Tara Geraghty-Moats in action at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup on Jan. 20, 2019 in Yamagata, Japan.
Two more Americans have been selected to serve as Athlete Role Models – or ARMs – at the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020.
Hannah Kearney, a two-time Olympic medalist in moguls, and Nordic skier Tara Geraghty-Moats are among six ARMs added to 13 who were announced in July. Among the first group announced was retired U.S. bobsledder Jamie Greubel Poser, a bronze medalist at the 2014 Olympics and 2017 world championships.
Debuting at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010 in Singapore, the Athlete Role Models are current or retired athletes selected by their respective international federations to serve as mentors to the Youth Olympians. The 2020 ARMs will share their experiences with the 1,800 young athletes while also taking part in educational activities and workshops.
Kearney, who also was an ARM at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, will become the first U.S. athlete to have the role twice.
One of the most successful moguls skiers ever, Kearney made her Olympic debut in 2006 and won a gold medal in 2010 before claiming a bronze medal in 2014. Before retiring in 2015, she also won three world titles and a record-tying 46 world cups.
“It doesn’t take long for me talking about the Olympics to stir up all these emotions inside of me because it was the most positive experiences of my life,” Kearney told TeamUSA.org at the Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games, “and so to share that and to stay involved in the Olympic spirit is genuine and really, really fun.”
Geraghty-Moats is an active athlete who competes in ski jumping and Nordic combined. She won 10 of 11 Nordic combined Continental Cup events last season, claiming the overall title in only the second year of international competition for women. Though women’s Nordic combined is not an Olympic event, the sport that includes both cross-country skiing and ski jumping makes its Youth Olympic debut in Lausanne. Men’s Nordic combined has been an Olympic sport since 1924 and a Youth Olympic sport since the inaugural winter event in 2012 in Innsbruck. Geraghty-Moats has helped advocate for the sport’s inclusion on the 2021 world championships program.
Following the Lausanne Games, 16 U.S. athletes will have taken part in the ARM program. However, more could be named ahead of the Games, which begin Jan. 9, 2020.
U.S. Athlete Role Models At The Youth Olympic Games:
2014: Erin Cafaro (rowing), Miles Chamley-Watson (fencing), Kendrick Farris (weightlifting), Khatuna Lorig (archery) and Dwight Phillips (track and field)
2016: Hannah Kearney (freestyle skiing), Ross Powers (snowboarding) and Molly Schaus (ice hockey)
2018: Clarissa Chun (wrestling), Daryl Homer (fencing), Morghan King (weightlifting), Josh Levin (climbing), Danell Leyva (gymnastics) and Moy Rivas (sport dancing)
2020: Kearney, Tara Geraghty-Moats (Nordic skiing) and Jamie Greubel Poser (bobsled)
Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic movement for TeamUSA.org since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
