The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, are fast approaching. As always, there's a contingent of U.S. military athletes who have qualified to represent their country on the biggest sports stage in the world.
While this Olympics will not feature any athletes from the Navy or Marine Corps, there are plenty of World Class Athlete Program participants from the Army and Air Force — including one who was named as a flagbearer for the opening ceremony.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is looking forward to speaking with several of these athletes during morale calls ahead of the games.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Kelly Curtis: Skeleton
Air Force Staff Sgt. Kelly Curtis, 37, of Princeton, New Jersey, ranks 16th in the world in skeleton, a daring sliding sport in which athletes lie head-first and face-down on a small sled as they fly down a steep, icy track. Curtis happens to be the sport's top-ranked U.S. athlete.
Being athletic is a bit of a Curtis family trait. Her father, John, was an All-American football player, while her two brothers also played college sports. At Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, Curtis competed in the heptathlon and won the event at the 2011 Penn Relays.
Soon after graduating in 2012, one of her coaches introduced her to bobsled, which she tried out for in 2013. But during her training, she saw skeleton athletes practicing and decided to switch to that sport.
When she's not racing, Curtis serves her country and trains at Aviano Air Base, Italy, where she works in information management. She joined the Air Force and its World Class Athlete Program in August 2020 to support her career as an athlete, which seems to have paid off. Her talents took her to the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, where she became the first Black athlete to represent Team USA in skeleton.
Just last month, Curtis earned silver at an International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation World Cup event in St. Moritz-Celerina, Switzerland, climbing her way to the podium after initially being in ninth place. In the same competition in December 2022, she came in third. She's also raced in multiple world cup and international competitions, consistently ranking among the top competitors.
Curtis has a master's degree from Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, and is married with one daughter.
Army Sgt. Frank Del Duca: Bobsled
Army Sgt. Frank Del Duca, 34, of Bethel, Maine, will compete in the two-man and four-man bobsled events in Milan Cortina. This will be his second Olympics, having competed in the 2022 Beijing Games, where his four-man team placed 13th. His experience as an Olympian may be why he was named as one of the two U.S. flagbearers for the opening ceremony alongside veteran speed skater Erin Jackson.
Del Duca grew up as a world-class athlete, earning accolades as a high school state champion in alpine skiing before becoming a sprinter and long jumper at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine.
According to the Team USA website, Del Duca joined the U.S. Bobsled Team as a brakeman after college in 2016, but after failing to make the 2018 Olympics, he switched to pilot. That's also what brought him into the Army World Class Athlete Program, which he joined shortly after enlisting in 2019 as an infantryman. Del Duca said he witnessed the unit's discipline and leadership and thought it would upgrade his training. It turns out, he was right.
"I've learned so much about leadership, team building, accountability, setting standards, scheduling, punctuality — big things and small things that matter when you're part of a group working toward a common goal," Del Duca told Army writer Steve Warns.
At the March 2025 International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation World Championships in Lake Placid, New York, where Del Duca happens to train, he piloted his team to a fourth-place finish in two-man and four-man bobsled events. He told Warns he's excited for what's to come in Italy.
"When the cameras and lights are on, I find another gear," he said. "I push better and focus harder because the competition demands it. There are so many great teams, and everyone has to have their best day."
Del Duca is married with two sons.
Army Spc. Sean Doherty: Biathlon
Army Spc. Sean Doherty, of Center Conway, New Hampshire, might be the most experienced military athlete this year, as he will compete on his fourth Olympic team in as many as six events.
Doherty began competing in biathlon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting, at age 12. By the time he was 18, he was competing in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, becoming the first teenager and the youngest U.S. athlete to compete in the sport.
In 2018, Doherty enlisted in the Army as a carpentry and masonry specialist and is now a member of the Vermont National Guard. However, he didn't join the WCAP until after he competed in the 2022 Beijing Games. Now 30, Doherty said the experiences he's had with the WCAP continue to shape him.
"WCAP supports you not just as an athlete, but as a person and a soldier," he told Warns. "They care about my athletic performance, but they also care about my development as a whole person, and I'm grateful for that."
Doherty trains at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont, which is home to the Army Mountain Warfare School. Outside of biathlon, he's an avid hunter, archer, fisherman and woodworker.
Army Spc. Azaria Hill: Bobsled
Army Spc. Azaria Hill, 27, of Santa Clarita, California, comes from a family of Olympians. She's the daughter of track and field star Denean Howard-Hill, a three-time Olympian who won gold and two silver medals; and Virgil Hill Sr., who earned the silver medal for boxing in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Hill's aunt, Sherri Howard, is also a three-time Olympic medalist in track and field relay competitions.
"I just knew ever since I was a little girl ... I wanted to be like my mom and aunt," she said in her Team USA biography.
Hill was a sprinter on the track and field team at California State University, Long Beach, California, before finishing her college athletic career at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. While there, she met U.S. bobsled pilot Kaysha Love, who competed in the 2022 Beijing Games. Love talked Hill into trying out for the bobsled brakewoman position after graduation.
Hill first competed with Love for Team USA in bobsled at the North American Cup in Lake Placid, New York, November 2023, finishing in first place. The pair went on to finish fourth at the 2024 IBSF World Championships.
Hearing the WCAP could provide benefits to support her athletic and professional career, Hill enlisted in 2024 as a motor transport operator and joined the unit.
"It provides resources, such as going back to school to obtain my master's and helping to become an officer," Hill said. "We work on all aspects of ourselves, not just athletics. They make sure we stay on top of classes and training, even overseas. They push us to grow professionally and athletically."
