Anna Fairman skates at the RMU Island Sports Center during her time as a Colonial (Photo Credit: Justin Berl).
Three former members of the Robert Morris University Women’s Hockey Team will be competing in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Anna Fairman (China), Aneta Lédlová (Czechia) and Meeri Räisänen (Finland) will all be playing at the World’s highest stage of competition. The hockey games begin Wednesday Night.
Fairman and Lédlová are making their first Olympic appearances, while Räisänen (2014, 2018) will be appearing in her third Olympic games. They join Brianne McLaughlin (USA 2010, 2014) as the four Colonial Hockey alums to play in the Olympic games.
Anna Fairman, a defender, spent two seasons at RMU (2019-2021), appearing in 53 games and tallying 8 points. She was a member of the CHA-Championship-winning team, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21. She’s spent this season playing with the Kunlun Red Star Vanke Rays in the Russian Women’s League preparing for the Olympics with Team China.
This will be China’s fourth Olympic games appearance, and first since 2010 in Vancouver. Their opening game against Czechia will be the first time two former Colonials play against each other in Olympic competition*. China’s full schedule can be seen below (all times EST).
*McLaughlin and Räisänen were on the USA/Finland rosters when the teams played in the 2014 Olympics but neither appeared in the game.
Aneta Lédlová during her time as a Colonial (Photo Credit: Justin Berl).
Aneta Lédlová, a forward, also spent two seasons at RMU (2016-2018). Lédlová scored 7 goals and had 11 assists for 18 points in 54 games as a Colonial. She was a member of the first ever RMU Women’s hockey team to appear in the NCAA tournament, after the team won the CHA title in the 2016-17 Season.
Since her time at RMU, Lédlová has been playing for teams in Sweden and Czechia, while also playing with the Czech Women’s National Team. This year she’s been a productive player for the national team, scoring 7 points in 8 games between the World Championships and Olympic Qualifiers. This is the first time Czechia/Czech Republic has appeared in the Olympics for Women’s Hockey. Schedule can be seen below (all times EST).
Meeri Räisänen, a goaltender, played one season at RMU (2010-11) and appeared in 15 games. She’s gone on to have a long professional career playing for teams in Finland, Russia, Sweden and the Connecticut Whale of the NWHL (now PHF). She’s also appeared in numerous tournaments and two Olympics with the Finnish Women’s National Team.
As she heads into her third Olympics, she’ll be looking to make her first appearance in a game. Finland is competing in its seventh Olympic games for Women’s Hockey and is coming off a Bronze medal in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Schedule can be seen below (all times EST).
The Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation congratulates these three former Colonials on their incredible achievements and wishes them the best of luck as they compete in the Olympic Games! Be sure to follow our social media pages for updates and other Colonial Hockey news.