Team USA Athletes: What I Learned From My Mother

Behind every Olympian and Paralympian is a team. And for many, one of the first members of that support team is mom.

It was usually mom who drove them to practice, kept them fed, cheered them from the sidelines, and hugged them on tough days. And for many, it was mom who helped instill belief and a reminder that results are just a side benefit to the journey. A lucky few have benefited from their mom’s (and dad’s) genetics. And mom reminds their focused kids that sports are supposed to be fun.

Here's a look at what a few Olympians, Olympic hopefuls, and Paralympians have learned from their moms.

Curling runs deep in Tabitha and Tara Peterson’s family. Their grandfather moved to the Twin Cities from Winnipeg, joined the St. Paul Curling Club, and skipped his team win the Winter Carnival curling championships three years in a row in the late 1960s. Thirty years later, his daughter Gaye (pronounced Jay) helped her team win three consecutive Winter Carnival championships in the early 2000s. Her daughters, Tabitha and Tara, started curling when they were in elementary school.

Tabitha, 34, and Tara, 31, won bronze medals at the 2021 world championship, then finished sixth at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Tabitha also competed in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

What they learned from their mom:

"Believe in yourself, even if no one else will."

"Out practice and out work everyone and always swing for the fences.”

Zachary DiGregorio also credits his mom with instilling belief. He was 10 when he discovered luge at a USA Luge Slider Search. The Medway, Massachusetts, resident soon began rising through the junior ranks. Then in 2020, with the luge tours curtailed by the pandemic, he paired with Sean Hollander in doubles luge. Less then two years later, the duo made the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team competing in Beijing (finishing 11th).

Heading to the 2026 Winter Games in Cortina, DiGregorio and Hollander — U23 world champions — are now medal threats. And DiGregorio, 23, credits his mom, Krista, with his success and for inspiring his non-profit, Champions 4 Change.

“My journey as an Olympian has taken me down icy tracks around the world, but the foundation for everything I do on and off the sled comes from my mom.

“She’s the reason I first believed in myself. Whether it was driving hours to get me to Lake Placid for a training camp or waking up in the middle of the night to watch my races, her support has never wavered. But what’s stuck with me the most isn’t just what she did for my athletic career, it's how she’s always shown up for others.

“Watching my mom lead with compassion, patience, and joy inspired me to create Champions 4 Changes, a nonprofit that brings Olympians and Paralympians together with neurodiverse groups for fun, adaptive workouts. She taught me that strength isn’t just physical, it's emotional. It’s the ability to lift someone else up, to create a space where everyone feels seen and valued.

“Champions 4 Changes exists because of her example. The way she always found time to care for others, to make sure no one was left out and that’s the spirit we carry into every workout.

“I’m proud to wear the red, white, and blue. But I’m even prouder to carry the lessons my mom gave me every day: lead with heart, include everyone, and make the world just a little better than you found it.”

Julia Kern’s mom, Dorothee Kern, probably had a Wikipedia page before her daughter, an Olympian and two-time world championship medalist in cross-country skiing. Dr. Kern is a biochemistry professor at Brandeis University — and a former captain of the German national basketball team (most valuable player, 1989). Her work studying the dynamic nature of proteins has won her many awards and more importantly, helped improve drug design to deliver medications more precisely.

Dorothee was a role model for Kern, now 27 and a Dartmouth College graduate, where she majored in economics and minored in human centered design.

“I'm from the south, and so there's a lot of rules, maybe said or not said, that we must follow. My mom's always just gone by the beat of her own drum and done what was best for herself and her family. For instance, she moved to Utah so that I could snowboard, which was crazy to a lot of people.

“I try to do that for myself [now]. I don't have to follow society's rules, I don't have to follow these expectations that maybe I even developed. We can be fluid and unconventional. We built our lives around us, and how do we get to do what we all want? It usually comes from an unconventional way, especially in the world of elite athletics.”

Patrick Halgren, 32, knows that bad things can happen in life. He lost his left leg above the knee after a motorcycle accident in 2013. His identical twin brother Lucas (“Sven”) — a ski patroller and adaptive sport volunteer at Mount Snow in Vermont — encouraged him to try Para alpine skiing. Then Lucas died in a motorcycle accident in 2016.

