Sammy Smith’s sporting calendar reads like fiction. In the space of just two months, the Stanford sophomore went from starting in the NCAA Women’s College Cup final for soccer to competing on the world’s biggest winter stage as a cross-country skier for Team USA at the Winter Olympics.
Smith, one of the youngest athletes representing the United States, made her Olympic debut in the women’s sprint classic in Milan, advancing to the quarterfinals and finishing 19th overall. She placed fourth in her heat, which was led by Sweden’s Jonna Sundling, the eventual silver medallist. Smith earned her spot by qualifying inside the top 30 of 89 skiers, an impressive feat given that the race marked only her third international start of the season. Balancing elite sport at the Olympic and collegiate level is no small task, and Smith’s Olympic berth was far from guaranteed. Choosing to play for Stanford’s varsity soccer team during the fall meant she missed the primary qualification pathway through early-season World Cup races. Instead, she relied on limited quota spots available through domestic competition.
Victories in both the classic and skate sprints at the U.S. National Championships in January kept her Olympic hopes alive, but she still needed a breakthrough performance at a World Cup event in Oberhof, Germany. On January 17, Smith delivered a career-defining result, finishing 12th in the skate sprint to clinch her place at the Games.
She made a calculated tactical decision to line up in a quarterfinal heat alongside three-time Olympic medallist Jessie Diggins, knowing the pace would be relentless.
“I knew exactly what I had to do going in, but I didn’t really fully believe that I was going to be able to do it,” Smith said. “It was a pretty surreal moment when I crossed the line and realized I was going to move on to the semis and had secured a top-12 finish.”
Only weeks earlier, Smith’s focus had been entirely different. Stanford women’s soccer were deep into their championship run, having won the ACC title and pushed through the NCAA tournament. Throughout the fall season, Smith featured in every match for the Cardinal, starting 14 times as a defender and playing the full 90 minutes in the national semifinal against Duke. “I tried just to focus on what I could control and that was just being there with my soccer team,” she said. “And playing hard and giving everything I could to practices and games.”
Four days after Stanford narrowly lost the national final 1-0, Smith was back on skis, finishing second at a U.S. SuperTour race in Alaska, a seamless transition that underscored her rare versatility. Athletic excellence runs deep in Smith’s story. Growing up in Boise, Idaho, she was named Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year in both soccer and track and field, while also representing the United States at the Under-19 level in soccer. She initially gravitated toward freestyle skiing and was nationally ranked in moguls before injuries forced a change in direction.
Cross-country skiing, already a passion for her older sister Logan, became her new arena. Winters soon revolved around domestic and World Cup racing, with the Smith family often relocating to Sun Valley to support training. The sibling bond remains central. Sammy and Logan have competed side by side since preschool, from hockey to skiing to track, and are now teammates on Stanford’s soccer roster.
Ahead of the Olympics, Smith attended pre-Games training camp in Livigno, Italy, sharing accommodation with Diggins, an athlete she grew up idolising. While her competitive schedule in Milan may conclude with the sprint event depending on team selections, results are not her primary focus.
For the first-time Olympian and dual-sport standout, the goal is simple: to experience the moment fully and embrace a journey that few athletes in the modern era could ever replicate.
