Ocala natives headline Team USA Winter Olympics team
With the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, underway, fans may be surprised by the Sunshine State’s presence with Team USA on the ice and snow.
Ocala native and former Florida Gator Erin Jackson served as a flag bearer for Team USA at the opening ceremony, becoming the first Black woman to hold the honor at a Winter Games. Jackson, the defending 500-meter speed skating gold medalist, makes her event debut Sunday. Before then, she will make her Olympic debut today in the 1,000-meter, looking to expand her medal-winning talents into longer distances.
Ocala-resident Brittany Bowe joins Jackson, competing in her fourth and final Olympics. Bowe is slated for the 1,000-meter, 1,500-meter speed skating and the women’s team pursuit. She still holds the world record in the 1,000-meter (1:11.61), set March 9, 2019, at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City.
Mia Kilburg is back for her third Olympics. The 2018 bronze medalist is scheduled to compete in the team pursuit on Saturday. Kilburg has indicated she plans to retire after representing the Panhandle for XX years following this season.
Making his second Olympic appearance, Lake Mary-native Josh Williamson will compete in the four-man bobsled later this month. Despite battling injuries and undergoing knee surgery in recent years, Williamson remains a key part of the American push for a bobsled medal.
Coral Springs figure skater Andrew Torgashev comes from a storied skating family; his mother, Ilona Melnichenko, and father, Artem Torgashev, both competed for the Soviet Union. He will be making his Olympic debut this week in the men’s single skating competition.
Hollywood native Nick Page is competing in his second Olympics in freestyle skiing. Page, who finished fifth in Beijing in 2022, remains one of the top threats in the moguls field.
While Florida has become a hockey powerhouse thanks to the NHL’s Florida Panthers, that influence has reached the Olympic stage. Panthers alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk is making his Olympic debut for Team USA. He is joined by Orlando-born brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes. The U.S. men’s hockey team opens preliminary play against Latvia on Thursday.
Category: University of Florida, Winter Olympics
