The athletes of Park City Nation. Photo: YSA

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced the 2024 U.S. Youth Olympic Games Team that will compete at the Winter Youth Olympic Games from Jan. 19-Feb. 1 in the Gangwon province of South Korea.

Team USA’s delegation will include 101 total athletes representing eight national governing bodies ranging in age from 13 to 18. Team USA will compete in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, freeski, freestyle dual moguls, snowboard, ski jumping, nordic combined, ice hockey, biathlon, bobsled, skeleton, curling, luge, and speedskating over 13 total days of competition. Hailing from 26 states, over half of the country is represented, with many athletes representing America’s coldest states.

“The Youth Olympic Games offer an incredible opportunity for young athletes of the world to come together in celebration of sport,” Lynn Wentland, USOPC Director of Games Operations and Chef de Mission for the 2024 Youth Olympic Games said in a statement. “They gain not only great experience on the field of play, but also the unique and special experience of representing their country in international competition alongside athletes from many other sports.”
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Team USA athletes competing in the 2024 YOGs are a part of the largest USA delegation since the event’s inception. Previous events featured 95 (2020), 62 (2016) and 63 (2012) United States athletes. The United States had its most successful Youth Olympic Games showing in Norway in 2016, finishing fourth in total medal standings and tying for in the gold count.

This year’s Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) marks the fourth edition of the event and the first of its kind held in Asia, taking place in the province of Gangwon in the Republic of Korea. The event will utilize many of the same facilities constructed for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, affording the athletes the opportunity to compete in the same venues as past Olympic champions and reside in dedicated Youth Olympic Villages. Gangwon will host the largest contingent of youth winter athletes yet, welcoming over 1,900 athletes with equal representation of males and females.

Emily S. Fisher, spokesperson for Park City’s Youth Sports Alliance, highlighted the significance of Park City and the Wasatch Back as a nurturing environment for winter sports athletes. “Our region has long been recognized as a great place for young athletes to grow up and pursue their passion for winter sports. YSA’s Get Out & Play program serves as the starting point for many of these athletes, while our partner winter sport clubs lay the foundation for their journey to top-level competitions. We are thrilled to see our athletes representing our community on the global stage.”

The Youth Olympic Games provides an opportunity for young, standout athletes to compete in elite environments and prepare future Olympic hopefuls. The YOG concept was created by the International Olympic Committee to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt the principles of Olympism.

Coverage and information on the Youth Olympic Games can be found on the official website for Gangwon 2024.

Utahns noted in bold:

Alpine Skiing: Annika Hunt (East Burke, Vt./Park City, Utah), Christina Winchell (Stowe, Vt.), Jevin Palmquist (Eagan, Minn.), Stewie Bruce (Vail, Colo.), Nicole Begue (Miami, Fla.)

Biathlon: Elias Soule (Anchorage, Alaska), Emily Campbell (Park City, Utah), Molly Maybach (Boise, Idaho), Noa Kam-Magruder (Anchorage, Alaska), Alex Taylor (Lincoln, Mass.), John Lohuis (Anchorage, Alaska)

Bobsled: Liam Mckenna (Lunenburg, Mass.), John Lansing (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Emily Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.)

Cross-country: Rose Horning (Leadville, Colo.), Neve Gerard (Bend, Ore.), Sydney Drevlow (X), Tabor Greenberg (Moretown, Vt.), Benjamin Barbier (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Landon Wyatt (Bozeman, Mont.)

Curling: Ella Wendling, Benji Paral (Eau Claire, Wisc.), Zachary Brenden (Bismark, N.D.), Owen Nelson (Mandan, N.D.), Teagan Thurston (Poynette, Wisc.), Kenna Ponzio (Savage, Minn.)

Figure Skating: Jacob Sanchez (Montgomery, N.Y.), Sherry Zhang (San Jose, Calif.), Olivia Ilin (North Potomac, Md.), Dylan Cain (North Bethesda, Md.), Cayla Smith (Churubusco, Ind.), Jared McPike (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Freeski: Kate Gray (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Piper Arnold (Lake Tahoe, Calif.), Ben Fethke (Boise, Idaho/Park City, Utah), Hunter Maytin (Aspen, Colo.), Eleanor Andrews (Northampton, Mass.), Henry Townshend (Park City. Utah), Jack Rodeheaver (Park City, Utah)

Freestyle: Elizabeth Lemley (Vail, Colo.), Abigail McLarnon (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Porter Huff (Longmont, Colo.), Jiah Cohen (Vail, Colo.)

Ice Hockey: Logan Stuart (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Logan Lutner (Maple Grove, Minn.), Luke Schairer (Charlotte, North Carolina), Mikey Berchild (Excelsior, Minn.), Parker Trottier (Edina, Minn.), Shaeffer Gordon Carroll (Midway, Utah), Spencer Thornborough (Boxford, Mass.), Tyler Martyniuk (Washington Township, Mich.), Xavier Wendt (Plymouth, Minn.), Zane Torre (Ladera Ranch, Calif.), Abraham Barnett (Glencoe, Ill.), Alexander Francisco (Hermantown, Minn.), AJ Garcia (Romeoville, Ill.), Cole Bumgarner (Albertville, Minn.), Gavin Weeks (Goffstown, N.H.), Jackson Marthaler (Superior, Wisc.), JP Hurlbert (Allen, Texas)

Luge: Orson Colby (Riverton, Utah), Nathan Bivins (Castleton, N.Y.), Wolfgang Lux (Swanton, Vt.), Sadie Martin (Vermontville, N.Y.), Ellie Kleinheinz (Santa Clara, Calif.), Haidyn Bunker (West Farmington, Ohio), Talia Tonn (Cecil, Wisc.)

Nordic Combined: Anders Giese (Wilmette, Ill.), Kai McKinnon (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Arthur Tirone (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Ella Wilson (Steamboat Springs, Colo.)

Skeleton: Noah Park (Salt Lake City, Utah), Baden Park (Salt Lake City, Utah), Biancha Emery (Bend, Ore./Park City, Utah)

Ski Cross: Morgan Shute (Allendale, N.J.), Maggie Swain (Kingfield, Maine), Aiden England (Truckee, Calif.), Walker Robinson (Frisco, Colo.)

Ski Jumping: Sawyer Graves (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Jason Colby (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Estella Hassrick (Madison, Wisc.), Josie Johnson (Park City, Utah)

Snowboarding: Sonora Alba (San Pedro, Calif.), Hanna Percy (Truckee, Calif.), Boden Gerry (Carrabassett Valley, Maine), Mason Hamel (Bethel, Maine), Alessandro Barbieri (Portland, Ore.), Rochelle Weinberg (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Noah Avallone (Montauk, N.Y.), Becca Flynn (Victoria, Minn.), Oliver Martin (Wilcott, Colo.), Bri Schnorrbusch (Monroe Township, N.J.), Brooklyn DePriest (Rocklin, Calif.), Olivia Lisle (Edwards, Colo.)

Speedskating: Kyung Jang (Seoul, Korea), Julius Kazanecki (Bethesda, Md.), Liam Kitchel (Norwich, Vt.), Eliza Rhodehamel (Madison, Wisc.), Sean Shuai (Sandy, Utah), Marley Soldan (Tacoma, Wash.), Max Weber (Little Canada, Minn.)