What to Watch: Team USA's Winter Olympic Sports on Home Soil

As the excitement of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games winds down, it’s time for Team USA’s winter sports athletes to begin their trek towards qualifying for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

Although winter athletes typically spend most of their seasons in European countries, over 10 different winter sports are scheduled to make a pro circuit stop in the United States, giving fans myriad opportunities to see both legends and rising stars of Team USA’s winter sports teams.

Below is a breakdown of winter sporting events being held in the U.S. as well as a few athletes to keep an eye on heading into winter Olympic qualification season:

• First U.S. Event: 2024 ISU Skate America (Oct. 18-20 - Allen, Tex.)
• Other U.S. Visits: U.S. Championships (Jan 20-26, 2025 – Wichita, Kan.), World Championships (March 23-30, 2025 – Boston, Mass.)
• Fast Facts: The U.S. is hosting the ISU Figure Skating World Championships for the first time since 2016. Boston will become just the second U.S. city to host a figure skating world championships at least twice. Colorado Springs, Colorado, has hosted four times.
• Who to Watch:
• Ilia Malinin - Nicknamed the “quad god,” Malinin will be looking to defend his world title this year on home soil. To date, the 19-year-old is still the only figure skater ever to complete a fully rotated quadruple axel in an international competition, known to be the hardest trick in figure skating.
• Isabeau Levito – The 17-year-old skater from Philadelphia already has a world silver medal to her name from 2024. Now, she’s hunting for the top spot on the podium and her first Olympic appearance.
• Alyssa Liu – The 2022 world bronze medalist is back and skating more powerful than ever. Once known as the youngest-ever skater to win a national championship, Liu has dedicated this upcoming season to shaking off the vibes of being a “young skater”, and has been skating with a much more grown-up and edgier style than what she is used to. Look for Liu to have an outstanding season leading up to qualification.
• Madison Chock and Evan Bates – The dynamic power couple is back and looking for an unprecedented three-peat in ice dancing at the world championships. If they pull it off, they will be the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world titles in 27 years.

• First U.S. Event: ISU World Tour (Nov. 1-3, 2024 – Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Other U.S. Stops: ISU Four Continents (Nov. 8-10, 2024 – Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Fast Facts: The U.S. did not win an Olympic short-track speedskating medal during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. However, a few athletes this year are looking to right the ship for 2026.
• Who to Watch:
• Kristen Santos-Griswold – Santos-Griswold ranks among the top short-track skaters in the world. The 29-year-old from Fairfield, Connecticut, had her breakout year in 2021 and has not looked back since. She racked up five medals at the 2024 world championships, including gold in the 1000-meter. She has already started hot this season, sweeping six races in three distances at the U.S. Speedskating Short Track U.S. Championships at the Utah Olympic Oval in late September. Santos-Griswold has a great chance to become the first U.S. woman to win a short-track medal since 2010.
• Andrew Heo – Following in Santos-Griswold’s footsteps, Andrew Heo also had a stellar showing of the U.S. championships in late September. The Warrington, Pennsylvania, native looks to be the top U.S. men’s short-track skater heading into qualification season. Heo was a part of the mixed gender 5000m relay team that won bronze at the 2024 world championships.

• First U.S. Event: U.S. National Championships (Nov. 3-5, 2024 - Park City, Utah)
• Other U.S. Stops: None
• Fast Facts: Luge is considered the fastest sport at an Olympic Games, with athletes clocking speeds of over 130 kmh (80 mph). Germany has dominated luge events at the international level for several years. USA Luge legend Chris Mazdzer won the last Olympic medal for the U.S. in luge, silver, in 2018.
• Who to Watch:
• Summer Britcher – The three-time Olympian is back for more as she hopes to extend her record of being the U.S. leader in career world cup victories (5). The 30-year-old from Pennsylvania also picked up a silver medal in the team relay event at the 2024 world championships. She has also finished third in the overall World Cup standings twice in her career.
• Emily Sweeney – Two-time Olympian and U.S. Army Veteran Emily Sweeney is also back for more alongside Britcher. She has 24 career world cup and world championship medals to her name, including two golds, and is hungry for more after not finishing on the podium in an individual event 2024.
• Tucker West – With three career world cup victories and seven other podium finishes, the 29-year-old West is primed to make another leap in his career this year. The Connecticut native finished just off the singles podium at the 2024 world championships in fourth but did pick up a silver in the team relay event. He started hot this season, picking up a record 12th career title at the USA Luge Start Championships in late summer.

