The United States will send its largest ever contingent of winter athletes to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics as a whopping 232 people will represent the Stars and Stripes when the Games begin in February.
The full Team USA roster was unveiled this week, with athletes from 32 states headed overseas to battle for gold.
“While we honor their individual excellence, and the undeniable strength of the full team, we also recognize that no athlete reaches this moment without the support of a broad community that supported and believed in them, both on and off the field of play,” United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a statement. “Congratulations to each member of this extraordinary team who have earned their chance to represent the United States on the biggest stage in sport.”
Here are some facts and figures about who will make up the latest Olympic squad:
- Ninety-eight athletes will be returning to the Olympics for at least the second time. Seven will be making their fifth appearances: Evan Bates (figure skating), Nick Baumgartner (snowboarding), Faye Thelen (snowboarding), Kaillie Humphries (bobsled), Meyers Taylor (bobsled), Hilary Knight (ice hockey) and Lindsey Vonn (alpine skiing).
- Colleges remain a popular pipeline to Olympic competition. Eighty-four members of Team USA are current or former NCAA varsity athletes, according to the NCAA, which is roughly 36% of the roster. The two colleges with the most representatives are Minnesota (seven) and Boston College (six).
- The youngest athlete on the roster is the appropriately named freeskier Abby Winterberger, who is 15. The oldest is 54-year-old curler Rick Ruohonen.
Curious about more of which places make up the Team USA roster?
- The state that produced the most Olympians is Colorado, with 32 athletes listing hometowns from the Centennial State.
- Unsurprisingly, many states in the North also produced great numbers of athletes. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are combining to send 52 Olympians — nearly a quarter of the roster alone.
- In terms of overall regions, 94 athletes are from the West, 67 are from the Midwest, 51 are from the Northeast, and 16 are from the South.
