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5 U.S. Olympians to watch in the Winter Olympics
5 U.S. athletes who are expected to wow at the Winter Olympics next month
Meet five star athletes who will be worth rooting for when the 2022 Winter Olympics start Feb. 4 in Beijing.
Chloe Kim: Half-pipe snowboarding
FILE — Chloe Kim, of the United States, holds the first place finish following the snowboarding halfpipe finals, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, during Dew Tour at Copper Mountain, Colo. (AP Photo/Hugh Carey, File)
Chloe Kim, a California native, is a 21-year-old half-pipe snowboarder.
Along with earning a gold medal in the women’s halfpipe snowboarding at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Kim has many other first-place wins in the X Games, FIS World Cup and Youth Olympics. She was also the youngest woman to ever land two 1080 spins in a row at the Olympics.
In addition to her athletic accolades, Kim is pursuing higher education at Princeton University. She is looking to repeat her gold medal in Beijing.
Dusty Henricksen: Slopestyle snowboarding
Dusty Henricksen, an 18-year-old from Mammoth Lakes, California, has proved to others that he is a rising star in the slopestyle snowboarding world.
In the 2021 X Games, Henricksen took home gold medals in the Slopestyle and Knuckle Huck competitions.
He was also the first American to win the gold medal in the X Games’ slopestyle competition since 2009.
Elana Meyers Taylor: Bobsled
Elana Meyers Taylor from USA takes first place at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022 . (Caroline Seidel/dpa via AP)
Elana Meyers Taylor, a 37-year-old bobsledder, is a veteran in the sport.
Meyers Taylor, who was born in California and raised in Georgia, won her first Olympic medal in 2010, then again in 2014 and 2018. She is also a four-time World Champion and eight-time World Championships medalist.
Although the pandemic and becoming a mom paused her career, she quickly regained her spot on the podium after competing in the Bobsleigh World Cup in January 2021.
As a three-time Olympian and Olympic-medalist, make sure to keep an eye on Meyers Taylor as she competes in both the two-women bobsled and monobob, a single-person bobsled race.
Brittany Bowe: Long track speed skating
FILE — United States' Brittany Bowe skates during the women's 1000-meter World Cup speedskating race at the Utah Olympic Oval, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Kearns, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Brittany Bowe qualified in the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m at the Speedskating Olympic Trials to secure her spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for the third time in her long track speed skating career.
To help a friend, Bowe gave up her spot in the 500m event so No. 1 ranked speedskater Erin Jackson — who slipped during the qualifier — can compete, too.
The 33-year-old Florida native speed skater is also an American record holder and ranked No. 2 in the world in the 1500m.
Nathan Chen: Figure skating
Nathan Chen competes in the men's free skate program during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
Not many 22-year-olds are world record holders, especially in two events.
Nathan Chen, a Utah-born Olympic figure skater at the Pyeongchang Olympics, currently holds the world record in two figure skating events: free skate and total combined score.
After his fifth-place finish at the 2018 Olympics, Chen was undefeated in every competition — both domestic and international — until October 2021.
As the gold medal favorite for the 2022 Winter Olympics, make sure to keep an eye out for Chen as he performs in figure skating events.
Hanah Kitamoto is a senior at Iowa City West High School and the co-editor-in-chief of the West Side Story.
FILE — Chloe Kim, of the United States, holds the first place finish following the snowboarding halfpipe finals, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, during Dew Tour at Copper Mountain, Colo. (AP Photo/Hugh Carey, File)
Elana Meyers Taylor from USA takes first place at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022 . (Caroline Seidel/dpa via AP)
FILE — United States' Brittany Bowe skates during the women's 1000-meter World Cup speedskating race at the Utah Olympic Oval, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Kearns, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Nathan Chen competes in the men's free skate program during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
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