Pennsylvania Olympians
Nine Keystoners competed in the Winter Games
By Elijah Huhn
Knightly News Reporter
The 2026 Winter Olympics are over, but the glory and the memories remain.
Throughout February, 2,871 athletes from 92 nations competed for glory and success in 116 events across eight sports, from well-known favorites like ice hockey and figure skating to those that aren’t as well-known but still beloved to many, such as curling and the most-recently added sport, ski mountaineering.
The United States sent 233 athletes to the games. Of those athletes, nine come from Pennsylvania, whether born here or elsewhere. A list of those athletes and results they achieved in Northern Italy follows.
Summer Britcher (luge: women’s singles)
Born in Baltimore, Britcher grew up in Glen Rock, York County, and graduated from Susquehannock High School. She competed in her fourth Olympics since debuting in Sochi in 2014. In Luge competition in the FIL (International Luge Federation), she won two medals—a silver and a bronze, both in team relay events. She also won a gold medal at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina D’Ampezzo’s sliding center, Britcher competed in the women’s singles where, after four runs, she finished with a time of 3:33.553, placing her 14th of 25.
Dan Barefoot (skeleton: men’s singles and mixed team relay)
This was the first Olympics for Dan Barefoot, from Johnstown, Cambria County. A Penn State graduate, he competed in skeleton, an event similar to luge but that has athletes speeding head-first through the track instead of lying on their backs. Barefoot competed in the men’s singles and mixed team relay events. In men’s singles, four runs resulted in a time of 3:49.86, putting him 20th of 25. In the mixed team relay, he competed with teammate Kelly Curtis. They had two runs, which gave them a total time of 2:01.43, placing them 10th of 15.
Jasmine Jones (bobsled: two-woman)
Jones comes from Greensburg, Westmoreland County, and this was her first Olympics. She originally competed in track and field at college but was eventually contacted by the legendary bobsled athlete Elana Meyers Taylor. She tried it and was eventually named to the bobsled team. At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina D’Ampezzo’s sliding center, Jones competed in the two-woman event, paired with Canadian-American great Kaillie Humphries. They both posted a total time of 3:49.21, which was enough to earn them the bronze medal.
Andrew Heo (short track speed skating: men’s 500-meter, 1,500-meter and mixed-team 2,000-meter relay)
This was the second Olympics for Andrew Heo, of Warrington, Bucks County. His first was in Beijing, in 2022. He won his first world short track medal in 2024, a bronze, and has appeared in the short track world championships four times. He recently won his first ISU Short Track World Tour win in 2025. At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan’s ice-skating arena, Heo competed in three events. In the mixed 2,000-meter relay, he competed with five athletes who got to the semifinals, where they placed 8th of 12 teams. In the 1,500-meter event, he again reached the semifinals, where he placed 11th of 36. In the 500-meter event, he finished in the quarterfinals, placing 13th of 32.
Taylor Anderson-Heide (curling: women’s tournament)
Though Anderson-Heide lives in Minneapolis, she was born in the Philadelphia suburb of Broomall, and grew up and trained in the Philadelphia area. Despite having competed in the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics and being a five-time national champion, this year was her Olympic debut. She competed in the women’s tournament in curling. She was her team’s lead (the person who delivers the first two stones of the end for their team). The team finished second in round-robin play, advancing to the semifinals. They would lose to Switzerland to go to the bronze-medal game and lost to Canada, ultimately placing 4th.
Isabeau Levito (figure skating: women’s singles)
Levito’s home may be in Mount Holly, New Jersey, but she was born in Philadelphia. Before competing in her first Olympics this year, she won a silver in her event, figure skating women’s singles, in 2024. Of all the athletes related to Pennsylvania, she was the youngest, at 18. The figure skating event took place at the Forum Di Milano in Milan. She scored a 70.84 in the short program and a 131.96 in the free skate. Combined scores totaled 202.80, placing her 12th of 29.
Vincent Trocheck (ice hockey: men’s tournament)
Trocheck is from Pittsburgh and plays for the New York Rangers. A two-time all-star, he competed in his first Olympics as one of the many NHL athletes allowed to compete in the men’s ice hockey tournament for the first time in 12 years. He played forward. The team played all their matches at the newly built PalaItalia Stadium in Milan. In the tournament, the team topped their round-robin group, with Trocheck getting two assists in games against Latvia and Denmark. They continued playing in the knockout rounds, beating Sweden in overtime 2-1 in the quarterfinals and Slovakia 6-2 in the semifinals, where Trocheck assisted with the 6th goal. In the heavily anticipated final against Canada, the game would go to overtime, with Jack Hughes scoring the golden goal that would win the U.S. men’s hockey team their first gold since the legendary Miracle on Ice game in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.
Tessa Janecke and Ava McNaughton (ice hockey: women’s tournament)
Two athletes from Pennsylvania were on the women’s hockey team: Tessa Janecke, a forward born in Illinois but who competes for Penn State, and goaltender Ava McNaughton, from Seven Fields, Butler County. Janecke attends Penn State, where she competes for the university’s hockey team, while McNaughton attends Wisconsin University, where she plays hockey. This was their first Olympics. The team dominated the tournament, winning all their round -robin games, with five goals, continuing dominance in the quarterfinals (6-0 over Italy) and semifinals (5-0 over Sweden). The gold-medal match against Canada was different, though, as the opposing team scored first. Eventually, Hillary Knight scored a goal late in the third period to tie the score and send the game to overtime. Megan Keller would score to help the U.S. win gold, beating Canada 2-1.
Huhn is The Knightly News reporter at large.
Comment or story idea? Contact [email protected].
Edited by media-club co-adviser and blog editor Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.
