A special preview of local athletes in the 2026 Winter Games.
Sports
Regular sports coverage begins on page 10.
ANDIAMO Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Teton County sends three homegrown athletes to Winter Olympics in Italy.
PHOTO CREDITS, LEFT TO RIGHT: ALLESSANDRO TROVATI/AP, MIKE LAWRENCE / U.S. SKI TEAM, KRISTOPHER BRAUNBERGER
Left to right: Breezy Johnson, Jaelin Kauf, Anna Gibson
By Kyle Leverone SPORTS EDITOR
W
ith 16 sports and 116 medal opportunities, at its core the Winter Olympics are the world’s greatest display of athleticism. Marveling as athletes bomb down paper-white slopes through imposing mountain courses, or watching in awe as they fly through the air in front of an Italian hamlet backdrop, or sitting on the edge of a seat as they bounce over hardpacked bumps is the draw to watch the Winter Games. But the storylines are what compel us to cheer. Between the gold medals and the world records and the Ralph Lauren ski jackets, the athletes are the Olympic lifeblood. The 2026 Winter Games begin today, and this year there will be three athletes representing Teton County. While Jackson Hole has been home to many Olympic athletes, only a handful have grown up in the Tetons. All three competing in the following weeks — Jaelin Kauf, Breezy Johnson and Anna Gibson — are Teton County products, and these are their storylines: The Rookie: Anna Gibson, daughter of longtime valley residents Les and Maggie Gibson, has excelled in almost every sport she’s ever picked up. From cross-country running to track to Nordic skiing to mountain running, she’s always had a dream to be an Olympian, and now she is — as a ski mountaineer. Gibson competed in her first professional skimo race in December and won a World Cup race with relay teammate Cam Smith of Crested Butte, Colorado. The sport is making its debut at the Olympics, and so is Gibson. See page 4C.
The Return: In 2022 ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, downhiller Breezy Johnson crashed during a training run in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The Teton County athlete competed in the 2018 Winter Games and was qualified to make her second appearance four years later, but because of her injury sustained in the crash in 2022, she bowed out of Beijing. Now, after wining the downhill and team combined event in the World Championships last winter, Johnson is back as one of the top Alpine skiers in the world. The women’s downhill takes place on Sunday in Cortina d’Ampezzo. See page 2C. The Favorite: Grand Targhee’s silver child, Jaelin Kauf, is making her third appearance at the Winter Olympics, and this time she’ll be able to compete in her favorite event: dual moguls. In 2018 she competed in moguls and placed seventh, and in 2022 she took home a silver medal in moguls. Last year, Kauf put together the greatest freestyle moguls season in American history, collecting all three World Cup Crystal Globes. Dual moguls is on the docket for the first time in Winter Games history, and the hard-charging Kauf is raring to go. See page 3C. Six medal opportunities are on the table for the three homegrown athletes, who will be competing in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno and Bormio, and the News&Guide will be on the scene for all of it. Cheer on. — Kyle Leverone
SPECIAL COVERAGE
2C 3C
Breezy returns to Olympics after eight years Kauf determined to deliver love, chase gold
4C 5C
Skimo and Gibson make Olympic debuts Best-on-best hockey returns to Games