The 2026 Winter Olympics start Friday in Milan Cortina, Italy and the athletes representing the United States will include a recent Notre Dame graduate. Jadin O’Brien broke records for the Irish in track and field but she’ll try a new sport in these games.
O’Brien made history at Notre Dame when she won three consecutive national pentathlon titles in track and field. That’s hurdles, sprints, jumps, throws, and a middle-distance run.
During her final season with the Irish, O’Brien says she received an Instagram message from U.S. women’s bobsled pilot Alana Meyers-Taylor, inviting her to try out. Here’s O’Brien in an NCAA video recalling how quickly it all came together.
O’Brien on team :20 … “I finished my last track meet Aug. 2 of 2025 and then Aug. 4 started training for bobsled. Ten days later, went to the rookie camp in Lake Placid for bobsled. Two weeks after that, tried out, made the team, a month after that, flew out to Europe and I’ve been here since November. And I’m on the Olympic team.”
NBC and Peacock will televise the games with the opening ceremony Friday at 2 p.m. Eastern time with a prime-time replay at 8. Coverage of bobsledding will start Feb. 12.
