Neal: Decisions on 2026 Olympics await athletes, but reporter definitely wants another chance

BEIJING – One more tonsil swab. Two more trips through metal detectors. A few more forms to fill out and I'll be back in the United States. And my Olympic experience will be complete.

Or will it?

Perhaps this is just the beginning.

Covering this enormous event required plenty of homework. I tried to follow some of the qualifying events and learn about the medal favorites. And that was just for our Team USA athletes. The Winter Olympics, if you hadn't noticed, is a made-for-Minnesota event. I knocked myself out just trying to keep up with local stars. When the NHL backed out of the Olympics about six weeks before the Opening Ceremony, there was a whole new team to learn about.

The Olympics began with 30 Minnesotans on Team USA and another 21 with Minnesota ties competing for other countries. That made every day relevant. There's a different perspective gleaned from being in a stadium and watching these athletes perform. Being able to meet and interview these athletes will pay off down the road. I met the Gophers players on the men's hockey team and expect to see them in the NHL.

On the women's side, I experienced Hilary Knight's competitive fire in hockey and understood why Lee Stecklein is so respected. The curling teams showed me how analytics are playing a big role in their sport. I interviewed Prior Lake's Paula Moltzan, twice. I even posed a question to Afton's Jessie Diggins, who uses the word "stoked" a lot.

There now are more compelling reasons to follow these careers, to see where in the world they are competing. To track their ups, downs and preparation for the next Olympic cycle. This rookie Olympics writer has a jumping-off point now.

I remember this feeling. Covering the 1994 World Cup game between the United States and Brazil was — before this Olympics adventure — the greatest sporting event I've been a part of. As I sat in Stanford Stadium, I wondered where do all these soccer players play when there isn't World Cup? That's when I became interested in where Marc Overmars, Jurgen Klinsmann, Gabriel Batistuta, Roberto Baggio and others played their club ball. USA midfielder Claudio Reyna was just a teenager then at Bayer Leverkusen, and I was able to track most of his career.

The 1994 World Cup raised my level of interest significantly. And I feel the Beijing Games will stoke my interest in the athletes who starred here this month. There are a few athletes in particular I plan to track:

Juraj Slafkovsky is 17 years old and was the youngest player in the men's hockey tournament. But he has size and skill and led everyone with seven goals scored for Slovakia in the tournament. Watch out, NHL.

Erin Jackson became the first Black American woman to win a speedskating medal at the Olympics after teammate and friend Brittany Bowe gave up her spot in the 500 meters to ensure that Jackson could compete.

Sarah Fillier filled up the net as Team Canada won women's hockey gold, scoring eight goals in her first six games. At 21, she will be a pain in the USA's keisters for years to come.

Team USA curlers warned us about Niklas Edin, the Swedish skip who routinely has his team in the finals of tournaments. After losing to Team USA for gold four years ago, Edin's men took gold this time.

Somehow, I didn't realize that speed skater Giorgia Birkeland was just 19. The fact that she finished 12th in the women's mass start — in her first senior national event — means the White Bear Lake native has an intriguing future.

Swedish speed skater Nils van der Poel was going to quit following the 2018 games in Pyeongchang. He decided to give it another chance and set two Olympic and one world record here in Beijing.

And freestyle skier Eileen Gu set off a geopolitical firestorm, as the American-born Gu opted to represent China, where her mother was born. Winning two gold medals plus a silver made her a star.

And what do skiers Moltzan and Diggins have in mind for four years from now?

These are just a handful of the terrific athletes who impressed this month in Beijing and are now on my radar. Let's see how many from this group qualify for the next Winter Games, in Italy. Heck, let's hope I qualify again.

Hopefully, this is not the end of my Olympic experience. I'm all-in now. I want more.