Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club is proud to announce that nine alumni athletes will represent Team USA at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, Feb. 6-22, 2026. *Six athletes are first-time Olympians, bringing the total number of SSWSC Olympians to 106.
Jaelin Kauf – Freestyle/Moguls
Olivia Giaccio – Freestyle/Moguls
*Landon Wendler – Freestyle/Moguls
*Riley Jacobs – Freeski Halfpipe
*Maddy Schaffrick – Snowboard Halfpipe
Cody Winters – Snowboardcross SBX + Alpine
*Annika Belshaw – Ski Jumping
*Jason Colby – Ski Jumping
*Niklas Malicinski – Nordic Combined
“We are incredibly proud of the nine Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club athletes who have been selected to represent the United States in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games,” said Dave Stewart, SSWSC Athletic Director. “These five women and four men will compete in a remarkable seven different sport disciplines in Italy this February: freeski halfpipe, snowboard halfpipe, snowboard cross, alpine snowboard, freestyle moguls, ski jumping, and nordic combined. We are especially excited for the six first-time Steamboat Olympians who have been named to their first Olympic team.”
The new Steamboat Olympians are homegrown Steamboat athletes who have been in Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club since their first years of skiing or snowboarding. Ranging in age from 19 (Jason Colby) to 31 (Maddy Schaffrick), they represent the many different pathways to the top in snow sports.
2026 Olympians
- 2026 U.S. Olympic Freestyle Ski Team | Kauf, Giaccio & Wendler
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Jaelin Kauf – Freestyle/Moguls
Jaelin Kauf and her family moved to Steamboat to train with the Steamboat Springs Winter Club. Kauf’s parents were both pro mogul champions in the 1990’s. Kauf skied with SSWSC through high school, earning bronze at the 2015 Junior World Championships in Valmalenco, Italy. Kauf is the reigning dual moguls World Champion as well as the 2025 World Cup Crystal Globe winner in moguls, dual moguls, and overall. She earned silver in the moguls event at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Kauf was the first SSWSC athlete to officially qualify for the 2026 games after winning the 2025 World Cup overall title. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Alta, Wyoming
- Team: 2026 U.S. Olympic Freestyle Moguls Team, Moguls A
- Years on US Ski Team: 11 (since 2016)
- Born: September 26, 1996
- Club(s): Grand Targhee Ski & Snowboard Foundation, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
Olivia Giaccio – Freestyle/Moguls
Olivia Giaccio moved to Steamboat Springs in 2015 to train with the Steamboat Springs Winter Club. She trained and competed with SSWSC until she was named to the U.S. Ski Team in 2017. Giaccio was the 2017 Junior World Champion in dual moguls in Val Malenco, Italy. Giaccio was 5th in the 2025 World Cup overall freestyle standings. She is the only female athlete to land a Cork 1080 in World Cup competition. Giaccio has been on the podium in every single moguls World Cup this year. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Redding, Connecticut
- Team: Moguls A
- Years on US Ski Team: 9 (since 2017)
- Born: August 15, 2000
- Club(s): Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
*Landon Wendler – Freestyle/Moguls
Landon Wendler grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, skiing and training with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club until he was named to the U.S Freestyle team in 2021. He represented the U.S. at the Junior World Championships in 2019 in Val Malenco, Italy. Wendler has been on the rise ever since. He has one World Cup podium, a 3rd in dual moguls in 2024. Wendler is a first-time Olympian, adding to the list of 100 athletes who have trained with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- Team: Moguls A
- Years on US Ski Team: 4 (since 2021)
- Born: October 12, 2000
- Club(s): Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
*FIRST TIME OLYMPIAN
- 2026 U.S. Olympic Freeski Team | Jacobs
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*Riley Jacobs – Freeski Team Halfpipe
Jacobs grew up skiing in the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. She has had her sights on the 2026 Olympics since the last winter games in 2022. Since joining the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team, Jacobs has had nine top 10 finishes on the World Cup circuit. Sidelined with an ACL injury in November 2024, she returned to competition this year and had a strong start to the season, with two World Cup top-10 finishes. In the summer, Jacobs loves to come back and help coach SSWSC athletes at the trampolines and water ramps at Bald Eagle Lake. Jacobs is a first-time Olympian, adding to the list of 100 athletes who have trained with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Oak Creek, Colorado
- Team: FK Pro Halfpipe
- Years on US Ski Team: 5 (since 2021)
- Born: August 14, 2003
- Club(s): Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
*FIRST TIME OLYMPIAN
- 2026 U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team | Schaffrick & Winters
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*Maddy Schaffrick – Snowboard Halfpipe
