Who to Watch at Sochi

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The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, kicked off today, with a fumbled opening ceremony and questions of whether the athletes and tourists would have adequate accommodations. Still. But I digress.

As Dumpling introduced for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, we’ve compiled a list of Asian-American athletes competing this year for Team USA. Among those are brother and sister skating duo Maia and Alex Shibutani and speedskating sensation J.R. Celski. Read brief introductory specs of the athletes below, and let us know what you think in the comments.

No matter how the Olympics this year turn out, we wish these athletes the best of luck as they compete against the world’s finest. USA! USA! USA! (You chanted with us, right?).

Madison Chock's headshot

Name: Madison Chock

Twitter: @chockolate02

Event: Figure Skating, Ice Dance

Recent Records: 2013 World Championships Seventh Place, 2013 U.S. Silver Medalist (with partner Evan Bates)

Maia Shibutani's headshot

Name: Maia Shibutani

Twitter: @MaiaShibutani

Event: Figure Skating, Ice Dance

Recent Records: 2013 U.S. Bronze Medalist (with Alex Shibutani), Five-time Grand Prix Series medalist (with Alex Shibutani)

Alex Shibutani's headshot

Name: Alex Shibutani

Twitter: @AlexShibutani

Event: Figure Skating, Ice Dance

Recent Records: 2013 U.S. Bronze Medalist (with Maia Shibutani), Five-time Grand Prix Series medalist (with Maia Shibutani)

Julie Chu's headshot

Name: Julie Chu

Twitter: @juliechu13

Event: Ice Hockey, Forward

Recent Records: 2012 Four Nations Cup Gold, 2010 Winter Olympic Games Silver

Felicia Zhang's headshot

Name: Felicia Zhang

Twitter: @felicia_zhang

Event: Figure Skating

Recent Records: 2013–2014 Cup of China Grand Prix, 2014 National Championships

J.R. Celski's headshot

Name: J.R. Celski

Twitter: @jrcelski

Event: Short Track Speedskating

Recent Records: 17 World Cup wins across multiple years, 2010 Olympic Bronze Medalist

Photos: Team USA Flickr stream; lede image Alex Shibutani’s Twitter feed

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