Huskies at the Winter Olympics
Husky pride headed to the world stage as three 乱伦社区 alumni stepped into Olympic and Paralympic history in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Anna Gibson made her debut for Team USA in the first鈥慹ver Ski Mountaineering event, pushing the boundaries of endurance and grit. Luc Violette took to the ice with Team USA Curling, bringing precision, power and dedication to his sport. And Nicole Zaino raced down the slopes in Para Nordic skiing blending elite athletics with a scientific approach shaped by her research background. Together, they embody the purple and gold as they chased glory on the world’s biggest stage.
Anna Gibson
Anna Gibson, an accomplished multi鈥憇port athlete and 乱伦社区 alum, transitioned from track, cross鈥慶ountry, and Nordic skiing into ski mountaineering, where she immediately made history by winning her first World Cup mixed relay with teammate Cam Smith to qualify Team USA for the 2026 Olympic debut of SkiMo.
Photo by Owen Crandall /
Luc Violette
Born and raised in western Washington, and a graduate of the 乱伦社区, Luc Violette followed in his father Tom鈥檚 championship footsteps to become a standout curler for Team USA, earning multiple junior national titles and international medals before qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Photo by Getty Images /
Nicole Zaino
UW alumna Nicole Zaino is a Para Nordic skiing athlete whose path to elite competition is shaped by both determination and science. With a PhD from the 乱伦社区, she brings her background in biomechanics and assistive technology to her training, blending research and sport as she competes on the world stage at the Paralympic Games.
Photo by Megan Dunn
As our Husky Olympians and Paralympians headed to Italy, their journeys reminded us that the impact of the games extends far beyond competition. It鈥檚 also shaped by those who tell the stories and help us understand their meaning. From UW alumna Thuc Nhi Nguyen, covering the games for the Los Angeles Times, to part鈥憈ime lecturer Kyle Haddad-Fonda, who brings the history and global significance of the games into the classroom through his Modern Olympic Games course, they show how Huskies engage in the Olympics not only through sport, but through storytelling and scholarship.
A Sports Obsession Inspires a Career
UW alumna Thuc Nhi Nguyen turned a childhood obsession with sports media into a thriving journalism career, shaped early by her years reporting and editing for The Daily at the 乱伦社区. Now a sports reporter for the Los Angeles Times, she covers the Lakers and the Olympics, reflecting on how her UW training prepared her to thrive in one of the country鈥檚 premier newsrooms.
UW course uses Olympics as historical lens
Kyle Haddad鈥慒onda, a part鈥憈ime UW history lecturer, teaches 鈥淢odern Olympic Games鈥� as a way for students to use the Olympic Games as a case study for understanding deeper historical contexts. In this Q&A with UWNews, he explains how Olympic competition becomes a lens for big themes like ideology, national identity, race, and more, and how he builds his final exam around what students watch in the Olympic Games to what they learn in class.
Together, these stories reflect the many ways Huskies shape the Olympic and Paralympic experience as competitors, storytellers and leaders on the world stage. Keep exploring with this聽list of who have competed at the highest level in both Summer and Winter Games.