Danelle was named Athlete of the Year in 2010 by the National Sports Center for the Disabled.
Rob and Danelle use headsets to communicate as they make their way down the mountain—Rob lets Danelle know where to turn and what the terrain feels like.
Danelle and her husband, Rob, have one son, Brocton, now 9 years old.
Danelle’s father introduced her to adaptive skiing in 2001, and initially served as her guide. Today, Danelle’s father is a ski instructor.
Fast facts
Danelle Umstead
Danelle Umstead and her husband, Rob, made history at the Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 as the first husband-and-wife, visually-impaired ski race team to compete and medal for Team USA—bringing home the bronze in the super combined and downhill events. Soon after, Danelle learned she had multiple sclerosis.
Danelle is no stranger to hardship. At 13, she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition where the retina progressively degenerates, ultimately causing blindness. In public settings, she would often pretend to be clumsy. However, she was fully aware that this disorder was increasingly getting worse, and she eventually lost all vision in her right eye. After Danelle’s mother died of cancer in 1999, leaving her feeling depressed and hopeless, Danelle’s father suggested that the two of them go skiing.
Initially, Danelle was apprehensive and could not fathom his recommendation. Her father guaranteed that she would enjoy the outing and promised to give her directions; Danelle was hesitant but agreed. Going down the mountain for the first time was a moment that forever changed her outlook on life. Danelle’s mood immediately boosted, taking her from a sense of despair to empowerment.
Not long after, she met Rob while skiing in Taos, New Mexico, in 2005. They married in a ceremony atop a mountain three years later. Rob assumed the role of being Danelle’s full-time guide, marking the beginning of Team Vision4Gold (as they’re known). Rob is her eyes, instructing via wireless headsets, while she’s moving at an adrenaline rush–inducing 70 miles per hour. Needless to say, this partnership works. Danelle has been a recurring face on the competitive circuit since 2011, participating in several disciplines including the slalom, the super-G and downhill (her favorite event). She won the silver medal in downhill at the 2015 World Games.
In addition, Danelle was named Adaptive Athlete of the Year in 2011 by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. She was honored the previous year with the Athlete of the Year award from the National Sports Center for the Disabled. Due to her compelling personal story and success on the slopes, she and Rob are in high demand as public speakers.
As she and Rob look to the Paralympic Winter Games 2018, taking gold is their ultimate goal. With everything they have overcome, they will no doubt be fierce competition for the rest of the field.
Both the sport and the thin bobsled used in skeleton races were named for the bony look of the sled.
He and Olympian Elana Meyers Taylor wed in a bobsled-themed wedding in 2014.
Nic has a bachelor’s in psychology and is pursuing a second degree in engineering from Arizona State University.
Fast facts
Nic Taylor
Pushing a 400-plus pound bobsled at maximum speed, then hopping inside and using mostly body weight as navigation to zoom down an icy, curvy track is not for the faint of heart. Team USA’s Nic Taylor is built for high-performance sports such as bobsledding and skeleton.
Nic, an accomplished athlete in high school, participated in taekwondo, wrestling, football and track and field. Nic was also an impressive track and field athlete at California State at Northridge, where he qualified for the Big West Championships in the 100- and 200-meter events. He further expanded his appreciation for fitness and started coaching decathletes at UCLA in 2010 and was briefly a sports technology assistant with the United States Olympic Training Center. These days, Nic works as a fitness consultant at Altis (formerly known as the World Athletics Center), a conditioning facility in Arizona, where he trains his wife and two-time Olympian bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor.
Nic and Elana met over the phone in 2011 when Nic contacted the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, looking for his misplaced race entry forms. Elana was interning in the finance department and answered the phone. Their conversation lasted hours, and their relationship culminated in a wedding in April 2014. And with the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation declaring bobsledding gender-neutral, the Taylors raced together on a four-person team that consisted of Elana as pilot, Nic as brakeman, and two teammates.
Nic decided to give bobsledding a shot after hearing his former college roommate and Olympian, Nick Cunningham, describe his sliding victories. Since 2012, Nic has made six world cup appearances as a push athlete, including bringing home bronze in the two-man in 2013. He took gold in consecutive four-man games (2012, 2013) at the America’s Cup. Keep an eye out for this promising athlete as he hopes to channel his efforts from those winning seasons while competing at the Olympic Winter Games 2018.
The name for bobsled came from the early days, when racers tried bobbing their heads back and forth to propel and assist the sled.
