SOUTHINGTON, CT — Winter Olympics fever is about to hit the world, and folks in Southington will be able to root for one of their own.
Opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy, are scheduled to begin on Friday, Feb. 6, and conclude on Feb. 22.
And one of the athletes competing is Austin Florian, 31, of Southington, who will compete in skeleton.
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In case you don’t know what a skeleton is, it isn’t a bunch of bones at the Olympics.
Rather, it is a crazy fast sled that is run down the same course as the bobsled and the luge.
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But instead of riding on your back, feet-first as in luge, in skeleton, you ride on your stomach, head first.
Florian’s path to the top of international skeleton racing began on local ski slopes.
Florian, a Southington native, started skiing at age 2 and was competing in ski racing by age 6. He continued to develop as a multi-sport athlete in high school, also playing lacrosse and golf.
He went on to Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., where he spent four years on the school’s ski team.
During drives between Connecticut and campus, Florian’s family regularly passed through Lake Placid, the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
While visiting the Olympic facilities, Florian tried “land luge,” a wheeled version of the sliding sport, and showed early promise.
Later that fall, he entered an open tryout for U.S. sliding sports. For the final two years of college, Florian balanced skeleton training with his collegiate ski career.
By his senior year at Clarkson, Florian was competing in North American Cup skeleton races.
Within a few years, he reached the sport’s top level, finishing in the top 10 during just his second IBSF World Cup appearance in January 2019.
Florian has since represented the United States at multiple world championships.
In 2025, he won a gold medal in mixed team skeleton at the IBSF World Championships.
The mixed team event is scheduled to make its Olympic debut at the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina, Italy.
Florian earned an engineering degree from Clarkson University. His wife, Erica, is a former Division I soccer player.
Florian’s progression from a Southington youth skier to a world champion highlights a career shaped by early athletic versatility and a pivotal introduction to sliding sports in Lake Placid.
Thursday, state leaders expressed their best wishes to the athletes competing in Italy.
Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz congratulated all of the Connecticut athletes who qualified for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
“I am extraordinarily proud of the athletes from Connecticut who have proven themselves to be among the best in their respective sports and qualified to compete in the world’s biggest athletic competition,” Lamont said.
He noted that these hometown athletes will represent Team USA and have demonstrated “dedication, perseverance, strength, and resilience.”
“I want each of them to know that we will be cheering them on back home in Connecticut, and we are all wishing them the very best of luck in Italy,” Lamont added.
Bysiewicz also offered her congratulations.
“These athletes from our state have accomplished truly remarkable feats in their respective sports, and I am incredibly proud that they will be representing Team USA during the 2026 Winter Olympics,” Bysiewicz said.
She affirmed that Connecticut residents would be rooting for them.
Other Connecticut natives/residents competing are: Olivia Giaccio from Redding in freestyle skiing; Kristen Santos-Griswold of Fairfield in speedskating and short track speedskating; and Tage Thompson from Orange is set to compete in ice hockey.
Said Bysiewicz: “These athletes embody the ambition, devotion, and excellence of Connecticut residents. Good luck to Austin, Olivia, Kristen, and Tage.”
For more information on Southington native Austin Florian, click on this link.
For the Winter Olympics’ skeleton schedule and results, click on this link.
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