Mariah Bell
25-year-old figure skater Mariah Bell is a true testament to hard work and grace under pressure. She’s been a star of U.S. Figure skating for years, and finally made the Olympic team this year after her stellar win at nationals. Though she may not have the elements required to beat out the Russian “quad queens,” she has the consistency and heart to be an amazing representative for the United States. She is also a great example of how a long career in figure skating is possible by taking care of yourself and your body. Many women retire in their early 20s or even late teens due to injury or burnout, but Mariah just gets better and better.
Watch Mariah Bell’s short program and free skate!
Chloe Kim
Chloe Kim just keeps getting better every year. She became a household name in 2018 when she won the gold medal in Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle at just 17 years old. She has done it again in Beijing, after being almost untouchable after her very first run in the Women’s Snowboard Half-Pipe. Chloe was strong and steady throughout the entire competition, even laughing it off when she fell on her second run in the qualification run. Her first run score was so good in that round that she didn’t even need a second run!
Check out Chloe Kim’s gold medal run here!
Tabitha Peterson
Tabitha Peterson and her team absolutely killed it in the Women’s Curling events. Peterson is the team’s skip, which is like the team captain. She is in charge of making decisions and calling the shots, which is a pretty hard job in a game of strategy like curling! Everyone’s eyes have been on the men’s curling team as they are the defending gold medalists, but the women’s team crushed it in the Olympics as well. They were undefeated in the first few rounds of competition, but ended up just outside the medal matches. Still, Tabitha Peterson and the women’s curling team definitely made Team USA proud!
Watch Tabitha Peterson and the U.S. Women’s Curling team overtake Team China here!
Lindsey Jacobellis
Towards the beginning of the games, it seemed that the U.S. was having some trouble getting rolling with earning gold medals. Well, that all changed when Lindsey Jacobellis hit the snow. The 36-year-old snowboarder earned Team USA its first gold medal in the women’s snowboard cross. However, this is not her first rodeo. The five-time Olympian is currently the most decorated female snowboard cross athlete of all time. In the past, she’s struggled to perform consistently at the Olympics, narrowly missing out on the podium. This year, however, is definitely her year. Just two days after delivering Team USA’s first gold, she won gold again in the mixed team snowboard cross with men’s snowboard cross teammate Nick Baumgartner. This Connecticut native has definitely become a household name after these Olympics.
Watch Lindsey Jacobellis’s gold-medal snowboard cross run here!
Jaelin Kauf
Two-time Olympian Jaelin Kauf finally got a medal this year! She came away with the silver in Women’s Mogul Skiing, one of the first events of the games. The mogul qualifiers even started before the opening ceremony, so Jaelin was ready right out of the gate. Moguls is actually a really dangerous event, with skiers weaving through the moguls before going over a jump and landing some kind of flip. It was a really cool event to kick off the games, and Jaelin was so awesome to watch.
Watch Jaelin Kauf’s silver-medal run here!