The 2026 winter Olympics begin on Friday in Milan. Ohio athletes will compete in everything from freestyle skiing to snowboarding to hockey.
Many players on Team USA’s women’s hockey team will be representing the Buckeye State: Laila Edwards, from Cleveland Heights, is making history as the first Black woman to compete on the team. Cayla Barnes, Joy Dunne, Hannah Bilka and Emma Peschel have all played or currently play hockey for Ohio State University.
Ottawa Charge goaltender Gwyneth Philips wants to make her hometown of Athens proud during the games. She won gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship and got the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award last year – and she hopes to add an Olympic gold medal to that list.
“It's the epitome of sports to represent your country. And I think for me, I like to look at it as like a big thank you to everyone that's supported me through this journey,” Philips said.
Canada or the U.S. has taken home the gold in every winter Olympics since 1998, when the competition first included women’s hockey.
Philips sat down with The Ohio Newsroom to discuss her hopes for her first Olympics.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
On her start in Athens
“Being from Athens, [it’s] a bit of a small town, but fortunate to have Ohio University there, which brought in a lot of different things, including ice hockey; otherwise, I don't think Athens would have the rink. My brother is six years older than me and he started playing [hockey]. I wanted to be just like him. So I eventually kind of followed in his footsteps, learning how to skate, learning how to play hockey at Bird Arena [and] eventually moving up to play in Columbus and then on from there.”
On Team USA’s Ohio representation
“A lot of [the Ohio players competing for Team USA] went to school at OSU, which has really turned [their hockey program] around in the past five or six years now. And then [Laila Edwards of Cleveland Heights], I’m so pumped for her, I've played with her older sister for years.”
“I think Ohio gets counted out a little bit as a hockey state. We're not Minnesota. We're not Massachusetts. But I think there's a little gritty, maybe blue collar aspect to us. We don't have all the fancy-schmancy training facilities that some of these other states might have. But, we have some grit and something to prove and I think that kind of shows.”
On her Olympic debut
“It’s like the coolest thing ever. It's the epitome of sports to represent your country. And I think for me, I like to look at it as a big ‘thank you’ to everyone that's kind of supported me through this journey. So many people have made sacrifices and been behind me for so long. I feel like reaching this goal is kind of my way of thanking them for all that they've done for me. And I’ll hopefully bring back a gold medal for them and for everyone that has been behind me.”
On Team USA’s chances against Canada
“I think a lot of other countries are really making huge strides. Every year that I've been around, I've noticed that those other countries are definitely closing the gap [with the U.S. and Canada], but I like our chances. We played a series with Canada and we look like a really young and fast team and we're hungry and I'm really excited to play in those games.”
Where to watch
Team USA won their game against Czechia 5-1 on Thursday, Feb. 5 ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony.
Team USA livestreams will be available on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. Quarterfinal, semifinal and medal games will begin Feb. 13 and run through Feb. 19.
USA vs. Finland, Saturday, Feb. 7, 10:40 a.m.
USA vs. Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 9, 2:40 p.m.
USA vs. Canada, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2:10 p.m.
