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Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine Skiing
Shiffrin became the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history when she took home gold in the 2014 Sochi Winter Games just three weeks shy of her 19th birthday. After finishing first in the slalom and third in the giant slalom at the 2017 Alpine World Ski Championships, Shiffrin is expected to medal in both events in Pyeongchang.
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Shaun White, Snowboarding
Does Shaun White still have it? That was one of the biggest question marks coming into the Pyeonchang Olympics after he failed to medal in 2014 and many thought his career might be over. But any talk of being done should be laid to rest for now after he scored a perfect 100 at the U.S. Grand Prix in Snowmass, Colo. He will be looking for his third gold medal in the halfpipe after finishing first in Turin and Vancouver.
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Maame Biney, Speedskating
If you've never heard of Maame Biney before, you are not alone. She's only 17 and just started skating in 2005, but Biney could be one of the best stories of the Olympics. Not only is she the first African-American woman to make either the US Olympic short track or speed skating team, but she will be only the second African-born athlete (Ghana) to represent the United States at the Winter Olympics. Biney will compete in two races (500 and 1500 meters), but the 500 meters is the one to watch. She finished first at the Olympic Team Trials with a time of 43.35 seconds, which is one second shy of the world record.
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Chloe Kim, Snowboarding
At just 17 years old, Kim could end up being one of the biggest faces of these Winter Games. She came on to the scene at age 13 at the 2014 Winter X Games where she won a silver and people started to take notice. Two years later at the 2016 Winter X Games, she became the first person under the age of 16 to win three gold medals and then won two golds at the Winter Youth Olympics. She also became the first woman to land back-to-back 1080s in a halfpipe event. And now she looks for her first Olympic medal in the country where her father was born.
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Brian Gionta, Men's Ice Hockey
There won't be many familiar faces on the men's ice hockey team for the United States, but you might remember Brian Gionta. The captain on the squad, who is 39 years old, played for the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, and will be looking to guide the U.S. men to a medal.
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Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skiing
The most dominant female alpine skier in the history of the sport, Vonn will be competing in her fourth -- and most likely last -- Olympic games. At 33 years old, she is trying to become the oldest skier to win an alpine medal where she will try to tie former teammate Julia Mancuso -- who retired this season -- as the most decorated U.S. female alpine skier in Olympic competition. She missed the 2014 Games with injuries after winning gold and bronze in 2010 in Vancouver.
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Maddie Bowman, Freestyle Skiing
The reigning women's halfpipe gold medalist returns as the overwhelming favorite to win gold again. She has dominated the halfpipe at the Winter X Games, winning five golds, a silver and a bronze from 2012-2018.
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Elana Meyers Taylor, Bobsleigh
After winning bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and silver in Sochi in 2014, Meyers Taylor is back for that missing gold medal. She was so close to gold last time around, missing out by 0.10 seconds to Canada in the 2014 Sochi Games. Taylor, who pilots the two-person sled, became the first U.S. female bobsled driver to win a world championship (2015). She claimed her second world championship gold medal in 2017.
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Nathan Chen, Figure Skating
Chen is the overwhelming favorite to become the second American man to win figure skating gold since 1992 (Evan Lysacek won in 2010). Why? Because Chen is the only skater that attempts five different styles of quadruple jumps. Even if Chen stumbles or falls, his degree of difficulty is so high, he should have no problem winning at least bronze.
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Jamie Anderson, Snowboarding
Afer winning the first Olympic gold medal in slopestyle in 2014 with a score of 95.25, Anderson will be favored to claim the event again this year. She recently won her fifth gold medal in snowboard slopestyle at the Winter X games after scoring a 94.0 on her second round.
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Lindsey Jacobellis, Snowboarding
Jacobellis has competed at every Olympics since snowboard cross made its debut in 2006, but has just one silver medal to show for it. She crashed on the final jump celebrating too early and finished second in 2006. Then in 2010 and 2014 she was eliminated in the semifinals and failed to medal. Now at age 32, she will look to earn another medal in what will probably be her final Olympics.
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J.R. Celski, Speedskating
Another athlete who has been in the Olympics before, but failed to win that gold medal is J.R. Celski. He won bronze in the 2010 games and earned a silver in the 2014 Games as a member of the men's 5000-meter relay team. He will once again compete in the 1000 meter and 1500-meter races, where he finished 13th and 4th respectively in 2014. His best chance at gold will be on the relay squad, where the men's team will try to earn a fourth-straight Olympic medal.
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Jessica Diggins, Cross Country Skiing
Diggins returns to the Olympics after finishing eighth in the Skiathlon at the 2014 Sochi Games, which was the second-best Olympic finish by an American skier. She also finished ninth in the relay race, the best Olympic finish for an American women's cross-country relay team.
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Bradie Tennell, Figure Skating
After finishing first in the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championship, the 19-year-old will be one of the favorites to medal and beat the strong Canadian team in women's figure skating. It would be a great story for somebody who wasn't even on the radar a year ago.
