{"id":293568,"date":"2018-01-26T12:13:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-26T19:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=293568"},"modified":"2018-01-26T12:13:41","modified_gmt":"2018-01-26T19:13:41","slug":"hey-snow-is-just-frozen-water-good-luck-usa-winter-olympic-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/hey-snow-is-just-frozen-water-good-luck-usa-winter-olympic-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey! Snow is Just Frozen Water; Good Luck USA Winter Olympic Team"},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.S. Olympic Committee Announces 242-Member 2018 U.S. Olympic Team<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The United States Olympic Committee today announced the 242-member 2018 U.S. Olympic Team that will compete at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games\u00a0PyeongChang 2018. The team is comprised of 107 women and 135 men \u2013 the largest athlete delegation for any nation in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. The United States will be represented in all 15 disciplines across seven sports, and 97 of the 102 medal events that will be contested in Korea.<\/p>\n

The USOC revealed the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team during a live announcement show hosted by\u00a0Jeremy Bloom<\/b>on the\u00a0Team USA Facebook channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, Team USA is among the largest teams to compete in the Olympic Winter Games, and we continue to see a spike in excellence from Americans competing in winter sports as the sport program expands to include more opportunities for our athletes,\u201d said Alan Ashley, U.S. chef de mission and USOC chief of sport performance. \u201cWe are primed and ready for another strong showing from our athletes, who have made a long-time commitment to represent us as the best in the U.S. at these Games, and we look forward to cheering for each member of Team USA on the world\u2019s greatest stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2018 U.S. Olympic Team features 103 returning Olympians \u2013 including three five-time Olympians, 12 four-time Olympians, 28 three-time Olympians and 60 two-time Olympians. The slate of veterans features 37 Olympic medalists, including 10 Olympic champions and 15 who have won multiple Olympic medals. Of the 10 returning Olympic champions, five are looking to defend their titles from Sochi \u2013\u00a0Jamie Anderson<\/b>\u00a0(snowboarding slopestyle),\u00a0Maddie Bowman<\/b>\u00a0(freestyle skiing halfpipe),\u00a0Ted Ligety<\/b>\u00a0(alpine skiing giant slalom),\u00a0Mikaela Shiffrin<\/b>\u00a0(alpine skiing slalom) and\u00a0David Wise<\/b>\u00a0(freestyle skiing halfpipe).<\/p>\n

In PyeongChang, Team USA will be looking for its 100th gold medal (currently stands at 96) and 300th overall medal (currently stands at 284).<\/p>\n

Kelly Clark<\/b>\u00a0(snowboarding) and\u00a0Kikkan Randall<\/b>\u00a0(cross-country skiing) become the first female five-time U.S. Olympians at the Winter Games, while\u00a0Shani Davis<\/b>\u00a0(long track speedskating) becomes the first U.S. speedskater to compete in five Olympics. Only six other athletes in U.S. Olympic history have competed in five or more Olympic Winter Games.<\/p>\n

Four-time Olympians on the roster include\u00a0Lowell Bailey<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Tim Burke<\/b>\u00a0(biathlon);\u00a0Stacey Cook<\/b>, Ligety,Steven Nyman<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Lindsey Vonn<\/b>\u00a0(alpine skiing);\u00a0Erin Hamlin<\/b>\u00a0(luge);\u00a0Lindsey Jacobellis<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Shaun White<\/b>(snowboarding);\u00a0Andy Newell<\/b>\u00a0(cross-country skiing);\u00a0John Shuster<\/b>\u00a0(curling); and\u00a0Katie Uhlaender<\/b>\u00a0(skeleton).<\/p>\n

Davis is the most decorated athlete on the U.S. roster as a two-time champion in the 1,000-meter and a two-time silver medalist in the 1,500. Ligety and White also hold two Olympic titles in their respective disciplines, whileJ.R. Celski<\/b>\u00a0(short track speedskating) has three medals (1 silver, 2 bronze). Also with three medals \u2013 including one gold \u2013 Clark is the most decorated female Olympian on the roster.<\/p>\n

Sixteen athletes on Team USA have competed at the Winter Youth Olympic Games \u2013 the most ever on a U.S. Olympic Team \u2013 and have won a combined 15 Youth Olympic medals. They are highlighted by two-time 2016 Youth Olympic gold medalist snowboarders\u00a0Chloe Kim<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Jake Pates<\/b>, and 2012 Youth Olympic championsSummer Britcher<\/b>\u00a0(luge),\u00a0Ben Ferguson<\/b>\u00a0(snowboarding) and\u00a0Tucker West<\/b>\u00a0(luge).<\/p>\n

The 2018 U.S. Olympic Team is the most diverse U.S. winter team on record, with 10 African-Americans, 11 Asian-Americans and the first two openly gay male athletes (Gus Kenworthy<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Adam Rippon<\/b>) to represent Team USA at the Winter Games.\u00a0Maame Biney<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Erin Jackson<\/b>\u00a0will be the first African-American women to represent the U.S. in speedskating, while\u00a0Jordan Greenway<\/b>\u00a0is the first African-American on the U.S. hockey team.<\/p>\n

Team USA includes 46 reigning world medalists, including 30 world champions, highlighted by long track speedskater\u00a0Heather Bergsma<\/b>, who won 2017 world championship gold medals in the 1,000 and 1,500, and bronze in mass start, which makes its Olympic debut for both men and women in PyeongChang.<\/p>\n

Four additional events will be contested at the Games for the first time, including an alpine skiing team event and mixed doubles curling, plus men\u2019s and women\u2019s snowboarding big air<\/p>\n

Beginning at\u00a011 p.m. ET<\/span><\/span>\u00a0on\u00a0Feb. 7<\/span><\/span>, NBCUniversal will present more than 2,400 hours of coverage across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network, the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app \u2013 the most ever for a Olympic Winter Games.<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to view the full 2018 U.S. Olympic Team roster by sport and state (athletes\u2019 recognized hometowns).<\/p>\n

Follow Team USA<\/u><\/b>
\nTeam USA fans can follow the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team at\u00a0TeamUSA.org\/2018Olympics<\/a>\u00a0and across Team USA\u2019s social channels on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, Snapchat and\u00a0YouTube<\/a>. The U.S. Olympic Team microsite will offer Team USA results from the Olympic Winter Games, as well as athlete biographies, sport previews, a history book (published the week of\u00a0Jan. 29<\/span><\/span>), competition schedules, and facts and figures about the U.S. delegation.<\/p>\n

2018 U.S. Olympic Team Fun Facts<\/b><\/p>\n