Like Del Duca, Hill is stationed in Lake Placid, New York.
Army Pvt. Spencer Howe: Pairs Figure Skating
Army Pvt. Spencer Howe, 29, of Los Angeles, followed his sister into the sport of figure skating starting at age 9. By the time he was 18, he'd transitioned from a solo skater to pairs and was making a name for himself.
Unfortunately, in the spring of 2023, Howe needed surgery to repair a torn labrum, and it took a lot of time for him to recover before he could make a serious return to the sport.
During that downtime, Howe learned about the WCAP program. So, he enlisted in February 2025 as a motor transport operator and joined the unit shortly thereafter. He's the first figure skater to be a part of the program.
Last month, during the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Howe and his skating partner of seven years, Emily Chan, qualified for the Olympic team for the first time. Howe told Warns that they finished eighth in the short program but secured their spot on the team by placing third in the free skate.
"We're grateful and honored," he said afterward. "Being able to serve my country and participate in my sport at the same time is an unbelievable opportunity that I am incredibly grateful to have."
Howe said his initial military training helped shape him into a better athlete.
"I started looking at skating from a soldier's perspective and not just an athlete," Howe said. "Taking on the responsibility to compete at the highest level — not just for Team USA but also for the Army — is a different level of commitment."
After continuing his education, Howe eventually wants to join the Chaplain Corps.
In his spare time, Howe coaches figure skating and hockey at The Skating Club of Boston, near where he and Chan train.
Army Staff Sgt. Deedra Irwin: Biathlon
In her first Olympics in 2022, Army Staff Sgt. Deedra Irwin placed seventh in the women's 15-kilometer individual biathlon — the highest finish for an American in biathlon history. Irwin is now the top female athlete for the U.S. Biathlon Team, and she could compete in six events in Milan.
Irwin, 33, of Pulaski, Wisconsin, is a human resource specialist with the Vermont National Guard. She enlisted in the Army in 2019 and competed for the National Guard Biathlon Team in the 2022 Games. In 2023, she joined the WCAP for its consistent support, which she said has made all the difference in both careers.
"With WCAP, I have full-time orders, full-time benefits and direct access to resources," Irwin said. "Being both a platoon sergeant and an athlete have pushed me to learn a lot.
Growing up, Irwin wanted to be a track and field athlete. She picked up cross-country skiing in the winter during high school to stay in shape between the fall cross-country and spring track and field seasons. Irwin then went to Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, where she competed in all three sports.
After college, Irwin tried her hand at a professional skiing career. She didn't get started in biathlon until she was 25, when a fellow cross-country skier talked her into attending a talent camp. She told Team USA she instantly fell in love with the sport.
"It has been an honor to be able to represent my country as both a U.S. Olympian and a U.S. Army soldier," she said. "I hope to inspire the next generation to serve and represent our country, too."
Outside of biathlon, Irwin enjoys knitting, baking, puzzles and music.
Air Force Senior Airman Jasmine Jones: Bobsled
Air Force Senior Airman Jasmine Jones, 29, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is a brakewoman in the two-woman bobsled event. After competition this January in the St. Moritz World Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the first-time Olympian can now say she's a gold-medal champion.
In high school, Jones was a standout basketball player and a two-time state champion in the 4x100-meter relay. She went on to become a sprinter for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she was a five-time individual conference champion.
Jones' success led five-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor to reach out, encouraging her to try out for the U.S. bobsled team. Jones took that advice. In the years since, she's competed in world championships and made the National World Cup team.
Jones enlisted in the Air Force in April 2023 as a material management specialist. She joined the WCAP to help bring stability to her busy life filled with work, training and raising her daughter, Jade.
"They allowed me to … have the support from the military as far as pay and benefits so I can truly focus on my sport. Then, on the back end of my contract, I give my time back, which is fine with me because I want a career in the military," she told the Amsterdam News out of New York City.
Just last month, Jones and her teammate, Kaillie Armbruster-Humphries, earned gold at the aforementioned IBSF World Cup two-woman bobsled race in St. Moritz, Switzerland. A few weeks later, they took silver at another IBSF World Cup race in Germany.
"[The] Olympics has always been a dream I've had. Now I can achieve those dreams by representing my country while being an airman," she said in her Air Force biography.
Jones trains in Lake Placid, New York.
Army Sgt. Ben Loomis: Nordic Combined
Army Sgt. Ben Loomis, 27, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, will compete in his third Olympics in the Nordic Combined event, which combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing. Loomis competed in the 2022 Beijing Games and the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea.
According to Nordic Combined USA, Loomis started ski jumping at age 5. His talents grew so quickly that, at 15, he moved to Park City, Utah, to find higher-caliber training and competition.
In 2019, after high school, Loomis enlisted in the Utah National Guard as a motor transport operator to join the WCAP for its opportunities. He told the Army that training for his sport requires power, endurance and strength — physical traits that are also required to carry out his military duties.
"Being an athlete and a soldier go hand in hand," Loomis said. "What I've learned in the military has helped my athletic career, and my athletic background has helped me as a soldier."
He said his experience in the military has been incredibly positive.
"I want to stay in after my athletic career, maybe even for a full career," Loomis said. "My reasons for joining and my reasons for staying are completely different now."
After earning silver in the 2016 Youth Olympic Games, Loomis was named the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's Nordic combined athlete of the year. He's been a member of four world championship teams, and his brother, Adam, is also a former world champion in the sport.
When Loomis isn't on the snow, he enjoys hiking, fishing, biking and water skiing.