2022 Winter Olympics: Which U.S. athletes will contend for gold
The 2022 Winter Olympic Games are underway in Beijing, China with the first event beginning February 2nd. Following the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang where the U.S. finished fourth in the medal table with nine gold medals and 23 total medals, Team USA will be sending 223 athletes to the Games with medal hopefuls in all 15 disciplines being competed in. The 2022 Winter Olympics officially get underway with the opening ceremony on February 4 and will run until the closing ceremony on February 20th. Before the opening ceremony happens and medals begin being awarded, get to know which athletes representing the U.S. you should watch out for.
Alpine Skiing – Mikaela Shiffrin
The GOAT of women’s alpine skiing is none other than Vail, Colorado native Mikaela Shiffrin. Shiffrin holds the record for the most World Cup slalom races won male or female with 47, the most slalom wins in a calendar year with 15 in 2018, and the most World Cup wins in a season with 17. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be Shiffrin’s third Olympics and they will be a busy one for her as she plans on competing in all five alpine events: giant slalom, slalom, super-G, downhill, and combined. Shiffrin comes into the Games in search of a fourth Olympic medal while defending her gold medal in giant slalom from the 2018 PyeongChang Games. Along with the gold in 2018 she has a silver to her name in slalom in 2018 and a gold in slalom at the 2014 Sochi Games. She is also the current world champion in the combined event and sits in first place in the overall FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski) Alpine Ski World Cup rankings. In 2022 Shiffrin enters as the favorite for gold in the giant slalom and has a very good chance of winning the slalom gold as well. Shiffrin will get her Olympics underway with the giant slalom on February 6th at 9:15 PM ET.
Biathlon – Sean Doherty
Biathlon (cross-country skiing and rifle shooting) is the only event in the Winter Olympics that the U.S. has never won a single medal in. The trend is likely to continue in Beijing, but one competitor that could potentially challenge for a podium spot is Sean Doherty. Doherty is from Center Conway, New Hampshire, and will be competing in his third Olympics. In 2014 at the Sochi Games he finished in 16th place as part of the U.S. men’s relay team. Four years later in his second Olympics Doherty came 44th in the men’s 20 km individual, 65th in the men’s 10 km sprint, and 6th in the men’s relay.
Bobsleigh – Kaillie Humphries
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Champion Kaillie Humphries will be making her fourth appearance at the Olympics but will be representing the U.S. for the first time after switching her nationality from Canada. At the 2010 Vancouver Games and the 2014 Sochi Games Humphries led Canada to the gold in the two-women bobsleigh while also winning a bronze at the 2018 Games. The switch in nationality came following a debate with Canadian bobsled officials about claims of verbal and mental abuse. Her switch in nations has not affected her performance in a bobsleigh one bit. Since joining Team USA in 2019 the San Diego resident has become the two-time defending World Champion in the two-women competition and the current World Champion in the monobob. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, she will be looking for gold once again by competing in both the two-women and monobob events.
Cross-Country ski – Jessie Diggins
As part of the team sprint, Jessie Diggins helped the U.S. win the country’s first-ever cross-country skiing gold medal. Diggins and her teammate Kikkan Randall edged out the Swedish team by 0.19 seconds. Coming into the final stretch of the 2018 Olympic race Diggins was in third place but outsprinted the Swedish and Norwegian skiers to steal the gold. Now competing in her third Olympics Diggins has her eyes set on repeating the feat of winning gold. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota Diggins will be competing in all six cross-country events taking place in Beijing.
Curling – John Shuster
Another first-time gold for the U.S. came in curling at the 2018 Games as the men’s team led by John Shuster out of nowhere. Minnesota native Shuster is back at the Olympics in 2022 once again leading the men’s curling team. It is not just the men’s curling team that Shuster will be leading as he and women’s speed skater Brittney Bowe were announced as the athletes chosen to carry the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Along with Shuster are two other curlers from the 2018 gold medal-winning team, Matt Hamilton and Josh Landsteiner. When the stones get underway Shuster will be looking for his third Olympic medal along with the gold in 2018 and a bronze medal in the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy in his fifth Olympic appearance.
Figure Skating – Nathan Chen
Four years ago Nathan Chen finished fifth place in men’s singles figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Since then the now 22-year-old has been nearly perfect, winning 14 straight competitions and 15 out of his last 16. During the 14 event winning streak, Chen won three World Championships, 2018, 2019, and 2021. Chen comes in as the odds on favorite to win gold in the men’s singles event but will have to defeat two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu. A medal of any kind would be Chen’s second as he won the bronze in 2018 as part of the mixed team event. The matchup between Salt Lake City, Utah’s Chen and Japan’s Hanyu will be must-watch tv and gets underway at 8:55 PM ET on Thursday, February the 3rd.
Freestyle Skiing – Alex Hall
Alex Hall enters his second Olympic Games looking to better his 16th place finish in ski slopestyle at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. Hall is just one member of a talented U.S. freeski team that has the potential to win multiple medals. He will be competing in two freestyle skiing events, slopestyle and big air, and has the tricks up his sleeve to win gold in both. In his most recent slopestyle competition at X Games Aspen 2022 Hall won the bronze medal, but in his most recent FIS Slopestyle World Cup event won gold on his very last run beating Team USA teammate Nick Goepper. Hall has fine-tuned his skiing style all over the world from being born in Alaska to growing up in Switzerland to now living and training out of Utah. Keep an eye out for an Olympic first when Hall attempts to land a 2160 (six full rotations) which he did at X Games 2022 which was the first time in X Games history anyone had landed that on skis.