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Ted Ligety, Alpine Skiing
Ligety has had his ups and downs in the Olympics, but hopes to earn another medal in what could be his final games. In 2006 at the Turin Winter Games, he became the youngest American male skier to win a gold when he won the combined. In 2010 in Vancouver, he finished ninth in the giant slalom and fifth in the super combined. At the 2014 Sochi Games, he won gold in the giant slalom, but finished 12th in the super combined and 14th in the Super G.
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Shani Davis, Speedskating
Does Shani Davis have one more run left in him? At 35, Davis will be competing in his fourth Olympic Games, but failed to medal in 2014, finishing 24th in the 500 meters, 8th in the 1000 meters and 11th in the 1500 meters.
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Jonathan Cheever, Snowboarding
After missing the 2010 team and again failing to make the 2014 squad, Cheever finally earned his spot on the Olympic team after qualifying at age 32. Cheever, who works as a plumber part-time to help pay for his travel costs, will compete in men's snowboard cross.
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Heather Bergsma, Speedskating
Bergsma returns to her third Olympic Games still seeking that first medal. In the 2010 Vancouver Games she missed out on the podium in the 500, 1000 and 1500 meter races, while also missing in 2014 in the 1000, 1500 and 2x500 meter races. There are reasons to be much more optimistic this time around as she finished first in the 1000 meters at the U.S. speedskating trials.
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Kelly Clark, Snowboarding
She's baaack! Clark returns for her fifth Olympic games in the halfpipe and will be looking for her fourth medal and first gold medal since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She might not be favored for gold this time around, but she could be the oldest female to win a medal in snowboarding (at 34 years old).
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Lowell Bailey, Biathlon
The United States has never won a medal in the biathlon, but Bailey hopes to be the first. Bailey will be appearing in his fourth Olympic games, trying to best an 8th-place finish in the 20km event in the 2014 Sochi Games, which was the best Olympic finish by any U.S. biathlete in history.
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Erin Hamlin, Luge
The luge isn't a very popular sport in the United States, but Erin Hamlin is one to know. Hamlin was the first female luger to earn a medal at the Winter Olympics after winning bronze in the 2014 Sochi Games. Now appearing in her fourth Olympic games, Hamlin looks to end her career (she's retiring after the Olympics) with another medal.
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Mirai Nagasu, Figure Skating
Figure skaters don't usually skate in more than one Olympics, but Nagasu returns to the Olympics for the first time since finishing fourth in 2010. She made the team after finishing second at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, behind Bradie Tennell. Nagasu is not favored to earn a medal, but will have a chance to make history. She will attempt to be the first American woman to complete a triple axel at the Olympics.
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Gus Kenworthy, Freestyle Skiing
Kenworthy made headlines recently after becoming the second openly gay athlete for the United States, but he will be looking to make headlines for winning his first gold medal. He earned a silver at the Sochi Games in 2014 in slopestyle, finishing second to American Joss Christensen. But with Christensen not making the team in 2018, Kenworthy will be one to watch in the event. He most recently finished third in the men's slopestyle at the 2017 World Cup in Switzerland.
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Matt Antoine, Skeleton
After winning a bronze in the 2014 Games -- the first American medal in skeleton since 2002 -- Antonie is back in an attempt to win gold. He is ranked 7th in the world so that won't be easy, but with four top-10 finishes in World Cup action, one good run could land him back on the podium.
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Brianna Decker, Ice Hockey
Decker was part of the U.S. Women's National Team that won a silver medal in the 2014 Sochi Games where she recorded two goals and four assists in five games. During the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship she had 12 points, including nine assists in five games.
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John Shuster, Curling
After a disappointing ninth-place finish as the skip of the men's curling team in 2014 Winter Games, Shuster is back to try to recapture the magic of winning bronze in the 2006 Games.
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Erin Jackson, Speed Skating
One of the biggest surprises of these games, Jackson qualified in long-track speed skating after just four months on the ice. She spent 15 years as a champion inline skater and also spent time in roller derby. Jackson also made history as she became the first African-American woman to make an Olympic team for long-track speedskating.
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Bryan Fletcher, Nordic Combined
Bryan might not be favored to win a medal, but his story is one that inspires us all. At the age of 4, he underwent chemotherapy for leukemia, surviving a stroke in the process, before going into remission at 8 years old. He took up skiing during his treatments, eventually finding his way to ski jumping and then this sport which combines cross country skiiing with ski jumping.
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Sarah Hendrickson, Ski Jumping
After battling a serious knee injury and finishing 21st at the 2014 Sochi Games, Hendrickson is back. She recently won bronze at the Winter X Games, so she hopes to carry that momentum into the 2018 Games and earn her first Olympic medal.
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Alex Shibutani and Maia Shibutani, Ice Dancing
The brother and sister ice dancing team have won a medal at every national championship at the senior level since 2011, including a first-place finish at the 2017 U.S. Championships. Failing to win a medal in Pyeongchang would be a major disappointment.
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Brittany Bowe, Speed Skating
Another inline skating star who turned to the ice, Bowe will be looking for redemption this time around. She had a disappointing 2014 Games where she finished 13th in the 500, 8th in the 1000 and 14th in the 1500-meter races. She will be competing in all three events again.
Credit: USATSI
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