The first woman’s bobsled event—the two-woman bobsled—was held in 2002.
Bobsled was invented by the Swiss in the late 1860s.
A multi-talented athlete, Elana also played professional softball and rugby prior to bobsledding.
Elana has three degrees—
a bachelor’s, master’s, and MBA. She has also interned with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Fast facts
Elana Meyers Taylor
Two-time U.S. Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor made history in December 2014, becoming the first woman, along with friend and fellow U.S. Olympian Kallie Humphries, to compete in a four-man bobsled race at the world cup in Calgary. Elana was assertive in advocating that this event be declared gender neutral to expand opportunities for women, but she also had an ulterior motive. Breaking down this barrier meant that Elana and her husband Nic, a member of the USA Bobsled men’s team, could now compete together.
Elana got her start in the sport in summer 2007, when she made the trip to Lake Placid, New York, home of the U.S. Bobsled National Team, and never left. Elana turned out to be an incredibly powerful brakewoman and less than three years later she stood on the podium in Vancouver as an Olympic bronze medalist as a push athlete. She made a second appearance at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, walking away with silver but this time as pilot. Now, at 32, Elana has more than 20 titles, including four in world competitions from both the mixed team and two woman events.
Elana is a force outside of sliding. She’s played professional softball, competed in tournaments as a member of the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team, is an athlete director on the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation Board of Directors, and dreams of becoming a business leader in the U.S. Olympic Movement. This Classroom Champions athlete-mentor has more than 50 online tutorials geared to children. Her topics include everything from how to achieve goals, to nutrition to cultivating friendships, and more.
At her fourth world cup in Koenigssee, Germany, in January 2015, Elana and brakewoman
Cherrelle Garrett’s sled crashed. She believes she suffered a concussion from this accident. And she would unfortunately bump her head in November while racing in the world cup in Altenburg, Germany. Despite winning silver, a week later at the 2015 Winterberg World Cup, Elana was still plagued by blurred vision, off-timing, recurring headaches and other concussion symptoms
she’d experienced with the initial diagnosis. Frightened and devastated, Elana dropped out of the Europa Cup, returned to therapy, and was forced to contemplate life without sports.
Coming off a year of extensive therapy and armed with an innovative new helmet designed to reduce concussions and a refurbished sled with extra padding, Elana was back in full swing with a new perspective. Winning and dominating on the track remain priorities for the world champion, but being able to compete free of troublesome headaches is of equal importance.
During intense game-time moments, pucks can
sometimes move at 100 miles per hour.
Sled hockey players have special gloves, and they are fastened inside their sleds at the feet, ankles, and hips for added security.
Only male athletes were named to the 2014 roster for Team USA, but sled hockey became a mixed competition at the Paralympic Winter Games for the first time in 2010.
Rico has an impressive list of achievements—he’s a Purple Heart recipient and Paralympic gold medalist in sled hockey.
Since 1994 in Lillehammer, sled hockey has been played at the Paralympic Winter Games.
Fast facts
Rico Roman
In February 2007, while serving a third tour of duty in Iraq, U.S. Army Sgt. Rico Roman’s Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb as he performed a routine checkpoint. The explosion caused severe damage to both his legs. A year later, after undergoing several surgeries and treatments and taking medication that caused unwanted symptoms, he decided amputation of his left leg would be the best option to stop the ongoing pain.
Rico refused to allow being an amputee to prevent him from having an active life. He joined a nonprofit organization that provides support to wounded service members and began playing wheelchair basketball, and even participated in a 150-mile hand cycling event. One of his fellow group members commented on Rico’s exceptional athletic skills and suggested that he try sled hockey. An unconvinced Rico had to be further coaxed due to the fact that he had little overall knowledge of
the sport.
But once he started playing, Rico, an Oregon native, quickly became an enthusiast who moved to the competitive ranks in 2009 as a player on the Midwest Sled Hockey League’s San Antonio Rampage, an all-veteran team. His involvement with this squad lifted his spirits, gave him a sense of camaraderie that he likened to being in a platoon, and taught this Purple Heart recipient to focus on his capabilities rather than limitations. Driven, Rico committed himself to earning a spot on the 2010 U.S. Paralympic Team but was not selected. This experience compelled him to work harder, and his advances would not go unnoticed.
