It's almost time for the 2026 Winter Olympics and — just as in past years — Wisconsin will be well represented during Milan Cortina.
Get to know some of this year's Olympians with Badger State ties below:
Jordan Stolz
Jordan Stolz is competing in speed skating at Milan Cortina. He will race in the the men's 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and mass start events.
Stolz’s hometown is Kewaskum. He began skating with his sisters on the pond behind their family’s house after watching the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010. Just over a decade later, he went on to become one of three U.S. male speedskaters to make their Olympic debut at age 17 at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022, according to Team USA.
Watch: Jordan Stolz hoping for multiple golds at Winter Olympics:
This is his second appearance at the Winter Olympics. TMJ4 spoke to Stolz in January after he officially secured his spot for Team USA.
Emery Lehman
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 11: Emery Lehman of the United States competes during the Men's 5000m Speed Skating event on day two of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Oval on February 11, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Emery Lehman is competing in speed skating at Milan Cortina. He will race in the 1,500 meters and team pursuit events at Milano Cortina.
Lehman grew up in a suburb outside Chicago and began speed skating at age 9 as a way to become a better skater for hockey, according to Team USA’s website. He went on to compete in his first Olympic Games at age 17 at the Winter Games in Sochi in 2014, becoming the youngest male U.S. speedskater to make his Olympic debut, according to Team USA.
Previous coverage: Marquette grad Emery Lehman wins bronze in Beijing:
He graduated from Marquette University with a degree in civil engineering, where he played club hockey, and received his master’s degree in structural engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
This is his fourth appearance at the Winter Olympics. TMJ4 spoke to Lehman back in 2022 after he placed 11th in men’s 1,500-meter speed skating during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Laila Edwards
Laila Edwards is competing in women’s hockey at Milan Cortina.
Edwards grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where she made the transition from figure skating to ice hockey at the age of 5.
She attended the University of Wisconsin, where she has been a large part of two national championships under head coach Mark Johnson, one of the heroes of Team USA’s 1980 “Miracle on Ice” squad, according to Team USA.
Watch: Edwards becomes first Black woman to play hockey for Team USA:
In 2023, Edwards became the first Black woman to play for the U.S. women’s hockey team. At the 2024 IIHF Women’s Ice Hockey World Championship, she was named tournament MVP at age 20 after scoring a tournament-leading six goals for the silver-medal-winning U.S. national hockey team.
This is her first appearance at the Winter Olympics. TMJ4 spoke with Edwards in January about the honor.
Caroline Harvey
Caroline Harvey is competing in women’s hockey at Milan Cortina. Harvey grew up in Salem, New Hampshire, and began to play ice hockey at age 3 after her aunt told her she would make the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team in women’s ice hockey, according to Team USA.
Harvey went on to prove her aunt right, making her Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022, where she won a silver medal as the youngest member of the team.
Watch: Caroline Harvey shares what feeds her fight on the ice:
She was named the best defender at the 2023 and 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championships, helping Team USA win gold both times.
Harvey attended the University of Wisconsin, where she became a two-time NCAA champion for the Wisconsin Badgers, coached by Mark Johnson.
This is her second appearance at the Winter Olympics.
Hilary Knight
Hilary Knight is competing in women’s hockey at Milan Cortina as a forward.
Knight’s hometown is Sun Valley, Idaho, but her family moved to Illinois, where she was introduced to hockey at the age of 5 and kick-started her journey to becoming one of the most decorated athletes in the sport, according to Team USA.
She went on to attend the University of Wisconsin, where she played hockey, won two national titles, and became the program’s all-time leader in points and goals scored.
Knight made her Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 as the youngest member of the silver medal-winning team. She is a record 10-time world champion and owns all three scoring milestone records — goals, assists and points — in IIHF Women’s Hockey World Championship history.
She is a four-time Olympic medalist, winning gold with Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018.
This is her fifth appearance at the Winter Olympics.
She is the daughter of James and Cynthia Knight and the cousin of Chip Knight, a three-time Olympian for Team USA. The Associated Press interviewed Knight in 2023 after she was voted IIHF’s first female player of the year.
Britta Curl-Salemme
Britta Curl-Salemme is competing in women’s hockey at Milan Cortina as a forward.
Curl-Salemme grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota, where she was introduced to the sport thanks to her father, who set up a rink in their backyard. She decided to become a hockey player, competing on youth hockey teams until the eighth grade.
She went on to attend the University of Wisconsin, where she played five seasons with the Badgers and won three national championships, leaving the college as a two-time captain. Her college coach, Mark Johnson, described her as one of the best captains in Wisconsin history, according to Team USA.
Curl-Salemme made her World Championship debut at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship for the U.S. women’s hockey team and was one of 28 players invited to join the Olympic residency program before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.
This is her first appearance at the Winter Olympics.
Ava McNaughton
Ava McNaughton is competing in women’s hockey at Milan Cortina as a goaltender.
McNaughton grew up in Seven Fields, Pennsylvania, where she began playing hockey at the age of 6 after watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.
She attended an elite girls' hockey program at a private school in Rochester, New York, for high school before heading to the University of Wisconsin, where she won a national title in her sophomore year under head coach Mark Johnson, according to Team USA.
After winning a national title with Wisconsin, she was named to the U.S. women’s hockey team for the 2025 IIHF World Championship and made her debut for Team USA in a group-play win over Switzerland.
This is her first appearance at the Winter Olympics.
Kirsten Simms
Kirsten Simms is competing in women’s hockey at Milan Cortina as a forward.
Simms grew up in Plymouth, Michigan, playing youth hockey with the boys until eighth grade, when she made the transition to playing girls hockey for the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club.
