7 Mishaps and Heartbreaks in US Winter Olympic History

In 1948, the question wasn’t whether the U.S. men’s hockey team would win a medal at the Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland, but which team would be allowed to play. That’s because two feuding hockey federations sent two different American hockey teams to the games. One was composed of professional hockey players and the other relied on amateurs. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wanted to disqualify both teams, but the Swiss decided to let the professional U.S. squad play, just not for medal contention. They came in fourth anyway.

The 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California, were the only time in Olympic history that bobsledding was excluded as an event. When the small resort town of Squaw Valley was chosen as the site for the 1960 Games, organizers planned on hosting all the traditional events, including bobsledding. But in 1957, the Squaw Valley committee petitioned the IOC to drop bobsledding, arguing that too few countries planned to send sleds. The announcement angered traditional bobsledding powerhouses like Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany and set back the U.S. bobsledding program for decades.

In the 1980s, Debi Thomas was one of the best figure skaters in the world. In 1986, she won both the U.S. Nationals and the World Championships, becoming the first Black skater to hold a national title in women’s figure skating. Thomas was the U.S. team’s best hope for gold going into the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada. She skated well in her short program, but stumbled twice during her long program, finishing third overall and winning the bronze. Thomas was criticized for not congratulating the gold and silver medalists on the podium, and for blaming her coach in a press conference. Still, Thomas became the first Black athlete to win any medal at the Winter Olympics, which was a historic achievement.

Debi Thomas may have been frustrated by her third place finish, but at least she won a medal. The rest of the U.S. Olympic team had a disappointing run in Calgary, bringing home a total of just six medals in 1988, the lowest medal count since the 1936 Games. The only Americans to win gold in Calgary were figure skater Brian Boitano and speedskater Bonnie Blair. Frustratingly, a lot of U.S. athletes came in fourth in their events, including bobsledder Brent Rushlaw, who missed the bronze by two-hundredths of a second. The president of the U.S. Olympic Committee saw the poor showing as a wake-up call. "With our political and social and economic system, there is no reason we can't do much better,” said Robert Helmick. “Our athletes have the capability. What we're lacking is proper support. We need more funding.” The Soviets won 29 medals at the Calgary Games, setting a Winter Olympics record.

A month before the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, Nancy Kerrigan—the top U.S. women’s figure skater—was struck in the knee by an unknown attacker. Police arrested Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of Kerrigan’s skating rival, Tonya Harding, who claimed she knew nothing about a plot to knock Kerrigan out of the competition. Kerrigan made a speedy recovery, and she and Harding competed head-to-head in the 1994 games under intense media scrutiny. Harding visibly struggled during her free skate after an issue with her laces. Kerrigan took home a silver medal. Harding later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution and was banned for life by the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

The 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, was the first time that a U.S. men’s hockey team included professional players from the NHL. The American pros won the 1996 World Cup with the same team and expectations were high for the Olympics. But the lauded U.S. team only managed one win in round-robin play and didn’t even qualify for the medal rounds. Disappointed, a group of players allegedly smashed some furniture in their Olympic Village rooms and sprayed the walls with a fire extinguisher.

The U.S. alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin was a heavy favorite to bring home the gold in multiple events at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, China. Shiffrin won her first Olympic gold in giant slalom at the PyeongChang Games in 2018 and amassed an impressive collection of World Cup trophies. At the 2022 Games, Shiffrin competed in six events and was expected to come home with as many as five medals, but it wasn’t to be. Shiffrin did not finish three of her events and failed to podium in the rest. A fierce competitor, Shiffrin described her efforts in Beijing as “a pretty epic underperformance,” but promised, “I have won in my career and I’m going to win again.”