Team USA made a powerful entrance at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 6, with a record 232 athletes competing to represent the country.
Leading Team USA was speed skater Erin Jackson, one of the Team USA flag bearers. The athletes are represented across a variety of Winter Olympic Sports. However, for many athletes, including Jackson, these games represent more than just a competition, as many are returning to the Olympic Games with goals of major physical and mental comebacks.
Jackson is a 33-year-old speed skater from Ocala, Florida. Although Milan will be her third Olympics in speed skating, her athletic career began in inline skating, where she is far from unaccomplished — she holds 12 world championship medals. After trying speed skating in 2017, she quickly made it her primary focus in training. She made her Olympic speed skating debut in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
After placing 24th in the 500-meter women’s speed skate event in 2018, she returned to the Olympic ice in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Summer Games, where she took home gold. In Beijing, she became the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic speed skating gold medal and set the record in the women’s 500-meter.
However, since becoming an Olympic gold medalist, Jackson has had to undergo several surgeries due to various strenuous injuries and health complications, including herniated discs, uterine fibroids and gastrointestinal issues.
Due to her previous injuries, Jackson’s top priority for the 2026 Winter Olympics was her physical health, which she implemented into her training.
“I’m trying to train smarter versus harder and keep my back as happy as possible,” Jackson told Women’s Health magazine.
Not only did Jackson plan to defend her title in the 500-meter, but she also attempted the 1000-meter at the Olympic level for the first time at this year’s games.
Jackson, unfortunately, did not receive the place she had hoped for, coming just short of the podium in the women’s 500-meter on Feb. 15.
“I’m obviously disappointed with not getting on the podium, but that’s racing,” Jackson said.
Though she also fell short of the podium in the women’s 1000-meter, she does not discount her experience and is happy with her growth.
“That was my second-best finish in the 1000 ever. Last (Olympics), I wasn’t even competing in the 1000. It’s a distance that I’ve had a ton of respect for, and I’ve just been trying to get better and better at it. So, yeah, I couldn’t be happier,” Jackson said. “Well, I could be happier with a medal.”
Jackson was not the only American Olympian looking to defend her title at the games. Two-time gold medalist Chloe Kim, of the American Snowboarding Team, looked to defend her gold in the women’s Snowboarding Halfpipe.
Kim’s snowboarding career started when her parents bought her first board off of eBay at four years old. Her family then began taking long trips from her home in Long Beach, California, to the mountains. By 14 years old, she became the youngest athlete to win a superpipe event at the Winter X Games in 2015.
At 17 years old, Kim made her Olympic debut in the halfpipe at the PyeongChang 2018 Games and won gold, becoming the youngest woman ever to win an Olympic snowboarding title. Adding to her records, Kim was also the first woman ever to land back-to-back 1080s, 1260 and a cab-double-cork 1080 in halfpipe competition, high-scoring snowboarding tricks.
“To land my run in my first final of the season was the most rewarding and validating thing I’ve ever experienced.” Chloe Kim, Olympic snowboarder
After taking home gold at the 2022 Olympic Games, Kim took a physical and mental break from snowboarding to ease the intense pressure she was putting on herself.
“I can’t help but have high expectations for myself. I want to be the best snowboarder that I can possibly be and if I can’t do it, it’s frustrating, like I can’t stand it,” Kim told Cheddar News.
During her break, she ensured she was prioritizing her mental health, and only deliberated her return when she felt physically and mentally ready. The 2026 Games mark her comeback to the sport.
“I just want to enjoy this moment, take it all in and then get back to it when I’m feeling ready, but as of now the plan is most definitely to go after a third medal,” Kim said when she announced her break.
When Kim made her return to the halfpipe this year, she attempted to defend her title. Kim gave a great first run, getting 13 feet over the halfpipe edge and showing off a 1080 spin while riding backwards, but unfortunately she fell during her next two runs. Kim came just short of gold, earning silver, second to South Korea’s Choi Gaon whom Kim was proud to congratulate as her former mentor.
Despite not getting the gold, Kim is now the first woman to medal in the halfpipe at three straight Olympic Games. Although it was not the outcome she had hoped for, Kim posted photos of her silver medal to Instagram, including a caption about how proud she was of persevering through the mental stress and pressure she was experiencing and of earning her third Olympic medal.
“A month ago, I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to compete. I was in the darkest space mentally and felt so much fear coming back. To land my run in my first final of the season was the most rewarding and validating thing I’ve ever experienced,” Kim said.
“My goal honestly is just to hype people up, give them an experience, whether it’s negative or positive.” Alysa Liu, Olympic figure skater
Athletes are not only returning from health breaks, but also from retirement. American figure skater Alysa Liu, for instance, came out of retirement to compete at the Milan games.
skater Alysa Liu, for instance, came out of retirement to compete at the Milan games.
20-year-old Liu, from Oakland, California, was the youngest ever U.S. Figure Skating Champion at just 13 years old. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, she placed 6th overall and helped Team USA to bronze. However, soon after the 2022 Winter Games, she chose to retire at just 16 years old.
“I just had to try a bunch of other things, and at the time, I thought the only way for me to do that was to leave because I really felt trapped and stuck,” Liu told Time Magazine.
However, in 2024, Liu found herself back on the rink during a ski trip, recovering her love for the sport. Realizing that mental pressure was what had previously taken her out of the sport, she told her coaches she wanted to return, but this time on her terms.
“I get to pick my own program music. I get to help with the creative process of the program,” Liu said. “If I feel like I’m skating too much, I’ll back down. If I feel like I’m not skating enough, I’ll ramp it up. No one’s gonna starve me or tell me what I can and can’t eat.”
At this year’s games, Liu is focused on ensuring that her return to the ice is not driven by additional pressure, but rather by positive energy.
“My goal honestly is just to hype people up, give them an experience, whether it’s negative or positive,” Liu said.
“Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me.” Lindsey Vonn, Olympic alpine skier
Along with Liu, four-time Olympic alpine skier Lindsey Vonn came out of retirement for the 2026 Games. The Minnesota native began skiing at age 3 and competed in her first Olympic Games at 17 in 2002. Since then, she has won three medals in women’s downhill and set numerous records, including being the only woman to reach the podium at six world championships.
Vonn has previously been prone to injuries, having torn her ACL in 2013, followed by another injury in 2018 that forced her to retire. However, at 41, she returned to competition after retirement and persevered through her injuries to compete in Italy this year. Despite tearing her ACL again on Jan. 30 during a practice run just before the Winter Olympic Games, she did not back down from the race.
“I’m still here. I think I’m still able to fight. I think I’m still able to try. And I will try as long as I have the ability to, I will not go home regretting not trying,” Vonn said.
Vonn was still determined to prove herself and compete at the Olympics. However, on Feb. 8, she took a hard fall in the first women’s downhill event, which ended her campaign at this year’s Games.
Though many skiers respect and admire Vonn’s choice to persevere through her injuries, many people on social media felt that ignoring injuries sent a negative sentiment. Vonn responded to criticism in an Instagram post on Feb. 9, saying that her fall was independent of her injury and she has no regrets. She ended her post with a testament to her mental strength and to her unapologetic choice to compete, as it was the right one for her.
“I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me,” Vonn said.
Though Vonn did not accomplish the comeback she had set out for, she prides herself on making the correct choice for her mental health. Likewise, Jackson, Kim and Liu all made similar prioritizations of their mental health to not only enhance their performances, but also their love for the sport they devote their time to.