She attended the University of Wisconsin, where she helped secure the 2025 national title for the Badgers by scoring two key goals in the title game, according to Team USA. Simms made her debut with the U.S. women’s hockey team the previous season, appearing on the roster for the Rivalry Series and the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
This is her first appearance at the Winter Olympics, competing alongside her Badger teammates Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey and Ava McNaughton.
Paul Schommer
Appleton native and biathlete Paul Schommer overcomes personal struggles to qualify for 2022 Winter Olympics
Skier Paul Schommer will represent Team USA at Milan Cortina.
Schommer grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was introduced to skiing during his sophomore year of high school.
He has been a member of the U.S. biathlon team since 2017.
Watch: Schommer aims for historic Olympic medal at 2026 Winter Games:
Schommer competed at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, along with competing in some world championship competitions.
In his free time, the 33-year-old enjoys hunting, hiking and biking.
Schommer spoke with TMJ4 on how his childhood roots in Wisconsin have led him to pursue a dream of attaining a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
Deedra Irwin
Deedra Irwin is competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the sport of Biathlon.
Irwin grew up outside of Green Bay, in Pulaski, Wisconsin, with dreams of becoming an Olympian in track and field.
In high school, Irwin participated in skiing as a way to stay in good shape between cross-country and track and field seasons. Irwin attended Michigan State as a three-sport athlete (cross country skiing, cross country and track and field).
Watch: From Pulaski to the world stage: Irwin chases a second Olympic dream:
Irwin qualified for the FIS-U 2023 World Championship in 2015, where she met her future U.S Biathlon teammate Joanne Reid.
Two years before that, Irwin fell in love with the sport of Biathlon, describing it as “the coolest I’d ever done”.
A couple of years later, Irwin was named to her first FIS championship team for Team USA in 2021.
The 33-year-old finished seventh in the women’s 15th kilometer individual event, the best finish ever as an American individual in the Biathlon event for the Olympics.
When she is not on the snow, Irwin was a Vermont National Guard member in 2019 and has joined the U.S Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), giving athletes a chance to pursue their Olympic dreams.
Marcus Mueller
Brookfield native Marcus Mueller will be competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the luge.
The 20-year-old will compete alongside Ansel Haugsjaa in the men’s doubles, as the two had an impressive season. The pair had two podium appearances, including a silver medal in a test event in Cortina and a gold medal at the Lake Placid World Cup, according to USA Luge.
Watch: Brookfield luger Marcus Mueller earns first Olympics berth:
Mueller talked to TMJ4 about his journey in the sport and his family’s support that carried him a long way.
Ben Loomis
Ben Loomis is a Nordic combined athlete who is making an appearance at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
This event will mark his 3rd Olympic competition in his career. The 27-year-old talent has competed in multiple world championships.
Previous coverage: Loomis one of many soldiers competing in Winter Olympics:
At the age of 15, Loomis moved to Park City, Utah, to pursue higher-quality training and an adaptive school to benefit his future.
Loomis was born and raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to his parents, Paul and Karyl Loomis. He has one sister and a brother who is also a member of Team USA.
Outside of his training, Loomis loves biking, water skiing, fishing, alpine fishing and hiking.
John Wroblewski
John Wroblewski has been named the 2026 Winter Olympics U.S. Women’s Hockey coach.
Wroblewski, a Neenah native, led Team USA to the gold medal in the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championships—a first for the team since 2019.
He is also the only coach in USA Hockey history to have won a gold medal in an international competition with both a men's and women's team.
Before becoming a coach, he played for the University of Notre Dame and professionally for the ECHL's Fresno Falcons.
He will be joined by coaches Shari Dickerman, Brent Hill and Josh Sciba.
Joanne Reid
Joanne Reid is competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the sport of Biathlon. This will be Reid's third Olympic Winter Games.
Reid, who was born in Madison, Wisconsin, is the daughter of Olympic speed skater Beth Heiden and niece of five-time Olympic gold medalist Eric Heiden.
Previous coverage: Madison native Joanne Reid hopes to win first U.S. biathlon medal in Winter Olympics:
She was an NCAA champion cross-country skier at the University of Colorado-Boulder. She transitioned to biathlon in 2015, making her World Cup debut in 2016
Jadin O'Brien
Jadin O'Brien will be part of the 2026 U.S. Bobsled Team at Milan Cortina. Her position on the team is a push athlete.
O'Brien is a Pewaukee native and DSHA high school graduate. She attended Notre Dame, where she was a three-time NCAA indoor pentathlon champion.
Before starting in bobsled in 2025, O'Brien competed at two U.S. Olympic Trials for Track and Field and finished 5th in the women's heptathlon at the U.S. national championships in 2025.
Previous coverage: Pewaukee native aims for Olympic Trials after consecutive NCAA titles:
TMJ4 spoke to O'Brien in 2024. Back then, she said competing in the Olympics had been her goal since she was 7 years old.
"My grandpa is an immigrant from Ireland, and I grew up just hearing stories of like just how wonderful our country is, and yet it has flaws. But it has provided so much for my family. So much for other families. To represent the red, white, and blue? I don't know if there's a greater honor for an athlete in the world."
5 former Badgers on Team Canada roster; Current freshman to compete for Czechia
Five former Wisconsin Badgers have been named to Hockey Canada's Olympic roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. They are Emily Clark, Blayre Turnbull, Daryl Watts, Ann-Renee Desbiens and Sarah Nurse.
Freshman Adéla Šapovalivová was named to Team Czechia's Olympic roster.
The University of Wisconsin now has 12 players participating in the Olympics across the USA, Canada and Czechia — the most ever in a single Olympics, surpassing 2022's total of 11.
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