U.S. athletes to watch at the 2018 Winter Olympics
From skaters to skiers to incredible snowboarders, the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic athletes are some of the best competitors in the world. Scroll through to read about those you need to watch.
Adam Rippon, 28, figure skating
Rippon is the 2016 U.S. national ice skating champion. The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be Rippon's first. He is the first openly gay male figure skater on the U.S. Olympic team.
Mirai Nagasu, 24, figure skating
Nagasu went to the 2010 Winter Olympics at the age of 16. She is a seven-time U.S. national medalist, and aims to land the triple axel at the 2018 Winter Games.
Gus Kenworthy, 26, freestyle skiing
The British-born, American skier is the only male athlete competing in all of the skiing competitions. Kenworthy was the winner of the silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics for freestyle skiing.
Alex Shibutani, 26, and Maia Shibutani, 23, ice dancing
Siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani are two-time U.S. national champions. They previously competed in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Bradie Tennell, 20, ice skating
Tennell is from Chicago, where she continues to train. She is the reigning U.S. national champion and the only woman from the United States to have taken home a medal at the 2017 Bridgestone Skate America Grand Prix.
Jessie Diggins, 26, cross-country skiing
The 26-year-old Minnesota native previously competed in the 2014 Olympics. In 2017, she came in 6th place overall in the FIS World Cup.
Chloe Kim, 17, snowboarding
Kim was too young to compete in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, but she competed in the 2014 Winter X Games, earning silver.
Shani Davis, 35, speed skating
Davis, a four-time Olympic medalist, is the first black athlete to win gold in an individual event at the Winter Olympics. He made waves ahead of the 2018 games by complaining about the coin toss that kept him from being Team USA's flagbearer at the Pyeongchang Opening Ceremony.
"No problem. I can wait until 2022. #BlackHistoryMonth2018," he tweeted.
Karen Chen, 18, ice skating
At the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, California-born Chen placed third in the short program and fourth in the free skate.
Steve Langton, 34, bobsled
Langton, who hails from Massachusetts, claimed to be retired in 2015. He came back, however, to qualify for the Pyeongchang games.
Lindsey Vonn, 33, alpine skiing
The Minnesota-born athlete is the winner of four World Cup championships and is the most decorated female alpine skier in the history of the event. This is her fourth Winter Olympics. Vonn had to sit out the 2014 Sochi Games due to injuries.
Meghan Duggan, 30, hockey
Previously the team captain at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Duggan also played on the 2010 U.S. women's hockey team, earning a silver medal.
Mikaela Shiffrin, 22, alpine skiing
Shiffrin was born in Vail, Colorado. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Schiffrin, then 18, became the youngest skier ever to win the slalom gold medal.
Shaun White, 31, snowboarding
The San Diego snowboarder won back-to-back gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 Olympic games. He is also the recipient of 10 ESPY Awards.
Brianna Decker, 26, hockey
Decker went to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and will make her return at the Pyeongchang games. She has played for the U.S. in six world championship tournaments.
Elana Meyers Taylor, 33, bobsled
Raised in Georgia, Elana Meyers Taylor is a versatile athlete who also played in the 2014 China Women's Sevens on the United States women's national rugby union team.
Erin Jackson, 25, speed skating
Until this past fall, Jackson had only competed on inline roller skates. She made the switch to ice just four months ago, and has made history by becoming the first black woman to compete on the U.S. Olympic speed skating team.
Ted Ligety, 33, alpine ski racing
Ligety is a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Salt Lake City. He came in first place in the men's giant slalom at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Erin Hamlin, 31, luge
Hamlin, from Remsen, New York, is the 2018 Opening Ceremony flagbearer for Team USA. She won a bronze medal in Sochi in 2014, the first U.S. athlete ever to make the Olympic podium in a singles luge event. This is her fourth Olympics.
Chris Mazdzer, 29, luge
Mazdzer, originally from Massachusetts, made his Olympic debut in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He also competed in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, where he placed 13th.
Jamie Anderson, 27, snowboarding
Anderson is the 2014 Sochi Olympics gold medalist for slopestyle. She was born in Lake Tahoe, California, and has 11 total medals.
Erik Bjornsen, 26, cross country skiing
Bjornsen, originally from Washington state, previously competed in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Bjornsen had his skiing debut in the 2012 World Cup.
Nathan Chen, 18, figure skating
The Salt Lake City native holds the title of the 2017-18 Grand Prix Final champion as well as the 2017 and 2018 U.S. national champion. In addition to ice skating, Chen spent six years at Salt Lake City's Ballet West Academy.
Kelly Clark, 34, snowboarding
Clark's first trip to the Olympics was in 2002 when she was 18. In 2011, she was the first female snowboarder to land a 1080 move in the halfpipe competition.