• First U.S. Event: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup (Women’s slalom; Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2024 – Killington, Vt.)
• Other U.S. Stops: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup (two events; Dec 6-8 and Dec. 14-15 – Beaver Creek, Colo.), FIS Ski World Cup Finals (March 22-27, 2025 – Sun Valley, Idaho)
• Fast Facts: Mikaela Shiffrin is the all-time leader in FIS Ski world cup wins with 97, male or female. This will be the first time Sun Valley, Idaho, will host the FIS Ski World Cup Finals, and the first time a U.S. city will host the finals since 2017 (Aspen, Colo.).
• Who to Watch:
• Mikaela Shiffrin – Until the greatest skier of all time hangs up her boots (which hopefully is not anytime soon), Shiffrin will never be left off a “who to watch” list during the winter Olympic sports season. The speedy, trailblazing and record-setting 29-year-old is once again gearing up for another Olympic qualification season and is must-see TV until Milano-Cortina 2026 ends. The schedule lines up perfectly for the Colorado native to secure her 100th career victory at one of the events taking place in the U.S.
• Ryan Cochran-Siegle – The Beijing 2022 Olympic Games silver medalist is back again with another year of experience under his belt. The Vermont native is entering his 16th season with the U.S. Alpine Skiing team, coming off his career-best overall finish in the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup standings – eighth.
• River Radamus – Radamus turned heads last year after securing his first career World Cup podium on homes soil at the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup. He has also gained traction in the slalom and super-G events, becoming one of the top contenders in both disciplines. The Colorado native finished just off the podium in fourth during the Beijing Games, and has something to prove going into qualification season.

• First U.S. Event: FIS World Cup (Dec. 20, 2024 – Copper Mountain, Colo.)
• Other U.S. Stops: X Games Aspen (Jan. 23, 2025 – Aspen Colo.), FIS World Cup (Feb. 2 and Feb. 6, 2025 – Aspen, Colo.), Shaun White League (Halfpipe; March 7-8, 2025 – Aspen, Colo.)
• Fast Facts: Chloe Kim is the first and only woman to win two gold medals in women’s halfpipe.
• Who to Watch:
• Chloe Kim –  Although she’s just 24, Kim has become a snowboarding superstar. The halfpipe artist has claimed first place at least once in nearly every event she’s competed in and is showing no signs of slowing down. After taking a pause to focus on her studies at Princeton University during the 2022-23 season, the first and only two-time Olympic gold medalist in women’s halfpipe is primed to make another Olympic squad.
• Maddie Mastro – The nine-year halfpipe veteran is entering her 10th season near the end of 2024, and is looking to make her mark on the snowboarding world as well. Mastro has 11 career World Cup podiums, including a bronze and a silver medal finish at the 2019 and 2021 world championships, and is attempting to make her third consecutive Olympic team for 2026.
• Red Gerard – Slopestyle specialist Red Gerard has already made history, becoming the youngest athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal in slopestyle in 2018. But now, the 11-year pro wants to continue proving that he’s one of the stop slopestyle snowboarders in the world.
• Nick Baumgartner – Baumgartner has enjoyed being called an “Olympic gold medalist” after securing snowboardcross gold with his teammate, veteran rider Lindsay Jacobellis, during the Beijing Games. However, now he’s on the hunt for the individual title in one of the most extreme winter sports contested at the international level.

• First U.S. Event: FIS World Cup (Moguls & Aerials; Jan. 18-19, 2025 – Lake Placid, N.Y.), X Games Aspen (Freeski/Big Air; Jan. 23-25, 2025 – Aspen, Colo.)
• Other U.S. Stops: FIS World Cup (Moguls & Aerials; Feb 6-8, 2025 – Deer Valley, Utah)
• Fast Facts: The U.S. Freeski team may be the strongest roster, top-to-bottom, that Team USA boasts in winter sports. Any athlete has the chance to podium at any given time.
• Who to Watch:
• Alex Ferreira – The two-time Olympic medalist is back again and will be hunting for the elusive Olympic gold this time around as he attempts to qualify for his third consecutive Olympic team.
• Hanna Faulhaber – It’s hard to call Faulhaber a “rising star” when the young freestyle skier already has won so many accolades early into her career. The 20-year-old first turned heads after securing bronze at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games. In 2022-23, she became a halfpipe world champion and skied to an impressive sixth-place finish during the Beijing Games. The sky is the limit for Faulhaber this year. However, she may even be able to break that barrier given the amplitude she gets coming out of the halfpipe.
• Alex Hall – Hall won slopestyle gold on his first run of the finals during the Beijing Games, pulling off an incredibly difficult move on his final jump. The now nine-year pro ripped off what the slopestyle world calls a “pull back,” intentionally halting his rotation mid-spin that unexpectedly turned his right double cork 1080 into a 900. The move secured his victory and cemented his legacy as one of the top slopestyle skiers in the game right now. Fans can see Hall in action at X Games Aspen, and it would not be a surprise if he found himself on top of the podium again. Four of his eight X Games podium finishes are golds.
• Jaelin Kauf – Kauf is one part of the three-headed monster that makes the U.S. women’s moguls team. The 10-year veteran’s resume includes eight World Cup victories, 36 World Cup podiums, four world championship podiums, seven U.S. championship titles, and an Olympic silver medal. This time, she’s on the hunt for gold. But she has to be on her A-game, as the other two heads, Olivia Giaccio and Tess Johnson give her plenty of competition during training sessions.
• Justin Schoenefeld, Ashley Caldwell and Chris Lillis – The trio that claimed aerials team gold at the Beijing Games are back for more this season, hoping to once again put this underappreciated skiing discipline on the map. All three of these aerials skiers bring a combined 34 years of experience into the 2024-25 season, 16 alone from Caldwell. It would not surprise anyone if one or all of these skiers brought home multiple podium finishes this season and an Olympic medal from Milano-Cortina.

