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Susan Dunklee Biathlon Fast Facts • Born Feb. 13, 1986, in Newport, Vermont (age 31) • Majored in ecology at Dartmouth • Her father, Stan, competed in the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics as a cross-country skier • Recently began beekeeping, and manages two hives at her ski club, the Craftsbury Outdoor Center • Hobbies include unicycling, jigsaw puzzles and gardening A s a daughter whose parents met while cross-country skiing for the University of Vermont, it was only natural for Susan Dunklee to grow up cross-country skiing herself. After 17 years of competing in the sport, she shot her first biathlon rifle at the age of 22, and she made the switch to biathlon when she entered the program in Lake Placid, New York, in 2008. Steadily climbing the World Cup rankings since her debut in 2011, Dunklee became the first American woman to win a world championship medal for the United States when she earned silver at the 2017 World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. She had her most successful season last year and finished the 2016-17 season 10th overall. Dunklee looks to break the record she set at Sochi 2014 when she became the top-finishing American biathlon woman at the Olympics, placing 12th in the mass start. Dunklee will have her peep sight set on the podium in her second Olympic Games at Pyeongchang 2018. Bryan Fletcher Nordic Combined Fast Facts • Born June 27, 1986, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado (age 31) • Is a childhood cancer survivor • Is a co-founder of ccThrive, a charity that gives childhood cancer survivors the chance to thrive • His younger brother, Taylor, is a member of Team USA and he also competes in the Nordic combined • Hobbies include camping, cycling and cooking A t the age of 3, Bryan Fletcher was diagnosed with leukemia and faced more than four years fighting the illness with chemotherapy. Around this time, Fletcher discovered ski jumping and, at age 6, cross-country skiing. It was through this combination of winter sports that Fletcher found the strength to fight cancer and ultimately beat it at age 8. In 2009, he made his Nordic combined World Cup debut in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and has made constant improvements by earning his first World Cup victory in the 2011-12 season at Oslo and ranking within the top 30 every year since. Following Bill Demong and Todd Lodwick's retirement after Sochi 2014, Fletcher has become the most hopeful American athlete in the Nordic combined to repeat the success Demong and Lodwick found at Vancouver 2010 when they won the first medals, gold and silver, for the United States in individual and team disciplines. WHO tO Photos courtesy USOC/NBC Olympics Jamie Anderson Snowboarding Fast Facts • Born Sept. 13, 1990, in South Lake Tahoe, California (age 27) • Launched an environmentally conscious clothing company called TRYE (To Respect Your Earth) • Favorite non-snowboarding activities include hiking, camping and yoga • Was homeschooled with her five sisters, the eldest two of whom introduced her to snowboarding • Her sister Joanie won the 2007 X-Games in snowboardcross J amie Anderson learned to snowboard when she was 9 years old when she was first introduced to the sport through her older sisters. By the time she was 13, she was competing in her first Winter X Games. At 15, she surpassed Shaun White as the youngest snowboarder to achieve a podium finish at the Winter X Games, and at 16 she became the youngest woman to win a Winter X Games gold medal. Since then, Anderson has won multiple gold medals in the slopestyle event and won several season championships in the TTR World Tour and Winter Dew Tour. Anderson made history at Sochi 2014 when she became the first Olympic gold medalist in slopestyle snowboarding. She looks to defend her gold medal in the slopestyle event, while adding to history again when the big air event makes its Olympic debut at Pyeongchang 2018. Lowell Bailey Biathlon Fast Facts • Born July 15, 1981, in Siler City, North Carolina (age 36) • Enjoys playing the guitar and mandolin in two bluegrass bands • Often repeats a Theodore Roosevelt quote in the starting gate that says, "Do what you can, with what you got, where you are" • Was a three-time NCAA All-American while attending the University of Vermont • Has a Bernese mountain dog named Hazel G rowing up in Lake Placid, New York, Lowell Bailey participated in several winter sports, including cross-country skiing, but only shot his first biathlon rifle at the age of 14. After years of competing, Bailey saw his breakout season at the age of 30, when he broke into the top 20 of the World Cup rankings for the first time. He finished 14th at the end of the 2011-12 season, improving on his ranking of 41st from the previous year, and he finished last season in eighth position. His first World Cup podium came in 2014 when he finished second in the 10 km sprint at Kontiolahti, Finland. Most recently, a year before considering retiring to become a cattle farmer, Bailey became the first American biathlon world champion when he won his first World Cup gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. In doing so, he also became the oldest individual gold medalist in world championship history, at 35 years and 216 days. Bailey will be an inspiration for most at Pyeongchang 2018, since he exemplifies why one should never give up on their goals. WHO tO Photos courtesy USOC/NBC Olympics 5 2.4.2018 2400 S. 8th St. •Rogers 479.899.7415 www.kintyjones.com COOL INSPECTION...$39.95 Lowest Price Guaranteed Easy Financing