Milan Cortina is shaping up to feature a number of athletes who are on the comeback trail, returning from injury, retirement, maternity leave and more. These are the 11 Olympic heroes we’re most excited to see take the ice, the slopes and the tracks once again.  

Alysa Liu Comes Back Golden

Alysa Liu stunned the figure skating world when she announced her retirement in April 2022 at just 16 years old, after an impressive early career, including two U.S. titles and becoming the youngest U.S. woman to land a triple Axel and the first to land a quad in competition.

But after nearly two years away from competitive skating — in which she shifted her focus to school and time with friends, convinced she had closed the chapter on competitive skating for good — Liu announced her comeback for the 2024-25 season.

She returned with a refreshed mindset, training on her own terms, balancing college and skating, and no longer viewing the ice as her entire identity. And her return paid off spectacularly, as she became world champion in March 2025 — the first American woman to win the world title in singles since 2006.

Breezy's Second Wind

American Breezy Johnson was preparing to compete in the 2022 Beijing Olympics — until injury struck at the worst possible time. The then-second fastest skier in the world crashed during a training run a couple weeks before the Games, tearing cartilage in her right knee and forcing her out of action.

“I’ve always wanted to win an Olympic medal,” Johnson told NBC Sports. “To be in this position where I felt within striking distance, you just really feel how close you can come, and then it can all be taken away from you.”

A year-and-a-half later, the world champion received a 14-month suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for missing three drug tests over a 12-month period. The slopes haven’t been smooth for Johnson, but she’ll have another crack at realizing her Olympic-medal dreams in 2026.

Gus Kenworthy Unretires For One More Olympic Bid

Gus Kenworthy retired after the last Winter Olympics, but the 34-year-old freeskier is now set to make a comeback this winter as he seeks his fourth Olympic appearance.

“After taking a step away, I realized I miss skiing and I really want to compete again,” he said earlier this year. “I didn’t know if I would be able to come back after three-and-a-half years, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to after seven and a half. So, it’s this Olympics or nothing. I’m never going to have this opportunity again.”

Kenworthy, who previously competed for the U.S., was part of a historic slopestyle podium sweep for Team USA in 2014. He changed his affiliation to Great Britain ahead of the 2022 Olympics and now focuses exclusively on halfpipe.

Jamie Anderson Returns as a Mother of Two

Jamie Anderson, a three-time Olympic snowboarding medalist for Team USA, hasn’t competed since the Beijing Games. In the years since then, she’s started a family, giving birth to her first daughter in March 2023 and her second daughter in April 2025.

But after her second child, Anderson began feeling the drive to compete again. She resumed training this year, and she hopes to compete in several Olympic qualifiers this season, earn her spot on the U.S. team, and make it to the Milan Cortina Games.

Anderson is one of several recent mothers hoping to compete at these Olympics. Cassie Sharpe, a freeskiing peer who competes in halfpipe, returned to competition last season and won an X Games title. Meanwhile in snowboard cross, 2024 World Cup champion Chloe Trespeuch was back on the circuit at the end of last season, and 2014 Olympic champion, Eva Adamczykova, plans to make a comeback this season.

Kevin Bickner Gets Back on the Bar

Burnt out and frustrated with his recent results, U.S. jumper Kevin Bickner decided to retire after the Beijing Games. However, after learning about a new training cooperation between the U.S. and Norweigan teams and seeing the effect it had on his former teammates' results, he decided to return to the sport.

Since pulling on his uniform again two seasons ago, Bickner not only has returned to his peak but surpassed it. The 29-year-old finished the 2025 ski jumping season as the second-highest ranked U.S. man within the World Cup (28th) and the world ranking list (29th), as well as the highest in the Grand Prix (19th). All three results were personal bests. His performance also helped the U.S. men to an 8th-place finish in the Nations Cup — the nation's highest placement since the 1984-85 season.

Kaillie Humphries Has a Whole New Superpower on the Track

Three-time Olympic gold-medalist, Kaillie Humphries, made an inspiring return to elite competition following the birth of her first child, Aulden, in June 2024. After publicly sharing her challenges with endometriosis and undergoing multiple rounds of IVF, Humphries paused her career to embrace motherhood. Six months later, she was back on the World Cup circuit in December 2024 — finishing 7th in her first monobob race post-baby. 

Humphries has spoken candidly about the physical and emotional hurdles of returning postpartum, comparing herself to “a baby giraffe” learning to walk. At the same time, she views motherhood as a new strength: “Being able to be a mom just gives me this whole other superpower,” she said. As she aims toward the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, her comeback speaks not just to athletic resilience, but to the evolving narrative around motherhood in elite sport.

The "ShibSibs" Have Unfinished Business

Maia and Alex Shibutani, who captured bronze at the 2018 Olympics, are making a stunning return to ice dance nearly after seven years away from competition. The duo, known for their precision, charm, and sibling chemistry, announced their comeback ahead of the 2025–26 Olympic season, marking their first competitive appearance since PyeongChang.

During their time away, the Shibutanis explored creative projects off the ice — from publishing a book to producing media — while Maia also recovered from a major health scare. But their passion for skating never faded. Now, as they step back onto the competitive stage, fans are eager to see how the pair’s artistry and maturity have evolved, and whether they once again can challenge the world’s best on the road to Milan Cortina 2026.

Former Olympic Champion "I-Pod" Ends Five-Year Retirement

Switzerland’s Iouri Podladtchikov, the 2014 Olympic champion in men’s snowboard halfpipe and pioneer of the “YOLO flip,” ended a five-year retirement last season.

Before his retirement, “I-Pod” was one of the sport’s top halfpipe riders, but he also contended with a series of significant injuries, including a traumatic brain injury in 2018 and a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2019.

Podladtchikov, now 37, competed in two events last season, his best result being a 6th-place finish at a World Cup contest in Calgary. His goal is to make it to the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Baby Curl

Tara and Tabitha Peterson, two members of Team Peterson — the curling squad that represented the United States at Beijing 2022 — took a recent hiatus from the sport they love. They both gave birth in the fall of 2024, Tara about two months before her older sister. Now, the dynamic duo are back on the sheet together with their sights set on Milan Cortina. 

Before they can punch their tickets to the Games, they must emerge victorious at the U.S. Team Trials in November and then finish first or second during December’s Olympic Qualifying Event (OQE). Should they manage to reach the Olympics and win a medal, it’ll be a comeback for the ages for the new moms.

Maddy Schaffrick Eyes Olympic Debut After 10-Year Retirement

As a teenager, American Maddy Schaffrick was a fixture in snowboard halfpipe contests but didn’t make an Olympic team. She was just 21 years old when she retired from competition in 2015.

Schaffrick returned last season after nearly a 10-year hiatus and immediately finished on the podium at her first World Cup event. She could contend for a spot on the U.S. Olympic roster for Milan Cortina.

During her retirement, Schaffrick briefly worked as a plumber before settling in as a snowboard coach.

41 Years Young

You can’t recount the history of Alpine skiing without mentioning Lindsey Vonn. The American’s résumé speaks for itself: three Olympic medals, 15 World Cup Crystal Globes, eight world championship medals, the list goes on. 

In 2019 she decided to step away from the sport due to chronic knee pain, however, six years later, she returned to professional competition thanks to successful knee replacement surgery. If Vonn qualifies for the 2026 Winter Olympics and wins a medal, she’ll be the oldest Alpine skier (41 years, 120ish days) to accomplish the feat.