The 2026 Olympic Winter Games are a natural homecoming for the Team USA athletes with Italian heritage. Meet the Olympians who are keeping it in the family in Milan and Cortina.
Alessandro Barbieri
17-year-old snowboarder Alessandro Barbieri is nicknamed “The Chef,” because he's known for his unique style inspired by his Italian roots. His parents, Cristiano and Elizabetta, are both from Milan and moved to Oregon in 2006, two years before he was born. Barbieri started snowboarding at the age of four; his elementary school had half days on Wednesdays and he and his parents would drive the hour and a half to Mount Hood and ride until 9pm, and return on the weekends.
His Italian heritage has inspired his distinctive pizzaz in the halfpipe.
“The French people are going to hate me, but Italy is the king of style. And I feel like I take the Italian flair from my parents and put it into snowboarding,” Barbieri said. “I try to add more flavor into my tricks with different grabs, different combos."
During the men's snowboard halfpipe finals on Friday, Barbieri attempted a backside double cork 1620 and fell, finishing 10th in his Olympic debut. But the young snowboarder’s career is far from over. Many expect that he'll be back to the Olympics in four years as top contender.
Alex Hall
Alex Hall took home the gold in men’s freeski slopestyle in Beijing 2022. This time around at Livigno Snow Park, Hall won silver with his family waiting for him at the bottom of the hill. He broke down in his parents’ arms after the run, sharing with TODAY “it doesn’t get any better than that.”
27 years old and born in Fairbanks, Alaska, Hall holds dual U.S. and Italian citizenship and a deep connection to the region as his mom is from Bologna. Hall was raised in Zurich, where he would weld old street poles into rails so he could practice his jumps.
Hall is no stranger to northern Italy. He would also ski in Livigno, which is about a 3-hour drive from Zurich, and grew up vacationing with his mom’s family at Pejo ski resort (about 45 miles southeast of Livigno). Hall speaks German, Italian, and even some French, serving as the group translator when he travels around the world with his teammates in Europe.
Before the men’s freestyle slope final, Hall lay in bed knowing his odds of getting the gold were slim. The Livigno course was one of the toughest he has ever faced, only being able to land his planned tricks in one out of ten practice runs. Despite the daunting course and conditions, Hall remained relaxed and positive. It was never about winning for him—it was about his love for skiing and doing the tricks he wanted.
Hall ended with a score of 85.75, less than a point behind the winning run of 86.22 from Birk Ruud of Norway, and the two shared a tight embrace at the end of the event.
“The four years between (Olympics), it didn’t ever feel like there was a day where I was like, ‘I really gotta go train so I can get this medal,’ or, ‘I gotta go train so I can beat this person,’” Hall said before Tuesday’s final. “I just skied because I like skiing.”
Now, it’s onto the next for Hall with men’s big air on Sunday. Hall is excited to show off some new moves and his unique ski-culture streetwear “Hall Pass” fashion style.
Vincent Trocheck
30-year-old Pittsburgh native Vincent Trocheck is a center and alternate captain for the New York Rangers, and is making his Olympic debut in the Milan Cortina Olympics. His mother, Rita, is the daughter of Italian immigrants from Calabria.
Trocheck is playing for Team USA alongside his Ranger teammate and captain, J.T. Miller, and the pair go way back. The two have known each other since they were only 10 years old and played for youth hockey together.
The nights before games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Trocheck invites all of his Rangers teammates to his grandmother’s house for big Italian feasts filled with pasta, chicken parm, and meatballs.
“I grew up in a really big Italian family,” Trocheck explained. “My mom has two brothers and a sister, and they all had at least three kids. My grandmother has eight brothers and sisters, and then they all had a bunch of kids, too. My grandma and her sisters are all really close, so we’d have these huge dinners with the whole family. Everybody would come. That was how I grew up. It was just normal for me to have everybody around all of the time.”
Trocheck is hungry for revenge this Olympics, after playing in all four 4 Nations Face-Off games in 2025 and ultimately losing in overtime during the championship game against Canada.
Can Trocheck use the fuel from Milan’s authentic local cuisine to bring home the gold for Team USA in the men’s gold medal game on Sunday, Feb. 22?
Isabeau Levito
Isabeau Levito is making her first Olympic appearance in Milan Cortina 2026. She's one of the contenders for the first U.S. medal in women’s singles since 2006 and perhaps the first gold since 2002. Levito is proudly a part of the U.S. women’s figure skating team known as "Blade Angels," along with teammates Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu.
The 18-year-old Jersey girl is the youngest member of the U.S. figure skating team and the quintessential figure skater: classical, balletic and elegant. Her mom, Chiara Garberi-Levito, introduced her to the sport after being inspired by the 2010 Vancouver Olympics to get Levito on the ice at only three years old.
Her mom is from Milan and her grandma (Nonna Stella) and other extended family are still there, so no one even has to get a hotel. Her programs nod to her Italian heritage; in her short program she channels the iconic Italian actress Sophia Loren and in her free skate she performs to music from the Academy-Award-winning film "Cinema Paradiso."
“I feel like this year's short program is a similar movie star style, but so much more fitting for the Olympic year, especially being in Milan. Given that it's sung by Sophia Loren—and she's Italian, and such a diva, and it feels so sultry—I love performing it.” Levito said.
The Italian-speaking figure skater has quite the impressive resume, winning gold at the U.S. Championships in 2023 and silver at the 2024 World Championships.
Outside of skating, Levito is just your average teen who enjoys watching "Gilmore Girls" and listening to Nicki Minaj and Lana Del Rey, and, of course, indulging in delicious Italian cuisine.