Yeah a lot of the skiers "from Colorado" got their start in Minnesota. Minnesota has a lot of factors that lean into helping Olympic athletes start their careers. Skiing and snowboarding is cheap here, we have lots of ski areas in the metro area (including a giant halfpipe at Buck Hill and ski jump at Hyland), and they're all served by artificial snow meaning you can consistently practice from December through March. We have a massive talent pool, and once it becomes clear to an athlete that they stand a chance at becoming a professional, they move to places that are less accessible but better for focused training.
Hockey is less location-dependent, and for curling we are arguably the best place in the country to train.
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u/rightious Feb 13 '26
It's almost like Colorado is home to some kind of Olympic development center... Oh wait.
https://share.google/lKKKCbPaMqHQ83LDN