9 gold-worthy athlete memoirs for the Winter Games

by Lindsey Vonn

🎧 Audiobook

82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, 3 Olympic medals, and 7 World Championship medals. I mean, seriously, do I need to say anything else? 

Lindsey Vonn is a legend. Her skiing career heralded a transformation in how America views and celebrates female athletes, paving the way for those who followed in her tracks. Although she technically retired in 2019, taking that time to address some of the injuries accumulated from her career relentlessly pursuing speed, Vonn will be back in 2026! 

by Oksana Masters

🎧 Audiobook

If you look up the definition of “grit,” you'll find a photograph of Oksana Masters in the dictionary. Seriously though, Masters’ memoir is an inspiring lesson of resilience. Masters was born with one kidney, a partial stomach, six toes on each foot, webbed fingers, no right bicep, no thumbs, and no tibias caused by her mother’s radiation exposure following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. After being surrendered to an orphanage and its abuses, Masters was adopted when she was seven by an American and relocated to the U.S. After years of operations, including a double leg amputation, Masters went on to triumph in not just one sport, but four—rowing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, and road cycling. Masters is the recipient of 17 Paralympic medals, the most of any U.S. athlete of the Winter Games.

by Jessie Diggins

🎧 Audiobook

In 2018, Jessie Diggins made history earning the first ever cross-country skiing gold medal for the U.S. In Brave Enough, Diggins shares the story of her journey from the small town of Afton, Minnesota, into sports history, including the challenges and frustrations of becoming an elite athlete. She candidly shares her struggle with bulimia to help bring hope and awareness to others experiencing eating disorders. Navigating the challenges and victories of her career, the World Championship medalist details her journey to push past her physical and psychological limits with both grit and glitter.

by Mike Schultz

X-Games and Paralympics champion Mike Schultz won gold for snowboarding in Pyeongchang ten years after a devastating snowmobile accident that left him with a prosthetic knee and foot of his own creation. His memoir details his incredible journey, from his lifesaving amputation to finding a new adventure in the world of adaptive snowboarding. Schultz’s need for better equipment also launched him down a new path designing original protheses for both athletes like himself and wounded military veterans.

by Nathan Chen

🎧 Audiobook

In this inspiring memoir, three-time World Champion and Olympic gold-medalist Nathan Chen, reverently known as the “Quad King,” tells the story of his journey to become the first Asian American male figure skater to win a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Chen reflects on his family’s sacrifices and support, the extreme mental and physical toll the sport took on him throughout his career, and the joy of skating he experienced since the very first time he tried on a pair of skates at just three years old.

by Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson

In 2018, the Lamoureux twins led the U.S. women’s ice hockey team to its first gold medal in 20 years. Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando have accomplished so much in their careers, including six World Championship wins and three Olympic medals, but this memoir gives just as much attention to their success advocating to change hockey for the girls and women who came after them. As kids, they didn’t have a girls hockey team, so they played on boy’s teams. As elite athletes they took on USA Hockey to fight for equal rights for female athletes, which almost led to a boycott of the 2017 World Championships. This book highlights the twins’ courageous battle for gender equity while also sharing Jocelyene and Monique’s friendship that helped them motivate each other to keep up the fight and climb to the top of their field. 

by Apolo Ohno

🎧 Audiobook

Gold medal-winning speed skater Apolo Ohno is known for his competitive drive. In his memoir, Ohno shares his personal story about being raised by his single father, an immigrant from Japan, and working to balance his natural affinity for skating with discipline and preparation. He shares the hard truths and strategies he learned along the way, from his intense training regime for the 2010 Winter Games to his secrets for achieving total focus, which can be used to chase victories both on and off the ice.

by Adam Rippon

🎧 Audiobook

We’ve had a lot of memoirs of grit and intensity—shall we add a little comedy to the mix? Although his memoir has a cheekier tone, Adam Rippon doesn’t sacrifice heart for humor. With stories from his childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the years of training that led to the 2018 Winter Games, Rippon’s coming-of-age story as the first openly gay U.S. athlete to win a medal is perfect for figure skating fans looking to become more familiar with this self-proclaimed “America’s Sweetheart.”

by Wayne Coffey

🎧 Audiobook

I know, this isn’t a memoir, but consider it a must-read bonus pick about one of the most incredible moments in sports history. The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team gave us the ultimate underdog story as a team of amateur players led by an unconventional coach went on to defeat the previously unstoppable Soviet hockey team at the height of the Cold War. Their stunning triumph became an American fairy tale that we’re still talking about, and this book delves into the players’ chemistry and the team’s unusual training plan for both physical and psychological strength that led to their victory. Hockey is hotter than ever, and this “Miracle on Ice” was the last time the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team struck gold—are we feeling lucky this year?