With the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics underway, several athletes from New Jersey compete in various events such as ice hockey, snowboarding and more. Get to know more about these NJ Winter Olympics athletes here!
Isabeau Levito
18-year-old Isabeau Levito from Mount Laurel, NJ actually became an ice skater after watching the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 as a child. At age 14, Levito finished third at the U.S. Championships. Just three months later, she became world junior champion and was the first U.S. female figure skater to win that title in 14 years. The 2026 Milano-Cortina will be Levito’s first Olympic games.
Jess Perlmutter
At just 16-years old, Jess Perlmutter from Millburn, NJ is already making a name for herself by competing in the 2026 Milan Olympics in Women’s Snowboarding. The young athlete first got into snowboarding due to her initial interest in skateboarding. Although she was born in NJ, she later moved to Vermont where she picked up snowboarding in Killington. Perlmutter’s professional athletic career started when she entered The Uninvited Invitational in 2024 as a wildcard competitor and finished third overall. She achieved a podium spot and a Rookie Award as well.
Perlmutter advanced to the final after placing 11th in Slopestyle last week. She will compete again on Tuesday.
Brianna Schnorrbusch
Women’s snowboarder Brianna Schnorrbusch from Monroe Township, NJ. first made a name for herself after receiving a silver medal at the 2022 FIS Junior Snowboard World Championships in Veysonnaz, Switzerland. This is the University of Utah student’s first time competing in the Olympic games, as she is just 20 years old. Schnorrbusch’s most recent accomplishments include placing 9th in Snowboard Cross Team – Mixed and 15th in Snowboardcross – Women in 2025.
Schnorrbusch’s Olympic Games ended early when she just missed advancing to the Women’s Snowboarding Quarterfinals last week.
Kelly Curtis
Princeton NJ’s Kelly Curtis, the first Black athlete to compete for Team USA in Skeleton, will be returning to the Milan Games after first competing in the Beijing Winter Olympic Games in 2022. Other than Skeleton, Curtis enlisted and graduated from Air Force basic training in the fall of 2020. She was later stationed at Aviano Air Base in Italy to full-time train for the Olympics in Chula Vista, California, and compete on behalf of the U.S. Air Force and country in 2022.
At the 2026 games, Curtis placed 12th in her second olympics appearance.
Kelsey O’Driscoll
From Caldwell, NJ, Kelsey O’Driscoll began skiing at just age two since her father was a whitewater guide in North Creek, New York. O’Driscoll graduated from SUNY Adirondack in 2019 and became a registered nurse. While sledding with her family in 2021, she sustained spinal fractures—which left permanent damage—and she had to relearn how to walk. While healing, O’Driscoll wanted to return to nursing while also relearning the love she had for skiing.
In 2025, O’Driscoll made her FIS Para Alpine World Ski Championships debut, as she finished 6th in slalom and 8th in giant slalom.
Josh Pauls
Four-time Paralympic gold medalist (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022), Josh Pauls was born in South Plainfield, NJ without tibia bones in both legs—causing them to be amputated at just 10-months-old. However, that didn’t stop him from becoming a sled hockey player. Shortly after Pauls began his athletic career at 17-years-old in Vancouver, he led the U.S. to victory as the youngest member on the team, beating Japan 2-0. Since then, he continues to strive and live out his goals in the Olympic Games. Pauls is currently the longest-tenured U.S. National Sled Hockey Team player as this is his 17th season with the team.
Jack Wallace
From Franklin Lakes, two-time Paralympic gold medalist (2022, 2018) and The College of New Jersey graduate Jack Wallace competes in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games in paracanoe and sled hockey. When he was 10, Wallace was involved in a boating accident while water skiing and had his right leg amputated just above the knee. Wallace started competing in Paracanoe back in 2019, but due to COVID-19 and Reconstructive surgery of his elbow, he decided to focus more on Sled Hockey for a short time. In 2024, the ParaCanoe World Championships and Para Ice Hockey World Championships were scheduled for the same week. One was in Calgary and the other in Hungary. Wallace still managed to compete in both championships as he came in third place for Paracanoe, just .008 seconds away from qualifying for the Paris Games. He then got on another plane to compete, but the U.S. fell to Canada in an unfortunate 2-1 loss.
Other NJ Olympics Connections
There’s a handful of other athletes participating in the Milan Olympic Games who went to college in NJ but were raised in another state, such as Chloe Kim and Declan Farmer who both attended Princeton University. Also competing in the Milan Games is Alex Carpenter of the U.S. Women’s Hockey team, who’s from Massachusetts but her father won the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995.
Additionally, Montclair State University student Olga Mikutina is representing Austria in women’s figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Julia is currently a senior at the Ramapo College of New Jersey studying Journalism while also minoring in Creative Writing and Digital Film. While growing up in Bergen County, she enjoyed exploring new restaurants and landmarks while also taking on different sports such as swimming. At college, she's one of the News Editors and writers at the Ramapo News, often crafting article revolving around entertainment, politics and campus events.