Madeline “Maddy” Schaffrick was born in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. After nearly a decade away from competing, she made an incredible return to the World Cup circuit and rejoined the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Pro Halfpipe Team in 2025. Schaffrick’s journey with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club started as a Little Toots skier at age 3. As a teenager, she developed into a world-class competitive snowboarder, earning a spot on the U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe team at the age of 14. At age 20, in 2015, she transitioned to coaching with SSWSC for six years, first as a Boardriderz coach, a competitive coach, and then two years as Director of the Snowboard Program, where she made an incredible impact on the program and athletes. In 2022, she left Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club to coach the U.S Snowboard Halfpipe Team, and it sparked her interest in competing again. In her comeback season, she was named to the U.S. Snowboard Team in 2025. In her first year back in competition, she had a career-best third-place finish and landed her first 900 in competition at the 2025 World Championships in Corvatsch, Switzerland, and has had four World Cup podiums since her return to the national team. Schaffrick is a first-time Olympian, adding to the list of 100 athletes who have trained with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- Team: Snowboard Pro Halfpipe
- Years on US Snowboard Team: 1 (since 2025)
- Born: April 29, 1994
- Club(s): Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
Cody Winters – Snowboardcross SBX + Alpine
Cody Winters grew up snowboarding with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. He will represent the U.S. in both snowboard cross and parallel giant slalom (alpine race snowboarding) events. It will be his debut in Olympic snowboard cross. Winters’ first Olympic birth was in 2022, in the parallel giant slalom. He has earned titles across Nor-Am, Europa Cup, and junior competitions, including a Junior World silver in parallel slalom, Europa Cup gold, and multiple Nor-Am victories. His 2024-2025 season marked a career breakthrough, as he claimed his first World Cup podiums in both parallel slalom and snowboard cross, making him the only American to stand on the podium in two snowboard disciplines that year. He owns a local window washing business in Steamboat, Winters Window Washing. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Steamboat Springs, Colo.
- Team: 2022 U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team, SBX A
- Years on US Snowboard Team: 4 (since 2022)
- Born: April 20, 2026
- Club(s): Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
*FIRST TIME OLYMPIAN
- 2026 U.S. Olympic Ski Jumping Team | Belshaw & Cobly
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*Annika Belshaw – Ski Jumping
Annika Belshaw was born in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and grew up ski jumping at the SSWSC at historic Howelsen Hill, participating in programs and jumping for 12 years before being named to the U.S. National Ski Jumping team in 2019. Belshaw graduated from Steamboat Springs High School and is currently attending the University of Utah. She is an eight-time National Champion, was named to three World Championship teams and five Junior World Championship teams, represented the U.S. in the 2020 Youth Olympic Games, and has countless Junior National Championship medals. Belshaw is a first-time Olympian, adding to the list of 100 athletes who have trained with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- Team: Ski Jumping
- Years on US Ski Jumping Team: 3 (since 2019)
- Born: 06/13/2002
- Club(s): Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
*Jason Colby – Ski Jumping
Jason Colby was born in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and grew up ski jumping at SSWSC and the historic Howelsen Hill, participating in programs and jumping for 12 years before being named to the U.S. National Ski Jumping team in 2024. He comes from a multi-generational ski jumping family; his father and grandfather both were ski jumpers, and his uncle, Casey Colby, was an Olympic ski jumper. Jason was the 2025 National Ski Jumping Champion, 2023 Junior National Champion, and competed in the 2024 Youth Olympic Games. He represented the U.S. in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 Junior World Championships and was a two-time medalist at the 2025 Junior World Championships. He holds the hill record at Howelsen Hill on the HS100 at 105.5 meters. This year, Colby has recorded the best American male results in ski jumping on the World Cup circuit in more than two decades, with multiple top-10 finishes. Colby is a first-time Olympian, adding to the list of 100 athletes who have trained with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- Team: USA Ski Jumping
- Born: March 30, 2006
- Club: Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
*FIRST TIME OLYMPIAN
- 2026 U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Team | Malacinski
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*Niklas Malacinski – Nordic Combined
Niklas Malacinski was born in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and grew up in SSWSC programs until graduating from high school in 2022. He was named to the U.S. Nordic Combined Team in 2024. Malacinski competed at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games, where he placed 5th. He was a four-time medalist at the 2023 World University Games in Lake Placid, NY. He represented the U.S. at four Junior World Championships and three World Championships and placed 5th in the 2024 Junior World Championships in Whistler, Canada. Malacinski was the 2024 U.S. National Champion in Nordic Combined and has recorded multiple top-20 World Cup finishes this year. Malacinski is a first-time Olympian, adding to the list of 100 athletes who have trained with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Photo/Graphic: U.S. Ski & Snowboard- Hometown: Steamboat Springs, CO
- Team: Nordic Combined
- Years on Nordic Combined USA Team: 1 (since 2024)
- Born: December 2, 2003
- Club(s): Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
*FIRST TIME OLYMPIAN
