Students Watch Winter Olympics

Every four years, the top athletes of most winter sports come together in a new location for the premier sporting event of the year: the Winter Olympics. This year, the Olympics are running from February 6 to February 22 in Milan, Italy and include popular winter sports such as alpine skiing, bobsled and figure skating.

In addition to showcasing the top level of athleticism, the Winter Olympics are a great opportunity to see sports that are not as easy to spectate year-round, such as skiing and snowboarding. Team USA is particularly strong in these sports, with gold medal favorites such as alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and snowboarder Chloe Kim (“NBC Connecticut”). 

Student-athletes watch these sports closely. Merritt Feldner ’27 said, “I am most excited to watch skiing and ice hockey because I do both sports in the winter and love getting to watch professionals compete on a global level.”

Another sport that sparks the interest of many Holton students is ice hockey. Team USA, headed by captain Auston Matthews, seeks to win gold against tournament favorite Team Canada after a 16-year drought (“Team USA”). Prior to the Games, McLean Daniel ’27 mentioned that she is “most excited to see the younger stars hopefully make a breakout performance in this year's games,” especially younger stars like 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks. 

The Olympics are not only a sporting event but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for athletes to represent their countries on the global stage. Feldner stated, “I love the Olympics because it is fun to watch sports that I typically do not watch like figure skating and get to root for our country.”