Skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender of the United States slides down the icy track in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

ST MORITZ, Switzerland — USA Bobsled/Skeleton announced Saturday, Jan. 15 the three athletes nominated to represent Team USA at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China in the skeleton events. The U.S. earned two quota spots in the women’s competition, and one for the men.

The three athletes nominated to the team are Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colorado) and Kelly Curtis (Princeton, New Jersey) for the women’s team, and Andrew Blaser (Meridian, Idaho) for the men’s team.

“USABS is incredibly proud of the three athletes nominated to represent Team USA in skeleton at the 2022 Olympics,” said Aron McGuire, chief executive officer of USABS. “It was a battle to make the team and came down to the very last race.”

Athletes earned their spot on the Olympic team by accumulating points throughout the season in international competitions. The lowest finish for each athlete was dropped, and points from the remaining seven races were added together for a total. The top two ranked U.S. women in International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) standings, Uhlaender and Curtis, earned their ticket to Beijing, and Blaser earned his spot as the top ranked American man.

This is Uhlaender’s fifth Olympic team nomination. She finished sixth in 2006, 11th in 2010, barely missed the medals in fourth in 2014, and was 13th in Pyeongchang. This is the first Olympic nomination for Curtis and Blaser. It came down to the very last run of the season for Curtis to earn her spot. The member of the Air Force’s World Class Athlete Program competed in her first tour of the World Cup circuit this season, and earned her spot by 12 points over the third ranked U.S. women’s athlete. Blaser raced most of the season on the Intercontinental Cup tour, and was called up to the World Cup during the holiday break. He convincingly earned his spot, finishing 172 points ahead of the next ranked American.

Skeleton was added to the Olympic program for the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and the U.S. has claimed five medals since. Three of those medals were claimed in 2002, and the other two were earned in 2014.

All U.S. Olympic team selections are subject to approval by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.