Military Might: Several US Military Members Compete in 2026 Winter Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games underway in Milan and Cortina, Italy, has some U.S. military might.

Eight U.S. military athletes are representing the Unites States at the games, bringing with them a world of experience in the armed forces and now in various Olympic competitions from cross-country skiing to bobsledding, track and field to figure skating. 

Army Spc. Azaria Hill, Army Sgt. Frank Del Duca, Army Staff Sgt. Deedra Irwin, Air Force Staff Sgt. Kelly Curtis, Air Force Senior Airman Jasmine Jones, Army Pvt. Spencer Howe, Army Sgt. Ben Loomis and Army Spc. Sean Doherty, according to the Department of Defense.

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 a flagbearer for the opening ceremony.

Army Sgt. Frank Del Duca

Army Sgt. Frank Del Duca, 34, of Bethel, Maine, is in Milan and Cortina competing in the two-man and four-man bobsled events. He was also 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, competing in high school as a state champion in alpine skiing before going on to the University of Maine and becoming a sprinter and long jumper.

Italy is Del Luca’s second Olympics, after competing in the 2022 Beijing Games, where his four-man bobsled team came in 13th place. According to the Team USA website, Del Duca joined the U.S. Bobsled Team after college in 2016, and shortly after enlisting in the Army in 2019, he joined the Army World Class Athlete Program.

Del Duca trains in Lake Placid, New York, and competed in the March 2025 International Bobsled & Skeleton Federation World Championships. There, he led his team to a fourth-place finish in two- and four-man bobsled events. 

He is married with two sons.

Army Spc. Azaria Hill

Army Spc. Azaria Hill, 27, is from Santa Clarita, California, and is in Italy competing in the bobsled races.

Olympic competitions run in her family. Her mother is track and field star Denean Howard-Hill, a three-time Olympian who won gold and two silver medals. Her father, Virgil Hill Sr., earned a silver medal for boxing in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Hill's aunt, Sherri Howard, is also a three-time Olympic in track and field relay medalist.

Hill was a sprinter on the track and field team at California State University-Long Beach, before finishing college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. While there, another student serving as a U.S. Olympic bobsled pilot in the 2022 Beijing Games convinced Hill to try out for the team as a bobsled brake-woman after graduation.

Another student serving as a U.S. Olympic bobsled pilot in the 2022 Beijing Games convinced Hill to try out for the team as a bobsled brake-woman after graduation.

Hill first competed with Team USA in bobsled at the North American Cup in November 2023 in Lake Placid, New York, finishing in first place. The next year, in 2024, Hill enlisted joined the World Class Athlete Program, using its resources to return to school and earn her master’s degree.

Like Del Duca, Hill is stationed in Lake Placid, New York.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Kelly Curtis

Air Force Staff Sgt. Kelly Curtis, 37, hails from Princeton, New Jersey, and competes in the Skeleton—ranking 16th in the world and the sport’s top ranked U.S. athlete.

Skeleton is a sliding sport where athletes lie face-down and head-first on a sled and descend down a steep, slippery, icy track.

Graduating in 2012 from Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., Curtis was a collegiate athlete, competing in the heptathlon in the 2011 Penn Relays and placing first. One of her coaches also introduced her to bobsledding, and that led to an interest in skeleton competitions, ultimately leading Curtis to focus on that sport.

Athleticism appears to run in the Curtis family. Her two brothers played college sports and her father was an All-American football player.

When she's not racing, Curtis is married with one daughter. She is stationed 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 and competed in the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, where she became the first Black athlete to represent Team USA in skeleton. 

In other skeleton competitions worldwide, she consistently ranks among the sport’s top contenders.

Army Spc. Sean Doherty: Biathlon

Army Spc. Sean Doherty, 30, is from Center Conway, New Hampshire, and is competing in the Biathlon. This is his fourth Olympics, going for the gold in six events.

His competitive experience includes starting at age 12 in the biathlon—a sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. At 18, Doherty was competing in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, becoming the first teenager and the youngest U.S. athlete in the sport.

In 2018, Doherty enlisted in the Army and is now a member of the Vermont National Guard. Doherty joined the World Class Athlete Program after vying in the 2022 Beijing Games. 

Outside of Olympic training and competition, Doherty is an avid hunter, archer, fisherman and woodworker. He currently trains at the in Jericho, Vermont.

Army Pvt. Spencer Howe: Pairs Figure Skating

Army Pvt. Spencer Howe, 29, lists Los Angeles as his hometown and is competing in the pairs figure skating competition. He was just 9 years old when he followed his sister’s lead into competitive figure skating.

By 18, Howe had grown from solo skating into pairs. But in the Spring of 2023, Howe needed surgery to repair a torn labrum, sidelining him from the sport for months.

During his sabbatical, Howe learned about the World Class Athlete Program and enlisted in February 2025 as 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. They finished in 8th place in the short program but secured their spot on the team by placing 3rd in the free skate.

In his spare time, Howe coaches figure skating and hockey in Boston, near where he and Chan train.

Army Sgt. Ben Loomis: Nordic Combined                                                    

Army Sgt. Ben Loomis, 27, of Eau Claire, Wis., is competing in his third Olympics after the 2022 Beijing Games and the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea.

Loomis’ sport is the Nordic Combined event—a combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing. According to Nordic Combined USA, Loomis was 5 years old when he started ski jumping. Then at age 15, he moved to Park City, Utah, to enlist in the Utah National Guard after finishing high school in 2019. 

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.

When Loomis isn't training or competing, he enjoys hiking, fishing, biking and water skiing.

Army Staff Sgt. Deedra Irwin: Biathlon

Army Staff Sgt. Deedra Irwin, 33, of Pulaski, Wisc., is the top female athlete on the U.S. Biathlon Team and could compete in six events in Milan.

Her first Olympics was in 2022 in the Beijing Olympic Games, where she placed 7th in the women's 15-kilometer individual biathlon—the highest finish for an American in biathlon history.

Irwin enlisted in the Army in 2019 and competed with the National Guard Biathlon Team in the 2022 Games. She later joined the World Class Athlete Program for its various resources and benefits.

Growing up, Irwin wanted to be a track and field athlete but started cross-country skiing in the winters during high school to stay in shape. After college, Irwin launched a professional skiing career and pursued biathlon training at 25 years old, when a fellow cross-country skier talked her into attending a talent camp.

Outside of biathlon, Irwin enjoys knitting, baking, puzzles and music. She’s a human resource specialist with the Vermont National Guard.

Air Force Senior Airman Jasmine Jones

Air Force Senior Airman Jasmine Jones, 29, of Greensburg, Pa., is competing in the two-woman bobsled event.

The first-time Olympian is already a gold medal champion after winning her competition this January at the St. Moritz World Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Jones was a top basketball player in high school and a two-time state champion in the 4x100-meter relay. She went on to become a sprinter for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich., rising to become a five-time individual conference champion.

She enlisted in the Air Force in April 2023 and later joined the World Class Athlete Program while raising her daughter, Jade. In her Air Force biography, Jones said the Olympics has always been her dream, one she’s able to achieve while also serving her country.

Jones trains in Lake Placid, New York.