Meet the Youngest Olympians! These 11 Teens Are Competing for Team USA at the Winter Olympics

Forget prom — these Olympians are spending their late teenage years going for gold

01 of 11

NATHAN CHEN, 18

Team USA PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics Portraits
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He won the national title in 2017 and 2018, and has his eye on a medal in PyeongChang. Chen is best known for his daring programs, which include five different kinds of quadruple jumps, earning him the nickname "quad king."

02 of 11

CHLOE KIM, 17

2018 Winter Olympic Games - Season 2018
Justin Lubin/NBC

One of the most talked-about names heading into PyeongChang, halfpipe snowboarder Kim already has three X Games gold medals to her name. Though this is her first Olympics, she's been a top competitor for years: She even qualified for the 2014 games in Sochi, competition-wise, but was unable to compete because of her age (she was just 13 at the time.)

03 of 11

HAILEY LANGLAND, 17

Team USA Media Summit
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Langland competes in slopestyle and big air snowboarding, and has won X Games medals in both disciplines. If she nabs a medal in PyeongChang, she'll become the youngest American snowboarder in history with an Olympic medal.

04 of 11

KAREN CHEN, 18

2018 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships - Day 1
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The 2017 ladies' singles national champion nabbed the bronze at this year's National Championships, landing her a spot on the Olympic team. She'll have a famous fan rooting her on: 1992 gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, who has served as a mentor to Chen in their shared hometown of Fremont, Califonia, over the years.

05 of 11

TESS JOHNSON, 17

Previews - Winter Olympics Day -4
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The Vail native mogul skiier first put on a pair of skis at just two years old, and transitioned to moguls at nine. Five years later, she made the national team and after nearly four years of competition is now set to compete at her first Olympics.

06 of 11

VINCENT ZHOU, 17

vincent-zhou-2

The youngest competitor on Team USA at this year's Olympic games, Zhou is a men's singles figure skater who came in third place at this year's National Championships. Last year, he won a silver medal at the same event.

07 of 11

HAILEY LANGLAND, 17

Team USA PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics Portraits
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Voisin, a slopestyle skiier just celebrated her 19th birthday in December, and is hoping for a shot at a medal in PyeongChang. She narrowly missed out on competing in Sochi when she broke her ankle while practicing on the course just days before the Olympics were set to begin.

08 of 11

RED GERARD, 17

Team USA Media Summit
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Snowboarder Gerard competes in the slopestyle and big air disciplines. He started snowboarding at age two, and after he moved to Colorado, his family built a terrain park in their backyard. All that practice meant he's placed near the top in several competitions, securing his place in the 2018 Olympics.

09 of 11

MADDIE MASTRO, 17

Team USA Media Summit
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Mastro is a halfpipe snowboarder who started in the sport at age six — after skiing for the first four years beforehand. She's heading to PyeongChang along with two of her childhood friends from the sport: Kim and Langland. All three women hail from Southern California.

10 of 11

CHRIS CORNING, 18

2017 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Copper - Big Air Snowboarding Finals
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Competing in slopestyle and big air, the snowboarder was the 2016 FIS World Cup champion in the former discipline. He's the first American to land the tricky backside quad cork 1800, though he hasn't yet landed the trick during competition. PyeongChang, of course, could change that.

11 of 11

ALEX HALL, 19

Annecy Ski Freestyle ' Sosh Big Air'
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Slopestyle skiier Hall has spent his life in the mountains: His early years in Alaska before a family move to Switzerland. Now, he calls Utah home after moving to Park City to join the U.S. National Team.

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