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Meet Team Minnesota

Here are the 30 athletes with connections to Minnesota competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics held in PyeongChang, South Korea.
(Credit: KARE 11)

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - The PyeongChang Winter Olympics are underway! Governor Mark Dayton recognized 20 Minnesota athletes competing in the games, declaring Feb. 8, 2018 to be "Minnesota Winter Olympians Day."

Minnesota has the third-most Winter Olympians of any state in the nation, behind only California and Colorado.

KARE 11 will be following 30 athletes with Minnesota connections. Here's a complete guide:

David Chodounsky (Credit: NBC)

David Chodounsky, Alpine Skiing (Men)

Born in St. Paul, Chodounsky grew up skiing with Lindsey Vonn before they both moved to Colorado. Nicknamed "Daver," David is a technical events specialist for the U.S. Ski Team. He was the NCAA slalom champion at Dartmouth College, where he graduated from with a degree engineering and geology. His wife, Ramsay, was also collegiate ski racer. (Instagram)

Lindsey Vonn (Credit: NBC)

Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skiing (Women)

Vonn is the most decorated female Alpine ski racer in World Cup history, with more race victories and season titles than any other woman. At the Olympics, the “Speed Queen” became the first U.S. woman to win a downhill gold medal in 2010. Four years later, a right knee injury prevented her from attempting to defend her Olympic title. In PyeongChang, at 33, she could become the oldest woman to claim an Olympic Alpine medal. Vonn was born in St. Paul. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Leif Nordgren (Credit: NBC)

Leif Nordgren, Biathlon (Men)

Nordgren grew up in Marine, Minnesota and started skiing when he was three-years-old. Nordgren was first introduced to biathlon through his sister, Sonne, who raced on the U.S. world junior circuit from 2003-05. Deciding he lacked the broad body necessary to make hockey his sport of choice, Leif followed his sister into biathlon, getting his hands on his first rifle at 14. He later attended Forest Lake High School. More recently Nordgren’s skills are utilized on the men’s relay team, where the U.S. has finished in the Top 10 in the past two world championships. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Rosie Frankowski (Credit: NBC)

Rosie Frankowski, Cross-Country Skiing (Women)

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Frankowski now lives in Anchorage, Alaska. Her hobbies include baking, playing the ukulele, dancing, mushroom foraging, and salmon fishing. This is her first Olympic games. (Instagram)

Anne Hart (Credit: NBC)

Anne Hart, Cross-Country Skiing (Women)

Hart was born in St. Paul and grew up in Stillwater. This is her first Olympic games where she'll be competing in the Women's Classic Sprint. Hart attended Dartmouth College and was named a five-time All-American. She enjoys CrossFit, cooking, baking, and running with her dogs. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Jessie Diggins (Credit: NBC)

Jessie Diggins, Cross-Country Skiing (Women)

Jessie Diggins fell in love with skiing along cross-country trails at an early age. She was born in St. Paul and raised in Afton, Minnesota. Today, Diggins is the most decorated U.S. cross-country athlete in world championship history. Diggins enters her second Olympic Games in PyeongChang, having first raced under the Olympic flame in Sochi in 2014. She had her best result in Sochi in the Skiathlon. Diggins has many believing she could break the 41-year U.S. Olympic cross-country medal drought. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

John Shuster (Credit: NBC)

John Shuster, Curling (Men)

Shuster was born and raised in Chisholm. He attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth and now lives in Duluth. Shuster is making his fourth Olympic appearance in PyeongChang. In his Olympic debut at the 2006 Torino Games, Shuster and his teammates, including skip Pete Fenson, won a history-making bronze medal—the first-ever Olympic medal for U.S. curlers. (Facebook, Twitter)

John Landsteiner (Credit: NBC)

John Landsteiner, Curling (Men)

Landsteiner was born and raised in Mapleton and also attended UMD. Landsteiner made his Olympic debut at the 2014 Sochi Games as the lead player on John Shuster’s U.S. rink. Off the ice, Landsteiner works full-time as an engineer whose office building in Duluth is conveniently linked to his curling club. (Twitter)

Tyler George (Credit: NBC)

Tyler George, Curling (Men)

