Olympic Athletes and Competitions to Watch

This Winter Olympics will be hosted in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and will feature plenty of incredible athletic competition. NBC has announced that it will broadcast over 1,800 hours of the Olympics this year, which is a record for any Winter Olympics. The US team will certainly be coming out in full-force, with their team looking to crush the competition. From a 17-year old snowboarding star, to a women’s ice hockey team that is hungry for a gold-medal, you can be sure to have pride in our athletes this year, as the level of competition is exceptionally high.

Alpine Skiing

Reigning world champ and Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin is looking to take home another incredible win during this years Olympics. At 18, she became the youngest athlete to ever win Olympic gold in the winter sport of Slalom, which involves skiing downhill between poles and gates. At 22 now, she’ll be looking to take home that gold again. She currently has the second-most World Cup wins of any female US skiers, coming in just behind Lindsey Vonn, who has been plagued with injuries in recent years.

Biathlon

Three-time Olympian Lowell Bailey will be trying to secure the first ever Olympic biathlon medal for the US. This will be a tough task for the Olympic athlete, who finished in 8th place at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. Nevertheless, Bailey is coming off a gold medal championship win, the first ever for the US. Lowell hopes to make history by bringing home the gold for the US, but will be facing steep competition, as the US is not known to heavily compete in the biathlon. Bailey was the first US athlete to qualify for the Olympics, so it shows his dedication to winning.

Bobsleigh

Elana Meyers Taylor is looking to lead the women’s bobsleigh team in 2018 to a victory. In the Sochi Olympics, she won the silver medal, but this year, she’s out for nothing other than gold. Taylor was the first American woman to ever win a bobsled world championship, with her win in 2015. She has been a proponent for gender equality in the sport, with her competing in the 4-man event with three male brakemen, a first for the Olympic sport.

Freestyle Skiing

Known for being some of the coolest competition the Olympics have to offer, we will be seeing the US come out in full force for this sport. You’ll want to keep an eye on Gus Kenworthy, who earned a silver in the slope-style competition in 2014 at Sochi. He has been a regular on the podium for many international competitions as well, including an incredible half pipe win at the 2015-2016 season at the US Grand Prix. He is also the first openly gay male athlete to compete in the Winter Olympic Games, and is a huge proponent for LGBTQ athletes.

Figure Skating

Nathan Chen will be the first US man in eight years to compete in the Olympics after winning the Grand Prix Final in Japan. Chen has beat out former reigning champs from Japan, and is looking to take home the gold. Fans are excited at the possibility of a men’s singles medal this year.