York County luger Summer Britcher is headed to a fourth Olympics after stepping away from the sport—plus a look at the six other Pennsylvanians competing for Team USA.
She doesn’t exactly have the name befitting a winter Olympian, but that hasn’t slowed Summer Britcher.
The Susquehannock High School graduate, who was born in Baltimore but grew up in southern York County, is one of seven Pennsylvanians on Team USA for the Milano Cortina Olympics. Several sports kicked off early, but the Games officially get underway with opening ceremonies on Friday, Feb. 6.
Britcher thought she was done after her third Olympics in 2022 when she placed 23rd in women’s single luge. It was her lowest finish after going 15th and 19th in her first two showings.
She spent the summer of 2022 in “semi-retirement” and realized she wasn’t finished.
Britcher said in December, before Team USA was selected, she was looking forward to living in the moment if she was lucky enough to make the team.
“Early in my career, getting ahead of myself was a problem,” Britcher said. “The past few seasons haven’t been great for me. I haven’t had that joy on the sled.”
But things changed when she joined other members of the national team to test the Olympic venue in Cortina, Italy. She finished 13th overall, second among U.S. sliders.
But she had fun.
Britcher comes into competition, which will be held Feb. 12-14, ranked fifth in the World Cup standings, tops among U.S. sliders.
“I’m taking in each race instead of looking ahead,” Britcher said. “Cortina is going to come in the blink of an eye.”
Here is a look at the other Pennsylvania athletes on Team USA
Taylor Anderson-Heide: The Broomall native will compete in women’s curling round-robin competition Feb. 12-19.
Dan Barefoot: A native of Johnstown, the Penn State grad will compete in skeleton on Feb. 12, 13 and 15.
Andrew Heo: The two-time Olympian from Warrington will compete in short-track speedskating in various races on Feb. 11, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20.
Jasmine Jones: A native of Greensburg, the senior airman in the U.S. Air Force will compete in women’s bobsled on Feb. 20-21.
Ava McNaughton: A native of Seven Fields, she is a goalie on the women’s hockey team. The Americans opened competition with a win over Czechia on Feb. 5. McNaughton, the backup, didn’t see action in the first game. The women’s team also has games on Feb. 7, 9 and 10. The quarterfinals will be played Feb. 13-14, the semis on Feb. 16 and the medal games on Feb. 19.
Vincent Trocheck: The Pittsburgh native is a forward on the men’s hockey team. The men’s team plays group play on Feb 11, 14 and 15. Qualification playoffs are on Feb. 17, quarterfinals on Feb. 18, semis on Feb. 20 and the medal games on Feb. 21-22.
READ MORE: Pennsylvania athletes to watch in the Winter Olympics
