Skip to content

Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

Does Minnesota have the second-most athletes of any state on the Olympic team?

Brian Arola, MinnPost
yes

Minnesota has the second-most athletes out of all the states representing Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy.

The North Star State has at least 24 representatives competing at the Olympics, second only to Colorado’s 30. California has the third-most athletes on Team USA with 19.

Minnesota’s count is higher when factoring in athletes who grew up in the state, those set to compete in the upcoming Winter Paralympics and others with connections to the state. Decorated alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, for example, is from Burnsville but counts as a Colorado resident in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s tally.

The number of Minnesota residents by Olympic competition includes: 

Ice hockey: 10 Curling: 6Biathlon: 2Cross-country skiing: 2Speedskating: 2Alpine skiing: 1Snowboarding: 1

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

See all fact briefs

MinnPost is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces thoughtful, in-depth journalism about civic and cultural affairs impacting Minnesota. Through our reporting, we take readers beyond the headlines and deep into the issues that matter through our public-service journalism, empowering them to engage in the politics and policy-making shaping Minnesota’s future.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.