In 2012, he joined the Dallas Stars and helped the team win the 2012 USA Hockey Sled Classic Division A Championship. He was awarded two world medals—the gold for the International Paralympic Committee’s Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship, and silver the following year. Rico’s greatest merit as an athlete came when he landed a spot on the U.S. Paralympic National Sled Hockey Team, which captured gold at the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014.
After losing to Canada in April at the 2017 Para Sled Hockey World Championship, Rico and his teammates are looking forward to repeating as gold medalists on the world stage at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
The first mogul competitions in freestyle skiing (medaled event) took place at the Olympic Winter Games 1992 in Albertville, France.
In ritualistic fashion, the night before a competition, Mikaela paints her nails with a sparkly polish.
If she wasn’t a skier, Mikaela says she would have probably considered a career in the housing market, or as an architect or interior designer.
Fast facts
Mikaela Matthews
In 2014, U.S. Olympic hopeful Mikaela Matthews, an eight-year veteran of the U.S. ski team, was coming off a victorious year, with a silver medal at the U.S. Championships and her first world cup podium in Inawashiro, Japan. When she fell in a training run and broke her arm less than one month from the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, her dreams were shattered. Mikaela would spend much of 2015 recovering from this season-ending injury.
When Mikaela returned to training after therapy, she found that she had developed a fear of over rotating a backflip (the same type of crash that broke her arm). Her trepidation was understandable, considering one of the four pieces of broken bone remained pressed against a nerve, so a bad landing could cause her to lose all mobility. Through many sessions with a sports psychologist, and some tears of frustration, she overcame this fear and was able to once again devote her time to perfecting tricky moves for which steep slopes mogul (freestyle) skiing is known.
Her supportive coaching staff, rigorous summer training sessions and Mikaela’s own resilience netted a first-place finish in December 2015 in Ruka, Finland. She finished the season ranked sixth in the world, and became the first woman to ever win a moguls world cup with a back full (backflip with a
full twist).
Mikaela got her start in the sport early. At a time when most toddlers are beginning to take their first steps, Mikaela was hitting the slopes with her parents, both of whom ski regularly. Initially, a young Mikaela began alpine racing with the Copper Mountain Race Club near her hometown in Frisco, Colorado. She became familiar with the European slopes and tapped into her new passion, the moguls, during her family’s short stay in Denmark. Upon returning to the United States, Mikaela joined Team Summit, a youth ski club that offers skill development. Mikaela is still affiliated with this organization and is also a summer camp coach for ID One USA in Whistler.
Between missing out on the Olympic Winter Games Sochi, fighting past her fear of reinjuring herself, and having remained on the U.S. developmental team for eight years before advancing, Mikaela has had a hard-fought journey. Participating in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 will be a major confidence booster for her.
Mikaela has a special connection to Deloitte: She is the daughter of Lailla Matthews, Advisory Business Analyst at CIS by Deloitte.
Hilary’s cousin, Chip Knight, is a three-time Olympic skier.
The Canadian Hockey Association says the first recorded women's hockey game took place in 1892
in Barrie, Ontario.
While ice hockey has been an event at the Olympic Winter Games since
1920, the first women’s tournament was not
until 1998.
In her hometown of Sun Valley, Idaho, the city declared May 19, 2011 as Hilary Knight Day.
Fast facts
Hilary Knight
When Hilary Knight, at age six, expressed an interest in playing ice hockey, her grandmother responded that the sport wasn’t for girls. To date, Hilary has won the silver medal at the Olympic Winter Games 2010 and the Olympic Winter Games 2014. The seven-time International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s world champion is arguably one of the greatest players of all time. She has helped women’s professional hockey gain mainstream attention and changed its perception, both on and off the ice.
At 25, this homegrown Idaho phenom made history as the first female skater (non-goalie) to practice with a National Hockey League team—the Anaheim Ducks. Promoting her principles of self-acceptance and confidence, the U.S. Olympic forward, who was once embarrassed by her muscular physique, was featured in ESPN The Magazine’s 2014 Body Issue. As a testament to her mental toughness and aptitude, 10 days after reaching an agreement for higher wages, Hilary delivered an
all-star performance, scoring the game-winning, overtime goal, that helped bring home the gold
in the IIHF World Championship.
Hilary’s consistency as a powerhouse in women’s hockey dates to her collegiate years at the University of Wisconsin. The three-time All-American was only a sophomore when she led her team to a 2009 national championship. Her school record for the most goals (143) by a female or male hockey player remains unbroken. On the professional circuit, her sheer dominance was evident early, too. Hilary was at the center of the Boston Pride’s 2016 Isobel Cup in their National Women's Hockey League debut. To boot, she is a two-time Canadian Women’s Hockey League champion.
