The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games officially commence at the opening ceremony on February 6. The Winter Olympics unite talented international athletes to compete for gold, showcasing the discipline and perseverance that makes an Olympian. While winter sports are becoming more diversified, there is still a lack of representation on Team USA. This year, EnVi is highlighting the eight Black women bringing Black excellence as they represent the United States at the Olympics.
Erin Jackson – Speed Skating
Five years into her speed skating career, Erin Jackson quickly became an Olympic history-maker. Born and raised in Ocala, Florida, Jackson discovered her passion for skating early on. She was introduced to roller skating when her mother bought her skates for the first time as a child. From rolling back and forth across her driveway to competitive training, what started as a hobby would soon develop into a champion’s journey.
Jackson began with artistic skating before transitioning to inline skating at 10 years old. Over the next 15 years, she’d go on to win 12 world championship medals in inline skating. Alongside her athletic achievements, Jackson graduated with honors from the University of Florida with a degree in materials science and engineering. The following year she became inspired by other Ocala skaters who’d shifted to speed skating, and stepped onto the ice for the first time.
After only a couple months of speedskating on ice, Jackson unexpectedly qualified for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. She then became the first Black woman to compete on Team USA in Olympic long track speedskating. In the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Jackson made history once again as the first Black woman to win a gold medal in speedskating. This milestone also solidified her as the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history. Her return to the 2026 Winter Olympics is another opportunity for a historic win.
Azaria Hill – Bobsled
For Azaria Hill, her childhood dream of becoming an Olympian was close to home. Her mother, Denean Howard-Hill, and aunt, Sherri Howard, are Olympic gold medal relay runners, and her father, Virgil Hill Sr., is a world champion boxer and Olympic silver medalist. Azaria’s parents even met at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, making the importance of the event for her family clear to her from a young age. With this dream in mind, Hill initially followed in the footsteps of her mom and aunt as a track and field athlete. She was a track athlete at Long Beach State University before transferring to University of Nevada-Las Vegas. It was there that she would meet relay teammate Kaysha Love, who is now her bobsled pilot.
Intrigued by Love’s interest in bobsled, Hill tried out the sport and ultimately discovered a new path to the Olympics. The duo’s history as teammates spans across different sports and continues in bobsled. At the 2023-24 Bobsleigh World Cup in Lillehammer, they earned a bronze medal. They also competed in the 2025-26 World Cup. Beyond the bobsled, Azaria Hill serves in the U.S. Army and is a member of the World Class Athlete Program. While extending her family’s legacy, Hill has carved a distinct path of her own. Her debut at the Milan Cortina Games signals her moment to take the baton as she represents both her family and her country on the ice.
Laila Edwards – Ice Hockey
Although the U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey team has participated in the event every year since their debut in 1998, Laila Edwards is the first Black woman on the team. At only 22 years old, Edwards steps onto the Olympic ice for the first time this year. The Cleveland Heights, Ohio native committed to ice hockey when she played for the first time at the community hockey center as a child. Edwards gained additional experience in renowned youth opportunities such as the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite hockey and USA Hockey U15 development programs. When she made the decision to skip her high school graduation to compete in the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, the importance of hockey in her life was showcased.
Laila Edwards has become a player to watch at Milan Cortina not only due to her historic participation but also her performance record. In 2024, she was named tournament MVP at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, where Team USA earned a silver medal. She returned the following year and led the team’s defense to a gold medal. Edwards also plays at the collegiate level for the University of Wisconsin, an NCAA Division I hockey team. With the launch of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) in 2023, she will be eligible to pursue a career in the league after graduation. Her Olympic debut will go down in history as evidence that it is never too late for Black women to shine in uncharted spaces.
Kaysha Love – Bobsled
Kaysha Love is the 2025 Monobob World Champion, a 2022 Olympic brakeman, and is taking on a new role at this year’s Olympics as a Team USA bobsled pilot. Despite being told that she would likely need more experience before qualifying as an Olympic bobsled pilot, she approaches Milan Cortina determined to excel in the new role. Love’s athletic career proves that she is no stranger to accepting the challenges that come with change. At four years old, Kaysha Love began competitive gymnastics training. She was a level 10 gymnast, which is the highest level in the USA Gymnastics Junior Development Program. However, due to injuries, her gymnastics career came to a halt, and track and field became her new competitive passion.
Throughout high school, Love became a track star with 16 state titles and several records set. This sent her to University of Nevada-Las Vegas where she continued to shine athletically. But when she was approached by a bobsled coach interested in recruiting her, she accepted the opportunity for a new road to Olympic gold. After beginning her bobsled career in 2020, Love qualified for the 2022 Beijing Olympics where she placed seventh as a brakeman. Her choice to transition into the role of a pilot presents new responsibilities in the two-woman event.
As she remains focused on creating her own legacy as a bobsled pilot, Love also finds time to revisit her roots in gymnastics. She now serves as a gymnastics coach, which allows her to support aspiring gymnasts while also raising money to fund her bobsled career. Team USA does not receive government funded support for Olympics costs, which forces athletes to rely on donations, sponsors, and personal resources. Kaysha Love’s determination to become an Olympic champion even with several challenges on her journey shows both on and off the track.
