2006 & 2010 Olympian - United States / @OchoCahow / Harvard '08 (Social/Biological Anthropology) / Boston College '14 (Law)

STATUS: Retired / member of President Obama's 2014 Olympic Delegation / member of President's Council for Fitness, Health and Nutrition - May 2014 / passed Illinois Bar - October 2014

OLYMPIC MEDALIST.  WORLD CHAMPION.  COLLEGE GRADUATE.  LAW SCHOOL GRADUATE.

Caitlin’s Olympic journey began in figure skates. The only hockey player in her immediate family, Caitlin became acquainted with the ice when her mother Barbara, a formerly Nationally ranked figure skater from Ohio, brought her to learn to skate lessons at the Yale University rink. Though she quickly moved to the head of the class, her progress stopped short one afternoon when the Yale women’s hockey team had a game against Dartmouth College immediately after her lesson. One glance at girls like her in hockey gear and  Caitlin was sold. The next morning she had her mother sign her up for in-house hockey, and she never looked back. She played on a boys hockey team through her freshman year of high school for Yale Youth Hockey and joined her first girls team, The Southern CT Stars in the fall of 1998. Though the Stars had never won a State Title, they won the State, Regional and National Championships in 1999, the last spurred on by Caitlin’s  game-winning goal on a breakaway in the third period. 

She continued to play with the Stars while at The Hotchkiss School, and won numerous All-New England awards. From Hotchkiss she went on to Harvard University where she shared the ice with current U.S. National teammates Angela Ruggiero and Julie Chu. Her senior year Caitlin captained the Crimson to a 32-2 record, winning the Beanpot, Ivy League, ECAC Regular Season and ECAC Tournament titles, the last, again sealed by her game winning goal in sudden death overtime. She was named an NCAA All-American as well as Academic All-American, a testament to her abilities both on and off the ice. In addition, she was awarded the Radcliffe Prize as Harvard’s Top Female Athlete of the class of 2008. In four years, she competed in 4 NCAA tournaments including 3 trips to the Frozen Four and graduated 14th on the Harvard Women’s Hockey all time scoring charts, a significant accomplishment for a defenseman. 

A member of the US Women’s Hockey Team since 2005,  Caitlin has contributed both offensively and defensively for the squad. She is a two-time world champion, leading the tournament in defensive scoring both times. In 2008, she scored the go-ahead goal in the must-win semi-final against Canada, which spring-boarded the USA to its second World Championship. Following her return home, she awarded the Bob Allen award given by USA Hockey as the top American-born Player of the Year. 

The next year in 2009, she scored two goals in the Gold Medal game, the first coming 21 seconds into the first period, the fastest goal scored in the history of IIHF World Championship game. Her second goal in the third period solidified the first back-to-back World Championships for the US Women’s National Team. She was awarded the Player of the Game award for her efforts. Most recently she was received the media award as the Top Defenseman of the Hockey Canada Cup, the pre-Olympic test event held in Vancouver in August. Team USA won the Gold Medal at this event. 

With all this momentum in her favor,  Caitlin was primed for Olympic glory.  Her dream is to win a Gold Medal for her country and return a hero and model stateswoman, continuing her extensive work in community service.   Sadly, the United States fell short in the Gold medal match 2-0 to Canada, thus coming home with a Silver.

She has been a Hockey ambassador to the US Olympic Committee’s “Team for Tomorrow” program, helping to lead the charge in spreading the Olympic spirit through volunteerism. She has her own annual breast cancer fundraiser that has raised over $16,000 for research and awareness to date. 

Caitlin has been studying law at Boston College and graduated in May of 2014.  During the first two years at BC, Caitlin balanced her law studies while playing for USA Hockey and the (CWHL) Canadian Women's Hockey League's Boston Blades.  During the 2012-13 school year, Caitlin took what would have been her final year of law school off recovering from post concussion syndrome after getting injured just prior to the 2012 World Championship while playing for Boston.

Caitlin received a clean bill of health (after treatment from the Carrick Institute in Atlanta, GA) and played in the CWHL but at the end of the season, she retired from her hockey career in the Spring of 2013 after winning the CWHL Clarkson Cup in which she was the Captain of the Boston Blades. 

Today, she is a member of the Board of Directors for CWHL as their American representative and in the Summer of 2014 she took the Illinois Bar Exam and was notified of her passing the bar October 1, 2014.

Caitlin today works as a law clerk to the US Federal Bankruptcy Court in Chicago, IL.

NOTABLE DATES OF APPOINTMENT BY WHITE HOUSE

December 17, 2013, Caitlin was named as a diplomat representing the United States at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi by the White House.  Due to failing health of Opening Ceremonies delegate, Billie Jean King's mother, Caitlin and Billie Jean swapped roles and Caitlin participated in the Opening Ceremonies instead.

The official delegation will attend athletic events, meet with U.S. athletes, and attend the Opening Ceremony.

The Honorable William J. Burns, Deputy Secretary of State, will lead the delegation. 

The Honorable Michael A. McFaul, United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation.

The Honorable Janet Napolitano, former Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and Governor of Arizona

Mr. Brian Boitano, Olympic Champion, men's figure skating

Ms. Caitlin Cahow, Olympic silver medalist and bronze medalist, women’s ice hockey

May 22, 2014, Caitlin was nominated by the Obama administration to take on a role as part of the President's Council on Fitness, Health and Nutrition.

September 16, 2014, Caitlin was sworn in at the White House to become a member of the President's Council on Fitness, Health and Nutrition