UND shines bright at 2026 Winter Olympics
Former hockey standouts plus ski jumper/UND distance student Paige Jones represent University at games
UND was once again well represented at the XXV Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina, with alumni bringing home a pair of gold medals in the process.
Former men’s hockey standouts Jake Sanderson (2020-22) and Brock Nelson (2010-12) captured the gold as members of the U.S. Hockey Team – the nation’s first gold medal for men in the sport since the famed “Miracle on Ice” at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
The duo became the first former UND players to capture gold since Kristen Campbell, a hockey gold medalist for Canada in 2022. Counting her plus sisters Jocelyn and Monique Lamoureux, who won with Team USA in 2018, and Jonathan Toews, who played for Canada and won gold medals in both 2014 and 2010, UND has now produced at least one gold medalist in each of the last five Winter Olympic Games across men’s and women’s ice hockey.
Other Olympic gold medalists with a UND connection include Joe Polo, a Bemidji native who attended UND and, in 2018, earned gold as an alternate on the U.S. curling team. All told, “the University of North Dakota has a storied Olympic legacy, with alumni and former student-athletes earning a total of 17 medals (10 gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze) as of the 2026 Winter Games,” Google’s AI engine reports.
On the women’s side this year in Italy, three former UND players — Michelle Karvinen (2011-14), Emma Nuutinen (2016-17) and Susanna Tapani (2013-14) — represented their home nation of Finland, helping the team reach the quarterfinals. It was a historic tournament for Karvinen, as she appeared in her fifth Olympic Games and tied the record for Olympic women’s hockey games played at 29.
And for the first time in its history, UND also had a current student competing at the winter games.
Paige Jones, a distance student majoring in Biomedical Engineering, competed for Team USA in the sport of ski jumping.
“I made the finals for all my events and was also selected for our mixed team, in which we placed seventh,” she recently told UND Today. “This was the goal going into the games, and with all the added pressure that comes with the Olympics, I was proud of tying my best World Championship result (23rd).”
Jones also enjoyed the social aspect of the games, and was able to share the experience with her fiancé – a Team USA luger.
“Overall, I had a good time at the games,” she said. “I’m an extrovert, so I loved meeting new Team USA athletes. I was also able to see my fiancé, Sean, compete, which was very special because I have only seen him compete once before because of our schedules.”
During her free time, Jones was also able to travel to Milan to attend figure skating, speed skating and hockey events – including the women’s gold medal hockey game, a thrilling overtime victory for team USA over Canada.
Jones – who plans to pursue a career in dentistry after graduation – announced her retirement from the sport via an Instagram post following her final event.
“Thank you to the whole ski jumping family – it’s been a hell of a ride,” Jones wrote. “Thank you to my teammates for making long months away from home worth it. Thank you to the coaching staff who got me here. Thank you to my family and support system at home who made this all possible. And thank you to everyone else for cheering and rooting for me, even back when the jumps weren’t always far. I’m so excited for my next chapter – see you around!”
“I’m so inspired by my fellow team USA athletes, and I feel so privileged to represent the US alongside them,” she added.
UND Athletics contributed to this report.
