What are Team USA athletes — Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls — up to when they're not competing? They're training. They're practicing. They're traveling to competitions and meets and games and tournaments. They're relaxing. They're getting engaged and married and having children. They're taking hard-earned vacations. Or retiring. Or coping with the raw emotions that come from losing and winning. And they're sharing. Through the reach of social media, we're able to follow along on their often extraordinary journeys. We'll catch you up each week on what's "Red, White & Trending."
Salute To Service
When it comes to salutes to service, Team USA is there. Training and competing for the United States means so much to so many athletes — not only despite, but often because of, the lonely workouts and months on the road — that the sacrifices of service members is so naturally appreciated by those who wear the red, white and blue. On Veterans Day, Team USA, including its veterans, were proud to honor the occasion.
Forever proud to have worn this uniform, doing my part to defend the best country in the world. As we celebrate Veterans day today & tomorrow, thank ALL who have served & never forget their sacrafices.
— Melissa Stockwell (@MStockwell01) November 10, 2017
Freedom is not free. Let's never forget that.
Love, a proud American pic.twitter.com/sPMMWN4Z8p
Thank you, yet again @BradSnyderUSA, for your inspiration, wit and awesomeness at our CORE Leadership Program at @DeloitteUniv #thankaveteran #bestjobever @lifeatdeloitte pic.twitter.com/fWmjDl6nPw
— Dana Catania (@dcatania) November 11, 2017
Honor to hear @BradSnyderUSA speak today. I'm officially his biggest fan.
— Erin Peters (@RodenFieldsECP) November 11, 2017
What does #VeteransDay mean to the #USPNT's @SJahnIX?
— U.S. Soccer PNT (@ussoccer_PNT) November 11, 2017
More on his story β‘οΈ https://t.co/etl95QZ143 pic.twitter.com/K3k2InNQv4
U.S. National Sled Team veterans find a new way to represent their country: https://t.co/e2i7TnNFHc#VeteransDay πΊπΈ pic.twitter.com/TmQqycMMFl
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) November 11, 2017
happy veterans day dad β€οΈ I love you so much! thanks for serving & protecting our countryπΊπΈ pic.twitter.com/2fiHfGoK6G
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) November 11, 2017
Proud to wish my dad a happy #VeteransDay! πΊπΈA huge thank you to all the incredibly brave people who have served & are serving our countryππΌ pic.twitter.com/DxwKoHKysx
— Madison Chock (@chockolate02) November 11, 2017
Thanks to all who wear and wore the uniform. pic.twitter.com/zAnQk3mmTT
— Greta Neimanas (@gretaneimanas) November 11, 2017
#Veterans because of you, we can. Thank YOU today and every single day! #VeteransDay #Heroes πΊπΈβ€οΈππΌππΌ pic.twitter.com/SVmBkf8sF3
— Jennie Finch (@JennieFinch) November 11, 2017
Happy Veterans Day to all the families and Service members past and present. Thank you for your sacrifice. #veteransday pic.twitter.com/LC6Y46OD7J
— Chris Knierim (@ChrisKnierim) November 11, 2017
Thanks to our veterans for your service.
— Meg βοΈβοΈ Klingenberg (@meghankling) November 11, 2017
Thanks Dad pic.twitter.com/9Akh54WVqX
We salute the brave men and women who serve our great nation πΊπΈ pic.twitter.com/8bmsMsdogZ
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@ussoccer_wnt) November 11, 2017
Thank you to all that have served our nation. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten. #VeteransDay2017
— USA Diving (@USADiving) November 11, 2017
πΈ:Olympian Tom Gompf pic.twitter.com/brPB6KVh0e
Happy Veterans Day. Thank you for your service! πΊπΈ
— Elana Meyers Taylor (@eamslider24) November 11, 2017
For those in the past, present & future I will remember & acknowledge your sacrifice.#LestWeForget #ArmisticeDay #VeteransDay
— Stuart Sharp (@78sharp) November 11, 2017
11,11,11 pic.twitter.com/6BXIQssigd
Land of the free, because of the brave. To all of those who haved served our country, Thank You! Today and every day. #VeteransDay pic.twitter.com/pz4jdiu9qV
— Shannon Miller (@shannonmiller96) November 11, 2017
Thank you to all who serve and protect our country πΊπΈ #veteransday #redwhiteandblue #service #america pic.twitter.com/PR8ACsCwK8
— Becca Meyers (@becca_meyers) November 11, 2017
Zoom With A View
Team USA’s lugers hoping to compete at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang in a few months know how to kick off a season. The scenery helps, too …
A Tribute …
In the words of Olympic skiing legend Lindsey Vonn, who has been through and come back from so much as an athlete, this was the hardest thing she has ever done.
Speaking at my grandfathers funeral today will be the hardest thing IοΈ have ever done, but I’m very thankful that my entire family is together to celebrate his life. ππ»
— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) November 11, 2017
Vonn’s Instagram tribute is one that comes with a 2018 dedication to the man who taught her to go fast.
