The 2026 Winter Olympics is in high gear in Italy, and a small contingent of Black athletes are competing on behalf of Team USA.

The Winter Games are a space where representation of Black American athletes has been far less than in summer sports. Several of this year’s competitors are Olympic veterans, while others will make their debut on the sport’s biggest stage in 2026.

The Olympics kicked off on Feb. 6 and can be watched in the U.S. on NBC and Peacock.

Elana Meyers Taylor – Bobsled

Elana Meyers Taylor will compete in her fifth Winter Olympics in 2026. Already a five-time Olympic medalist, she has won more medals than any Black athlete in Winter Olympic history. The mother of two sons grew up near Atlanta and is a George Washington University graduate.

Erin Jackson – Speed Skating

Erin Jackson, from Ocala, Florida, is a two-time Olympian and the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold medal. She won gold in the 500 meters at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Jackson graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in materials science & engineering in 2015.


Azaria Hill – Bobsled

Azaria Hill, from Santa Clarita, California, made her Team USA bobsled debut in 2023 as a push athlete. She attended Long Beach State and UNLV and is the daughter of Olympic medalists Denean Howard-Hill and Virgil Hill Sr.

Mystique Ro – Skeleton

Mystique Ro is a Nokesville, Virginia, native who will make her Olympic debut in 2026 after winning gold at the 2024 Pan American Games and silver at the World Championships. Ro is African American and Korean and attended Queens University of Charlotte.

Jasmine Jones – Bobsled

Jasmine Jones, a Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native, competed in track and field at Eastern Michigan University before moving into two-woman bobsled. She is a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force.

Kaysha Love – Bobsled

Kaysha Love, from Herriman, Utah, competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics and is the reigning monobob world champion, becoming the first Black woman to hold that title. She graduated from UNLV with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality.

Laila Edwards – Women’s Ice Hockey

Laila Edwards, a Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native, will be the first Black woman on the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team. She attends the University of Wisconsin and is a two-time national champion.

Bryan Sosoo – Bobsled

Bryan Sosoo is a Laurel, Maryland, native who will make his Olympic debut at the 2026 Winter Games as a push athlete in four-man bobsled. A former track standout at Monmouth University, Sosoo won three conference titles in the 60 meters before competing internationally in track and field. He joined the U.S. bobsled national team in 2024 after switching sports.

Kelly Curtis – Skeleton

Kelly Curtis, from Princeton, New Jersey, will compete in her second Winter Olympics in 2026 after making history at the Beijing Games as the first Black athlete to represent Team USA in skeleton. A Springfield College alum and former heptathlete, Curtis serves in the U.S. Air Force World Class Athlete Program and consistently ranks among the top American skeleton racers.