\n<\/p>\n
This year, the United States has representatives in the relay, a team consisting of <\/span>Anna Gibson<\/strong> and <\/span>Cam Smith<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Smith, for his part, is a seasoned skimo pro, but Gibson\u2014a world bronze medalist mountain and trail runner\u2014only picked up the sport last year with the support from her now-teammate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll of that makes me super excited, but I think in my head, I\u2019m going to approach it the exact same way that I approached the world cup,\u201d Gibson told Team USA<\/a> in a statement leading up to the Olympics, \u201cwhich was loose and without a ton of expectation, and just going in hoping to learn stuff.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And considering Gibson and Smith\u2019s entry into the Olympics 2026 will mark Gibson\u2019s third time ever competing in a skimo event, the 26-year-old is mostly just happy to be there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor me, a win in terms of the outcome, is just to have another really cool experience,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we know what we\u2019re capable of. And we know that we are now part of the conversation more than we\u2019ve ever been.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n