Winter Olympics athletes to watch
Get to know seven American hopefuls
With 100 days until the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, we give you some names to know in case you need to brush up on your winter sports knowledge. The Olympics begin Feb. 9 and the Paralympics on March 8 in South Korea.
Red Gerard
17-year-old from Silverthorne, Colo. Gerard is considered one of the best upand-coming riders in snowboarding, and he’s already in good position to make the U.S. team for Pyeongchang. Gerard earned his first major career victory in February, winning the U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth. The event was the first qualifier, and another podium finish in the four events this season should punch his ticket to South Korea.
What he says: “It was super nice. I didn’t have really a look at the Olympics. I just thought it was so far away. Yeah, I’m not gonna make it to the Olympics. Just winning that first contest put me in a really good spot, and honestly I got pretty lucky. It was a good time to win a contest. It takes a lot of stress off, in a way. “It’s just that it was kind of so far away, I wasn’t worried about it. I take things day by day. I thought it was a lot harder to qualify for the Olympics, and it is really hard. But it makes things a lot easier that I won that first one.”
Kehri Jones
23-year-old from Killeen, Texas Jones was a sprinter at Baylor before Olympian Elana Meyers Taylor recruited her to bobsled. In the 2016-17 season, her second in the sport, she won the world championships with Meyers Taylor on the German track where they won a World Cup the month prior.
What she says: “(The qualifying process is) definitely hard, and the coaches do try to put different pairs together all the time to have the three best teams on the top of the hill. I know that Elana is one of the best drivers in the world, and that’s the sled that I want to be in, so I put myself in a position to where I can be in her sled by being the fastest brakeman that we have.”
Nathan Chen
18-year-old from Salt Lake City He’s the reigning U.S. champion, so figure skating fans already know all about Chen. Some consider Chen the USA’s best shot at an individual figure skating medal in Pyeongchang. In his first world championships at the senior level, Chen finished sixth last year. He won the Rostelecom Cup to open this season, upsetting reigning Olympic and world champion Yuzuru Hanyu.
What he says: “I’m feeling great about training. I just came back from Russia. That was the first Grand Prix of the season,” Chen said Monday at an event to announce he’s part of Team Kellogg’s. “I came out with a win there against the reigning Olympic champion. To have that under my belt going into the season is awesome. Obviously it’s early in the season, so no one’s at their peak form yet. Everyone’s still going to be pushing for that Olympic title spot.”
Maggie Voisin
19-year-old from Whitefish, Mont. Voisin was the youngest athlete to make the team for Sochi at 15, but she was hurt there in training and was unable to compete. Four years later, Voisin is still one of the youngest freeskiers but is again in good position to make it to the Olympic Games. Voisin won the first qualifier in the U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth last season.
What she says: “I’m still one of the younger athletes and I feel like I’ve been through a lot in the past four years, which has been helpful to kind of learn to deal with the pressure.”
Brenna Huckaby
21-year-old who lives in Salt Lake City Huckaby started snowboarding in 2013 and won her first world title nearly two years later in snowboardcross.
She grew up in Baton Rouge competing in gymnastics and took up snowboarding after losing her right leg to bone cancer in 2010.
In 2016 she took time off from training to give birth to her daughter, Lilah. Huckaby returned to win two gold medals this year in the World Para Snowboard Championships. What she says: “It’s no longer about me; when I’m training and competing, I always have something else in the back of my mind,” Huckaby said at the U.S. Olympic Committee’s media summit when asked about balancing training and being a mom. “I have to be on top of it all the time otherwise I wouldn’t get anything done. It’s difficult but it’s also so exciting because I get to share all of my experiences with her.”
Evan Weinstock
26-year-old from Las Vegas A decathlete and Ivy League champion at Brown, Weinstock has made himself one of the USA’s fastest brakemen. Weinstock narrowly missed winning a national push championship to veteran Steve Langton in June, and Langton said Weinstock is going to be one of the best push athletes in the world.
What he says: “I heard before getting into the sport that it’s 90% athleticism, 10% skill. My background with decathlon, I was pretty well prepared for the strength, the speed aspect of bobsledding. So my learning curve was pretty steep and I was able to transition relatively quick. I’m really kind of coming into my own this season.”
Jessie Diggins
26-year-old from Afton, Minn. The cross-country skier leads the U.S. team with 13 World Cup podiums and four world championship medals. Diggins, who’s also known for choreographing fun dance videos for the U.S. team, aims to make history in her sport. No U.S. cross-country skier has won an Olympic medal since Bill Koch claimed silver in 1976. At this year’s world championships in Finland, Diggins won silver in the women’s freestyle sprint and paired with Sadie Bjornsen for bronze in the classic team sprint. What she says: “Since we don’t have (an Olympic) medal yet, getting one would be incredible,” Diggins said at the U.S. Olympic Committee’s media summit in September. “The medal would belong to thousands of people who have built this team up for years and years, not just recent years but decades in the making.”