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.
Ice dancing
Hometown: Edmonds
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
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.
USA Men's Hockey
No. 1 pick of Seattle Kraken
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.
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.
Results: Hensien finished 26th in women’s slalom on Feb. 8. Click here to see the full list of event results.
Slovakia National Hockey Team
Plays for: Seattle Thunderbirds, Blue Jackets draft pick
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.
Short track speed skating
Hometown: Bellevue
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.
Cross Country Skiing
Hometown: Winthrop
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.
Short track speed skating
Hometown: Tacoma
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.
Alpine skiing
Former racing team: White Pass
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.
Parallel Giant Slalom
County: Russian Olympic Committee
Hometown: White Salmon, Washington
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.