George is a liquor store manager in Duluth, where he was born and raised. He started curling at the age of 10. George joined the rink of John Shuster the season after the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Playing the position of third, George helped Shuster’s team to a bronze medal at the 2016 World Championships, as well as national titles in 2015 and 2017. (Facebook, Twitter)

Joe Polo (Credit: NBC)

Joe Polo, Curling (Men)

Polo lives in Cass Lake, Minnesota. He missed out on the 2010 and 2014 Olympics but will serve as an alternate on John Shuster's rink at the 2018 Winter Games. This is his second Olympics, having won the bronze medal in 2006. (Facebook, Twitter)

Tabitha Peterson (Credit: NBC)

Tabitha Peterson, Curling (Women's)

An Eagan native, Peterson resides in St. Paul where she's been a long-time member of the Curling Club. Peterson missed out on the 2014 Sochi Olympics after her four-woman team finished second at the U.S. Olympic Trials. In 2016, Peterson formed a new team with Skip Nina Roth; Peterson plays third position with Aileen Geving at second and Becca Hamilton at lead. Peterson and her partner, Joe Polo, won a bronze medal at the 2016 World Mixed Doubles Championship. (Twitter, Instagram)

Aileen Geving (Credit: NBC)

Aileen Geving, Curling (Women's)

After trying curling for the first time at 10 years old, Aileen Geving cried when the game ended because she didn’t want to stop playing. Now 30 years old, Geving’s curling career has taken her to three U.S. Olympic Trials from 2006 to 2014, where she finished in the top five all three times but didn’t make the Olympic team. Geving lives in Duluth and works at an insurance agency.

Cory Christensen (Credit: NBC)

Cory Christensen, Curling (Women's)

Christensen is a UMD grad and now lives in Duluth. She was named the 2016 Female Athlete of the Year by USA Curling and will be serving as an alternate in PyeongChang. She enjoys paddle boarding, swimming, hiking, camping and fishing. (Twitter, Instagram)

Caroline Claire (Credit: NBC)

Caroline Claire, Freestyle Skiing (Women's Slopestyle)

Claire was born in Edina and just celebrated her 18th birthday. She now lives in Stratton, Vermont where she attends school. She enjoys football and watching the New York Yankees. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Ryan Stoa (Credit: NBC)

Ryan Stoa, Hockey (Men's)

Stoa was born and raised in Bloomington. While playing for the University of Minnesota he was a First Team All-American in 2009. Stoa was a second-round pick [34th overall] in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft for the Colorado Avalanche. He joined Spartak Moscow in 2016. (Twitter)

Garrett Roe (Credit: NBC)

Garrett Roe, Hockey (Men's)

A native of Vienna, Virginia, Roe attended St. Cloud State University where he earned multiple Western Collegiate Hockey Association honors. He now plays with EV Zug in the Swiss National League. (Twitter, Instagram)

Jordan Greenway (Credit: NBC)

Jordan Greenway, Hockey (Men's)

Greenway was chosen by the Minnesota Wild in the second round, 50th overall pick, of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. At the start of the 2017/18 season he had the chance to turn professional and join the Wild, but chose to stay at Boston University for at least another year. He was the first African-American player to be named to a US Olympic men's ice hockey roster. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Will Borgen (Credit: NBC)

Will Borgen, Hockey (Men's)

Borgen is a native of Moorhead, Minnesota and attends St. Cloud State University, majoring in sports management. He was chosen by the Buffalo Sabres in the fourth round, 92nd overall pick, of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. (Twitter, Instagram)

Lee Stecklein (Credit: NBC)

Lee Stecklein, Hockey (Women's)

Stecklein landed on her first U.S. Olympic hockey team earlier than expected. After she impressed 2014 Sochi Olympic head coach Katey Stone with her speed and puck skills, Stone gave Stecklein a spot on the roster headed for Russia. At 19 years old, Stecklein was the youngest player on the U.S. roster in Sochi. Before and after her Olympic debut, the Roseville played on some impressive teams at the University of Minnesota. (Twitter)

Kali Flanagan (Credit: NBC)

Kali Flanagan, Hockey (Women's)

