Written by Aidan Mattingly & Jake Zamora
Just over a week into the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Team USA has produced no shortage of memorable moments.
Whether it’s Auston Matthews’ multi-goal performance in a 5-1 win over Germany or the curling team’s upset over defending champions Sweden, this year’s games have proved that the Americans can rise to the moment on the biggest stage.
With a roster of 232 athletes, the largest for a U.S. Olympic team in the winter games’ history, men and women from all around the country have come together to represent the red, white and blue.
Six of them represent the state of Idaho.
Hilary Knight, a native of Sun Valley, continues to build on an already historic U.S. hockey career. The 36-year-old appeared in her fifth Olympic Games Saturday, Feb. 7, and tied the U.S. women’s hockey career Olympic goal record during a 5-0 win over Finland.
Despite the record, Knight kept the focus on the joy of the moment rather than the number attached to it.
“I just love scoring and just the pure elation of finding the back of the net,” Knight said. “It’s just a little kid’s moment. When you score, it’s pure excitement and it’s fun to celebrate.”
The goal marked Knight’s 14th Olympic score, tying her with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King for the most by a U.S. player. She now sits just a few points shy of the U.S. women’s hockey all-time Olympic scoring record, while teammates and coaches continue to emphasize her leadership as much as her production.
While Knight delivered on ice, Breezy Johnson, 30, made her debut on the slopes.
Johnson was born in Jackson, Wyoming but grew up in nearby Victor, Idaho. She returns to the Olympics for the first time since 2018, where she placed 18th in the Super-G and seventh in the downhill. Since then, Johnson has emerged as a consistent contender on the World Cup circuit, earning two gold medals in 2025, one in the downhill and another in the team combined event alongside Mikaela Shiffrin.
On Sunday, Feb. 8, Johnson captured gold in the women’s downhill at Cortina d’Ampezzo, becoming the second American woman to win the event. The victory came after years of setbacks, including a knee injury Johnson suffered at Cortina in 2021 and a lengthy suspension related to testing whereabouts violations.
After the race, Johnson acknowledged the challenging road — the constant ups and downs — to achieve this moment.
“I haven’t won a lot of things in my career,” Johnson said after her accomplishment. “I was 16 when I started FIS [International Ski & Snowboard] and I’ve had like 12 wins in any competition. So there haven’t been many times that I’ve heard the national anthem playing for me. It was just a pretty surreal experience.”
Teammates praised her ability to rise under pressure, with Bella Wright calling it the best run Johnson has ever skied.
Her run held off Germany’s Emma Aicher by four hundredths of a second and secured the first U.S. medal of the Milan Cortina Games. Tears followed as racer after racer failed to top her time, and emotion lingered even after the medal ceremony.
“I’ve waited a long time for this moment,” Johnson said. “People are jealous of people with Olympic medals, they’re not necessarily jealous of the journey it took to get those medals.”
Later in the week, Johnson became engaged, capping a breakthrough performance with a personal milestone.
Cross-country skier John Steel Hagenbuch of Ketchum, Idaho was the fastest American on Feb. 13 when he finished with a time of 21:41.1.
A first-time Olympian and the youngest male cross-country skier on the U.S. team, Hagenbuch proved that the future of American skiing is already here.
Fellow Ketchum native Ryder Sarchett finished 25th overall in the men’s giant slalom on Feb. 14. The former Sun Valley Ski Foundation standout had two runs at Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, finishing with times of 1:18.72 and 1:11.39, respectively, earning him a 25th-place finish in his Olympic debut.
On Feb. 13, product of Hailey Idaho, Chase Josey made it to the men’s snowboard halfpipe final for the third consecutive time, finishing in 11th place.
Despite falling on his first run, Josey bounced back to finish on his final two, earning his best score of 70.25 on his second run.
Teton Valley’s own Jaelin Kauf entered Milan as one of the favorites after winning silver in moguls at the 2022 Games. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard team has labeled Kauf the fastest skier on the moguls World Cup circuit, where she has already stacked 16 wins and more than 50 podium finishes.
On Feb. 14, she captured silver in dual moguls, albeit in a bizarre fashion.
Her opponent, Perrine Laffont, was automatically disqualified after skiing around the course control panel. Despite a crash, Laffont’s mental error allowed Kauf to finish on the podium with a silver medal.
Of the six Idahoans competing in this year’s Olympics, cross-country skier Sammy Smith is the lone Boise native.
A graduate of Boise High and current Stanford sophomore, Sammy Smith is making her Olympic debut after transitioning from competitive soccer to cross-country skiing.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Smith competed in her first Olympic race, finishing 19th in the women’s cross country classic sprint in Tesero.
Smith’s time of 3:59.07 on the 0.9-mile course placed her fourth in her heat, outside the top two that received semifinal berths. Despite this, the classic sprint marks her best individual performance in this year’s Olympics.
With 6 Idahoans representing the United States this year, the pride that people from Idaho feel is immense, with their homegrown athletes showcasing their talent and proving that anyone can make it to the big stage, no matter where they come from.
“It allows people to be able to think that maybe they could be in their places one day,” Idaho native Kaie O’Shea said. O’Shea is a member of Boise State’s Ski and Board club. “Having people who came from our areas and the same upbringings as us, it gives a lot of hope and confidence for the people who are wanting to do those same things.”
