Meet the Minnesotans competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics

Afton native Jessie Diggins has proudly represented her country at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Now the 34-year-old cross country skiing superstar is preparing for her swan song at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. She announced months ago that she plans to retire upon the conclusion of the World Cup campaign, which means this is the last time she will wear the red, white, and blue as a professional.

It would be storybook ending for Diggins if she could add another gold medal to her collection over the next couple of weeks. She became a household name nearly a decade ago when she teamed up with her childhood idol Kikkan Randall and brought home a gold medal.

You could make the argument that nobody has helped grow the sport more in the U.S. than Diggins over the past decade. She has carried herself with an unmistakable joy that has become her calling card. She also has used her platform to fearlessly advocate for mental health at every opportunity.

That’s something Minnesotans can be proud as Diggins headlines a large contingent from her home state at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Here’s a full list of the Minnesotans set to compete:

MINNESOTA OLYMPIANS

Luci Anderson

Age: 25

Sport: Biathalon

Country: USA

Connection: Golden Valley native

Taylor Anderson-Heide

Age: 30

Sport: Curling (Mixed)

Country: USA

Connection: Gophers alumna

Giorgia Birkeland

Age: 23

Sport: Speedskating

Country: USA

Connection: White Bear Lake native

Matt Boldy

Age: 24

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Wild forward

Josefin Bouveng

Age: 24

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Gophers forward

Danny Casper

Age: 24

Sport: Curling (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Gophers alumnus

Kendall Coyne Schofield

Age: 33

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Frost forward

Britta Curl-Salemme

Age: 25

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Frost forward

Jessie Diggins

Age: 34

Sport: Cross Country Skiing

Country: USA

Connection: Afton native

Korey Dropkin

Age: 30

Sport: Curling (Mixed)

Country: USA

Connection: Minnesota Duluth alumnus

Joel Eriksson Ek

Age: 29

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Wild forward

Brock Faber

Age: 23

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Wild defenseman, Maple Grove native

Margie Freed

Age: 28

Sport: Biathlon

Country: USA

Connection: Apple Valley native

Adam Gajan

Age: 21

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: Slovakia

Connection: Minnesota Duluth goaltender

Aileen Geving

Age: 38

Sport: Curling (Mixed)

Country: USA

Connection: Duluth native

Jake Guentzel

Age: 31

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Woodbury native

Rory Guilday

Age: 23

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Chanhassen native

Filip Gustavsson

Age: 27

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Wild goaltender

Erik Haula

Age: 34

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: Finland

Connection: Gophers alumnus

Taylor Heise

Age: 25

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Frost forward, Lake City native

Tindra Holm

Age: 24

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Minnesota Duluth goaltender

Quinn Hughes

Age: 26

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Wild defenseman

Klara Hymlarova

Age: 26

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Czechia

Connection: Frost forward

Marcus Johansson

Age: 35

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Wild forward

Thea Johansson

Age: 23

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Minnesota Duluth forward

Ida Karlsson

Age: 21

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Minnesota Duluth defenseman

Zak Ketterson

Age: 28

Sport: Cross Country Skiing

Country: USA

Connection: Bloomington native

Denisa Krizova

Age: 31

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Czechia

Connection: Frost forward

Emilia Kyrkko

Age: 21

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Finland

Connection: St. Cloud State goaltender

Jackson LaCombe

Age: 25

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Eden Prairie native

Nelli Laitinen

Age: 23

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Finland

Connection: Gophers defenseman

Conor McDermott-Mostowy

Age: 27

Sport: Speedskating

Country: USA

Connection: Macalester alumnus

Paula Moltzan

Age: 31

Sport: Alpine Skiing

Country: USA

Connection: Prior Lake native

Abbey Murphy

Age: 23

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Gophers forward

Greta Myers

Age: 21

Sport: Speedskating

Country: USA

Connection: Lino Lakes native

Natalie Mlynkova

Age: 24

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Czechia

Connection: Gophers forward

Jake Oettinger

Age: 27

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Lakeville native

Aidan Oldenburg

Age: 24

Sport: Curling (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Mapleton native

Kelly Pannek

Age: 30

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Frost defenseman, Plymouth native

Tabitha Peterson

Age: 36

Sport: Curling (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Eagan native

Tara Peterson

Age: 34

Sport: Curling (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Eagan native

Iris Pflum

Age: 22

Sport: Snowboarding

Country: USA

Connection: Minneapolis native

Tereza Plosova

Age: 19

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Czech Republic

Connection: Gophers forward

Ben Richardson

Age: 27

Sport: Curling (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Richfield resident

Rich Ruohonen

Age: 54

Sport: Curling (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: St. Paul native

Paul Schommer

Age: 33

Sport: Biathalon

Country: USA

Connection: St. Scholastica alumnus

Emma Soderberg

Age: 27

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Minnesota Duluth alumna

Lee Stecklein

Age: 31

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Frost defenseman, Roseville native

Nico Sturm

Age: 30

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: Germany

Connection: Wild forward

Cory Thiesse

Age: 31

Sport: Curling (Mixed and Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Duluth native

Luc Violette

Age: 26

Sport: Curling (Men’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Eagan resident

Svenja Voigt

Age: 21

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Germany

Connection: St. Cloud State forward

Lindsey Vonn

Age: 41

Sport: Alpine Skiing

Country: USA

Connection: Burnsville native

Jesper Wallstedt

Age: 23

Sport: Hockey (Men’s)

Country: Sweden

Connection: Wild goaltender

Siiri Yrjola

Age: 21

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Finland

Connection: St. Cloud State forward

Laura Zimmermann

Age: 22

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: Switzerland

Connection: St. Cloud State forward

Grace Zumwinkle

Age: 26

Sport: Hockey (Women’s)

Country: USA

Connection: Frost forward, Excelsior native

United States skip Rich Ruohonen, a St. Paul native, delivers a stone against Canada during the World Men’s Curling Championship on April 7, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

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