The roster is set. Twenty-four American snowboarders are heading to Milan-Cortina next month, and this squad tells a story that’s equal parts legacy, youth movement, and redemption. The Games kick off February 6, and for the first time in over two decades, we’re watching a U.S. team that doesn’t include Shaun White. What we do have is something potentially more interesting: a mix of established champions, teenage phenoms, and riders who refused to quit even when everything told them they should.
Halfpipe: History in the Making
Chloe Kim is attempting something no snowboarder has ever done. Not Shaun White. Not Kelly Clark. Not anyone. If she wins gold in Milan-Cortina, she’ll be the first to three-peat. She’s 25 years old, took two years off after Beijing 2022, came back and immediately reasserted dominance. Just this month, she won her eighth X Games SuperPipe title, tying White’s record. She’s landed a 1260 in contest (first woman ever) and joined teammate Maddie Mastro in landing double cork 1080s. According to her coach, she’s landed a 1440 in practice but hasn’t attempted it in contest yet.
The women’s pipe squad also includes Mastro, a two-time Games veteran with 18 World Cup podiums, 19-year-old Bea Kim making her debut, and Maddy Schaffrick, whose story deserves its own telling. Schaffrick retired from competitive snowboarding at 20 years old. Not because her body gave out, but because her mind did. She was riding internationally at 14, burned out hard, and walked away for nearly a decade. She was coaching the halfpipe team at Beijing 2022. Now, at 31, she’s riding in Milan-Cortina. She’ll be the oldest American halfpipe rider to make a debut. Her second-place finish at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen wasn’t just a good result. It was proof that sometimes the long way around is the only way forward.
On the men’s side, 17-year-old Alessandro Barbieri from Portland is Team USA’s best shot at challenging the dominant Japanese and Australian riders. He became the first American ever to land a triple cork in contest this season, and he’s already got two World Cup podiums. He’s joined by Jake Pates, who rode at PyeongChang 2018 then stepped away for years before mounting a comeback, veteran Chase Josey, and first-timer Chase Blackwell. It’s a young squad going up against established international powerhouses, but Barbieri’s progression suggests the U.S. pipe program has legitimate medal potential.
Photo: Courtesy of Mikey Oshida
Slopestyle: Youth Movement Meets Redemption
Red Gerard won gold in slopestyle at 17 years old in 2018, becoming snowboarding’s youngest-ever champion. He finished fourth in 2022. Now 25, he’s back with something to prove and the skills to back it up. He won X Games slopestyle gold in both 2024 and 2025, throwing down runs that included a switch backside triple cork 1620 and a backside 1800. He’s not the kid who stumbled into gold anymore. He’s a veteran looking to reclaim what he knows he can do.
Gerard is joined by Sean FitzSimons, a 2022 veteran from Hood River, Oregon, Jake Canter, who just clinched his spot with his first-ever World Cup victory at the Aspen Grand Prix, and 17-year-old Ollie Martin from Colorado, who earned two bronze medals at World Championships and a World Cup win to punch his ticket.
The women’s slopestyle roster is where things get really interesting. Lily Dhawornvej and Jess Perlmutter are both 16 years old. They’ll be the youngest U.S. snowboarders in Milan-Cortina. Both made their marks on the Nor-Am circuit with podiums in big air and slopestyle. They’re joined by Hahna Norman, also making her debut. This is a complete generational reset for U.S. women’s slopestyle. Two-time champion Jamie Anderson didn’t make the roster. The era that belonged to her is over. What comes next starts with these three.
Snowboard Cross: The Old Guard and Fresh Blood
Nick Baumgartner is 44 years old. This is his fifth Games. He spent the better part of two decades chasing a medal, coming close repeatedly, getting knocked out in controversial situations, watching younger riders claim the podium spots he wanted. Then in 2022, at 40 years old, he won gold in the inaugural mixed team event alongside Lindsey Jacobellis. Now he’s back for one more run, the oldest U.S. snowboarder ever. Again.
Baumgartner leads a men’s squad that includes Jake Vedder (Beijing 2022 veteran), Cody Winters (who also competes in parallel giant slalom), and Nathan Pare, the 2023-24 FIS Rookie of the Year making his debut.
On the women’s side, Faye Thelen is competing in her fifth Games. She’s been to Vancouver, Sochi, Pyeongchang, and Beijing. Now Milan-Cortina. She’s joined by Stacy Gaskill (Beijing 2022), and rookies Hanna Percy, just 18 years old from Truckee, California, and Brianna Schnorrbusch. This is a discipline where experience matters enormously, but fresh talent keeps the established riders honest.
What This Team Represents
The 2026 U.S. snowboard team is 24 riders strong across halfpipe, slopestyle, and snowboard cross. What makes this group compelling isn’t just the medal potential, though there’s plenty of that. It’s the range of stories. Riders like Baumgartner and Thelen who’ve been doing this at the highest level for over a decade. Legends like Chloe Kim attempting to make history. Comebacks like Schaffrick and Pates who walked away and found their way back. Teenage talent like Dhawornvej, Perlmutter, Barbieri, and Martin who represent where snowboarding is heading.
The U.S. leads the all-time medal count with 35. At Beijing 2022, American snowboarders brought home a significant portion of Team USA’s total haul. The expectation in Milan-Cortina is more of the same. But beyond the medal counts and podium predictions, this squad matters because it shows every possible path a snowboard career can take. The prodigies who make it look easy. The grinders who chase it for years. The burnouts who come back. The veterans who refuse to quit. The next generation pushing in.
Opening ceremonies are February 6. Competition starts shortly after. And for these 24 riders, everything they’ve worked for comes down to the next few weeks in northern Italy.
No pressure. Just opportunity.
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AI’s breakthrough moment didn’t stop with chatbots. According to industry leaders, a similar shift is now unfolding in robotics. Today’s partner message from Miso Robotics looks at what that transition could mean and why some investors are paying attention now.
— Cole, CEO
ChatGPT marked the moment that AI became unavoidable for all of us. Since then, AI companies have captured more than half of global venture capital.
Now, according to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, that same mainstream takeover is coming to robotics in what he calls robotics’ “ChatGPT moment.”
And money is already flowing into the space. SoftBank recently pivoted away from chip investments and announced a $5.4B acquisition of a major robotics company.
While newcomers race to catch this wave, Miso's been building for it for years. Their AI-powered Flippy Fry Station robot has logged over 200,000 hours in live restaurant kitchens, and is already frying for brands like White Castle.
A new manufacturing partnership enables more Flippys than ever to be produced. A new $25M customer financing program can help drive customer adoption. New 24/7 service support can boost customer confidence. And strategic partnerships with ECOLAB, NVIDIA, and Amazon are now in place to help innovate.
