The 2022 Winter Olympics features approximately 2,900 athletes from around the globe β more than 200 of which started in the same place, as NCAA student-athletes.
Some of these NCAA student-athletes are in Beijing representing Team USA, while others are at the Games representing their own countries.
While the Winter Olympics feature 15 sports, only two of them are NCAA sanctioned: ice hockey and alpine skiing.
Hereβs a look at the different Winter Olympic sports and see which events have collegiate representation, from least to greatest:
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Which Olympic sports have minimal NCAA impact?
The following Olympic sports have zero representation at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The main reason for that is these sports are not NCAA sanctioned sports, meaning they donβt have an official representation on college campuses.
- Short Track Speed Skating
- Curling
- Figure Skating
- Luge
- Nordic Combined
- Snowboarding
While snowboarding is not an NCAA sport, there is still a place for collegiate athletes to compete, part of the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association.
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
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"The USCSA is the preeminent governing body for collegiate team ski racing and snowboarding in North America," according to uscsa.org. The USCSA is comprised of over 175 colleges.
Numerous universities offer collegiate snowboarding, such as Dartmouth, the University of Utah and the University of Vermont, but they aren't part of the university's athletic department.
Ski Jumping
Ski jumping is represented by one college athlete, Anna Hoffmann, who is a freshman at the University of Utah. She is part of the collegiate skiing team.
Speed Skating
Speed skating is also represented by one former college athlete, Brittany Bowe, who was also Team USAβs flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony. The American graduated from Florida Atlantic in 2010 and was a basketball student-athlete.
Freestyle Skiing
Freestyle skiing is represented by two college athletes at the Games:
- Brita Sigourney, USA, UC Davis, Water Polo
- Kevin Drury, Canada, University of Vermont, Skiing
Skeleton
Skeleton is represented by four college athletes at the Games:
- Andrew Blaser, USA, University of Idaho, Track and Field
- Jane Channell, Canada, Simon Fraser University, Track and Field/Softball
- Kelly Curtis, USA, Springfield College, Track and Field
- Nathan Crumpton, American Samoa flag bearer, Princeton, Track and Field
Biathlon
Biathlon is represented by six college athletes at the Games:
- Joanne Reid, USA, University of Colorado, Skiing
- Susan Dunklee, USA, Dartmouth, Skiing/Cross Country
- Clare Egan, USA, Wellesley College, Cross Country/Track and Field
- Paul Schommer, USA, College of St. Scholastica, Skiing
- Johanna Talihaerm, Estonia, Montana State, Skiing
- Jake Brown, USA, St. Olaf College, Skiing/Cross Country/Track and Field
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh is represented by 10 college athletes at the Games:
- Hakeem Abdul-Saboor, USA, University of Virginia's College at Wise, Football
- Carlo Valdes, USA, UCLA, Track and Field/Football
- Elana Meyers Taylor, USA, George Washington University, Softball
The complete list of bobsleigh college athletes can be found here.
Cross-Country Skiing
Cross-country skiing is represented by 22 college athletes at the Games:
- Caitlin Patterson, USA, University of Vermont, Skiing
- Snorri Einarsson, Iceland, University of Utah, Skiing
- Kevin Bolger, USA, University of Utah, Skiing
The complete list of cross-country skiing college athletes can be found here.
Alpine Skiing
Alpine skiing is represented by 23 college athletes at the Games:
- A.J. Hurt, USA, Dartmouth, Skiing
- Erik Reid, Canada, University of Denver, Skiing
- Tomas Birkner, Argentina, University of Utah, Skiing
The complete list of alpine skiing college athletes can be found here.
Ice Hockey
The greatest representation of college athletes at the Games comes from ice hockey, by a whopping 150 athletes. Because the NHL opted out of the Winter Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this opened up opportunities for college ice hockey athletes.
- Sean Farrell, USA, Harvard, Ice Hockey
- Sarah Fillier, Canada, Princeton, Ice Hockey
- Alex Cavallini, USA, University of Wisconsin, Ice Hockey
The complete list of ice hockey college athletes can be found here.