Ice Hockey – Women’s Team
It may not be a single athlete, but the US Women’s hockey team has a very good chance to win the gold medal for the second straight Olympics. Four years ago the U.S. beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout to win their second gold medal. For the 2022 Winter Olympics, the U.S. will be returning 13 players from the gold-winning team in 2018. Leading the way will be captain Kendall Coyne Schofield and alternate captains Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight, and Lee Stecklein. By winning the gold in 2018 the U.S. ended Canada’s four straight Olympic dominance. Only two teams have won a medal in every Olympics and they are the U.S. and Canada. It already seems destined to be another Canada vs U.S. gold medal game and anything less than gold for Schofield’s team will be a disappointment.
Luge – Chris Mazdzer
Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts Chris Mazdzer did what no American had done before when he finished second in the men’s singles luge at the 2018 Olympics winning the silver medal. It was not only American history, but global history as Mazdzer became the first man outside of Europe to medal in this event. Since the Olympics in 2018, he has medaled one other time when he won the bronze medal at the 2020 World Championships as part of the mixed team relay an event he placed fourth in at the 2018 Olympics. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be Mazdzer’s fourth Olympics appearance and he will be looking to bring home gold for the first time in U.S. luge history.
Nordic Combined – Taylor Fletcher
This will be the fourth Olympics for Colorado’s own Taylor Fletcher in the Nordic combined, an event that combines cross-country skiing and ski jumping. In his three prior Olympics Fletcher has a best finish of sixth place in the 2014 men’s team event and 20th place in the 2014 men’s large hill individual. The Nordic combined has not been one of the U.S.’s best events only winning four medals all at the 2010 Vancouver Games, but Fletcher is the most likely candidate to bring back the gold.
Short Track Speed Skating – Kristen Santos
Connecticut native Kristen Santos is currently the highest-ranked American man or woman in short track speed skating, sitting second in the 1000m and fourth in the 1500m. Both the 1000m and 1500m races will see Santos contending for a medal in her first Olympics. A medal from Santos would be the first medal for the U.S. in women’s short track since 2010 when Katherine Reutter won the silver in the 1000m and the relay team finished third in the 3000m relay, another event Santos will be racing in in Beijing.
Skeleton – Katie Uhlaender
The U.S. is sending only three athletes competing in skeleton, the fewest since 2002 when they sent five and won three medals. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be the fifth for Katie Uhlaender, but she is still looking to make the podium having finished fourth in 2014 and sixth in 2006. Born in Vail, Colorado Uhlaender is one of four Americans competing in their fifth Olympics in 2022. She will be leading the charge for the U.S. to return to the podium in skeleton after not winning a single medal as a country at the 2018 Games.
Ski Jumping – Kevin Bickner
Another event that will be unlikely for the U.S. to win a medal in is ski jumping. Only one American has ever medaled in ski jumping and that was Anders Haugen the bronze medal winner in the 1924 Winter Olympics. The slimmest hope would be for U.S. national record holder Kevin Bickner. Bickner, an Illinois native, will be competing in his second Olympics. In 2018 he finished ninth in the team event, 18th in the men’s normal hill, and 20th in the men’s large hill.
Snowboard – Chloe Kim
If there is an athlete expected to win gold any more than Chloe Kim I have not heard about it. Kim is the defending halfpipe gold medalist from 2018 and after taking over a year off from snowboarding Kim returned with style winning virtually every halfpipe event she has been in. The 21-year-old from Long Beach, California comes in as the two-time defending World Champion in snowboard halfpipe and has six X Games gold medals in the event as well. There is plenty of talent on the U.S. snowboarding team with people like Jamie Anderson (women’s slopestyle and big air) and Shaun White (men’s halfpipe), but Kim tops them all. Anything less than a gold medal would be a surprise. So far this season Kim has competed in two events, the Dew Tour and one FIS Snowboard World Cup event, and won both getting her ready for the 2022 Winter Olympics. It will not be an easy competition for Kim as she will have to compete with strong riders from Japan and China to claim the gold.
Speed Skating – Erin Jackson
After slipping during the Olympic Trials Erin Jackson was not going to Beijing despite being number one in the world in the 500m. However, Jackson’s friend and teammate Brittany Bowe, the favorite in the 1000m and 1500m, gave up her qualifying place in the 500m so that Jackson could go to the 2022 Winter Olympics. Now that she is qualified, look for Jackson to be full speed ahead in her second Olympics. She has been dominant in the 500m race this season winning four of the eight World Cup races and finishing second once. It has already been a historic season for Jackson as she became the first African American woman to win a World Cup race with her first win of the season in November. In her first Olympics in 2018, it was one to learn from as she finished 24th out of 31 skaters. Jackson will be looking to bring gold back to Ocala, Florida, home of both her and Bowe.
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