Olympics

Meet the New England athletes who will compete for Team USA at the Winter Olympics

Caroline Harvey is 19 years old.

By Matt Pepin, The Boston Globe

February 4, 2022

The United States is sending 222 athletes to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which officially begin Friday with the Opening Ceremony.

In many of the disciplines, from Alpine skiing to short-track speedskating, there will be athletes with ties to New England. Men’s and women’s hockey represent a significant portion of the list because of New England’s status as a hotbed of youth hockey and the home of elite college programs.

“It’s always a great honor to represent our country at an Olympic Games, and I feel a high level of excitement for the opportunity to be competing in Beijing,” said downhill skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle of Starksboro, Vt.

The US biathlon and cross-country ski teams are also loaded with New Englanders, including 2018 cross-country skiing gold medalist Jessie Diggins, who is from Minnesota but also lives near Stratton Mountain, Vt., to train with the group of elite cross-country athletes that has gathered there.

“I’m honored and excited to be representing my country once more as a member of the 2022 Olympic team,” Diggins said. “This will be my third Olympics, and I’m so proud of all the hard work and dedication from all our athletes to make this team.”

Here is a sport-by-sport look at athletes with connections to New England.

Alpine skiing

Ryan Cochran-Siegle: From Starksboro, Vt., Cochran-Siegle was having a solid season in 2020-21 — posting his first World Cup victory — but he was injured in a crash in Austria in January and missed the rest of the season.

He is from the first family of ski racing in Vermont — the Cochrans, of the ski area by the same name — and competed in four events at the 2018 Olympics.

Other connections: Paula Moltzan attends the University of Vermont … Mikaela Shiffrin and Nina O’Brien attended Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont.

Biathlon

Susan Dunklee: From Craftsbury, Vt., and a member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, Dunklee will compete in her third and final Olympics. After competing on the World Cup circuit since 2011, Dunklee, who will turn 36 during the Games, plans to retire from competition after this season.

Clare Egan: A multi-sport athlete at Cape Elizabeth High in Maine, at Wellesley College, and at the University of New Hampshire, Egan, 34, will appear in her second Olympics. She is also a member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project whose career highlights include a third-place finish in the mass start event at the 2019 World Cup Finals in Oslo.

Sean Doherty: Making his third Olympic appearance, the 26-year-old from Center Conway, N.H., was a junior world champion in 2013, 2014, and 2016. A member of the Vermont Army National Guard and its biathlon team, he has competed on the World Cup circuit since 2015. Doherty clinched his ticket to the Olympics with wins in the sprint and pursuit at the US trials.

Leif Nordgren: A member of the Vermont Army National Guard who resides in Hinesburg, Vt., Nordgren will be at his third Olympics. Nordgren, 32, has competed on the World Cup since 2010.

Other connections: Hallie Grossman, who is from South Burlington, Vt., and is a member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, is an alternate for the women’s team … Jake Brown of St. Paul is a member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project … Deedra Irwin is a member of the Vermont Army National Guard and its biathlon team.

Bobsled & skeleton

Frank Del Duca: The driver of one of two US bobsleds that qualified for the Games is a member of the Army World Class Athlete Program from Bethel, Maine. He attended the University of Maine and competed on its track team before pursuing bobsled, first as a push athlete before switching to the pilot’s seat.

Kris Horn: The push athlete from Pembroke was a highly accomplished track athlete at the University of Massachusetts who set school records in the decathlon and heptathlon and won Atlantic-10 titles in both events. He has competed in bobsled since 2018, and will be making his first Olympics appearance.

Other connections: Bobsled push athlete James Reed, who was a member of the four-man sled piloted by the late Steven Holcomb in 2017, was a track athlete at the University of Maine … Skeleton athlete Kelly Curtis attended Springfield College and competed on the track and cross-country teams.

Cross-country skiing

Ben Ogden: The University of Vermont student from Landgrove, Vt., will turn 22 during the Olympics. He is a member of the Stratton Mountain School Elite Team and will be making his Olympic debut.

Caitlin Patterson: From Craftsbury, Vt., and a member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, Patterson, 32, competed in the 2018 Olympics and has five top 10 finishes in World Cup events and 11 US national championships titles.

