Wisconsin well-represented by Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics & Paralympics

WISCONSIN (WFRV) – The 2026 Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina and 2026 Winter Paralympics are here, and it’s time to meet the many Wisconsinites who are set to represent the United States in Italy.

Olympic spotlight shines on northeast Wisconsin’s curling legacy

Two people from northeast Wisconsin will compete for Team USA, both having prior Olympic experience in the biathlon.

The 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Paris saw 18 Wisconsinites, including northeast Wisconsin’s own Tyrese Haliburton (Oshkosh) and Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah).

Without further ado, let’s meet the Wisconsin representatives who will look to bring home gold. This list is in alphabetical order by last name and includes athletes who may not originally be from Wisconsin but were listed by Team USA as members of a team in Wisconsin (UW-Madison):

2026 Olympic Winter Games

• Britta Curl-Salemme—University of Wisconsin-Madison, Women’s Ice Hockey: Curl-Salemme is not a Wisconsin native, growing up in Bismarck, North Dakota; however, she spent two years as the captain of the Wisconsin Badgers, winning three national championships. The 25-year-old is the program’s all-time leader in games played (181).

• Laila Edwards—University of Wisconsin-Madison, Women’s Ice Hockey: Edwards was not born in Wisconsin, but the 21-year-old will be familiar to Badgers fans, as she’s won two national championships at UW-Madison. Edwards is a two-time medalist at the World Championships, with a gold in 2025 and silver in 2024. She’s also set to become the first Black woman to play for the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team.

• Caroline Harvey—University of Wisconsin-Madison, Women’s Ice Hockey: Another Badgers star is heading to the Olympics to play for Team USA’s women’s hockey team. Harvey was born in New Hampshire, and like Edwards, she’s a two-time national champion at UW-Madison. She also won a silver medal with the USA in 2022 as the team’s youngest member.

• Deedra Irwin—Pulaski, Biathlon: Hailing from northeast Wisconsin, Irwin returns to the Olympics after a 7th-place finish during the 15km individual in Beijing four years ago. That finish was the best for an American during an individual biathlon Olympic event. The Pulaski native even earned a personalized jersey from her beloved Packers when she was named to the Olympics in 2022.

• Hilary Knight—University of Wisconsin-Madison, Women’s Ice Hockey: Another former Badgers star, Knight is not a Wisconsin native, but she did grow up in Illinois after moving there as a five-year-old. The four-time Olympian has medaled in each of her trips with Team USA, once coming home with the gold. She’s the all-time leading scorer in Wisconsin’s program history, with two national titles.

• Emery Lehman—Marquette University, Speedskating: Lehman is not a Wisconsin native, but he grew up just outside of Chicago, and he stayed in the Midwest for school, playing club hockey at Marquette. The three-time Olympian took home a bronze medal in Beijing as part of the Team Pursuit 8 Laps in 2022.

• Ben Loomis—Eau Claire, Nordic Combined: Loomis returns to the Olympics for his third go-around, as the 27-year-old looks to follow up with a higher finish than his sixth-place performance in the Team Large Hill / 4x5km four years ago in Beijing. He finished in the No. 10 spot for the same event in the 2018 Games.

• Ava McNaughton—University of Wisconsin-Madison, Women’s Ice Hockey: The 21-year-old goaltender holds the Badgers’ single-season record for wins in a season with 36 in 2024-25. According to her Team USA bio, she fell in love with hockey after watching the Vancouver Games in 2010.

• Marcus Mueller—Brookfield, Luge: The 20-year-old Mueller will make his Olympic debut in Italy, coming off a fourth-place finish in the Mixed Team Relay event at the 2025 World Championships. He won a gold medal in doubles at the 2025 Lake Placid America-Pacific Championship.

• Jadin O’Brien—Pewaukee, Bobsled: The 23-year-old is actually well-known for another sport, during a much different season, in fact. O’Brien is a three-time Track and Field National Champion in the Pentathlon at the University of Notre Dame; however, she’ll make her Winter Olympics debut with the United States in bobsledding.

• Paul Schommer—Appleton, Biathlon: Another northeast Wisconsinite, Schommer hails from Appleton and heads to his second Olympics for the biathlon. Schommer finished 7th at the Beijing Games in 2022 in the 4 x 6km Relay – Mixed, and he’s participated in countless World Championships events.

• Kirsten Simms—University of Wisconsin-Madison, Women’s Ice Hockey: Another Badgers hockey star, the 21-year-old forward is from a suburb of Detroit. Badgers fans will surely know her name as well, as she tied the 2025 National Championship game with just 18.9 seconds to go with a penalty shot, then she scored the title-winner in overtime.

• Jordan Stolz—Kewaskum, Speedskating: The 21-year-old is back in the Olympics, after debuting at 17 years old in Beijing, one of only three American men’s speedskaters to do so. He’s a 10-time medalist at the World Championships, and he was inspired to skate after watching Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis at Vancouver’s Games in 2010, as his dad cleared a track on the pond behind their house.

2026 Winter Paralympics

• Liam Cunningham—River Falls, Sled Hockey: Cunningham is just 17 years old, and he’s heading to his first Paralympics as a member of the United States National Sled Hockey Team. He’s a two-time Para Hockey Cup champion.

• Laura Dwyer—Oconomowoc, Wheelchair Curling: Dwyer is not from northeast Wisconsin, but she’s certainly familiar with it, as a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The 48-year-old lead will be part of the United States team, which includes multiple Wisconsin representatives.

• Steve Emt—DeForest, Wheelchair Curling: The 56-year-old wasn’t born in Wisconsin, but the Team USA website lists him as from DeForest, and he curls for a club in Dane County. He’s a former basketball walk-on at UConn, before he was paralyzed in a car crash at 25. The two-time Paralympian helped Team USA qualify with his partner, Laura Dwyer.

• Dan Rose—Tomah, Wheelchair Curling: The 41-year-old is no stranger to the Stars and Stripes, as he joined the United States Army Reserve in 2003; unfortunately, he became paralyzed from the chest down after an IED explosion while serving in Afghanistan, but he credited adaptive skiing with helping him escape a dark place. Rose is a UW-Eau Claire graduate.

• Matt Thums—Ogema, Wheelchair Curling: The 49-year-old began curling when he was 35, and he went to school at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau. The 2022 Paralympian curls at home for the Wausau Curling Club.

Another Wisconsin Badger will play in the Olympics as well, as freshman Adéla Šapovalivová earned a spot for her native Czechia as a member of the women’s Ice Hockey team.

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It’s not just athletes, either, as the United States Women’s Ice Hockey head coach hails from right here in northeast Wisconsin, as John Wrobelewski, born and raised in Neenah, is set to coach the talented roster, which is filled with current and former Badgers stars.

Local 5 will continue to update this with additional names as more athletes are named. A full list is available here from Team USA. If somebody is missing, please feel free to reach out!