{"id":447076,"date":"2026-02-03T19:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/447076\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:17:14","slug":"meet-15-massachusetts-natives-competing-at-2026-winter-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/447076\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet 15 Massachusetts natives competing at 2026 Winter Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Athletes from all over the world are converging on Milan and Cortina this week for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Several of those athletes call Massachusetts home.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not a state on the East Coast that has more representatives on Team USA<\/a> than Massachusetts. So get to know these 15 competitors from the Commonwealth ahead of Friday\u2019s opening ceremony.<\/p>\n

Matt Boldy, Millis
Ice Hockey<\/p>\n

Boldy was one of the premier players from the U.S. during last year\u2019s 4 Nations Face-Off. The highly skilled forward, who played two seasons at BC and was the 12th pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2019 NHL Draft, is making his Olympic debut. He has 29 goals and 29 assists for the Wild this season.<\/p>\n

Alex Carpenter, North Reading
Ice Hockey<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old is competing in her third Olympics, having also done so in 2014 and 2022. A gold medal has eluded Carpenter, though, as she took home silvers those years. Carpenter, who is the daughter of former NHL veteran Bobby Carpenter and holds the all-time record for most goals, assists and points at BC, plays for the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL.<\/p>\n

\"UnitedUnited States forward Alex Carpenter (25) celebrates her goal against Canada with United States forward Lacey Eden (7) during the third period of a rivalry series women’s hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin)
\nZachary DiGregorio, Medway
Luge<\/p>\n

DiGregorio got into luge by attending a USA Luge Slider Search event in Carlisle, Mass., when he was 10 years old. Now, the 24-year-old is appearing in his second Olympics. DiGregorio competes in men\u2019s double luge with Sean Hollander and in 2023 they became the first U.S. doubles team to win a FIL World Cup race in 18 years.<\/p>\n

Korey Dropkin, Southboro
Curling<\/p>\n

Curling is a family tradition for Dropkin and he got involved with the sport at the age of 5. He cultivated his curling craft at Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland. The 30-year-old Dropkin moved to Duluth, Minn., to continue his curling career and took home the gold at the 2023 World Championships.<\/p>\n

\"UnitedUnited States skip Korey Dropkin delivers a stone against Scotland during the World Men’s Curling Championships, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo\/John Locher)
\nJack Eichel, North Chelmsford
Ice Hockey<\/p>\n

Eichel got his hands on the Stanley Cup as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 and will now try to secure a gold medal at his first Olympics. The 29-year-old starred at Boston University and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. He has recorded 19 goals and 45 assists this season, which is his 11th in the NHL.<\/p>\n

David Eustace, Stoneham
Sled hockey<\/p>\n

Eustace had his leg amputated at five years old after being hit by a car when he was leaving school, but he didn\u2019t let that set him back. He started playing sled hockey when he was eight and was part of Team USA that captured a fourth straight Paralympic gold medal in 2022. He also has won three gold medals and one silver medal at World Championships.<\/p>\n

Chevonne Forgan, Chelmsford
Luge<\/p>\n

Forgan calls Chelmsford her hometown despite moving there from Adelaide, South Australia when she was 11. A 2018 Chelmsford High graduate, she trains in Lake Placid full-time<\/a> and won a silver medal at the 2019 USA Luge Junior National Championships. The 25-year-old now competes in doubles luge with Sophia Kirkby.<\/p>\n

Noah Hanifin, Norwood
Ice Hockey<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-3, 206-pound defenseman has a vast amount of NHL experience, having played 12 seasons with his time split between the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights. Hanifin, who spent one season at BC and was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft, has represented the U.S. at three World Championships but is making his Olympic debut.<\/p>\n

Ansel Haugsjaa, Framingham
Luge<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old Haugsjaa didn\u2019t even really know what luge was until a friend introduced him to the sport during an event at Wachusett Mountain when he was 12. Now, the 21-year-old is bursting with potential having won silver at the Cortina Olympic test event in November and a FIL World Cup gold medal a month later. He forms a doubles luge pairing with Marcus Mueller.<\/p>\n

\"MarcusMarcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa of the United States compete during the men’s sprint race at the Luge World Cup in Igls near Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo\/Matthias Schrader)
\nKris Horn, Pembroke
Bobsled<\/p>\n

Horn tried out for the U.S. bobsled team in 2018 and he\u2019s now competing in his second Olympics. The 31-year-old was an accomplished athlete at UMass as he showcased his athleticism by being a three-time conference champion in the heptathlon and decathlon. Horn was a 2012 Herald All-Scholastic<\/a> in track and field.<\/p>\n

Griffin LaMarre, Haverhill
Sled hockey<\/p>\n

LaMarre was born with spastic paraplegia, a condition that impacts his legs and balance. He discovered sled hockey at age 11. LaMarre was a backup goalie at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing and at the 2024 International Para Hockey Cup he was the starting goalie and posted two shutouts.<\/p>\n

Julie Letai, Medfield
Speedskating<\/p>\n

Several injuries almost derailed Letai from making her second Olympics. Letai, who honed her skills at Bay State Speedskating Club in Walpole as a youngster, won silver on the women\u2019s relay team at the 2024 World Championships. She competed in the 1500m and the women\u2019s relay at the 2022 Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n

\"JulieJulie Letai competes in the women’s 500-meter quarterfinals during the U.S. Olympic short track speedskating trials Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in Kearns, Utah. (AP Photo\/Rick Bowmer)
\nJulia Kern, Waltham
Cross-country skiing<\/p>\n

Kern\u2019s parents wasted no time getting her into cross-country skiing as she started the sport at just 15-months-old. Just one month after graduating from high school, Kern made the U.S. ski team and is a two-time world medalist. The 28-year-old, who graduated from Dartmouth College in 2021, is competing in her second Olympics.<\/p>\n

Sean O\u2019Neill, Forestdale
Wheelchair Curling<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill isn\u2019t your typical Paralympian. He works in Boston as a lawyer after graduating from Harvard Law School. O\u2019Neill began curling at the Cape Cod Curling Club and was named to the U.S. national team in 2024.<\/p>\n

Amie Varano, Duxbury
Ice hockey<\/p>\n

Varano\u2019s Olympic dreams came true as she will play for Team Italy at the Winter Games. A dual citizen, Varano starred at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham and had a storied career at Sacred Heart University. She has played professional hockey in Europe for several years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Athletes from all over the world are converging on Milan and Cortina this week for the 2026 Winter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[210068,23,210069,2001,658,3,210067,1082,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-447076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-2026-winter-games","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-cortina","11":"tag-massachusetts","12":"tag-milan","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-olympians","15":"tag-olympics","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}