FILE – United States’ Mikaela Shiffrin competes during the first run of an alpine ski, World Cup women’s slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. Shiffrin is hoping to enter all five individual Alpine skiing races at the Beijing Olympics and add to her career total of three Winter Games medals. The 26-year-old American could be the star of the show but she will be challenged by Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova and Italy’s Sofia Goggia.
Olympic athletes are always selected from a myriad of continents, nations and cities. It doesn’t matter where you come from - whether that be a miniscule island off the coast or a crowded tourist-attracted city - if you qualify, the games are yours to crusade.
Since the first modern Olympic Games showcased on April 6, 1896 in Athens, Greece, a trend was set in place: the Olympics would feature noticeable diversity. In those games, athletes were welcomed from 13 nations to represent their countries in this international escapade.
Fast forward to the first Winter Olympic Games held in Chamonix, France in 1924. At the competition, 258 athletes competed, representing 16 nations. Next, in the 1928 St. Moritz Winter Games, 28 nations competed, with Korea, Iceland, Lebanon, Denmark and Chile making their Olympic debuts.
Now it is 2022 and the Beijing Winter Olympic Games will be represented by 90 nations in total.
Talk about diversity …
Now let’s channel into a specific nation, the United States. Team USA has officially selected 223 athletes to compete this February. These participants reside all across the nation, however we have observed a few states that seem to house a high number of the athletes this year.
Which states have the most Team USA athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
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California, Colorado, Minnesota, Utah, Illinois and Wisconsin are the top states to house athletes who have qualified and will be competing for Team USA.
California: 29 athletes
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Colorado: 23 athletes
Minnesota: 23 athletes
Utah: 16 athletes
Illinois: 13 athletes
Wisconsin: 12 athletes
Which cities have the most Team USA athletes at the 2022 Olympics?
Park City and Salt Lake City – both in Utah – are the two U.S. cities where the most athletes have qualified. Nine athletes are from Park City and six are from Salt Lake City.
Steamboat Springs, Colo. and Anchorage, Alaska, both have five athletes attending the Games.
Three athletes have qualified from each of these towns: Tahoe City, Calif., Ocala, Fla., McFarland, Calif., Carlsbad, Calif. and Duluth, Minn.
Which states have the fewest athletes on Team USA for the 2022 Winter Games?
Wyoming, South Carolina, Ohio, Nevada, Iowa, Indiana, Georgia and Arizona will each send one athlete to Beijing to compete for Team USA.
Which states will not be represented by Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics?
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia will be sending no athletes.
2022 Winter Olympics Athlete Hometowns
Source: NBC
Amy O’Kruk/NBC
