Winter Olympics 2018: 2 Georgia Athletes To Watch

Bobsled, figure skating, skiing and snowboarding are always favorites at the Winter Olympics, and the 2018 games open Friday, Feb. 9, in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Several U.S. athletes have a good chance at bringing home gold medals, but you'll also want to keep an eye out for athletes from Georgia, too.

The Olympic Games run for 18 days and conclude with closing ceremonies on Feb. 25. It's bitterly cold in Pyeongchang, and the forecast calls for 14-degree Fahrenheit temperatures for the opening ceremony on Friday.

Georgia will send two athletes to represent the United States in the Winter Games. They are:

• Chris Kinney of Stockbridge, men's bobsled, four-man/push
• Elana Meyers Taylor of Douglasville, women's bobsled, women's two-man/pilot

What To Know About Elana Meyers Taylor

The Team USA website says Meyers Taylor is a three-time Olympian. Meyers Taylor and Jamie Greubel Poser have been the nation's two best drivers throughout the current quad, and started this season as the top-ranked drivers in the world.

USA Bobsled & Skeleton announced the women's Olympic team last month, naming Lauren Gibbs as Meyers Taylor's brakeman and Aja Evans as Jamie Greubel Poser's. Briauna Jones will travel to Korea as the replacement athlete.

Meyers Taylor is a two-time Olympic medalist will be headed to her third Winter Games looking to earn a gold this time, after she took silver in 2014 and bronze as a brakeman in 2010. She is the defending world champion, earning one gold, three silver and two bronze world cup medals this season.

She married U.S. national team bobsledder Nicholas Taylor on April 24, 2014. According to the Team USA website, her post-bobsled career goal is to become the CEO of the United States Olympic Committee.

Olympic Experience

• 2014 Women's Bobsled- SILVER in Sochi (2/14)
• 2010 Women's Bobsled for pilot Erin Pac- BRONZE in Vancouver (2010)

World Championship Experience

• 2017 Women's Bobsled- GOLD in Koenigssee (2/17)
• 2017 Team Event - 6th in Koenigssee (2/17)

What To Know About Chris Kinney

The team website says Kinney, 29, was born in Athens, Georgia, and attended Georgetown University.

World Championship Experience

• 2017 Four-Man for pilot Nick Cunningham- 17th in Koenigssee (2/17)

Other Career Highlights

• 2017-2018 Four-Man World Cup for pilot Nick Cunningham- T-12th in Park City #1 (11/17); 16th in Park City #2 (11/17); 20th in Winterberg (12/17); 23rd in Igls (12/17)
• 2017-2018 Two-Man North American Cup for pilot Nick Cunningham - GOLD in Park City #1 (11/17)
• 2017-2018 Four-Man North American Cup for pilot Nick Cunningham - SILVER in Park City #1 (11/17); GOLD in Park City #2 (11/17); GOLD in Lake Placid #1 (1/18); SILVER in Lake Placid #2 (1/18)

Kinney loves Pokèmon and still plays the games. He likes to sing in the streets, while working out or competing. He can quote almost every episode of "Friends" word for word.

Here are five U.S. athletes or teams to watch:

Skier Lindsey Vonn: The three-time Olympian from Vail, Colorado, won gold and bronze in the 2010 Winter Games, but missed the Sochi Olympics in 2014 because of injuries. Despite that, Vonn, 33, is still the sport's most winning skier, and has earned world titles in all five alpine ski disciplines — something that doesn't often happen.
Figure Skater Nathan Chen: Sports Illustrated picks 18-year-old Chen to win gold in his Olympics debut. In January, the Salt Lake, Utah, native became the first male figure skater to land five quadruple jumps in a single performance, an exceptional feat he repeated it a month later.
Skier Mikaela Shiffrin: The 22-year-old alpine racer who hails from Eagle-Vail, Colorado, is "the best slalom skier in the world," The New Yorker said. It's not hyperbole. Shiffrin has been the No. 1-ranked woman in the world for two years running and will defend her gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games.
Snowboarder Jamie Anderson: Anderson, 27, won a gold medal in the slopestyle snowboarding competition in her Olympic debut in Sochi, and is well positioned to repeat the the feat in Pyeongchang. This season, the South Lake Tahoe, California, athlete unveiled a new move, a cab double underflip, at the Winter Games in New Zealand.
Ice dancers Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani: The Ann Arbor, Michigan, brother-and-sister team known as the "Shib Sibs" have won gold medals at international competitions for three consecutive seasons, and also medaled in national championships in each of the past seven years, including gold medals in both 2016 and 2017. Maia is 23 and Alex is 26. They also competed in Sochi Olympics, where they placed ninth.

See Also: When, Where To Watch The Olympics On TV, Live Streams

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Photo: American women's bobsled pilot Elana Meyers Taylor, courtesy of Taylor