Two Olympians Debut at Winter Games After Summer Hopes

Anna Gibson and Jadin O'Brien make their Olympic debuts in ski mountaineering and bobsled after vying for Summer Olympic spots.

Published on Feb. 21, 2026

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Anna Gibson, a 26-year-old from Jackson, Wyoming, and Jadin O'Brien, a 23-year-old from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, had both hoped to make the U.S. Olympic team for the 2024 Summer Games, but will instead make their Olympic debuts at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina. Gibson will compete in the new Olympic sport of ski mountaineering, while O'Brien has transitioned to bobsled after a career in track and field.

Why it matters

The stories of Gibson and O'Brien highlight the versatility and adaptability of elite athletes, as well as the growing popularity of winter sports like ski mountaineering and bobsled. Their journeys also showcase the increasing opportunities for athletes to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

The details

Gibson, a former trail runner, earned 17 state titles in Wyoming as a teenager across track, cross-country running and Nordic skiing. She qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in the 1,500 meters. O'Brien was a heptathlete who finished seventh at the 2024 Olympic Trials. A strength coach suggested she try out for bobsled, and she was later recruited by six-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor.

  • Gibson and Smith qualified for the Olympics together in December 2025 by winning a relay race in Utah.
  • In January 2026, Meyers Taylor and O'Brien's bobsled flipped over in a training run in Switzerland, with O'Brien getting ejected and having to go to the hospital.
  • The ski mountaineering events will take place on Thursday and Friday, February 20-21, 2026 at the Stelvio Ski Center in Bormio.
  • The two-woman bobsled event will be held on Friday and Saturday, February 21-22, 2026 in Cortina.

The players

Anna Gibson

A 26-year-old from Jackson, Wyoming who will be the first American to compete in the new Winter Olympic sport of ski mountaineering.

Jadin O'Brien

A 23-year-old from Pewaukee, Wisconsin who is competing in bobsled after a career as a heptathlete, where she finished seventh at the 2024 Olympic Trials.

Cam Smith

A veteran U.S. skimo athlete who recruited Gibson to the sport last year.

Elana Meyers Taylor

A six-time Olympic medalist in bobsled who directly messaged O'Brien on Instagram to invite her to try out for the sport.

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What they’re saying

“We would love to have you tryout for bobsled!!!”

— Elana Meyers Taylor (Instagram)

“I was like, 'Yeah, why not?' Give me the rundown. What's the hard sell?' I think (Smith) just caught me at a really good moment. I started my year off knowing it was the year of exploration, the year of experiments. I wanted to race my bike. I wanted to do longer running races. I wanted to do things that really challenged me.”

— Anna Gibson (SkiMo Gold podcast)

“To be a competitive multi-athlete (in the heptathlon or decathlon), you need to be able to learn things at a very fast pace. You need to be able to compete at a very high level while learning all those events, and then you also have to be able to adapt very quickly on the fly. So all those skills that I learned as a multi-athlete have helped me tremendously in the transition into bobsled because I had such a little amount of time to learn the sport and get competitive enough to make the Olympic team.”

— Jadin O'Brien (NBC News)

“I was in a lot of pain. I couldn't really move in any direction, and so I was like, is it (bobsled) worth the risk? And at the end of the day, I said, 'Yes, it is.'”

— Jadin O'Brien (NBC News)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

The stories of Gibson and O'Brien highlight the growing opportunities for athletes to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, as well as the adaptability and versatility required to transition between different sports at the highest levels of competition.