When it comes to which states produce the most Olympians, New Hampshire has a special place at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The Granite State, with nine native athletes, ranks behind only Vermont, with 13 native Olympians in Sochi, for the most Olympic athletes per capita.

There are plenty of states with more Olympic athletes than New Hampshire. Massachusetts, for example, has 10 Olympians in Sochi. But in this category, New Hampshire’s relatively small population makes the state saturated with Olympians.

In New Hampshire, there is one Olympian for every 146,000 residents. By contrast, the state of California, with 20 Olympic athletes, has one Olympian for every 1,863,000 residents. Vermont boasts an Olympian for every 48,000 residents.

California, the nation’s most populated state, has the most representation among the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team. Just behind California, Colorado, Minnesota and New York tied to provide the second-highest number of Olympians, with 19 each.

Other states swimming in Olympians are Wisconsin and Utah, with 15, and Michigan, with 13.

But depending on how you see it, the Granite State may be able to claim more than nine Olympians.

According to the U.S. Olympic Team, there are an additional 14 Olympians who have ties to New Hampshire.

Eight of those 14 Olympians with New Hampshire ties, such as bi-athlete Sara Studebaker and cross-country skier Ida Sargent, graduated from or are enrolled at Dartmouth College.

The school is represented by 12 athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics. According to Dartmouth, the Hanover college has sent more athletes to the Winter Olympics than any other Ivy League school.

Dartmouth College has been represented at every Winter Olympics since 1924, when John Carleton first competed in cross-country skiing in France. Since then, more than 120 athletes affiliated with Dartmouth College have been Olympians.

Two other Olympians with Granite State ties, Massachusetts native Kacey Bellamy and Toronto Maple Leafs star James Van Riemsdyk, went to the University of New Hampshire in Durham, where they played hockey for the Wildcats.

Eleven states did not send any athletes to 2014’s Winter Olympics. Of those states, 10 of them are below the Mason-Dixon Line.

South Dakota is the only northern state that didn’t send an athlete to Sochi.

Bradford Randall can be reached
at 594-6557 or brandall@nashua
telegraph.com. Also, follow Randall on Twitter (@telegraph_bradr).