Freestyle skiing has also been called "hot dog skiing" because the skiers who pioneered the sport were known as "hot dogs" on
the slopes.
Gus won silver in slopestyle at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, which is the same year slopestyle became an event at
the Games.
Fast facts
Gus Kenworthy
The origin of Gus Kenworthy’s success as a free skier is partly rooted in sibling rivalry. The U.S. Olympic medalist and Telluride, Colorado, native longed to be a better skier than his two older brothers. He practiced for hours on end at the ski slopes, only to go home and attempt to master more tricks on the rough-and-ready jumping hills that he built in his family’s backyard. Besides bonding with his brothers and perfecting his techniques, there was an underlying reason behind Gus’ determination—he’d known he was gay since age five, and felt that made him different than the other boys around him. At such a young age, that led to feelings of insecurity. Being the best skier gave
him relief.
Fast forward years later—Gus earned silver in slopestyle at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, top rankings from the Association of Freeskiing Professionals and FIS World Cup wins. But recognition for the elite athlete came with the difficult truth that he was hiding something. He changed that in October 2015. In what could be described as Gus’s most courageous move ever, he came out as gay. The reception was unlike anything Gus envisioned. He had spent much of his life uncertain and worried about the possible reaction of sponsors, friends and fans. Instead, he was deemed a hero, his competitiveness soared and wins poured in—the Dew Tour’s slopestyle in Breckenridge; halfpipe at the Grand Prix in Mammoth; double silver for the halfpipe and slopestyle at X Games Aspen, which was his first podium in this location; and a bronze in halfpipe at X Games Oslo.
The wunderkind—who turned pro at 16 and nailed four different double corks in a history-making performance at the US Grand Prix halfpipe in 2016—has indicated that an acting career is in his
future plans, and this switch may happen after the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. It’ll
be all the more interesting to see what he pulls out of his repertoire for what could be his final Olympic performance.
Speedskating is one of six sports to appear in every Olympic Winter Games, from the inaugural Olympic Winter Games in 1924 to the Olympic Winter Games 2018 in PyeongChang.
In long track speedskating, athletes compete in pairs and change lanes once per lap to equalize distance.
Speed skate blades used to be made with the rib bones of animals, progressing from bones to wood to iron and now steel. The lighter and sturdier steel skates required less sharpening and helped revolutionize this competitive sport.
Chosen by his father, Shani’s name is Swahili
and, the English translation is a combination of “light” and “weight.”
Fast facts
Shani Davis
Four-time Olympian Shani Davis’s unwavering desire to be the fastest has not diminished since putting on his first pair of skates as a kid in Chicago. And because of the fact, the two-time gold medalist speedskater hopes to head to PyeongChang as a top contender in what could possibly be his final appearance in the Olympic Winter Games.
Shani’s 2016-17 season saw high points both on and off the ice. He concluded the season, becoming the all-time leader in points (more than 13,100) in International Skating Union World Cup competitions, captured with a silver medal for the 1,000-meter at Heerenveen, Netherlands. Moreover, Shani earned this No. 1 spot in fewer world cup starts and seasons than its previous record holder. Along with being the all-time points leader, Shani has amassed 58 individual world cup victories. In October, Shani was immortalized with a statue dedication in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture’s “Game Changers” exhibit. His replica is placed in the company among other sculptures of great black athletes who have made an impact within sports such as Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson.
An overview of Shani’s numerous honors can’t be summarized without reference to his Olympic Winter Games glory days. He cemented his place in history as the first African-American to achieve a gold medal in an individual sport at a Winter Olympic Games, for his 2006 win of the 1000-meter event, where he also won silver in the 1,500-meter, and further solidified his elite status with repeat performances in both events at the Vancouver Games.
The season after competing at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, Shani went on to win his 10th individual world championship, winning the 1000m at the World Single Distance Championships during the 2014-2015 season. With his sights on the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, Shani is excited to be in Asia for the Olympic Winter Games, as he has always been a huge fan of Korean culture and Asian culture generally.
The first ice skates were made of animal bones—
metal blades came around in the 13th century.
Figure skating debuted at the Olympic Winter Games in London in 1908.
Jason’s ponytail became
so popular that it has
its own Twitter account.
