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Cheer on these local athletes at the 2022 Winter Games

A few of the top athletes competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China were raised in the Pacific Northwest.

Several athletes and coaches with ties to western Washington are traveling to Beijing, China to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Here is a round-up of names to watch out for and cheer on at home.

Jean-Luc Baker

Ice dancing

Hometown: Edmonds

Credit: AP
USA's Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker perform during the ice dance - free dance program of the ISU World Team Trophy figure skating competition in Osaka, western Japan, Friday, April 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Competing with Kaitlin Hawayek since at least 2013-2014, Jean-Luc Baker, 28, and his partner finished 11th in ice dancing on Feb. 13.

The U.S. team of Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue won the bronze medal.

Prior to that, the pair took third during the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Nashville, Tennessee. Before that, they took first during the 2021-22 ISU Challenger Series in Zagreb, Croatia and fifth during the 2022 ISU Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia.

Sean Beighton

Coach, USA curling team

Hometown: Seattle

Credit: AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File
From left, Team Shuster's John Landsteiner, Matt Hamilton, coach Sean Beighton, Chris Plys and John Shuster pose with their gold medals after winning their match against Team Dropkin during the third night of finals at the U.S. Olympic Curling Team Trials at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb., Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. Team Shuster won the match will represent Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Born in Edmonds and graduating from the University of Washington, Sean Beighton's experience includes being the 2010 U.S. junior men's national champion, 2013 men's national champion and a two-time mixed national champion. He placed fifth during the 2014 Olympic Team trials and fourth in 2018.

Matty Beniers

USA Men's Hockey

No. 1 pick of Seattle Kraken

Credit: AP
University of Michigan center Matty Beniers (10) skates during an NCAA college hockey practice in Ann Arbor, Mich., Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. A majority of the 2021 NHL draft class elected to spend one more season developing before making the jump to the world's top hockey league. The expansion Seattle Kraken took Matt Beniers No. 2 overall. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Matty Beniers was the Seattle Kraken No. 1 draft pick and second overall. Beniers currently plays at the University of Michigan. In the 2021 USA World Championships, Beniers scored one goal and had one assist in six games.

Katie Hensien

Alpine skiing

Home mountain: Crystal Mountain

Katie Hensien, 22, grew up skiing Crystal Mountain. She was named to the U.S. Ski Team in 2018, after finishing fourth in the slalom during the 2018 world junior championships. She will compete in the slalom.

Credit: AP
Third place finisher Katie Hensien celebrates on the podium after a women's U.S. Alpine Championship slalom skiing race in Aspen, Colo.

Results: Hensien finished 26th in women’s slalom on Feb. 8. Click here to see the full list of event results.

Samuel Knazko

Slovakia National Hockey Team

Plays for: Seattle Thunderbirds, Blue Jackets draft pick

Credit: AP
Jesper Jensen Aabo of Denmark, right, and Samuel Knazko of Slovakia battle for the puck during the Ice Hockey World Championship group A match between the Denmark and Slovakia at the Olympic Sports Center in Riga, Latvia, Saturday, May 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Oksana Dzadan)

Sam Knazko will play for Slovakia’s hockey team. The 19-year-old is a defenseman for the Seattle Thunderbirds. He was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

Eunice Lee

Short track speed skating

Hometown: Bellevue

Credit: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Eunice Lee competes in the women's 1,000-meter quarterfinal during the U.S. Olympic short track speedskating trials Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, in Kearns, Utah.

Eunice Lee, 17, was little known in the world of speed skating until she grabbed the fifth and final spot on Team USA's team. Lee will compete in relays during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Novie McCabe

Cross Country Skiing

Hometown: Winthrop

Credit: Contributed
Novie McCabe from Winthrop, Wash.

Novie McCabe grew up cross-country skiing in Methow Valley. The 20-year-old finished ninth in the 2020 world junior championships in the 15km freestyle and anchored the women's team to a silver medal in the 4x3.3km relay. She was named to the 2019-2020 U.S. development team and made her world cup debut just a few months ago at Tour de Ski, taking seventh during the final stage and 24th overall.

Results: McCabe finished 24th in the women's 10km individual cross country event on Feb. 9. Click here to see the full results.

Corinne Stoddard

Short track speed skating

Hometown: Tacoma

Credit: AP
Corinne Stoddard competes in the women's 1000-meter semifinal during the U.S. Olympic short track speedskating trials Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, in Kearns, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

A former medalist at the junior world championships, Corrine Stoddard, 20, ranked in the 500, 1,000 and 1,500-meter and relays.

Results: Stoddard advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s short track 1000m on Feb. 9. Her quarterfinals race will be held at 3 a.m. PST on Feb. 11.

During the 500m heats and her Olympic debut, Stoddard crashed, breaking her nose. She announced she was cleared to skate despite the injury.

In the mixed-team relay, Stoddard and Team USA ranked eighth.

Stoddard finished seventh in the 1000 meter.

She took 18th in the 1,500 meter.

Jacqueline Wiles

Alpine skiing

Former racing team: White Pass

Credit: AP
United States' Jacqueline Wiles speeds down the course during a women's downhill training, at the alpine ski World Championships, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Marco Tacca)

A Portland native, Jacqueline Wiles, 29, skied for the racing team at White Pass. Wiles won the 2013 and 2014 U.S. national downhill titles. She finished 26th in the downhill during the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Results: Wiles finished 21st during the women's downhill on Feb. 14 in Beijing, China during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Vic Wild

Parallel Giant Slalom

County: Russian Olympic Committee

Hometown: White Salmon, Washington

Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Bronze medalist Victor Wild, of the Russian Olympic Committee, celebrates during the venue ceremony for the men's parallel giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China.

Vic Wild, 35, grew up in White Salmon before marrying Alena Zavarzina, a top snowboarder from Russia, in 2011. Wild got citizenship there so he could compete for Russia starting at the 2014 Olympics after he was frustrated with a lack of financial support for the U.S. Team.

This is Wild’s third Winter Olympics. He won gold medals in the parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Results: Wild won bronze in parallel giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

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