Team Minnesota
By RACHEL BLOUNT • Star Tribune | Photos courtesy of Team USA
By RACHEL BLOUNT • Star Tribune
Photos courtesy of Team USA
Meet the 22 U.S. Olympians and two alternates who will keep state's flame burning bright.
Alpine skiing
Lindsey Vonn
Burnsville • Age: 33
Olympic experience: Fourth
(2002, '06, '10)
In 2010, Vonn became the only American woman to win an Olympic downhill. A serious knee injury prevented her from defending her title in 2014, and since then,she also has dealt with a fractured knee and nerve damage from a broken arm. She has persevered, increasing her World Cup victory total to 81—the most ever by a woman, only five short of Ingemar Stenmark's record. Despite a back injury in December, Vonn has won four races this season, including the past three downhills. Events: Women's super-G, downhill, alpine combined.
Twitter: @lindseyvonn
Biathlon
Leif Nordgren
Marine on St. Croix • Age: 28
Olympic experience: Second (2014)
Nordgren began cross-country skiing as a toddler, giving him a solid base when he started competing in biathlon — which combines cross-country with shooting — in 2007. The Forest Lake High School graduate competed in four events at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, highlighted by a 16th-place finish in the relay. A bronze medalist in pursuit at the 2008 youth world championships, Nordgren has top-10 finishes with the U.S. men's relay team in the past two world championships. Events: Men's 10k sprint, 12.5k pursuit, 4x7.5-kilometer relay
Twitter: @leifcnordgren
Cross-country skiing
Jessie Diggins
Afton • Age: 26
Olympic experience: Second (2014)
A three-time Minnesota state high school champion in Nordic skiing, Diggins is one of the most successful American women in her sport's history. Her four world championship medals are the most by any U.S. skier, male or female. This year, she was third at the Tour de Ski, the first podium finish ever by a North American woman. At the 2014 Olympics, she had top-10 finishes in the skiathlon (eighth) and women's relay (ninth, the top Olympic placing in history for a U.S. women's relay team). Events: Women's skiathlon, 10k freestyle, 4x5k relay, team sprint.
Twitter: @jessdiggs
Cross-country skiing
Rosie Frankowski
Minneapolis • Age: 26
Olympic experience: First
Frankowski earned her place on the team with a breakthrough at the 2018 U.S. championships in Anchorage, where she now lives. The Southwest High School graduate finished third in the women's 20-kilometer classic mass start, capturing her first national championship. She was an All-America Nordic skier at Northern Michigan before joining the elite racing team at Alaska Pacific University. She is an adjunct professor at APU and activities coordinator for Anchorage Downtown Partnership. Events: Women's 30k classic mass start.
Twitter: None
Cross-country skiing
Anne Hart
Stillwater • Age: 25
Olympic experience: First
A graduate of St. Paul Academy, Hart was among 10 discretionary picks for the U.S. cross-country Olympic team. In 2010, she lost the state high school individual championship to Diggins by seven tenths of a second; their battle in the 5K classic is considered the most exciting race in Minnesota high school Nordic skiing history. Hart competed at Dartmouth College, where she was a five-time All-America. She now is a teammate of Diggins with the SMS T2 ski team in Stratton, Vermont. Events: Women's classic sprint
Twitter: @aheartmn
Curling
John Shuster
Chisholm • Age: 35
Olympic experience: Fourth
(2006, '10, '14)
Cut from USA Curling's first national team combine in 2014, Shuster didn't mope. The longtime Duluth resident — now living in Superior, Wis. — started his own team and rose to new heights. An Olympic bronze medalist with Pete Fenson's team in 2006, Shuster skipped the U.S. to top-five finishes at the world championships in each of the past three years, including bronze in 2016. He was the winning skip at the past three U.S. Olympic trials and is the first American man to make four Olympic curling teams.
Twitter: @shoostie2010, @TeamShuster
Curling
Tyler George
Duluth • Age: 35
Olympic experience: First
George practically grew up at the Duluth Curling Club, managed by his parents during his youth. But it took Team Shuster's vice skip several tries to make it to the Olympics. A former skip, George lost to Shuster in the finals at the 2010 Olympic trials, and the Duluth liquor-store manager was considering taking a year off from the sport when he was invited to join Shuster's team in 2014. His superb shotmaking and strategic savvy have been instrumental to pushing Team Shuster to a top-25 world ranking.