Flanagan is a Massachusetts native but a member of the Minnesota Whitecaps. (Twitter)

Monique Lamoureux-Morando (Credit: NBC)

Monique Lamoureux-Morando, Hockey (Women's)

Along with her twin sister Jocelyne, Monique Lamoureux-Morando is a two-time Olympic hockey silver medalist and six-time world champion for the United States. She's a native of Grand Forks and a member of the Minnesota Whitecaps. (Twitter)

Kelly Pannek (Credit: NBC)

Kelly Pannek, Hockey (Women's)

Born and raised in Plymouth, Pannek studies supply chain management at the University of Minnesota. She plays a lot of hockey, too! Pannek was named in the 2016/17 All-American First Team and All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association [WCHA] First Team. (Twitter)

Gigi Marvin (Credit: NBC)

Gigi Marvin, Hockey (Women's)

Gigi, short for Gisele, started her national team career in 2007, playing in her first world championship. Five world championship gold medals and two Olympic silvers later, she has become the kind of veteran defender Team USA trusts to be in the right place at the right time whenever she’s on the ice. Marvin is a native of Warroad and attended the University of Minnesota. (Twitter)

Hannah Brandt (Credit: NBC)

Hannah Brandt, Hockey (Women's)

Brandt grew up in Vadnais Heights and learned to skate with her sister Marissa. The Brandt sisters’ parents, Greg and Robin, adopted Marissa who had been born in South Korea and brought her home when she was just four and a half months old. During the adoption process, the Brandts found out Robin was pregnant, something the couple had been hoping for after years of trying. PyeongChang would be Brandt's first trip to an Olympic Games, where she could find herself face-to-face with her sister Marissa, who has been playing for the South Korean national team in preparation for the 2018 Olympic Games. Between 2012 and 2016, Brandt would help the University of Minnesota win three NCAA championship titles. (Twitter)

Sidney Morin (Credit: NBC)

Sidney Morin, Hockey (Women's)

Morin was born and raised in Minnetonka and was a member of the Minnetonka Mites. She later attended Minnesota-Duluth where she was named the 2016/17 Western Collegiate Hockey Association [WCHA] Defensive Player of the Year. She began the 2017/18 season playing for MODO Hockey in the Swedish Women's Hockey League. However, she left the club in November 2017 after she was called up to join Team USA's training program. (Twitter)

Dani Cameranesi (Credit: NBC)

Dani Cameranesi, Hockey (Women's)

The native of Plymouth attended the University of Minnesota majoring in Agricultural Studies and Business Management. She was the top scorer in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association [WCHA] 2015/16 season. Although she was drafted by Connecticut Whale, she did not take part in the 2017/18 NWHL season to train for PyeongChang. (Twitter)

Kendall Coyne (Credit: NBC)

Kendall Coyne, Hockey (Women's)

Kendall Coyne may be one of the shortest members of Team USA standing just 5’2”, but what she lacks in stature, she makes up for with her sizzling speed on skates. She was a member of the Minnesota Whitecaps. (Twitter, Instagram)

Amanda Kessel (Credit: NBC)

Amanda Kessel, Hockey (Women's)

After appearing in her first Olympic Games in Sochi, winning silver with Team USA and scoring three goals and three assists, Amanda Kessel found herself wondering whether she would ever play hockey again. Symptoms from a concussion she sustained prior to the 2014 Olympics returned, and she would not return to action for nearly two years. With her doctors clearing her to play, Kessel returned to hockey in 2016, appearing with her Minnesota Golden Gopher teammates and helped the team to an NCAA title. Amanda has been known to receive and respond to angry NHL fan tweets meant for her brother, Phil, a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. (Twitter, Instagram)

Alex Rigsby (Credit: NBC)

Alex Rigsby, Hockey (Women's)

Rigsby is a Delafield, Wisconsin native and attended the University of Wisconsin. She was a member of the Minnesota Whitecaps. (Twitter)

Maddie Rooney (Credit: NBC)

Maddie Rooney, Hockey (Women's)

To prepare for college hockey, Rooney chose to play for the boy's team in her final year at Andover High School. She now attends U of M-Duluth. (Twitter)

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