The 2018 Winter Olympics will take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea from February 9-25. Here are some of the stand out female athletes from Team USA that you should be sure to watch.
Lindsey Vonn
By Chloe Cornell
Chances are you’ve heard of Lindsey Vonn as this will be her fourth time competing in the Olympic games for Team USA. Vonn has previously won two Olympic medals – one gold and one bronze, but had to sit out the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi due to a knee injury. However she is recovered and back on top having just won her 81st World Cup victory this past weekend which is an all-time women’s record, and just five shy of an all-time world record. This recent performance certainly boosts her confidence heading into the Pyeongchang Olympics. Vonn said to the Associated press, “I feel really good physically, mentally. And everything is working well, my equipment is working well, my preparation is perfect. It really couldn’t be better going into the Olympics.” Let’s hope Vonn adds to that medal collection!
Chloe Kim
By Ellie Zimmerman and Sasha VanVredenburch
Chloe Kim, a 17 year old female athlete, will be competing in her first Olympics for snowboarding in the upcoming South Korea Olympic Games. Not even in college yet, this is Kim’s second time qualifying for the U.S.A. Olympic team, but the first time she will be eligible to compete in the Olympics. Kim’s father taught her to snowboard at four-years-old and she started competing as a member of Team Mountain High at age six. According to USskiandboard.com, Kim grew up as a “fierce competitor who worked very hard to get in the front of the pack.” She has had many prior snowboarding accomplishments, such as winning medals at the X Games for four consecutive years, and coming in first at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. In addition, Kim is the only female athlete who can perform two 1080s in a row. People Magazine recently referred to Kim as “The Future of Women’s Snowboarding,” and said she is “widely considered one of America’s best shots at gold.” Obviously, Chloe Kim has earned their title of the “Now of Women’s Snowboarding.”
USA Women’s Ice Hockey Team
By Chloe Cornell
The women of this 2018 U.S Olympic ice hockey team are going for gold! Canada has won the last four Olympic gold medals after the USA won in 1998, the first year that women’s ice hockey was an Olympic sport. Beating out Canada for the World Cup last spring and training intensely since then has certainly put the USA team in a strong position. In addition, ten of the 23 players on the team have previously played in the Olympics. Though the sport is dominated by USA and Canada, it is becoming more popular worldwide, and the excitement of watching these two powerhouse teams play against each other at the Olympics will continue to increase the popularity of women’s ice hockey.
Maddie Bowman
By Chloe Cornell
Maddie Bowman has already made Olympic history, by winning the first Olympic gold medal awarded for the women’s halfpipe – introduced to the Olympics in 2014. Bowman is one of the best female freeskiers in history, with five World Cup victories and nine X games medals, five of them gold. Bowman also made history in 2016 when she was the first female to land a switch 900 in a halfpipe competition at the X games in Aspen. While Bowman is still a leading contender for the gold medal this Olympics, she has to face stronger competition than she did four years ago. We wish the defending champion lots of luck!
Mikaela Shiffrin
By Chloe Cornell
At 18 years old, Mikaela Shiffrin was the youngest athlete to ever win Olympic gold for slalom skiing. Now 22 years old, the reigning world champion slalom skier has the potential to become the first American woman to win three medals at one Olympics, competing in slalom, giant slalom and alpine combined. She could also possibly win two gold medals which was last accomplished by American Andrea Mead Lawrence in 1952. Shiffrin was born in Vail, Colorado to parents who are both former ski racers, and her mom Eileen Shiffrin is one of her coaches. Shiffrin is favored to win and her biggest obstacle will likely be combating her nerves, which is something she has admitted that she struggled with last year. However she recently told the Denver Post, “I’ve never felt so incredibly happy to be racing, so trusting in myself and my team and our goals and our process. I’m in a good place mentally, so I’m able to handle the racing, I’m able to handle the media and the questions.”
Tune in to the Olympics on February 11th to watch Shiffrin in her giant slalom race.
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February 2018 Issue