Jessie Diggins: The 2018 Olympic gold medalist is from Afton, Minn., and Stratton, Vt., where she trains as part of the Stratton Mountain School Elite Team. She also competed at the 2014 Olympics, and won the US’ first Olympic gold in cross-country with Kikkan Randall in the team sprint in PyeongChang.

Julia Kern: A Dartmouth graduate from Waltham, Kern races for the Stratton Mountain School Elite Team. She was the 2019 US sprint champion, and has a pair of podium finishes on the World Cup circuit on her résumé.

Sophia Laukli: The 21-year-old from Yarmouth, Maine, attends the University of Utah and posted her best World Cup finish in January with a fifth-place at the Tour de Ski in Italy.

Other connections: Rosie Brennan attended Dartmouth … Scott Patterson (Caitlin’s brother) attended the University of Vermont

Figure skating

Zachary Donohue: From Madison, Conn., Donohue was silver medalist in ice dance along with partner Madison Hubbell at the 2022 US Championships. The duo won the US title in 2018, 2019, and 2021 and was fourth in the 2018 Olympics.

Other connections: Jimmy Ma of the Skating Club of Boston is the third alternate in the men’s singles division … Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov of the Skating Club of Boston are the second alternates in pairs … Gabriella Izzo of the Skating Club of Boston and Brighton is the third alternate in women’s singles.

Freestyle skiing/freeskiing

Megan Nick: The 25-year-old aerials specialist from Shelbourne, Vt., is a University of Utah graduate whose résumé includes many World Cup wins. This will be her Olympic debut.

Eric Loughran: The 2018 Olympian’s hometown is Pelham, N.H., and he was a member of the Loon Mountain Freestyle club. Loughran, 26, is an aerials specialist who was a US champion in 2020.

Olivia Giaccio: A 21-year-old moguls competitor from Redding, Conn., Giaccio was the 2017 FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year. She competes for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.

Hannah Soar: The moguls specialist from Killington, Vt., who races for the Killington Mountain School will make her Olympics debut at 22. She has been on the podium in both World Cup and NorAm events.

Devin Logan: The halfpipe specialist from West Dover, Vt., and the Mount Snow Academy will appear in her third Olympics. She won silver in 2014 in slopestyle and competed in both halfpipe and slopestyle in 2018. She will turn 29 during the Beijing Games.

Caroline Claire: From Manchester Center, Vt., and the Stratton Mountain School, the slopestyle and big air competitor turns 22 this week. She competed in slopestyle at the 2018 Olympics, and has several World Cup podium appearances on her list of accomplishments.

Mac Forehand: A slopestyle and big air competitor from Southport, Conn., and the Stratton Mountain School, Forehand, 20, has a World Cup slopestyle victory and a junior world championship on his résumé. It will be his first Olympics.

Men’s hockey

David Quinn: The head coach of the men’s team is from Cranston, R.I., and was a player and head coach at Boston University. He also coached the NHL’s New York Rangers.

David Lassonde: The team’s goaltending coach is from Durham, N.H. Lassonde has three decades of college coaching experience, including positions at Dartmouth, Denver, New Hampshire, Miami (Ohio), and Wisconsin.

Scott Young: The assistant coach is a former NHL player from Clinton, and was in a similar role for the 2018 Winter Olympics. He is the director of player development for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

David Warsofsky: The defenseman from Marshfield now plays in the German pro league. He played 10 games for the Bruins between 2013 and 2015, and won a national championship in 2009 at Boston University.

Matty Beniers: A forward from Hingham, Beniers is a sophomore at the University of Michigan who was the second overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Seattle Kraken. At 19, he is the youngest player on Team USA.

Sean Farrell: The forward from Hopkinton is a sophomore at Harvard, where he is among the team’s scoring leaders. He played in the USHL in 2019-20.

Marc McLaughlin: From North Billerica, the forward is a senior at Boston College, where he is a team captain. He won Hockey East’s best defensive forward award in 2021.

