Idaho’s Brightest To Compete In Opening Weekend Of Olympics

Tonight is the opening night of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games from Pyeongchang, South Korea. A number of athletes with ties to the Gem State will take center stage in the opening weekend of competition.

Athletes from more than 90 countries will compete for the opportunity to take the podium and forever cement themselves in Olympic history. Of the 15 events in this year's games, Idaho athletes are competing in several, including snowboarding, skiing, hockey and bobsled.

Saturday evening the world will get a look at men's snowboarding phenom Chase Josey, a native of Hailey, Idaho. Josey will be part of the men's snowboard slopestyle final, according to the Olympic website. Idaho Falls' native Jessika Jenson will be the one to pay attention to in women's snowboarding. Jenson will compete in Sunday evening's slopestyle and big air events.

Another athlete to watch in these Olympics is Hilary Knight, a 28-year-old hockey forward who resides in Sun Valley. She will be competing Sunday morning when the women's hockey team plays Finland, according to the official calendar.

Nick Cunningham and Sam Michener--both former Idaho standouts--are members of the men's bobsled team. The two will compete Sunday, February 18th, when the two-man event begins.

In all, there are nine athletes with ties to Idaho competing in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. For a full list of athletes and the events they will be competing in, visit the Team USA website.