United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super-G race in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
The 223-person U.S. Olympic roster revealed Monday includes four athletes making their fifth trip to the Games: Shaun White and Lindsey Jacobellis in snowboarding, Katie Uhlaender in skeleton and John Shuster in curling.
There are 114 men, 108 women and one athlete who identifies as nonbinary — figure skater Timothy LeDuc — on the roster. The 223 athletes make up the second-biggest contingent the U.S. has ever sent to the Games. The opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics is Feb. 4, with some of the curling action beginning on Feb. 2.
Most athletes had already been nominated by their respective sports for the Olympic team. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's announcement makes their spots official.
On Monday night, Anna Hoffman was given a quota spot for women's ski jumping. Hoffmann won the U.S. Olympic ski jumping trials last month and she becomes the only American woman in the Olympic ski jumping competition.
There are 131 U.S. athletes making their debuts. Among the 92 veterans, 39 have already won medals. That includes White, who could become only the second person to win individual gold medals at four separate Winter Olympics, joining speedskater Ireen Wust of the Netherlands.
Mikaela Shiffrin comes into Beijing with two gold medals. If she wins one more, she'll snap a tie with Ted Ligety and Andrea Mead-Lawrence for the most of all American Alpine skiers.
The NBA’s 78th season starts Tuesday, with a ring ceremony in Denver — the traditional celebration of the reigning champions — highlighting the opening-night celebration. The Nuggets beat Miami last June to become the league’s fifth different champion in the last five years, a run of parity the likes of which the league hasn’t seen in more than 40 years.
The Las Vegas Aces became the first team in 21 years to win back-to-back WNBA championships, getting 24 points and 16 rebounds from A’ja Wilson and a defensive stop in the closing seconds to beat the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the Finals.
American officials expressed disappointment Monday after learning that bobsled, skeleton and luge events will not be held in Italy during the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, a move that means athletes from those sports will likely be competing in either Austria or Switzerland during the games.
