Today marks the start of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics! We love that speed skater Kristen Santos-Griswold is chasing Olympic gold powered by plants.
She has been a vegetarian her entire life and switched to a completely vegan diet two years ago.
Interestingly she grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, just 25 minutes from FoA’s Darien headquarters.
Santos-Griswold started figure skating at the age of three, but when she saw a speedskating commercial on the Disney Channel at age nine she instantly wanted to try the sport. Her mom took her to a club at Yale, and she instantly fell in love with speedskating.
Santos-Griswold made her Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Santos-Griswold was in bronze medal position with two laps to go in 1,000-meter, when a bump by an opponent, later ruled a penalty, caused her to fall and finish fourth.
Santos-Griswold, contemplated retirement after Beiing but decided to come back for another Olympic cycle. At the 2024 ISU Short Track World Championships, Santos-Griswold became the first American short track speedskater to win medals at all three individual distances (500-meter, 1,000-meter, 1,500-meter) at one worlds since it became an Olympic sport in 1992.
She would finish the next season winning her first Crystal Globe (given the overall best skater in short track) and become the third American to finish a short track season ranked No. 1 overall.
She was at the top of her game, but then came injuries: a shattered clavicle and back issues. We love that she credits her dogs for getting her back on track for the Olympics.
She told Forbes Magazine recently that no matter how the day has gone—whether her training felt sharp or lousy; whether her body cooperated or reminded her of last season’s injuries—her two dogs are waiting: Bear, a 13-and-a-half-year-old husky and Koda, his younger companion.
They don’t care about lap times or medal counts. They care that she’s home.
“That reset is everything,” Santos-Griswold told Forbes. “In sport, it’s easy to get wrapped up in every single detail. But when I walk in and they’re just so happy to see me, it puts everything back into perspective.
“Both of my dogs are really pivotal in my career. They help me reset, mentally and emotionally.”
Santos-Griswold will contest five events in Milan—the 500, 1000, 1500, women’s 3000-meter relay, and the mixed team relay
She plans to be a physical therapist when her skating career is over and is currently working on her doctorate.