Out Team USA hockey player Cayla Barnes knows the sacrifices that come with Olympic glory
Cayla Barnes joins Team USA for her third Winter Olympics in search of a third Olympic medal. The post Out Team USA hockey player Cayla Barnes knows the sacrifices that come with Olympic glory appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Name: Cayla Barnes
Country: USA
Sport: Hockey
Previous Olympic experience: Beijing 2022, PyeongChang 2018
Social Media: Instagram/TikTok
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Who Is Cayla Barnes?
Figure skating just wasn’t for Cayla Barnes. The three-time Olympian and veteran member of the U.S. National Women’s Hockey Team at only 27 years old knew that intuitively despite the efforts of her mother.
“Roller hockey is really big in California, so I played that. My brothers played that, and then I started as a figure skater,” Barnes told The Hockey News last year. “My mom was super excited to finally have a girl … dress me up, go figure skating. Hated it. Definitely did not like it.”
Barnes’ desire to emulate her older brothers and “follow their path” when they transitioned to ice hockey set her on a path to sports stardom laden with accolades. She is the first player to win three consecutive IIHF Women’s World U18 championships, joined the senior national team at the age of 18 and went to her first Olympics in 2018 as the youngest member of the squad one month after her 19th birthday.
That accumulation hasn’t slowed since her Olympic debut. Along with her two Olympic medals, Barnes brought home three IIHF World titles, an NCAA National championship at Ohio State University, helped lead the Montreal Victorie to its first PWHL playoff appearance in her rookie season and became a cornerstone signing of the Seattle Torrent in 2025.
With all of that success as she enters her ninth year on Team USA, Barnes is open to highlighting the sacrifices and need for self-care that comes with the glory, and how the support of her family aided both.
“It’s okay to be run down and tired and it’s OK to need a break. It’s OK to step away and enjoy the ‘normal’ things … All my life, I have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to reach the bright lights that every young athlete dreams of. With every sacrifice comes consequences you must be willing to accept, ” Barnes said in a self-penned column for The Hockey News in 2023. “I left home at 15 years old to embark on a path that has led me to where I am today. I’ve been blessed to have the unwavering support of my family since the day I committed to this life. Without them, none of this would have been possible and for that I owe them everything.”
Barnes is one of three out LGBTQ players on Team USA. In September 2025, she joined her girlfriend, Hope Walinski, in marking their three-year anniversary.
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Captain Hilary Knight is joined by her Seattle Torrent teammates Alex Carpenter and Cayla Barnes on the confirmed roster.
Cayla Barnes at the Milan Winter Olympics
Barnes is regarded as one of the best puck-handling defenders in the women’s game currently, and those skills will surely be beneficial as she aids Team USA in its quest for a third Olympic gold medal in Milan.
Team USA has never finished lower than bronze and has battled Team Canada in the gold medal match in Women’s Hockey six times since it became an Olympic sport in 1998.
After winning Olympic gold in 2018 as a newcomer, Barnes developed into a key contributor during Team USA’s silver medal run at the Beijing Games. She was second on the team in assists, ranked fourth in points and scored her lone Olympic goal in the semifinal win against Finland.
Another clash with Team Canada is likely on the menu, but she and her fellow out athletes (and Seattle Torrent teammates) Hillary Knight and Alex Carpenter will be hungry for another shot at their rivals, especially if they repeat history for the seventh time in the gold medal game.
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The post Out Team USA hockey player Cayla Barnes knows the sacrifices that come with Olympic glory appeared first on Outsports.
