In this Dec. 17, 2016, file photo, second-place finisher Emily Sweeney, of the United States, celebrates as she slides to the finish after a women’s World Cup Luge sprint event in Park City, Utah. (AP file photo)
These athletes with Maine ties will compete in the Winter Olympics.
Troy Murphy
Hometown: Bethel
Event: Moguls skiing
Age: 25
Personal: 2014 FIS Rookie of the Year; 2015 national champ; 2017, ranked sixth in the world after six Top 10 finishes; attended Gould Academy (2010); lives in Park City, Utah.
Outlook: Murphy entered the season as the top-ranked U.S. moguls skier but struggled at times and is ranked 12th in the world. Still, he had a podium finish, placing third in China in December, and has several high-degree of difficulty jumps.
Event schedule: Qualifying round, 9:45 p.m. Thursday; Finals, 7 a.m. Feb. 12.
Emily Sweeney
Hometown: Suffield, Conn.
Event: Luge
Age: 24
Personal: Born in Portland, lived in Falmouth before moving to Connecticut; 2013 junior world champion; has one gold medal on the World Cup tour (2017); sister Megan competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Outlook: Sweeney is the lone rookie on the women’s luge team, but she’s proven she can medal with her first-place finish in Winterberg, Germany, earlier this season. It would take near-perfect runs to medal again.
Event schedule: Runs 1-2, 5:50 a.m. Feb. 12; Runs 3-4, 5:30 a.m. Feb. 13.
Kaitlynn Miller
Hometown: Elmore, Vt.
College: Bowdoin College (2014)
Event: Cross-country skiing
Age: 26
Personal: Considered the finest Nordic skier in Bowdoin history, still holds seven of the top eight individual finishes in women’s program’s history; is seventh Bowdoin athlete to compete in Olympics; won Classic Sprint national title in 2016; finished third in 1.3k classic race and fourth in 1.3k freestyle race in U.S. championships this year; born in Hillsborough, N.J.
Outlook: This is Miller’s first appearance in the Olympics. While among the best American cross-country sprint skiers, this is a very deep team and she may not ski until later in the Games.
Event schedule: Cross-country races will be held Feb. 10-25.
Jimmy Reed
Hometown: Garmisch, Germany
College: University of Maine (2014)
Event: Bobsled (alternate)
Age: 26
Personal: Reed was born in Bloomington, Ind.; competed in track at UMaine as a hurdler and still holds three school records. He has competed on both the U.S. No. 1 and No. 2 bobsled teams as a pusher.
Outlook: Reed suffered a hamstring injury before the World Cup season and has not competed this year. But his past performances earned him a spot on the team as an alternate.
Event schedule: Heats 1-2, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23; Heats 3-4, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24.
Dinos Lefkaritis
Hometown: Larnaca, Cyprus
College: Bates
Event: Alpine skiing
Age: 22
Personal: A junior at Bates studying engineering and economics, Lefkaritis is the only Olympic athlete from Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. He is the 12th Bates Olympic athlete and first male Alpine skier from the school.
Outlook: In two seasons at Bates, Lefkaritis competed in only two carnivals and his best finish was 47th in giant slalom. That he beat out other countrymen for the lone Olympic spot allotted to Cyprus means he gets the honor of carrying the flag in opening ceremonies.
Event schedule: Men’s giant slalom 8:15 p.m. Feb. 18; Slalom 8:15 p.m. Feb. 21.
Clare Egan
Hometown: Cape Elizabeth
College: Wellesley
Event: Biathlon
Age: 30
Personal: A 2006 graduate of Cape Elizabeth High, Egan grew up as a multisport athlete with interests in music and languages. She became the first track and field All-American at Wellesley, where she also started a Nordic ski club and is now the college’s first Winter and U.S. Olympian.
Outlook: After three seasons of upward trajectory, this winter has not gone as well as planned for Egan, who became ill (for the second time) on the eve of the Games. Still, she resumed training earlier this week and plans to race on Saturday. Mixed relay could be her best event.
Event schedule: 7.5k Sprint, 6:15 a.m. Saturday; 15k Individual, 6:05 a.m. Feb. 14; Mixed Relay, 6:15 a.m. Feb. 20; Women’s 4-by-6k Relay, 6:15 a.m. Feb. 22.
Russell Currier
Hometown: Stockholm, Maine
Event: Biathlon
Age: 30
Personal: A 2006 graduate of Caribou High, Currier came of age just as the Maine Winter Sports Center – now known as Outdoor Sport Institute – was blossoming in Aroostook County after building Nordic venues in Presque Isle and Fort Kent. Currier competed in junior world championships in 2007 and 2008 and burst onto the World Cup scene with a pair of sixth-place finishes in Sprint in the 2011-12 season.
Outlook: Six years have passed since Currier finished among the top 30 at a World Cup event, but his superior ski speed makes him a threat in shorter races. Shooting, often an area of concern, has been improving. A relay medal is not out of the question.
Event schedule: It’s unclear which events USBA coaches will enter Currier, as the fifth man in races that allow four spots for the United States. In Sochi, he raced the Sprint, Individual and Men’s Relay. Those are scheduled for 6:15 a.m. Sunday; 6 a.m. Feb. 15; and 6:15 a.m. Feb. 23.
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