WISCONSIN — Wisconsin is sending 15 athletes to the Winter Games in Beijing, and they're all on the hunt for a gold medal for Team USA. 

Wisconsinites will compete in hockey, biathlon, skiing, curling, snowboarding, nordic combined, ski jump and speedskating competitions. 

Get to know your hometown heroes below.

Deedra Irwin 

Hometown: Pulaski, Wis.

Sport: Women's biathlon

Irwin, who calls Pulaski home, competes for the Army National Guard. She is the only woman on the U.S. biathlon team making her Olympic debut. Most recently the 29-year-old took fifth place in 2022's IBU World Cup in the women's biathlon relay. 

Paul Schommer

Hometown: Appleton, Wis. 

Sport: Men's biathlon

Schommer is making his Olympic debut at 29-years-old. He almost qualified in 2018, but fell ill and could not compete. The Appleton native qualified this time around during the 20-kilometer world cup race in November. 

Kevin Bolger

Hometown: Minocqua, Wis. 

Sport: Men's cross-country skiing

Bolger hails from Minocqua, and will represent his hometown and the U.S. as a member of the Olympic cross-country ski team. The 28-year-old made his World Cup debut in Finland in 2018, where he took 11th place. 

Matt Hamilton

Hometown: McFarland, Wis. 

Sport: Men's curling

Matt Hamilton is no stanger to the Olympic spotlight. In 2018, he took home a gold medal as part of Team USA. The McFarland High School graduate is headed to Beijing alongside his sister, Becca Hamilton, who is competing on the women's curling team. 

Becca Hamilton

Hometown: McFarland, Wis. 

Sport: Women's curling

Joining her brother Matt Hamilton is Becca Hamilton. The McFarland High School alumna stayed in-state for college, earning her degree at Edgewood College in Madison. This is her second time competing on Team USA; she was on the curling team in 2018. 

Nina Roth

Hometown: McFarland, Wis. 

Sport: Women's curling

Roth rounds out the Wisconsin curlers, having also graduated from McFarland High School and Edgewood College. She competed in the 2018 Games, but also recently brought home a bronze medal in the 2021 World Championships. 

Nate LaPoint

Hometown: Eau Claire, Wis. 

Sport: Men's hockey 

LaPoint will head to China this winter as one of two equipment managers for the U.S. men's hockey team. LaPoint also works for the UW Badgers' men's hockey team as the equipment manager. He's been there for more than a decade. 

Alex Cavallini

Hometown: Delafield, Wis. 

Sport: Women's hockey

School: UW Madison

Cavallini is no stanger to success: The UW Madison alumna took homee a gold medal alongside the U.S. women's hockey team in 2018. She also helped cultivate the Badgers into national champions back in 2011. Cavallini was the first female to be drafted into the USHL. 

Brianna Decker

Hometown: Dousman, Wis. 

Sport: Women's hockey

School: UW Madison

Fellow Badger champion Decker kept her spot on the women's hockey team for this round of the Winter Games. In 2018, she took home a gold medal and in 2014, a silver. She's also been received the Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year Award twice. 

Amanda Kessel

Hometown: Madison, Wis.

Sport: Women's hockey

Kessel is a third-time olympian, having represented her country in the 2018 and 2014 Winter Games, where she podiumed each time. In 2021, she earned a silver medal in the women's World Championship. 

Hilary Knight

Sport: Women's hockey

School: UW Madison

Knight is a highly decorated athlete; she took the UW Badgers to national championships in 2009 and 2011. That hard work certainly paid off: She's a four-time olympic athlete, having competed in the 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Games. She already has one gold and two silver medals from the Olympics and is looking to even out her collection in 2022. 

Ben Loomis

Hometown: Eau Claire, Wis. 

Sport: Men's nordic combined

Loomis is entering the Olympic spotlight for the second time; he also competed in 2018. Loomis grew up practicing in Wisconsin winters at Flying Eagles Ski Club in Eau Claire, his hometown. 

Anna Hoffman

Hometown: Madison, Wis. 

Sport: Women's ski jump

The Madison Memorial grad started ski jumping when she was just 2-years-old. She used to get her practices in at Blackhawk Ski Club in Middleton. This year, she won the U.S. Olympic Trials but for a while, it looked like she might not make it to the Olympics. U.S. women did not qualify to compete because they did not earn enough points in other competitions. However, two other countries were allotted more spots than needed. With enough openings, Hoffman's Olympic dreams are finally in sight. She'll be headed to China this winter to compete. 

Courtney Rummel

Hometown: West Bend, Wis. 

Sport: Women's snowboarding; slopestyle and big air 

The cold has never bothered Rummel, who trained at Wisconsin Advanced Ski and Snowboard Program. The 18-year-old is making her Olympic debut. 

Jordan Stolz

Hometown: Kewaskum, Wis. 

Sport: Men's speedskating; long tack; 500m and 1000m

Stolz is the junior world record-holder and at 17 is the third youngest man to ever compete for Team USA in speedskating at the Olympics. In 2021, he took home both gold and silver medals in his World Cup debut. 

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