As many as four Grand County athletes could compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy from Feb. 6-23. So, who has already made it, and who will find out this week?

Svea Irving of Winter Park was named to the 2026 U.S. freestyle halfpipe Olympic team earlier this month after a podium finish the Snow Rodeo World Cup halfpipe competition in Calgary, Canada. The news was announced on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team website on Jan. 10.

Meanwhile, after earning third place in the same competition, her brother Birk awaits a decision that will likely come this week.

“We may not name our team until Jan. 23,” Courtney Harkins, senior director of marketing and communications for the U.S. Ski & Snowboard, said via email on Saturday. “But we will continue to name athletes leading up to then on our social channels.” 

Irving competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in the men’s halfpipe where he finished fifth overall. Nico Porteous on New Zealand is the reigning gold medalist, while Americans David Wise and Alex Ferreira claimed silver and bronze in Beijing. Although Wise failed to qualify this year, Ferreira will compete in Italy next month alongside teammate Nick Goepper.

Meanwhile, Asher Michel of Tabernash is right on the precipice of making the team after a ninth place finish in his most recent World Cup moguls competition in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire last week. He is hoping to join Nick Page, ranked third in World Cup standings, who was already named to the team. Page finished fifth in men’s moguls in Beijing.

Charlie Mickel, ranked fourth in the world in moguls, will likely nab the second spot, but competition for the remaining two places is tight with Michel competing against Landon Wendler and Dylan Walcyzk for the third and fourth spots on the team; the three athletes are currently ranked 13-15 respectively on the World Cup standings. Walcyzk finished 16th at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Limited events due to weather cancellations have made this qualifying season shorter than normal.

The last Grand County athlete who could potentially compete in Milano Cortina is Jackson Harvey. Born in Winter Park to a mother from Melbourne, Harvey is a dual citizen of Australia and the United States.

After training with Winter Park Competition Center, he decided to relocate to Australia in 2022 to pursue his ski dreams, according to Winter Olympic Institute of Australia. Harvey is currently ranked 10th in World Cup Standings, behind his teammate, Matt Graham, who is ranked second.