Halgren made the U.S. Para Alpine team in 2021 and became a Paralympian a year later.

“I have learned from my mother, the most important lesson of all. That in life, you don’t always get a positive outcome sometimes negative things out of your control will happen. But with kindness, hard work, and patience, that same negative outcome can only become a positive one. The worse you think something is just means it can be equally or profoundly greater!”

Biathlete Deedra Irwin, 32, grew up thriving in the outdoors, and her mom Jennifer often took her canoeing. Irwin became a champion runner in her native Wisconsin, and in college at Michigan Tech, set several records. She also Nordic skied in high school and college. While trying to make the U.S. Nordic ski team after college, she discovered biathlon and  four years later, in 2022, qualified for her first Olympic Team.

At the Beijing Games, Irwin placed seventh in the 15km race — the best individual result ever for a U.S. biathlete at an Olympic Games. Here's what she learned from her Mom:

" She taught me to love the outdoors and going on adventures. She taught me the importance of family and showing up for the important moments. She taught me how to have a good time, to laugh, and to smile as much as possible."

Gus Schumacher was just a baby when he parents moved to Alaska from Wisconsin. His dad, Greg, is an orthopedic surgeon and mom Amy is a pediatrician. The Schumachers loved to Nordic ski, and by the time he was in middle school, young Gus was toeing the line with Olympians at national-level races.

Since then, the word “first” has defined much of Schumacher’s cross-country ski career. In 2018, he anchored the U.S. men’s relay team to its first ever medal at a junior world championships. Two years later, he was the first American to win an individual race at the junior worlds. Four years later, in Minneapolis, he became the youngest U.S. man to win a World Cup cross-country ski race.

The 2022 Olympian, now age 24, credits his mom with being “the ideal supporter my whole life!”

“From just stepping on skis to winning my first World Cup, she’s encouraged hard work and integrity while not putting any pressure on me for performance. I’m also thankful for her genetics. Couldn’t have done it without her!”

When it comes to genetics, Ryan Cochran-Siegle won the lottery. His mom, Barbara Ann Cochran, won an Olympic gold medal in slalom at the 1972 Olympic Winter Games. But BA, as she’s known by those who know her well, never pushed her kids to follow in her tracks — even though Cochran-Siegle did, winning a silver medal in super-G at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Quite the opposite.

“My mom always told my sister and me that true success isn’t about medals — it’s about finding love and passion in whatever you choose to pursue. She taught me that a positive mindset can carry you through the toughest moments, and that even when the pressure is high, never forget to have fun. That joy is where the magic begins — and that’s how I found my own Olympic path.”

Alpine teammate Lauren Macuga is on the fun train also. But she has company. Sisters Sam and Alli are also aiming for Milano Cortina 2026 — Sam in ski jumping, Alli in moguls.

In Cortina, Macuga will be a favorite to win a medal in super-G or downhill. At the 2025 world championships — her first-ever senior world championship — she won a bronze medal in super-G.

From her mom Amy, Macuga says:

“My mom taught me always to have fun :) We get to go do these amazing things and see the world, why not have fun?”

Aidan Mueller almost didn’t give luge a try. He had a baseball game the week USA Luge’s Slider Search came to town, and his dad was his baseball team’s coach.

“I said, no, he was supposed to play in a game that week,” Mr. Mueller told News 12, a Long Island TV station that did a story on Mueller in November 2023.

But Mueller and his mom, Susanne, “won that argument,” and young Aidan gave luge a shot.

Fast forward a dozen years, and the 21-year-old from West Islip, New York, is a multiple junior world cup medalist and 2026 Olympic hopeful. He made his senior world cup debut this past winter. Here’s what he learned from his mom:

“As an Olympic hopeful, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from my mom (a teacher) is the value of education. While I was overseas training and unable to attend regular school, my mom made sure my education never fell behind. She helped me find tutors and worked with my school district to ensure I had all the necessary resources throughout middle school and high school — all while caring for my four younger siblings.

“Her commitment showed me that success isn’t just about talent or hard work in sports; it’s also about staying focused, disciplined, and prepared in every part of life. My mom’s unwavering support taught me to value learning and perseverance, and those lessons continue to fuel my journey toward achieving my Olympic dreams.”