40 Park City athletes make up nearly one-fifth of Team USA for upcoming Winter Games

United States' Lindsey Vonn will ski in the 2026 Olympic Games. Photo: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

PARK CITY, Utah — The Youth Sports Alliance has announced the Park City Nation athlete delegation headed to the Milano Cortina Winter Games next month, spotlighting the outsized role the mountain town continues to play on the world’s biggest winter sports stage.

The delegation includes athletes who train with one of the Youth Sports Alliance’s seven partner winter sports teams, as well as competitors with deep ties to Park City or who call the community home. Paralympic athletes connected to Park City Nation will be announced next month.

According to YSA, Park City Nation athletes make up 19% of Team USA — a striking figure for a community of Park City’s size. In addition to representing the United States, athletes competing under the Park City Nation banner also hold passports from Austria, Great Britain, Guinea-Bissau and the Philippines.

Park City Nation has a strong Olympic track record. If the community competed as its own country, Park City-based athletes would have finished 12th in the overall medal standings at the Beijing Winter Games, between Canada and Japan. In 2018, Park City Nation placed 20th, tied with Australia, and in 2014 posted its strongest showing to date with a 10th-place finish, tied with Switzerland.

“What makes Park City Nation so special is it’s the pathway,” said Emily Fisher, executive director of the Youth Sports Alliance. “So many of these athletes first clicked into skis, stepped onto the ice, or rode a sled down a luge track through the YSA’s afterschool programs. Many others receive need-based financial support from the Stein Eriksen YSA Opportunity Endowment to pursue their sport. Seeing them represent Park City on the Olympic stage is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when kids are given opportunity, support and a place to belong.”

This year’s Park City Nation delegation includes a mix of Olympic veterans and first-time competitors, underscoring the depth and sustainability of the community’s winter sports pipeline. From afterschool programs to the Olympic podium, Park City continues to show how a small mountain town can make a global impact.

Park City Nation by the numbers

• 40 athletes representing five countries are competing under the Park City Nation banner.
• Four athletes began their athletic journeys in YSA afterschool programs.
• Five athletes received funding from the Stein Eriksen YSA Opportunity Endowment.
• Nine athletes are graduates of the Park City School District, and nine attended the Winter Sports School.
• 17 athletes trained with Park City Ski & Snowboard, the local club sending the most athletes to the Games.
• The Wasatch Luge Club is sending the highest percentage of its membership, with two athletes qualifying.