• First U.S. Event: ISU World Cup (Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2025 – Milwaukee, Wis.)
• Other U.S. Stops: None
• Fast Fact: The ISU World Cup is coming to Milwaukee for the first time in 20 years.
• Who to Watch:
• The Women’s Team – Highlighted by the veteran presences of Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe, the U.S. women’s speedskating team is primed to grab podium finishes throughout the entire year and into the Olympics. Jackson is back again off winning a team sprint silver at the 2024 world championships and two inline skating medals at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Bowe is looking to make her fourth Olympic team, and youngster Georgia Birkeland is looking to add another successful skating season under her belt. Additionally, veteran Kimi Goetz, who picked up a bronze medal in the 500 meters at the 2024 world championships, looks to be a top contender again this season.
• Jordan Stolz – While the men’s team also deserves equal respect, Stolz also deserves some personal spotlight. Although he’s just 20 years old, the Kewaskum, Wisconsin, native is must-watch tv for winter sports fans, as he continues to rack up achievements and records like nobody else in the skating world. Setting the new gold standard (pun intended) for the men’s long track team, he is fresh off winning back-to-back world championship gold medals in his three primary distances, the 500m, the 1,000m and the 1,500m. He owns the world record in the 1,000m distance, set last year in the fifth world cup stop. Barring an injury, he will be at the top of the list of medal contenders for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

• First U.S. Event: 2024 IBSF World Championships (March 3-16, 2025 – Lake Placid, N.Y.)
• Other U.S. Stops: None
• Fast Facts: Lake Placid is the training grounds for the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton team. The last time the famed track was used for the world championships was 2012.
• Who to Watch:
• Elana Meyers Taylor – One thing has been certain for over 15 years – if there is a bobsled season happening, Elana Meyers Taylor will be competing in it. The proverbial “Iron (wo)man” of the sport is gearing up for another season of sliding down some of the fastest tracks in the world. Fans can see one of the legendary faces of the sport compete on the team’s home track in Lake Placid on the biggest non-Olympic stage for bobsled, the world championships, this March. She will be a top contender all year on the IBSF circuit in the monobob and two-man events.
• Azaria Hill – The Olympic Games are a family affair for Hill, who hopes to follow both in her mother's and father’s footsteps. Her mother is former track & field star Denean Howard-Hill, who secured three medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Her father is Virgil Hill Sr., who also picked up a silver medal in 1984 in boxing. Now, it’s her turn to cement her family’s legacy on the winter side of sports.
• Jace Johnson – Johnson is one of many athletes on the team that transitioned to the bobsled world after another sports career ended. The 25-year-old is a former college basketball player who hopes to inspire other young Black males who want to continue being professional athletes, albeit in a different sport they had originally planned. So far, so good, as he’s showing that both former collegiate basketball and track & field athletes can be elite bobsledders.
• Katie Uhlaender – Uhlaender is the U.S. skeleton equivalent to bobsled’s Meyers-Taylor, proving that father time may not be undefeated after all. The 40-year-old slider has been racing on the pro circuit since 2003 and has become an icon for up-and-coming American skeleton racers. She has won six medals at the world championships, including two golds, and her competitive spirit is continually looking for more.
• Mystique Ro – Ro is slated to be one of the top contenders in women’s skeleton this season after becoming the first American to win a world cup event in eight years during last season. The former collegiate track & field athlete achieved this feat just over a year after her World Cup debut and is primed to become one of the top skeleton racers in the world this year.