10 Must-Watch Team USA Olympians at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics: Photos

Although he began skiing at age 3, Alessandro Barbieri soon found himself snowboarding on the slopes of Mount Hood.

The 17-year-old USA snowboard halfpipe star from Portland, Ore., just got his nomination before the 2026 Winter Olympics, becoming one of the youngest members of Team USA. He previously competed and won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Winter Games Gangwon 2024 before joining the Calgary Snow Rodeo in February 2025, where he placed third.

Barbieri etched his name into the record books during the 2025-26 season, making history in China as the first American and youngest rider to land a triple cork 1440 in halfpipe competition.

The snowboarding prodigy also showed off his skills in the halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, securing the 10th spot with a score of 75.

Before joining the 2026 Winter Olympics, freestyle skier Alex Ferreira already won silver at PyeongChang 2018 and bronze at Beijing 2022.

The two-time Olympic medalist, who began skiing at age 3 and competing at 10, is a halfpipe pro with seven X Games medals and 16 World Cup podiums, according to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

Amid his third Olympic journey, Ferreira told CBS News, "It's awesome representing Team USA, because I look at us and I think we're the best team in the world, and then it's special. It's a big deal to Team USA, to bring home a medal for America and for your town, for your state, for your country. It's huge."

Another two-time Olympic medalist from Team USA, Alex Hall secured his first gold in slopestyle at Beijing 2022 before winning silver at this year's Olympics.

He has other recognitions under his belt, including gold medals across four X Games disciplines: big air, slopestyle, knuckle huck and real ski.

Off the slope, Hall is a passionate filmmaker who also enjoys surfing.

Months after she became the first American woman to win first place at the Grand Prix Final since Michelle Kwan, red-hot favorite Amber Glenn made a triumphant Olympic debut when she helped Team USA win gold in the team figure skating event.

In an interview with Self magazine after the big win, the 26-year-old figure skater confessed she has "many Olympic crushes."

"I love that she's openly q---- and that she is completely herself," she said of her crush. "A little bit of a nerd, just like me."

Glenn, who began skating at the age of 5, has participated in three World Championships, finishing fifth in Singles – Women in 2025.

A silver medalist at the Olympic Games Beijing 2022, Caroline Harvey began her second Olympic journey at Milano Cortina 2026 as defenseman for the U.S. Olympic Team in women's ice hockey.

Harvey previously won gold with the Team USA at the 2023 and 2025 IIHF Women's World Championships, where she was also named best defender.

At age 41, Elana Meyers Taylor scored her first Olympic gold in the monobob during her fifth Olympics at Milano Cortina 2026.

"I thought it was impossible," she said of the win, adding, "To have my name up there with Bonnie Blair, it doesn’t even make sense to me."

Meyers Taylor, who is now a six-time Olympic medalist, opened her Olympic path at Vancouver 2010. She then participated in competitions at Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

When she is not sliding, the mom-of-two continues learning American Sign Language (ASL) while advocating for children with disabilities.

In an interview with CBS News, speedskating superstar Erin Jackson said her Olympic appearances "have been super different."

"Just like coming in at all different stages of my career, and this one coming in as the reigning champion, there's going to be a lot of pressure, but that's what I'm looking forward to," she said.

So far, she has competed at PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022 and Milano Cortina 2026.

During the Games in Beijing, Jackson made history as the first Black woman to win gold in an individual event at the Winter Olympics. She extended her feat by becoming world champion for the first time at the 2022 ISU World Championships.

Known as "Quad God" and potential Nathan Chen's successor, figure skater Ilia Malinin finished eighth in the men's free skate at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

"All negatives aside, the atmosphere was incredible. The support, even with that skate, the crowd never stopped cheering," Malinin said, per U.S. Figure Skating. "It's honestly why this is a very special sport. Not in a lot of other sports do you have that privilege."

He added, "It's not only to be an athlete but you are also an artist. So there is also a lot of pressure in there for what art you make on the ice or how you execute other things. I think all the pressure, all of the media and being the Olympic gold hopeful was too much to handle."

On the other hand, Malinin helped Team USA secure the second gold medal in the figure skating team event, outshining Team Japan by just one point.

Before chasing his Olympic dream, Malinin conquered the ice at World Junior Championships and World Championships.

Now a four-time Olympic medalist, Jessie Diggins secured bronze in the women's 10‑kilometer interval start. During the event, however, she fell in the opening race and bruised her ribs.

"I just felt like I was skiing out of my body the whole time. And I was just trying to fight for every single second and to leave it all out there," she said of the setback. "I've been up at night with my ribs clicking in and out of place. It's just really been hard."

Together with Kikkan Randall, she made history at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics by winning gold in the team sprint, which served as Team USA's first gold medal in cross-country skiing history.

The cross-country skier then got a silver in the individual sprint and a bronze in the 30-kilometer freestyle at Beijing 2022.

Jordan Stolz came back stronger after finishing 13th in the 500-meter and 14th in the 1,000-meter at Beijing 2022.

The Wisconsin native raised the U.S. flag after winning two gold medals at Milano Cortina 2026: one for men's 1,000-meter speedskating and another for men's 500-meter speedskating.

The speedskating sensation is also slated to compete in the 1,500-meter and mass start events.