A day before the official Winter Olympics opening ceremony, the US Olympic women’s figure skating team was announced. The nine-member 2016 US Olympic team is led by 17-year old Mariah Bell of Kansas City, Missouri. She has had experience on the world stage as she competed in the 2014 Sochi Games.
18 year old Karen Chen, last year’s US silver medalist, will be joined by fellow Californian and triple jumper Vashti Cunningham. Though she did not compete for a spot on the team, Mirai Nagasu was named as an alternate. In total, there are six Olympians from Sochi competing in PyeongChang. The men’s team consists of Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon, Vincent Zhou, Alex Shibutani, Maia Shibutani and Chris Kinney. Notable absences include Gracie Gold who has struggled with an eating disorder throughout this season.
The big names are expected to take the ice on Thursday in the opening ceremony for figure skating which begins at 8 p.m. EST.
Mariah Bell led the US Olympic Women’s figure skating team, which includes Mirai Nagasu, Karen Chen, and Bradie Tennell. The team is considered to be competitive at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea this year.
Tennell skated after Bell in the women’s singles event at the national championships in San Jose, California a few weeks ago. Tennell won the gold medal and will compete in February at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Tennell was praised for her performance by renowned skating commentator Scott Hamilton, who is often called “The Voice of Figure Skating.” He has been covering figure skating at the Olympics since 1998.
Hamilton said he is “impressed” with Tennell and believes she has a chance to win gold in February at the Winter Olympics in South Korea. Tennell only started skating when she was nine years old after watching her older sister, Christina, practice. Her coach Tracey Hannan said that “she’s never had an attitude where we’ve had to kick her out of the rink.” Tennell added: “I remember I cried and begged my mom for days and days and I would tell [Christina] how unfair it was because [she] got to skate on TV [and] I had to go home.”
In addition to Bell, Karen Chen skated after Bradie Tennell in the women’s singles event at the national championships in San Jose, California a few weeks ago. Chen won the silver medal and will compete in February at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Chen was praised for her performance by renowned skating commentator Scott Hamilton, who is often called “The Voice of Figure Skating.” He has been covering figure skating at the Olympics since 1998.
