to begin on February 9, 2022 and end on February 17, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1924 and combines both cross-country skiing and ski jumping. There will be three events at the 2022 Winter Olympics, all of which featuring men. 

Since 1924, Norway has dominated the sport with 13 gold medals and 31 total medals. Germany, Finland, and Austria have also found success, but none of them have more than five gold medals and 15 total medals. Expect Norway and Germany to perform well in 2022. 

9. Alpine Skiing

Alpine skiing is set to begin on February 6, 2022 and will end on February 19, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1936 and will feature 11 events – downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, slalom, alpine combined, and mixed team – for the second straight Winter Olympics. 

Since 1936, no country has come close to dethroning Austria at the sport. They have collected 37 gold medals and 121 total medals. Although Switzerland has 21 gold medals, they only have 66 total medals. The US, France, Italy, Germany, and Norway have also found success. 

8. Freestyle Skiing

Freestyle skiing is set to begin on February 5, 2022 and will end on February 14, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1992 and has quickly grown to include 13 events – men’s and women’s Big Air and mixed team aerials are both making their debut in 2022. 

Since 1992, Canada and the United States have dominated the sport. Canada has 12 gold medals and the US has nine gold medals, but both countries are tied at 25 total medals. Switzerland, Belarus, France, Australia, Norway, and China have also fared well in the sport. 

7. Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh is set to begin on February 13, 2022 and will end on February 20, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1924 and while it normally features three events, we’ll be seeing the debut of the monobob-Women’s event in 2022 – making it the fourth bobsleigh event. 

Since 1924, the sport has been dominated by Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. Germany has the most gold medals at 13, but Switzerland has the most total medals at 31. The United States and Germany both have 25 total medals, with the US collecting seven golds. 

6. Luge

Luge is set to begin on February 5, 2022 and will end on February 10, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1964 and will feature four events for the second straight Olympic Games – the 2018 Winter Olympics saw the debut of the team relay, which is making a return.

Germany has dominated the sport since its inclusion, winning 18 gold medals and 37 total medals. Of course, that’s not including the 44 total medals won by East Germany, West Germany, and the United Team of Germany. Italy and Austria have also found success at luge.

5. Skeleton

Skeleton is set to begin on February 10, 2022 and will come to an end two days later on February 12, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1928. With just two events – men’s singles and women’s singles – the skeleton is the smallest sport at the Olympics. 

The sport is similar to the luge, but athletes lay down face-first. The United States and Great Britain have dominated the sport – both have three golds, but the US has eight total medals to Great Britain’s nine total medals. Canada, Russia, and Switzerland have also found success. 

4. Ski Jumping

Ski jumping is set to begin on February 5, 2022 and will come to an end on February 14, 2022. It has been a mainstay in the Winter Olympics since 1924, though women have only recently (2014) been featured in the sport. For the first time, the sport will feature five events in 2022.

Since the sport’s inclusion at the Winter Olympics, Norway has dominated with 11 gold medals and 35 total medals. Finland is the only other country with double-digit golds (10) and has 22 total medals. Outside of them, Austria has collected six gold medals and 25 total medals. 

3. Curling

Curling is set to begin on February 2, 2022 and will end on February 20, 2022. It was first featured at the Winter Olympics in 1924, but wasn’t included in 1928 and was only a demonstration sport in 1932. It reappeared as a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992. 

The sport finally made its return to the Winter Olympics in 1998 and has been included ever since. Although there’s not a lot of history, the sport has largely been dominated by Canada (six gold medals and 11 total medals) and Sweden (three gold medals and eight total medals). 

2. Snowboarding

Snowboarding is set to begin on February 5, 2022 and will end on February 15, 2022. It has been featured at the Winter Olympics since 1998 and will feature 11 events in 2022 – including the official debut of mixed team snowboard cross. It’s one of the most-watched events. 

The sport has been dominated by the United States since 1998, winning 14 of the possible 40 gold medals and 31 of the possible 120 total medals. Switzerland, France, and Canada all have double-digit total medals, but only have 16 combined golds and 37 combined total medals.

1. Ice Hockey

When you think of the Winter Olympics, ice hockey is the first sport that comes to mind. It’s set to begin on February 3, 2022 and will come to an end on February 20, 2020. Despite it being the most popular sport, fans won’t get to see any NHL players compete due to COVID-19. 

Ice hockey has been featured in the Winter Olympics since 1924, though it originally appeared in the 1920 Summer Olympics – women didn’t start competing until 1998. Canada, the USSR, and the United States have dominated the sport, winning 36 of the possible 72 total medals. 

Which Winter Olympic Sports Are Your Favorite?

The Winter Olympics in Beijing is set to be an exciting one, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and diplomatic boycotts resulting in several changes to tradition. There are still plenty of talented and hard-working athletes ready for their chance to shine on the world’s biggest stage. 

Although many people are going to be glued to the ice hockey and snowboarding events, it’s important not to forget about all the other winter Olympic sports that will be featured in 2022. There’s a lot to take in and a lot to marvel at, even if you’re not a loyal fan of that particular sport.

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With that said, which winter Olympic sports are you most excited to watch in a few weeks? With the opening ceremony set to begin on February 4, 2022 at Beijing National Stadium, China, it’s time to clear your schedule to ensure you don’t miss out on your favorite winter Olympic sports.

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