In between trainings, Jason is a college student at
the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Fast facts
Jason Brown
As a child, Olympian Jason Brown idolized his older sister, Jourdan, and still thinks she’s the “coolest,” citing her as the reason he began skating. Captivated by one of Jourdan’s ice-skating performances, including the overall production—lights and costumes—at age three, Jason told his mother he wanted to skate too. Jourdan moved on from figure skating but Jason continued and rose to the elite tier of the professional ranks.
Over the past several years, Jason earned the bronze medal for the team event at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014; won his first national title at the 2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina; took home the bronze at the 2017 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas City, Missouri; and competed in Helsinki, Finland, in April 2017 to help Team USA gain three men’s quota spots at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
His most talked about performance, the free skate at the Olympic Winter Games 2014, was based on Irish step dancing. Jason received a standing ovation from the Sochi crowd and then saw his performance go viral. Ten days after it was posted online, the video had received more than three million views due to Jason’s infectious showmanship, artistry and originality.
Among skating purists, the fact that Jason didn’t perform a quad jump was seen as an indication that he was more about artistry than athleticism and power. Jason recently added the jump to his repertoire, but his attention has been focused on staying healthy. After being sidelined for much of the 2017 season with a stress fracture in his right calf, he vows to be in tip-top shape for the Olympic Winter Games 2018. He points the finger at overexertion—Jason and his choreographer, Rohene Ward, would often spend a two-hour lesson on just one five-second segment of the Irish
dance presentation.
Of course, remaining healthy, improving on a single move or both combined, are not enough to guarantee a medal. But for Jason, already a fan favorite with personal flair, these attributes may raise the stakes in his quest to represent Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games for a second time.
Air resistance is a major factor in speedskating performance. Unlike many sports, high altitudes help skaters because the air is less dense than at sea level, meaning there’s less resistance as they move.
Long track speedskating is considered to be the fastest, human-powered, non-mechanical sport in the world.
Brittany was a star basketball player in high school and college, serving as team captain and point guard at Florida Atlantic. She landed eighth on her alma mater’s scoring list, totaling 1,075 points in her four years.
Fast facts
Brittany Bowe
After 32 world championship medals in inline speedskating, Brittany Bowe left the scene in 2008 to play basketball at Florida Atlantic University. By her senior year, Brittany’s sights were set on playing professionally in Europe. That is until she watched her friends and competitors from the inline skating world on television, competing in speedskating at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010. Her dreams of being an Olympian were rekindled, and Brittany embarked on an ambitious mission to participate at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014.
Being a multisport athlete perhaps comes with certain advantages. A year after Brittany traded in her basketball sneakers for speed skates, Brittany was named to the U.S. National Team. In just her second season competing internationally in world cups, Brittany won three world cup medals during the 2012-2013 season. It didn’t take long for Brittany to find her stride, and she currently holds the world record for the 1,000 meters. Altogether, Brittany has won nine world championship medals in speedskating, from 2013 to 2015. Among these honors are four golds, two silvers and three bronzes. Brittany, 29, is looking to add to her impressive resume. Unsatisfied with her efforts in Sochi—finishing 13th in the 500, eighth in the 1,000 and 14th in the 1,500—she’s seeking redemption in PyeongChang this winter.
Brittany was well on her way to putting 2014 behind her, after setting multiple world records and defending her World Sprint Title, as well as being named a finalist for the AAU James E. Sullivan Award after a stellar 2015-2016 season. As training began for the 2016-2017 season, during summer training session in July of 2016, Brittany suffered a concussion. Thought to be in the clear after returning to the ice four months later and winning a bronze for the 1,000-meter at Heerenveen, Netherlands, her symptoms reoccurred. In February 2017, Brittany announced that she was stepping away from world competitions to focus on healing and preparing for 2018. She took to her rehab and recovery with the same fortitude, training and preparedness she used to successfully transition from a university point guard to an Olympic speedskater and four-time world champion.
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Paralympian skier Danelle Umstead is a three-time women’s world cup overall champion in the visually impaired category. A lion-hearted Danelle, with her husband Rob’s direction, plans to ski downhill at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, in their third consecutive trip to the Paralympic Winter Games. They have three bronzes, one from the Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver and two from Paralympic Winter Games Sochi.
Danelle Umstead
Paralympic skiing
Follow Nic:
Read Nic's full bio
Nic Taylor’s pursuit of a medal is a long journey full of athletic achievements before he made it to the bobsled and skeleton track. He was an all-star track and field athlete in high school and college, prior to becoming a world cup champion bobsledder and trying his hand at skeleton as well.
