PARK CITY, UTAH – University of Alaska Anchorage will have four alums competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy Feb. 6-22. Peter Hinds (Slovakia), JC Schoonmaker (USA) and Hailey Swirbul (USA) will each be competing in Nordic skiing, and Pascale Paradis (Canada) will compete in biathlon.
Hinds, a native of Anchorage, has competed in 11 World Cup races for Slovakia this season, with a career-best finish of 53rd in the freestyle sprint in Oberhof. He twice represented UAA at the NCAA Championships with a career-best finish of 14th in the 7.5-kilometer classic race.
Paradis, a native of Calgary, Alberta, has represented Canada 34 times on the World Cup circuit since the 2024-25 season and represented Canada at the 2025 World Championships. She has posted a pair of top-10 World Cup finishes in the relay. She competed at three NCAA National Championships for UAA finishing as high as 11th in the 15-kilometer freestyle.
Schoonmaker, a native of Tahoe City, Calif., finished ninth in the team sprint finals, 15th in the freestyle sprints and 66th in the 15-kilometer classic at the Beijing Olympics. He has made 83 starts on the World Cup, with 17 top-10 finishes and a career-best finish of third in the classic sprint at Ostersund in 2023. He earned three All-American honors during his career at UAA, including a third-place finish in the 20-kilometer freestyle as a senior.
Swirbul, a native of El Jebel, Colo., finished fourth in the 4x5-kilometer relay, 32nd in the 10-kilometer classic and 40th in the skiathlon at the Beijing Olympics. She has made 68 World Cup starts, with four top-10 finishes, including a pair of third-place finishes. She earned two All-American honors at Alaska Anchorage, and was the runner-up in the 15-kilometer freestyle at the 2018 NCAA National Championships.
2026 Olympic Schedule
Feb. 7 – Women's Skiathlon (Nordic Skiing)
Feb. 8 – Men's Skiathlon (Nordic Skiing), Mixed Relay (Biathlon)
Feb. 10 – Classic Sprint (Nordic Skiing)
Feb. 11 – Women's 15-Kilometer Individual (Biathlon)
Feb. 12 – Women's 10-Kilometer Freestyle (Nordic Skiing)
Feb. 13 – Men's 10-Kilometer Freestyle (Nordic Skiing)
Feb. 14 – Women's 4x7.5 Relay (Nordic Skiing), 7.5-Kilometer Sprint (Biathlon)
Feb. 15 – Men's 4x7.5 Relay (Nordic Skiing), 10-Kilometer Pursuit (Biathlon)
Feb. 18 – Men's and Women's Team Sprint (Nordic Skiing), 4x6-Kilometer Relay (Biathlon)
Feb. 21 – Men's 50-Kilometer Classic (Nordic Skiing), Women's 12.5-Kilometer Mass Start (Biathlon)
Feb. 22 – Women's 50-Kilometer Classic (Nordic Skiing)
