Later today in Italy, the 2026 Winter Olympics will conclude with a final couple events and the closing ceremonies from Milan.
Unlike the summer games, in which former and sometimes current Tar Heels are all over, the winter games don’t really feature any UNC athletes. Part of that is because ice hockey and skiing are the only Winter Olympic sports that feature NCAA championships, and Carolina doesn’t sponsor any teams in them. (No disrespect meant to the UNC club hockey team, who have put out some sick
uniforms over the years — they just don’t compete in the official NCAA ranks.)
However, in honor of this final day of the Olympics before the wait for the 2028 summer games begins, let’s try and think about which Tar Heels could have excelled in Winter Olympic games over the years. Here are some of my choices.
There are a decent amount of sports at the Winter Olympics that require good hangtime. From events like snowboarding, to skiing, to figure skating, plenty of events at the games need athletes to get up in the air to perform various maneuvers. There’s no better Tar Heel out there for getting good hangtime than Vince Carter. Arguably the best dunker in basketball history, Carter is certainly good at getting in the air and doing impressive stuff while up there. In his athletic prime, he absolutely could’ve landed some quads while figure skating had he practiced enough. Besides, arguably his best ever dunk came on the Olympic stage.
They could’ve given him a gymnastics medal for that.
Downhill skiing events see racers have to take some pretty tight angles to get around obstacles and stay on the course. Sure, Lawrence Taylor could bully his way past blockers too, but he also did plenty of going around some tight angles to get after opposing quarterbacks.
I know the skills aren’t exactly the same, and having to wear ice skates adds in a difficult element, but it’s hard not to mention Erin Matson and the many other UNC field hockey stars over the years playing ice hockey.
Tyler Hansbrough could’ve been a good curler, considering how good he was at sweeping his games against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
North Carolina has had no shortage of great athletes over the years, so there are plenty of other options to pick from and dream up. Let us know which Tar Heels you wish you could’ve seen try a winter sport!
