In this year’s Winter Olympics, four Yinzers took home a medal.
2026 was a great Olympic year for the U.S., especially for those from the Pittsburgh area. Three athletes from Pittsburgh took home gold and one took home bronze.
The U.S. men’s hockey team had two players from the Pittsburgh area, Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller.
Trocheck, a center for the New York Rangers, anchored a penalty kill unit and won many faceoffs for the team. He grew up in Mount Lebanon and is deeply rooted in Pittsburgh’s pride.
This being his first time in the Olympic games, this medal was a huge deal for him and his career.
Miller, originally from East Palestine, Ohio, moved to the Moon area and played for the Pittsburgh Hornets when he was young. He went on to play for the New York Rangers alongside Trocheck. Miller is a forward.
Watching these two medalists live is especially impressive. In a recent game against the Penguins, Trocheck won the game in a shootout, and Miller got an assist during a power play.
They both provide energy and excitement in each game they play.
Another ice hockey player who shined out for Team USA was goaltender Ava McNaughton.
McNaughton is from Seven Fields, in Butler County north of Pittsburgh. She fell in love with hockey from watching the 2010 Olympics at a young age. Although she did not get any playing time in the Olympics, she still earned a gold medal along with the rest of the women’s ice hockey team.
The final Pittsburgh area medalist is Jasmine Jones, from Greensburg. She is an Olympic two-person bobsledder and won bronze with her teammate Kallie Armbruster Humphries.
Jones grew up being a standout basketball player. She also ran track and field, specializing in sprints. Due to her achievements in collegiate track and field, five-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor emailed her to recruit her for bobsledding.
That email changed everything for Jones: Without it she would have never got into bobsledding and would never have won her first medal.
Although bobsledding is a less known sport than ice hockey, Team USA showed their dedication and it was a very fun competition to watch live.
These four athletes really stood out for Pittsburgh. They all showed how much dedication they have to their sports, and made the city proud.
