She’ll never forget the experience, because the Olympics exist for those moments. For athletes to get to those two-plus weeks with the world watching, a lifetime of work so often put in behind the scenes until the brightest lights of network TV flick on and suddenly you’re there, an Olympian, representing your country. Last February, in the bitter cold of a South Korean winter, Clare Egan competed in her first Olympics with USA Biathlon. She competed with the letters “USA” painted onto her left cheek.
Egan helped the U.S. to a 13th-place finish in the women’s biathlon relay event in Pyeongchang last year.