Copper Is Golden
Soon, Vonn was back on the hill with her teammates at Copper Mountain in Colorado, where Team USA could finally work on carving training turns on home turf.
Just how quickly to the turns come for elite skiers? Buckle up as Olympic giant slalom champion Ted Ligety shows the way … on a slalom course.
Catching air from a few different angles are Tommy Biesemeyer and two-time Olympic medalist Andrew Weibrecht …
Andrew Kurka, a Sochi Paralympian, surveys the landscape …
Olympic snowboardcross medalist Alex Deibold had some fun, too …
Sliding Start
The bobsled season is underway, and it is the first for these Team USA athletes since the tragic loss of Olympic champion pilot and longtime friend Steven Holcomb. So, when the sleds perform well out of the gate in Lake Placid, New York, in and of itself an emotional center of the sport in this country, the feelings are bound to verge on the overwhelming.
And as the men head to Utah for four-man, a mesmerizing slow-mo of the poetry in motion that’s often a little too quick in real time …
Also mesmerizing, the power of the women’s start from two-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor and Olympic hopeful Lauren Gibbs …
Leg Day, Every Day
Congratulations are in order for Sochi Olympian Joey Mantia, who this week in the speedskating hotbed of Holland, took silver in the ISU World Cup mass start in Heerenveen. Note the hashtag below, followed by a throwback pic that shows off the fruits of his labor.
Hair Raising
Two-time Olympic skeleton athlete John Daly simply can’t help himself …
Let’s Get This Straight
For track athletes who have to make so much as a single turn, running those corners becomes such a habit of muscle memory that they could probably close their eyes for a few steps and stay on track. So, for the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history, running a straight 400-meter may actually have felt a little awkward — but for the fans lining the path in Osaka, Japan.
I had a blast running 400m straight on the street! Thank you Osaka for all of the love and for being an incredible host!π pic.twitter.com/bERmzEnLZt
— Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) November 13, 2017
Next up for Felix was a rewarding trip to Abu Dhabi for the Special Olympics.
Getting excited here in Abu Dhabi about @WorldGamesAD @SpecialOlympics!! #AbuDhabi2019 pic.twitter.com/huUei21Kio
— Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) November 15, 2017
Had a great time with your amazing students!β¨ https://t.co/ghYFFOMBa1
— Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) November 15, 2017
Special Olympic athletes truly touch my heart & have a huge impact on meπ https://t.co/QRctah0DYa
— Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) November 16, 2017
Cross-Training
It should come as no surprise that figure skating’s Quad King and PyeongChang hopeful Nathan Chen, the defending men’s national champion who is months away from the possibility of making an indelible mark on the Olympic Winter Games, has some hops.
Wrist, Band
The first Team USA athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal in women's wrestling when she did so in Rio, Helen Maroulis, who also won gold at the world championships this past August in Paris, has undergone surgery. But she has a message for the world, too.
Still Glowing After All These Days
Earlier this month, Shalane Flanagan became the first U.S. woman to win the New York City Marathon in 40 years. Over a week later, she’s still living a bit of a dream …
Just went for first run since Sunday. My runners high is still going strong!!!
— Shalane Flanagan (@ShalaneFlanagan) November 11, 2017
I think I have a happiness hangover
— Shalane Flanagan (@ShalaneFlanagan) November 13, 2017
Oh, and if you’re near her hometown next week, there’s this …
Hall Pass
Congratulations are in order for Olympic champion and seven-time Olympic gymnastics medalist Shannon Miller. Follow along as she timelines her way through an unforgettable week in her home state of Oklahoma …
Young Guns
Congratulations are also in order for a handful of Team USA’s young stars, who earlier this week learned they were named to #30Under30, including a pair of PyeongChang hopefuls …
So honored to be named to the 2018 @Forbes #30Under30! Thank you! https://t.co/vFZpIvjQil
— Hilary Knight (@HilaryKnight) November 14, 2017
Check out number #17! ♥οΈ https://t.co/6gyECgyQjT
— Jessica Long (@JessicaLong) November 14, 2017
Also on the Sports list: Olympians Anthony Davis, Jack Sock, Sloane Stephens and Christian Taylor.
Patriots Day
Between NFL games in Denver and in Mexico, the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots spent most of their week training at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado — which also afforded the team a chance to see another of the Olympic City’s must-see sporting destinations.
Olympians for a day. πΊπΈ #Patriots enjoy visit to @TeamUSA Training Center before getting to work in Colorado Springs: https://t.co/tWxNaI5pd4 pic.twitter.com/8GivDhrG0X
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 15, 2017
On The Road Again
Team USA, on the road. For a long, long time. So long, in fact, that Sochi Olympian and PyeongChang hopeful cross-country skier Jessie Diggins shifted her Thanksgiving by a week or so before taking off for more than four months.
For teammate Sadie Bjornsen, the luggage job is on point.
Here we go!! #winter2017/2018 #goodbyeUSA #lifeinabag pic.twitter.com/nrUy1OX9F8
— Sadie Bjornsen (@sadzarue) November 15, 2017