6 athletes from Texas competing in the Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games will take place across February and March. Here are six Texas athletes who will be heading to Italy to participate.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are nearly upon us, and we’re celebrating some big milestones. This edition marks the 25th Winter Olympics; it’s also the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympic Games.
Both the Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympic Games will take place in Lombardy and Northeast Italy. The Winter Olympics will run from Feb. 6–22, while the Winter Paralympics are going from March 6–15.
Milano Cortina 2026 will welcome athletes from all over the world. While Texas may not get as much snow as, say, Minnesota or New England, the Lone Star State still has several athletes competing in the Winter Games. Here’s who to look for when the games get underway.
Hannah Bilka, Ice Hockey
Hannah Bilka is a native of Coppell, which is not typically known for producing star hockey players. That didn’t stop Bilka from becoming one of the top athletes in her sport, playing on boys’ teams as she grew up and emailing college coaches directly to showcase her skills. She won gold at the 2023 World Championships and silver at the 2022 and 2024 events.
Today, she plays for the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL. Bilka became a hockey fan while watching the 2010 Winter Olympics. Sixteen years later, she’ll make her debut in the Olympics. It’s a movie script story playing out in real life.
Amber Glenn, Figure Skating
After winning her third consecutive U.S. Figure Skating Championships earlier this year, Amber Glenn will be heading to the Winter Olympics for the first time, competing in women’s singles. She’s in good company, too. The last women’s skater to win three championships in a row was Michelle Kwan from 2003 to 2005, and Kwan won two Olympic medals. Glenn, who grew up in Plano and graduated from Collin College Plano Senior High School, began skating at five years old. She’s one of just six athletes to successfully land a Triple Axel. This year’s Winter Olympics will be a bit of a redemption for her; she was about to make the U.S. team in 2022 but tested positive for COVID-19 before the U.S. Championships.
Glenn is a major advocate for mental health and the LGBTQ+ community, having come out as bisexual and pansexual when she was 20. She’s also a big fan of “Star Wars,” anime, and Magic: The Gathering. Her dog, Uki, is named after the card Ukkima, Stalking Shadow. There’s no figure skater card in the MTG universe, but maybe Glenn will get an honorary shout-out if she comes back with a gold medal.
Emily Chan, Figure Skating
Glenn won’t be the only Texan on the U.S. figure skating team. Emily Chan, who was born I Pasadena and grew up in McKinney, also made the 16-person roster. Chan will be competing in pair skating with her partner Spencer Akira Howe. Despite a fall during the short program of the U.S. Championships, Chan recovered and placed third in the free skate. She and Howe finished fourth overall and benefited from a few other skaters not receiving their expedited U.S. citizenships in time to compete. Nevertheless, Chan and Howe (a Burbank, California native) are both thrilled to head to their first Winter Olympics.
Chan began skating at age 4 and spent time with the Dallas Skating Club before graduating valedictorian from the Texas Online Preparatory School. She originally competed as a singles skater before moving to pairs skating. Chan is a lover of nature and has done advocacy work for the environment. She’s also big into plant-based cooking and has made her own jewelry.
Boone Niederhofer, Bobsled
Boone Niederhofer grew up in Midland, and like most Texas boys, had an interest in football. He even made it onto the Texas A&M football team as a walk-on wide receiver. During his sophomore year in 2014, Niederhofer became one of the feel-good underdog stories of the college football season. Walk-ons don’t often see a lot of time on the field, yet Niederhofer recorded 29 catches, 293 yards, and a touchdown for the Aggies. Pro football wasn’t in the cards, though, so he took his degree in petroleum engineering to Houston and entered the workforce.
When Niederhofer’s company got bought out, he started evaluating his career choices. A former teammate suggested something he probably hadn’t considered: bobsledding. It turns out Niederhofer was quite good at the sport. He’s made three World Cup teams and finished fourth in the 2025 World Championships 4-Man Competition. Now, he’ll represent the U.S. and Texas in Milano Cortina. Not a bad career change.
Jen Lee, Sled Hockey
Jen Lee is one of the most experienced athletes in the Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympic Games—and he didn’t begin playing his sport until he was 23 years old. Lee’s family moved to the U.S. from Taipei, Taiwan, when he was six years old. Growing up, he competed in basketball and track and field before serving a combat tour in Iraq (2006-07) as an aircraft mechanic. While riding his motorcycle on a March day in 2009, a vehicle struck him. The accident was bad enough that Lee’s left leg had to be amputated.
Lee rehabilitated his injury at the VA Hospital in San Antonio and was introduced to sled hockey. It helped with his therapy, and he continued playing after he left the hospital. He had already made one Olympic roster when he began attending classes at the University of Texas in Austin. In 2018, Lee graduated with a degree in Sport Management.
Over his career, he’s won three gold medals at the Winter Paralympics: 2014 (Sochi), 2018 (PyeongChang), and 2022 (Beijing). The first two golds were as the backup goalie for the U.S. men’s sled hockey team. In Beijing, he was the team’s starter and saved all 33 shots he faced across four games. He’ll look to make it four golds in a row this year in Italy.
Jake Oettinger, Ice Hockey
Jake Oettinger wasn’t born in Texas; rather, he’s from Minnesota, a much colder state. However, fans of the Dallas Stars have been cheering for Oettinger for years. He signed with the Stars in 2019 and has become the team’s starting goaltender. Over his career, he’s saved more than 91% of shots sent his way and has amassed 14 shutouts as of this writing.
Oettinger made his first All-Star appearance in 2024 and would likely earn another nod this year if the event hadn’t been canceled in favor of the Olympics. Expect to see plenty of saves from him on Team USA.
Seth Jones, Ice Hockey (replaced due to injury)
Seth Jones has participated in four different World Championships, including a bronze medal during the 2015 competition. He was finally going to get his shot at the Olympics, but after suffering a collarbone injury, he was replaced by Jackson LaCombe of the Anaheim Ducks. Jones, who was born in Arlington and eventually moved to Frisco, started seeing success on the ice early in his career. He won back-to-back World Championship Under 18 events in 2011 and 2012 and a World Junior Championship in 2013.
The defenseman was the No. 4 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and has played with the Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Florida Panthers. Jones won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers this past season, and then promptly shared the celebration with his fellow Texans.
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