Drew Commesso: The goaltender from Norwell is a sophomore at Boston University. He was selected by the Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Other connections: Forwards Brian O’Neill and Kenny Agostino are former Yale players who are now in Russia’s KHL … Forward Nick Abruzzese plays at Harvard and is among the team’s scoring leaders … Defenseman Steven Kampfer played for the Bruins from 2010-12 and 2018-21 and now plays in the KHL … Goalie Strauss Mann, who leads the Swedish Hockey League in goals against average (1.77) and save percentage (.930), is from Greenwich, Conn. … Defenseman Aaron Ness is a minor league journeyman who is with the Providence Bruins of the AHL this season … Defenseman Drew Helleson is a junior at Boston College.

Women’s hockey

Alex Carpenter: The forward from North Reading was a member of the silver medal-winning US women’s team at the 2014 Olympics. She won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation’s best college player as a junior at Boston College in 2015, and set several BC records in four seasons, including points (267), goals (128), and assists (139). Carpenter has played on the US women’s team in seven world championships and also played for the Boston Pride in 2016-17, when she was the NWHL’s leading goal scorer.

Caroline Harvey: A University of Wisconsin commit, Harvey, who plays defense, is from Salem, N.H. She played on the US women’s national team that won silver at the 2021 World Championships, and has represented the US in junior competitions.

Courtney Kennedy: The assistant coach from Woburn is an associate head coach at Boston College, where she has been part of the women’s hockey program since 2007. Her duties at BC include coaching defense and special teams, and she is also in charge of recruiting and hockey operations.

Brian Pothier: From New Bedford, Pothier is an assistant coach, a role he has served in other international competitions. Pothier played in the NHL from 2000-10.

Other connections: Forward Kendall Coyne Schofield played four seasons at Northeastern, where she set school and Hockey East records for points (249), goals (141), and single-season points (84). She is the captain of Team USA … Defense player Cayla Barnes was a team captain at Boston College as a junior in 2020-21 and a member of the US women’s team that won gold at the 2018 Olympics … Defense player Megan Keller played four seasons at Boston College and was the Hockey East Player of the Year in 2019 … Forward Brianna Decker played for the Boston Blades of the CWHL in 2014-15 and the Boston Pride of the NWHL from 2015-17 … Forward Hayley Scamura played four seasons at Northeastern and was Hockey East’s best defensive forward in 2017 … Forward Jesse Compher played four seasons at Boston University and was captain as a senior in 2020-21 … Forward Hilary Knight played for the Boston Blades pro team from 2012-15 and the Boston Pride from 2015-17 … Team doctor Ally Howe and trainer Wayne Lamarre are from Portland, Maine.

Luge

Zack DiGregorio: The doubles competitor is from Medway, and is paired with Sean Hollander of Lake Placid, N.Y. DiGregorio, 20, got his start in the sport at a USA Luge slider search held in Massachusetts and has steadily worked his way up the ranks.

Tucker West: From Ridgefield, Conn., the men’s singles slider also competed in the 2014 and 2018 Olympics. He has won three times on the World Cup circuit and was part of a US team relay victory at the 2012 Youth Olympics.

Emily Sweeney: The US Army World Class Athlete Program member is from Suffield, Conn., and was born in Portland, Maine. She is a singles slider who competed in the 2018 Olympics and has been on a World Cup podium seven times, including one victory.

Snowboarding

Julia Marino: A slopestyle and big air competitor from Westport, Conn., Marino competed in both disciplines at the 2018 Olympics. She has won seven X Games medals and has five World Cup victories.

Lindsey Jacobellis: The snowboard cross specialist resides near Stratton Mountain, Vt., and attended the Stratton Mountain School. She will be making her fifth Olympic appearance.

Alex Deibold: From Manchester, Vt., and the Stratton Mountain School, Diebold won the bronze medal in snowboard cross at the 2014 Olympics. He has been involved in competitive snowboarding with the US team for 18 years.

Speedskating

Julie Letai: A Medfield resident who made the Olympic women’s short-track team at the team trials in Utah, Letai, 21, will compete in the relay event. She attends the University of Utah.

Kristen Santos: A short-track specialist from Fairfield, Conn., Santos was fourth in the 500 meters at the 2021 World Championships, and sixth in the 3,000 at the same event. She has three podium finishes on the World Cup tour this season, and holds two American records (1,000 and 1,500 meters).

Material from previous Globe reporting, national governing bodies for winter sports, the Team USA website, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the Associated Press, and media reports was used in this report.