“I switched to biathlon because I’m good at skiing and because I like money, European men, and the smell of a smoking gun.” -Mainer & Olympian Clare Egan

Maine is being represented well at this year's Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Our very own Clare Egan of Cape Elizabeth will strap on the skis, and the gun, and go for the gold.

The US Olympic team will comprise about 240 Americans, and as of right now, only one of the is from Maine.

Clare started skiing in middle school for Cape Nordic and was a Maine high school state champion and two-time member of the New England Junior National team. As an undergraduate at Wellesley College, she ran cross-country and track and started the Wellesley Ski Team. After graduating in 2010, Clare spent a year at the University of New Hampshire, where she competed for the Division I cross-country, track, and Nordic ski teams while pursuing a master's degree in linguistics. She joined the Craftsbury Green Racing Project in June of 2011 and competed in her first biathlon race in 2013. Following the 2014 season, Clare was named to U.S. Biathlon's development program. She made her biathlon World Cup debut in Antholz, Italy, in January of 2015 and has competed on the World Cup circuit ever since as a member of the U.S. Biathlon A Team. She was a member of the 2015 and 1016 World Championship Teams. Egan recently told the Portland Press Herald that she's still in disbelief about being selected for the US Olympic team.

Biathlon is the combination of cross-country skiing and riflery marksmanship, and it's also the only winter olympic event in which the United States has never been able to in a single medal.

 

More From Q97.9