For one athlete competing in the biathlon at the Winter Olympics, the road to Pyeongchang has gone through several New England states.
Clare Egan grew up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. She was a state champion Nordic skier.
"I think if I hadn't grown up in Maine, where there's snow and a culture of winter sport and Nordic sport, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today," she said.
Her classmates at Cape Elizabeth High School recognized she was something special, and voted her "most likely to be famous" her senior year.
"She stood out," said high school English teacher Win Phillips whoe remembers Clare as a hardworking, well-rounded student who was involved in many activities. "If you can dedicate yourself to all those things at a young age, that's going to stick with you – and obviously it has."
After high school, Egan went to Wellesley College in Massachusetts, then went to the University of New Hampshire for her graduate degree. Her skiing took her to Vermont, where she competed for several years.
It was in Vermont that a fellow athlete encouraged her to pick up a gun and give the biathlon a shot.
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"I think it's a sport that once you see it, you love it," said Egan. "It's really easy to get hooked."
She says she has been perfecting her skiing and shooting for about a decade, and made her Olympic dreams come true this winter. She is one of five American women selected to compete on the US Biathlon team.
"It's an incredible honor," she said.
Egan currently lives in upstate New York.
