Meet the Knitters of Team USA

I actually haven’t watched any of the Olympics because I don’t have the right streaming services (it’s the rare time I actually miss cable!) but I know there are a lot of gorgeous knits there and a few knitters, too. 

Ben Ogden broke the Americans’ 50-year medal drought in the men’s sprint classic (that’s a cross country skiing event), getting a silver medal and coming in just a second shy of gold. 

He says that knitting helps him decompress, and in a press conference he said he packed a lot of yarn for the Games and that he was working on a pair of mittens featuring Joan of Arc. You can see him working on the project in a recent Instagram post. 

“I have gotten really into knitting recently. So far, I’ve knit a hat and a sweater this season. I’m really fired about it,” he said. And he’s not the only one. 

Teammates Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern also knit, with Jessie reporting a recent sweater finish and Julia reporting she was knitting a hat. 

Jaelin Kauf, American freestyle skier, won her second silver in moguls with about 50 supporters looking on, all in custom knit hats that she made. She said each hat took about 90 minutes so she spent 75 hours knitting them. You can see a few in this clip from the Today Show on her Instagram. 

She said she introduced knitting to the whole team and they like to knit together when traveling to competitions and during downtime. Jesse Andringa, who skis moguls on the men’s side, also knit hats and headbands for girlfriend and fellow skier Tess Johnson’s family and friends who attended the games. The pair also knit Christmas stockings for themselves and family members this year. 

And then there’s Breezy Johnson, another Olympic champ and knitter, who is actually a little superstitious about knitting before races. She told The Athletic she was up past her bedtime before the women’s downhill Alpine race because she was knitting her race headband. 

It’s a tradition that started for the Val d’Isere World Cup meet in December of 2020. She knit her race headband and made her first career podium at that event. After another podium the same season that also featured a handknit headband, it’s become a ritual. 

The extra knitting time didn’t seem to be a problem, as she won gold in that event. She had another event later in the week she knit another headband for. 

She said she likes the sense of accomplishment from making things and the distraction that knitting brings when waiting a long time for her race to start. 

I’m sure we’ll be seeing dupes of all her creations soon! Best of luck to all the knitting Olympians. 

[Photo via Breezy Johnson’s Instagram post]