SOUTH KOREA (WKZO AM/FM) — The Winter Games are just beginning and when the athletes march into PyeongChang Stadium in South Korea, a number of them will have Michigan connections.
Some of them are tenuous, like Korean Women’s Hockey Coach Sarah Murray, whose only tie is that her Dad coaches at WMU.
Then there are Michigan natives like snowboarders Nick Baumgartner who is attending his third Olympics and Kyle Mack, who will be competing for the first time.
Short Track Speed Skater Jessica Kooreman is a Melvindale native. Former Wolverine football player Sam McGuffie is on the U.S. 4-man bobsled team.
There are also about a dozen who trained or went to college in Michigan, but actually will be on teams from countries all over the world.
The Great Lakes State is contributing a number of athletes to the U.S. Figure skating team and a number of coaches and players who are ex-RedWings and Griffins to the Ice Hockey team.
Ice Dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates grew up in South East Michigan and train in Novi. Free dancers Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donahue of the Lansing Skating Club edged siblings and two-time defending champions Maia and Alex Shibutani of Ann Arbor at the U.S. Championships to join them on the U.S. Figure Skating team. Bates is the team captain.
Ex-Redwings Pavel Datsuk may reunite with Chris Chelios and Tony Granato for beers but not on the ice. Datsuk will be playing for the Russians that have not been banned, and the other two are coaching for the USA.
