The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 are officially underway! Out of the hundreds of TEAM USA athletes currently competing in the Olympics & Paralympics in Italy, there are 5 who call the Chicago West Suburbs home.
Follow along with TEAM USA in Italy as they compete in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games February 4-22. See the full schedule
Here are the local athletes to keep an eye out for:
Ethan Cepuran
SPORT: Speedskating
EDUCATION: University of Utah
HOMETOWN: Glen Ellyn, IL
AGE: 25
Emery Lehman
SPORT: Speedskating
EDUCATION: Marquette University
HOMETOWN: Oak Park, IL
AGE: 29
Sarah Warren
SPORT: Speedskating
EDUCATION: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign B.S.; Johns Hopkins University, M.E.
HOMETOWN: Willowbrook, IL
AGE: 29
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics begin March 4th in Italy! See the full schedule
Here are the local athletes to keep an eye out for, and their inspiring stories:
Josh Misiewicz
SPORT: Sled Hockey
EDUCATION: College of DuPage
HOMETOWN: La Grange, IL
AGE: 37
Josh Misiewicz started playing roller hockey across the street with friends and eventually played in outdoor and indoor leagues. Misiewicz played NCAA Division III college hockey for St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. In 2010, Misiewicz enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was deployed to Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines as a machine gunner. On July 20, 2011, Josh was injured by an IED while on foot patrol and lost both his legs. After his injury, he was at Walter Reed Hospital and started playing sled hockey with the USA Warriors.
Misiewicz made his Paralympic debut at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. Four years later, Misiewicz finished third on the team with 10 points (four goals, six assists), helping lead Team USA to an unprecedented fourth straight gold at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Misiewicz has said about finding sled hockey: “One of the first things I thought about when I got injured was that I’ll never play hockey again, so being able to not only continue playing hockey, but being able to play at the Paralympic level, it’s the best thing ever.”
Kendall Gretsch
SPORT: Paratriathlon, Para Nordic Skiing, Para Biathlon
EDUCATION: Washington University St. Louis
HOMETOWN: Downers Grove, IL
AGE: 33
Kendall Gretsch was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, with spina bifida. She played multiple sports as a child, including swimming, rock climbing, softball and basketball.
Gretsch became involved in triathlon after her sophomore year of college and won three consecutive world championships from 2014 to 2016. After her triathlon classification was not selected for Paralympic Games Rio 2016, Gretsch considered picking up a winter sport and settled on Para Nordic skiing.
Gretsch made her Paralympic debut as a winter-sport athlete, winning two gold medals in Nordic skiing at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. Three years later, at the postponed Paralympics Tokyo 2020, she won gold in the women’s Paratriathlon, becoming just the fifth American to ever win gold at both the summer and winter Paralympic Games.
Source: https://www.teamusa.com/
Other Illinois athletes on Team USA:
Abbey Murphy - Ice Hockey (Evergreen Park)
Brody Roybal - Sled Hockey (Northlake)
Kendall Coyne Schofield - Ice Hockey (Palos Heights)
Kevin Bickner - Ski Jumping (Wauconda)
Tessa Janecke - Ice Hockey (Warren)
Want to keep the Olympic spirit going?
Check out these 17 Olympic Movies for Family Movie Night!
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