The Winter Olympics only come around every four years, so it’s important to be prepared when they do. From the opening and closing ceremony to 15 different sports, the Olympics can just be kind of overwhelming. There are tons of events happening, and you might not know who the important Winter Olympic athletes are unless you’re a devoted fan of bobsledding and cross-country skiing. No? Didn’t think so. This is a little more legit than the Bachelor Winter Games, so buckle up.
Rather than try to explain every single Winter Olympic sport, and who’s “good” at each one, we thought it might be helpful to choose the hottest athlete from each so you know who to keep your eyes peeled for. Just like the hot men of football, it’s nice to know who to could be husband potential. Enjoy some of the beautiful men who are going for gold in PyeongChang this year, and let’s hope this Olympics isn’t a disaster like last time.
15. Alpine Skiing: Alexis Pinturault
Alpine skiing is one of the most exciting Winter Olympic sports, and we’d love to hit the slopes with French skier Alexis Pinturault during a romantic weekend in a mountain lodge. While it’d be tough not to swoon over a guy with a French accent, the fact that he’s *literally* beautiful in every way really doesn’t hurt, either. He won a bronze medal in 2014, but he’s the gold in our eyes.
14. Biathlon: Martin Fourcade
Martin Fourcade, who’s also from France (what can we say? We’ve got a type!), is the two-time defending Winter Olympic champ and one of the best biathletes of all time. Damn. Biathlon involves both skiing and shooting a gun and is generally pretty boring, but we’d watch for hours if we got some good shots of Martin. Seriously, we love a man who’s both extremely good-looking and also the best in the world at what he does.
13. Bobsleigh: Steven Langton
Bobsleigh is the official name of bobsledding at the Winter Olympics, and we also have an official crush on the entire US Men’s Olympic Team – not gonna lie. This team has someone for everyone’s personal taste, but we decided to give the official “Hottest” title to Steven Langton because he basically has more muscles than anyone we’ve ever seen. We would gladly go hang out by a river if it meant we got to see this guy shirtless with a backward baseball cap.
12. Cross-Country Skiing: Calle Halfvarsson
Hailing from Sweden, Calle Halfvarsson is bringing the classic Scandinavian good looks to this list. He looks like a genuinely nice guy, which probably means he would totally ruin our lives, but his smile is so cute we just might let him. Cross-country skiing is another sport that can be sort of boring at times, but we’d be happy to wait for him at the finish line.
11. Curling: Benoît Schwarz
And for curling, we have a member from the Swiss Olympic team, Benoît Schwarz. This 26-year-old hottie was an alternate in the 2014 Sochi Olympics and now it’s his time to shine. Even if you think curling is a bit boring – having some eye-candy like Benoît in the rink just might make this event worth watching. If nothing else, keep your eyes peeled for him during the opening and closing ceremonies!
10. Figure Skating: Nathan Chen
Nathan Chen is only 18 years old, but he’s definitely one of the cutest Team USA members headed to PyeongChang this winter. His perfect smile and amazing hair seriously look like they could belong to a Disney prince, right? He’s also an incredible skater, with an insane number of planned quadruple jumps that could earn him a medal in South Korea if things go according to plan.
9. Freestyle Skiing: Bobby Brown
Um, okay, why haven’t we been watching freestyle skiing all along? Not only can he do crazy tricks in the air, Bobby Brown is easily one of the most gorgeous men repping Team USA in PyeongChang, and we’re ashamed we didn’t know about him before now. If we knew there were skiers who looked like this, we would’ve been hitting the slopes for years now.
8. Ice Hockey: Kevin Poulin
For ice hockey, it felt wrong to look anywhere but the Canadian Winter Olympic team, and we weren’t disappointed. Kevin looks like the kind of man who could get into a nasty fight during a hockey game, then come home and make dinner for you while you watch Netflix on the couch. He’s husband material, no doubt about it. Suddenly we love hockey. Is that normal?
7. Luge: Chris Mazdzer
Chris Mazdzer only finished 13th in the last two Olympics, but we’re really hoping he does better this time around. He’s a regulation hottie, with nice muscles and just the right amount of chest hair. He also enjoys long walks on the beach and hot air balloon rides. Who knows what he’s actually like as a person, but we’d love a chance to get to know him.
6. Nordic Combined: Johannes Rydzek
We’re not sure we fully understand what makes Nordic Combined different from the other kinds of skiing in the Olympics, but we don’t really care about the rules when there are people like Johannes Rydzek to watch. He’s carrying those skis so effortlessly, and my mom would definitely like that he has a helmet. I’ve never been a big Team Germany fan before, but that might have to change.
5. Short Track Speed Skating: J.R. Celski
We’re not sure how short track speed skating is different from regular speed skating, but we don’t make the rules here. J.R. is the veteran of the US team in this sport, and he’s also a total cutie. Back in 2009, he was badly injured during a race and wasn’t sure he’d ever skate again, so he’s also a real fighter. We’re into it, could you tell? Plus – we love a guy who’s politically active! (Check out the ‘I voted’ sticker!)
4. Skeleton: John Daly
Just look at that puppy dog face! Also, a quick glance at his Instagram page and you’ll see that whatever he’s doing in the gym is seriously working. Skeleton is the terrifying sport where the athletes literally hurl themselves face first down an ice track, and we’d cry if anything ever happened to John’s gorg face. Seriously, can we get him to do something a little less dangerous? Just kidding, the fact that he’s a bit of a daredevil just makes him sexier!
3. Ski Jumping: Andreas Wellinger
We have some major questions about why anyone thinks ski jumping sounds fun, but it works for Andreas Wellinger, so good for him. Andreas is super cute, and he looks like the perfect guy to meet when you’re in Europe for a few weeks and need someone fun to show you around. His choice of sport shows that he’s not afraid to put himself out there and do crazy things, which can definitely be a lot of fun. He’s another cutie repping the German team, so again, we might just have to start rooting for them.
2. Snowboarding: Ben Ferguson
Oh what, you thought Shaun White would be taking the crown here? Sorry but move over, Shaun, there’s a new hottie in snowboarding. 23-year-old Men’s Halfpipe snowboarder Ben is making his Olympic debut this year and we’re hoping it’s just the first of many. When he’s not on the slopes, he likes skateboarding and fishing – but what really gets us going is that he rides a motorcycle when he’s not training. Just saying…
we’d hop on the back of whatever he’s driving any time (as long as he’s got an extra helmet, of course!).
1. Speed Skating: Sven Kramer
Sven Kramer is the only Dutch guy on our list, and he also happens to be an amazing speed skater. In addition to two Winter Olympic golds, he’s also a nine-time world champion, which basically means he’s a huge deal. He’s also very hot, with the exact kind of stone-cold good looks that could get us in serious trouble. Swoon