If anyone knows what they’re physically capable of it’s Nic. He holds a master’s degree in exercise science and is a professional fitness consultant to high-performance athletes, including his wife, Olympian bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor.
Nic Taylor
Bobsled
Follow Elana:
Read Elana's full bio
Elana Meyers Taylor is a real go-getter. After only a few years training as a driver, she followed up a bronze in bobsledding as a brakeman at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 with silver as a driver at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. Frightening, recurring concussion symptoms from a crash in 2015 forced Elana into therapy and thinking about life without sport. After a full physical, mental, and emotional recovery, she’s ready to make her way to PyeongChang with her second world championship gold in tow.
Elana Meyers Taylor
Bobsled
Follow Rico:
Meet the U.S. Paralympic sled hockey team
Read Rico's full bio
While serving in Iraq, a bomb explosion left Rico Roman critically injured. In 2008, when the pain became unbearable, Rico decided to have his left leg amputated. Once accustomed to using his prosthetic, the retired US Army Sgt. started playing sled hockey and found the team’s solidarity uplifting. Soon, Rico was playing competitively, making his way to the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014; now he’s a seasoned professional returning to the Paralympic Winter Games to proudly serve his country and help Team USA defend their title.
Rico Roman
Paralympic sled hockey
Follow Mikaela:
Read Mikaela's full bio
When Mikaela Matthews, U.S. Olympic hopeful, fell in a training run and broke her arm less than one month away from the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, her dreams were shattered. Then came Mikaela’s fear of repeating the injury. She applied the mental fortitude of a champion and pushed through. The payoff—she finished the season ranked sixth in the world, won a world cup with a backfull, and is training to compete in the Olympic Winter Games 2018.
Mikaela Matthews
Freestyle skiing
Follow Hilary:
Read Hilary's full bio
At 25, this homegrown Idaho phenom made history as the first female skater (non-goalie) to practice with a National Hockey League team—the Anaheim Ducks. She has since served as a role model for young girls interested in ice hockey, both coaching them and delivering positive body image messages to girls and women of all ages. At the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, Hilary is poised for gold, and second place doesn’t seem to be an option.
Hilary Knight
Ice hockey
Follow Gus:
Read Gus's full bio
From the start, Gus’s free skiing career has been one for the history books. The talented skier, who brought a silver medal home from the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, was discovered at 16 via a video, turned pro shortly after, and won the highly regarded X Games in all three disciplines. He bravely came out as gay in 2015, after struggling with uncertainty about his decision. The reception was fantastic, and Gus continued wowing spectators. Eyes are on Gus as he makes his way to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
Gus Kenworthy
Freestyle skiing
Follow Shani:
Meet the U.S. Speedskating team
Read Shani's full bio
Chicago native and four-time Olympian speedskater Shani Davis is still breaking records. In 2017, he became the all-time leader in points in world cup competitions and took bronze in the world sprints in Seoul, finishing just .11 behind first place. He’s setting his sights on the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, gaining momentum from these recent powerful performances.
Shani Davis
Long track speedskating
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Figure skater Jason Brown saw his performance at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 go viral, garnering more than 3 million views over 10 days. He earned a bronze medal at The Games, and he’s aiming for another medal in PyeongChang. The Highland Park, Illinois, native suffered injuries that kept him off the ice for a time since 2014, but he’s back in action, and he's added the complicated quad jump to his routine.
Jason Brown
Figure skating
Follow Brittany:
Meet the U.S. Speedskating team
Read Brittany's full bio
With more than 30 medals in world inline speedskating, Brittany Bowe left the sport in 2008 to play basketball at Florida Atlantic University, where she was a captain for three years. But watching friends compete in Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, she dreamed of competing as well. Back on the scene but this time on the long track ice, she competed in the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 and currently holds the world record for the women’s 1,000-meter race. Currently recovering from a concussion, Brittany is preparing for and hoping to compete in the upcoming Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
Brittany Bowe
Long track speedskating
Paralympic skiing
Bobsled
Bobsled
Paralympic sled hockey
Freestyle skiing
Ice hockey
Freestyle skiing
Long track speedskating
Figure skating
Long track speedskating
Danelle Umstead
Nic Taylor
Elana Meyers Taylor
Rico Roman
Mikaela Matthews
Hilary Knight
Gus Kenworthy
Shani Davis
Jason Brown
Brittany Bowe
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