CONNECTICUT, USA — Connecticut has no shortage of talent heading off to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Nine athletes from across the state are participating in the Games this year and all athletes cover a wide variety of events.
Here are the athletes to watch:
Strauss Mann
Strauss Mann from Greenwich is a member of the U.S. Men's Hockey team. He was a goaltender at the University of Michigan and was the 2020 Big Ten Goaltender of the year as well as First Team All-Star.
In his professional career, he is currently playing in Sweden for Skelleftea AIK. He leads the league with a .930 save percentage. This is his first time representing the United States at the Olympics.
Julia Marino
Julia Marino from Westport is a member of the U.S. Snowboard Team. Marino will be participating in the slopestyle and big air events. This is her second Winter Olympics as she participated in 2018.
In 2018, Marino came in 16th in the slopestyle/big air event, which was second amongst American participants. She also has been participating in X-Games competitions where she has medaled 7 times.
Mac Forehand
Mac Forehand from Southport is on the Olympic Freeski Team. He'll be participating in the Freeski Slopestyle events during the games. Forehand is only 19 years old. At 17, he made history by winning the Overall World Cup Title in slopestyle.
Olivia Giaccio
Olivia Giaccio from Redding is on the Olympic Freestyle and Mogul team. She attends Columbia University and has been a member of the U.S. Olympic team since 2017.
Giaccio became the first woman in history to complete a cork 1080 during the mogul's World Cup earlier this year in Canada. She first attempted this trick in 2019 but did not succeed.
2022 Olympic Results
Feb. 3: Giaccio qualified for the ski moguls final with a score of 78.11 (4th)
Lindsey Jacobellis
Lindsey Jacobellis from Roxbury is on the Olympic Snowboarding team. She is a four-time olympian and has 1 silver medal. She medaled in her first Olympics in Torino in the Snowboardcross event.
Her fifth Olympic appearance this year ties her with the all-time record of most times participating in an Olympics. She is also a 10 time X Games gold medalist and competed in it for the first time at the age of 15. She is regarded as the most decorated athlete in snowboardcross history.
Zachary Donohue
Zachary Donohue from Madison is on the U.S. Figure Skating team and participates in the ice dance event. In the ice dance event, he participates with his partner Madison Hubbell. In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Donohue and Hubbell placed fourth in their event.
in 2021, Donohue won the silver medal in the World Championship for their rhythm dance performance.
Tucker West
Tucker West from Ridgefield is on the U.S. Luge team and will be in his third straight Olympics. West came in 26th in 2018's Winter Olympics and is still searching for a first-time Olympic medal.
West also has 3 World Cup victories in Luge and has a total of 10 World Cup medals.
Kristen Santos
Kristen Santos from Fairfield is on the U.S. Speedskating team. Santos was not able to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics due to an injury so these games will be a first for her.
Coming into December she was the number 1 ranked U.S. woman in short-track speedskating. She won the 1,500-meter event at the U.S. short-track speedskating Olympic trials on December 18th, which qualified her to participate.
Emily Sweeney
Emily Sweeney from Suffield is on the U.S. Luge team and will be competing in her second straight Winter Olympics. Despite Sweeney suffering a major injury during a crash in a 2018 Olympic event, she is still heavily favored to medal in this year's Olympics.
In 2020, Sweeney won 2 silver medals in the World Cup Races and won a bronze medal in the 2019 World Championship. Sweeney is also a member of the U.S. Army/World Class Athlete Program.
We'll be following along with all of these athletes throughout the 2022 Winter Olympics so make sure to stay locked into our coverage for updates on their results.
Daniel Dashefsky is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at ddashefsky@fox61.com.
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