Meet Team USA's Nordic and Cross Country Skiers for Milan-Cortina 2026

Preview

Team USA will be represented in all three major Nordic ski disciplines at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games.

Across the cross country, Nordic combined, and ski jumping disciplines, the USA has 20+ of the country's most talented athletes. Perhaps most notably, the women's cross-country team is led by Jessie Diggins, who will be competing in her fourth Olympic Games in Milan Cortina and looking to add to the three Olympic medals already in her name. Diggins, who is the most decorated American cross-country skier of all time, qualified for the Games following the World Cup in Trondheim, Norway, in December of 2025. She's said the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games will be her last, and she plans to retire in March, after the rest of the World Cup season.

In Nordic combined, Ben Loomis will make his third Olympic appearance for the USA in Milan-Cortina and has been on the national team for 10 years. Loomis is joined by Niklas Malacinski, who is one of the 48 rookies on the US Stifel Ski Team. Malacinski is currently the only American man ranked in the top 30 on the World Cup circuit this year, with four top-20 finishes.

USA ski jumping is represented by a roster of six athletes, five of whom are Olympic rookies. Kevin Bickner, 29, will lead the group into his third Olympic Games. Bickner retired following the 2022 Beijing Games but returned to sport two years later, achieving two personal bests during the 2024-25 season. Alongside Bickner, USA ski jumping is represented by three-time national champion Tate Frantz, 20, and Jason Colby, 19. Colby earned 7th place at a World Cup stop earlier this year, which is the best placement earned by an American male in more than two decades. The three women qualified for Team USA in ski jumping are similarly talented. Annika Belshaw won her eighth national title this season and is the highest-ranked American woman on the World Cup circuit.

Here are the full rosters for Team USA in cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping.

The 2026 POWDER Photo Annual is here! Look for a print copy on a newsstand near you, or click here to have a copy shipped directly to your front door.

Cross Country

Women

• Rosie Brennan, 37
• Jessie Diggins, 34
• Lauren Jortberg, 28
• Julia Kern, 28
• Kendall Kramer, 23
• Novie McCabe, 24
• Sammie Smith, 20
• Hailey Swirbul, 27

Men

• John Steel Hagenbuch, 24
• Zak Ketterson, 28
• Zanden McMullen, 24
• Ben Ogden, 25
• James "JC" Schoonmaker, 25
• Gus Schumacher, 25
• Hunter Wonders, 27
• Jack Young, 23

Nordic Combined

• Ben Loomis, 27
• Niklas Malacinski, 22

Ski Jumping

Women

• Annika Belshaw, 23
• Josie Johnson, 19
• Paige Jones, 23

Men

• Kevin Bickner, 29
• Jason Colby, 19
• Tate Frantz, 20