U Student Olympic Athletes Representing the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the 2026 Winter Olympics (Part 1)
By Julia St. Andre
Thirty-one athletes with ties to the University of Utah are currently competing on Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. In fact, the U ranks No. 1 among all U.S. colleges and universities represented at the Milano-Cortina Games.
Eleven of these esteemed U athletes are embedded in the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. Some are alumni of the U; others will be graduating soon. Here we profile each of them in the second of two stories about CSBS students currently competing in Italy. (You can read part two of this two-part series here.)
One of the U-affiliated athletes is representing Saudi Arabia, now participating in his second Olympic games: Fayik Abdi. (You can read a story about U alumnus Fayik here.)
The College extends a hearty congratulations to our students currently in Italy.
We are rooting for all of U!
Current Students
Kamryn Lute
Speedskating: Short Track
Major: Economics
Minor: French
When Kamryn Lute first watched the 2010 Winter Olympics as a young girl, she didn’t just
see a sporting event, she saw her future. Now, nearly 16 years after stepping onto
the ice for the first time, the University of Utah student is competing in the 2026
Winter Olympics, fulfilling the dream that sparked her love for short track speedskating.
“Almost 16 years after starting this sport, I’m accomplishing what this was all for,
and why I wanted to skate in the first place,” she wrote in a social media post announcing that
she had qualified for the Olympics.
Lute’s journey to the Milan-Cortina games was far from straightforward. Over the past four years, she faced some tough challenges . At 17 she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, followed a year later by lupus and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease , lifelong autoimmune conditions that forced her to rethink how she trained, recovered, and competed. “As lifelong conditions, and knowing I still wanted to skate, I had to re-adapt to the sport that’s consumed my life since I was five,” she shared. For the first time, she had to confront the possibility that her Olympic dream might not happen at all.
Resilience became the defining rhythm of Lute’s journey. Leaning on the unwavering support of her parents, coaches, friends, and teammates, she navigated through uncertainty and emerged stronger. “But today, above all, I’m focused on the positives,” she wrote. “This journey was so far from what I ever expected, but even if it hadn’t culminated in this, I could be proud that I can confidently say I gave it everything I could.”
Now, as she prepares to race on the Olympic stage for the first time, Lute carries more than competitive ambition onto the ice. She carries years of perseverance, gratitude and proof that even the most unexpected paths can lead exactly where they were meant to go.
Charlie Mickel
Freestyle Skiing: Moguls
Major: Economics
“Olympics, here I come!” wrote Charlie Mickel in a heartfelt Instagram post announcing his qualification for the 2026 Winter Games. For the University of Utah student and Durango, Colorado native, the journey to the Olympic moguls course has been as full of highs as it has been of challenges.
In Durango, Mickel first skied on the bumps at Purgatory Resort, inspired by his family’s love of the sport. Early morning practices, countless car rides, and long days on the snow led him to the Wasatch Freestyle program in Park City, where his talent and determination propelled him through the ranks to the World Cup circuit.
“What an incredible journey it’s been getting here,” he continued on Instagram. “It’s hard to believe in just a few weeks I’ll be competing on mogul skiing’s biggest stage. I feel so blessed… I never would’ve made it this far without the support of my friends and family. Looking back, it’s really remarkable to remember all the great times this sport has brought me… Nonetheless, it’s important to note there have been some seriously low lows along the way, and I have the support of my friends and family to thank for keeping me going.” Mickel’s gratitude extends to coaches, teammates and mentors, all of whom helped him develop the skill, focus and resilience necessary to compete at the highest level.
Now a student at the U and first-time Olympian, Mickel is ready to tackle both traditional and dual moguls and brings a combination of excitement and perspective to the slopes. “I move toward this milestone with great excitement for what’s ahead, but also with extreme gratitude for what has already come,” he said. Mickel’s journey has been defined by dedication, family, and a lifelong love for the sport, a testament to what can be achieved when passion meets perseverance.
ALUMNI
For U alumna Jaelin Kauf, moguls skiing was never just a sport; it was a central part of
her upbringing. Raised in Alta, Wyoming by parents who were both professional mogul
skiers, she learned early what it meant to commit fully to the mountain. An iconic
family story is told of Kauf’s mother carrying her onto the X Games podium as a toddler,
an early glimpse at the kind of stages she would one day stand on herself.
Kauf made her Olympic debut in 2018, an experience that reshaped how she approaches competition. “Your first Olympics is such a wild experience, trying to figure out how to handle everything and realizing, ‘this is the largest stage I’m ever going to compete on,’” she reflected in an interview on The Courageous Podcast. After failing to make it to the final round, she carried an important lesson forward: “Looking back … I wish that on every run, I had just left everything out there.”