Elana Meyers Taylor – Bobsled
Elana Meyers Taylor is the most decorated Black athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics. As the rightful owner of three silver medals and two bronze, 2026 may be the year that she completes her collection with a gold medal. The bobsled star started out as a softball player before making the switch to winter sports in 2007. Her Vancouver 2010 debut was the first of four consecutive Olympic Games for Meyers Taylor, with Milan Cortina being her fifth at 41 years old. Not only has she placed on the podium during every Olympics she has competed in, she’s also broken barriers for female bobsled athletes. In 2014 she became one of the first women to compete in the four-man bobsled event with the U.S. National Team. Following this, she also became the first woman to win a medal in a men’s international bobsled competition.
When she’s not competing, Elana Meyers Taylor is in mom-mode. She has two sons, Nico and Noah, with her husband and fellow Olympic bobsledder Nic Taylor. Both of their children are deaf, and Nico has down syndrome which has made Meyers Taylor a passionate disability advocate. She has served on the Georgia Council of Developmental Disabilities and advocates for other women in sports, having previously served as the president of the Women’s Sports Foundation. Her legacy on and off the ice exemplifies the power of inclusion, persistence, and intentional community impact.
Mystique Ro – Skeleton
Growing up in an athletic family with 10 siblings, including a twin sister, Mystique Ro has always been interested in competitive sports. During high school she competed as a track and field athlete, continuing her athletic career at Queens University of Charlotte. Ro majored in communications and intentionally accepted new opportunities to come out of her shell in hopes of building confidence. When Elana Meyers Taylor sent a recruitment email that led Mystique Ro’s friend to try sliding sports, she decided to tag along and explore winter sports herself.
Her attention was initially piqued by bobsled, but when coaches told her that another sport would better suit her small stature, she gave skeleton a try instead. Skeleton debuted at the 1928 St. Moritz Winter Olympics. The sport requires athletes to lay face down and head first as they race down icy slopes. Skeleton offered Ro a new, thrilling sport that would bring her out of her comfort zone. Ro comes from Black and Korean descent, and has previously spoken about facing anti-blackness from others. Despite the limiting beliefs others have attempted to impose on her, representation remains important to Ro. Mystique Ro approaches her Olympic debut as the 2025 Skeleton Mixed Team World Champion alongside her teammate Austin Florian.
Jasmine Jones – Bobsled
Jasmine Jones is a former basketball player and track and field champion who is ready to conquer bobsled next. Originally from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Jones was an Eastern Michigan University sprinter before she was encouraged by Elana Meyers Taylor to try bobsled. Due to the similar physical demands of both sports, her speed and endurance would become valuable features for Jones in bobsled. She welcomed the challenge of taking on a new sport and has now found her way to the 2026 Winter Olympics as a bobsled brakewoman.
Being a single mother to a young girl, Jasmine Jones appreciates the moments when her daughter Jade can watch her compete. She joined the U.S. Air Force and the World Class Athlete Program to financially support herself and her daughter, while also gaining access to the resources needed to continue pursuing bobsled. The other U.S. sliding team members extend their connection beyond competing and are an additional support system for Jones and her daughter. Paired with bobsled teammate Kaillie Humphries who is an Olympic gold medalist, Jones has won World Cup races and is pursuing a gold medal of her own.
Kelly Curtis – Skeleton
At the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, Kelly Curtis became the first Black athlete to represent Team USA in skeleton. Inspired as a child from watching Black and mixed race athletes, she is now another example of one’s Olympic dreams unfolding. She comes from a background similar to many of her teammates, her athletic career originating with track and field before starting winter sports. Born and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Curtis ran track until she graduated from Springfield College. Upon earning a bachelor’s degree in sports management she went on to pursue a master’s degree in educational leadership. While attending graduate school and coaching at St. Lawrence University, she started exploring sliding sports. Skeleton is where she found her passion.
Kelly Curtis recently walked away with a silver medal in the women’s skeleton race at the IBSF World Cup in St. Moritz-Celerina. Her high placements are a preview into the energy and effort she is carrying into this year’s Olympic games. Since the last games, Curtis has also become a mother and was awarded the “Bring the Babies” Changemaker Grant this year. She is also a member of the U.S. Air Force World Class Athlete Program. Off the ice she also supports Classroom Champions as a mentor for K-8 children, helping them develop champion mindsets. Kelly Curtis embraces the responsibility of inspiring younger generations who may see themselves in her.
As these eight women compete in Italy they are representing both the United States and past, present, and future Black athletes. Their participation in the 2026 Olympics will continue to pave the way for more Black women in winter sports. Watch them give it their all at the Milano Cortina Games from February 6 to 22.
Interested in learning more about Women making Olympic history? Read about Layla Almasri’s experiences as a Palestinian Olympian here.
