Eight Buffs Depart Lasting Impressions at 2026 Winter Olympic Games

MILANO & CORTINA, Italy – The Colorado Buffaloes presence on the 2026 Winter Olympic Games was outlined not solely by robust outcomes throughout 5 disciplines and 5 nations, however by a set of moments that captured the spirit of the Olympics

From the Opening Ceremonies to the ultimate distance race, present and former Buffs delivered performances, perseverance and character that mirrored this system’s international attain and aggressive tradition.

One of the earliest highlights got here throughout the Opening Ceremonies, when present Buff Hugo Hinckfuss was featured dancing enthusiastically together with his Australian teammates as tv cameras discovered him, creating probably the most memorable and broadly shared moments of the evening.

Former Buff Cass Gray offered one other fan-favorite second away from the slopes, connecting with members of the Canadian males’s hockey group and sharing the interplay on social media, the place she joked about hanging out together with her “new besties” and the “good ole Canadian boys.”

Few moments carried extra emotion than Joanne Reid’s last Olympic race. Anchoring the United States within the biathlon relay, Reid fought to keep away from being lapped, permitting her to enter the stadium alone and end to a cheering crowd. The second served as a becoming near her outstanding comeback that made her a three-time Olympian lower than a 12 months after returning to the game.

Resilience was additionally on show from Svea Irving, who returned to the halfpipe last to try her last run regardless of struggling a separated rib in a fall earlier within the competitors.

The Games additionally produced highly effective imagery for the way forward for this system, as veteran Alvar Alev and freshman Jakob Moch skied collectively throughout the males’s 50K basic — a visible of two generations of Buffaloes competing facet by facet on the Olympic stage.

In alpine snowboarding, Ryder Sarchett shared his expertise with Team USA’s social media viewers, highlighting his time at Colorado and crediting CU coaches Ian Lochhead and Chad Wolk for his or her affect on his improvement.

And in snowboard cross, Stacy Gaskill‘s Olympic look marked one other comeback story, returning to the world’s greatest stage roughly a 12 months after a severe knee harm.  And she and the US Snowboard group acquired to fulfill up with Snoop Dogg. 

Those moments, mixed with a number of top-30 finishes, an Olympic finalist and a top-15 efficiency, mirrored the complete affect of the Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team on the 2026 Winter Games.