That mindset helped propel her to a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Games and establish her
as one of the world’s most dominant moguls skiers. But as she stepped into her skis
for the 2026 Olympics, Kauf remained grounded in the present rather than her past
success. “Once we go in, it doesn’t matter if I already have a medal or not,” she
said. “I’m still there to win and put down my best runs and lock in on that.”
Off the slopes, Kauf’s purpose and drive are equally clear. As founder of Deliver the Love, a nonprofit that empowers girls in sports, she is committed to uplifting the confidence of young female athletes. “My hope is to inspire and uplift girls to fall in love with whatever sport it may be that they want to pursue,” she says. “Deliver the Love is a space to feel supported, celebrate wins, try new things, and chase what lights you up.” With experience behind her and purpose driving her forward, Kauf approaches each run the same way, by delivering the love and leaving everything on the mountain.
2026 Winter Olympian and recent University of Utah alum Julie Letai describes competing in short track speedskating as a mix between “demolition derby and NASCAR:”: fast, tactical, and a little bit chaotic. It’s exactly the kind of challenge she has embraced since first lacing up skates as a toddler in her hometown of Medfield, Massachusetts, and has led to her competing in Milan-Cortino at her second Olympic Ggames.
Alongside a demanding training schedule on the ice, Letai has prioritized her academics, graduating from the University of Utah in December 2025. In the future, she looks forward to pursuing a career in healthcare after her days on the ice have ended.
Early in her skating career, Letai earned a spot on the U.S. national team in 2019 and made her Olympic debut at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, competing in the 1500m and women’s relay events. (Team USA)
However, the path to the 2026 Winter Olympics was anything but smooth. In the year and a half leading up to the games in Italy, Letai faced a series of frustrating setbacks. A painful hip injury required surgery and, shortly after her return to training, she suffered a concussion, followed by a stress injury in her femur and a quad strain. While just one of these setbacks could have threatened her dreams of competing at the games again, Letai was determined to persevere. She leaned on the support of her coaches, teammates, and loved ones, and never stopped showing up on the ice. Her resilience paid off, and strong results at key World Cup and national qualifying events earned her a spot on the 2026 U.S. Olympic short track team, alongside fellow U student Kamryn Lute (usspeedskating.org).
Reflecting on her journey, Letai shared gratitude in an Instagram caption: “Thanks to everyone who pulled me through the past year and a half…and thanks to myself for showing up every day when sometimes all I wanted was to stop trying.” Now in Italy, Letai is ready to step on the ice and represent the U of U and Team USA in the 500 m, 1000 m and Women’s relay. (Team USA)
Chris Lillis
Freestyle Skiing: Aerials
Major: Political Science
Major: Sociology and Health, Society & PolicyMinor: Psychology
It’s not every day that you hear about a Winter Olympian perfecting triple backflips by diving into a pool in sunny Australia, but for freestyle aerial skier Chris Lillis, that unconventional training is essential to mastering one of the more dangerous disciplines in the winter games. “The crazy acrobatic tricks that we’re doing in the Winter Olympics, we start by learning all of that by landing into a pool,” Lillis explained on the Off the Podium podcast while preparing for the 2026 Games.
“When we’re doing 60-foot triple backflips with up to five spins in it, the pool mitigates that higher end of injury. Some of those maneuvers get so dangerous that you really need to be at an expert level before you attempt them on snow for the first time.”
For the Rochester, New York native, defying gravity for the US Freestyle Aerials Team has been years in the making. He first stepped onto skis at age three and joined a freestyle team while still in elementary school. By 17, he became the youngest man ever to win an FIS aerials World Cup event.
This early milestone foreshadowed his future career successes, including capturing an Olympic gold medal in the mixed team aerials competition at the 2022 Beijing Games. Now a University of Utah student and veteran competitor, he arrives at the 2026 Winter Olympics with both confidence and perspective. When reflecting on past mistakes and setbacks, Lillis says, “If I look back on it, I have no regrets because I did it as well as I could do it. I felt great, and I prepared the right way. For me, it's more about did you do it the way you wanted to? Did you fail right?”
Drawing on his past experiences at the games, Lillis has learned to embrace failure as an inevitable part of the competitive journey without letting it define his self-worth. “I think as an athlete, you've kind of got to learn how to forgive yourself. Because you've still got to like yourself regardless, and you're the same person regardless of whether you win the Olympics.”
For Lillis, success isn’t just about sticking the landing; it’s about preparation, self-belief, and what he calls learning “the right way to fail.” Because in a sport defined by risk, the courage to get up and try again is often the most impressive feat of all.
Read more student athlete stories from the College of Humanities
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