Neal: Minnesotans at the middle of the action as the Winter Olympics begin this week

Four years ago, I was on my way to Beijing to cover the Olympics for the first time. I didn’t know what awaited me. I definitely wasn’t anticipating that the guy sitting in front of me on the flight from Tokyo to Beijing would test positive for COVID upon landing, forcing me into a semi-quarantine at the hotel for a week.

I also wasn’t prepared to be enthralled by the spectacle of the event, the enormity of the world media corps and the immersion into a culture I knew little about. A man, woman and child on a motor scooter during a snowstorm? Come on.

Another thing I wasn’t prepared for: Waking up each morning energized and motivated to brave the elements, travel to venues to interview American athletes and tell stories. I covered curling and Alpine skiing for the first time. After taking the bullet train to get to the Yanqing National Alpine Ski Center, I stood at the base of the mountain and marveled at how steep it was. “Paula Moltzan skis down this?” I thought. “Skiers are nuts.”

There were 30 Minnesotans on the 2022 Winter Olympics team. There was a curling match every day of the event. There was a hockey match every day but one. There was a local angle to pursue every time I left the hotel. For me, it was exhilarating.

The assignment this week was to write about what I’m looking forward to the most as the Milan Cortina d’Ampezzo Games, where competition begins Feb. 4.

My initial reaction: Is every day an acceptable answer?

Team USA was announced in late January, a record 232 athletes. Of those 232, 37 either are from or have ties to Minnesota. That’s more than any other state and 15.9% of the entire team. There’s a chance that every day from the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6 until the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 22, a Minnesotan will be doing something somewhere in northern Italy.

But I’m going to follow the instructions presented to me and be more specific about what I’m looking forward to the most over the next three weeks of 2026 Winter Olympics.

These are Diggins’ final Olympic cross-country races as she prepares to end a well-decorated and well-traveled career. And she has had no trouble bringing us along for the ride. She’s collecting memories of all her favorite places, all her favorite courses and the people who have facilitated her career, down to the volunteers, wax techs, coaches, teammates and fans. The Afton native is enjoying her final year and is on top of her game, hitting the Olympics while leading the World Cup standings. Diggins is going for her fourth Olympic medal, with a good chance of it being gold.

Folks in Italy will hear Vonn before they see her because the titanium in her right knee will set off metal detectors whenever she goes through security. If she can compete in Cortina after injuring her left knee in a crash last week, it will be tough to see her for long once she’s on skis. And if anyone can push through a knee injury, it’s Vonn, 41. She had knee replacement surgery, came out of retirement and has made an amazing run to claim a spot on Team USA. And she did so after reaching the podium four times, including a victory at St. Moritz in December. She’s had three more podium finishes since.

“I know Lindsay a little bit,” Diggins told the Minnesota Star Tribune after Vonn’s victory in St. Moritz. “She has worked so hard and she is such a fierce competitor. It’s so inspiring, her comeback and the way she came back after injury.”

When the United States meets Canada, it’s must-see TV. And the women’s teams — based on the spicy language I heard at times in Beijing — have the fiercer rivalry. Team USA is looking for payback in both divisions. The American men lost to Canada in overtime in the 4 Nations Face-Off final a year ago. The American women lost to Canada in the gold-medal game in Beijing four years ago, but they are the reigning world champions. A United States gold sweep, fueled by Frost and Wild players, is not out of the question here. Has Bill Guerin, the Team USA general manager and the Wild president of hockey operations, selected the right players for the men’s team?

Speaking of podiums, no American woman has reached one in Olympic curling. Thiesse, an excellent shotmaker, is the third on Team Peterson and joined forces with Dropkin after missing out of the Olympic mixed doubles curling in the past. She has a busy schedule, but she has two chances in Italy to make history.

So, yes, I will be adjusting my sleep patterns to conform to the schedule in Italy when required. I plan to attend curling watch parties in Minnesota during the Games. And, hopefully, my bosses will understand when I take three-hour lunch breaks to watch hockey.