LAKE PLACID — Six USA Bobsled and Skeleton athletes including John Lansing from Lake Placid, will represent their country at the fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games in the province of Gangwon in the Republic of Korea, the site of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. This will be the first Youth Winter Olympic Games to be held in Asia.

To be eligible for the Games, these athletes had to compete in the YOG Qualifying Series which was comprised of 12 separate races spanning over four different tracks on three different continents.

In total, six youth athletes have been selected to represent the U.S.: Noah and Baden Park for boys skeleton and Biancha Emery for girls skeleton. In bobsled, Liam McKenna and John Jansing will compete in the boys division while Emily Bradley will compete in the girls.

Noah and Baden Park are identical twins from Salt Lake City, Utah, who are in their sixth sliding season. The 17-year-old duo competed in the North American Cup races in Park City, with both impressively sliding into top 10 finishes on separate days in this non-youth competition.

Biancha Emery, 16, is originally from Bend, Oregon and she is entering into her second season as a skeleton athlete.

Liam McKenna, 14, is one of the youngest bobsled athletes competing in the YOG. McKenna, of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, has been involved with the sport for six years.

John Lansing finished third overall in the YOG Qualifying Series. Lansing, 15, is from Lake Placid, the home base of USABS.

Emily Bradley, 16, from Sacramento, California, started bobsledding in March 2021. She is following in her dad, Mike’s footsteps, who raced on the NAC circuit as a pilot in 2008-2009. Bradley finished second overall in the YOG Qualifying Series.

Bryan Berghorn will lead the USABS team at the YOG. Berghorn is also jointly employed by the state Olympic Regional Development Authority.

“I am extremely excited to head back to Korea to put an exclamation point on what has been an incredible two years with what is now our Youth Olympic Team,” Berghorn said. “Over the last 12 qualifying races we have shown that our young athletes are some of the best drivers amongst the youth athletes from around the world which is in no small part due to Park City’s and Lake Placid’s tracks getting behind the development of these athletes along with the unwavering support of their family and friends.

“We have been twice around the world on four tracks on three different continents, bringing home hardware consistently, including second overall on the women’s bobsled side with Emily Bradley and third overall in men’s bobsled with John Lansing,” he added. “It has been an honor to have been able to coach these young athletes from taking their first runs to having the opportunity to walk into the stadium behind the American flag with them, and I look forward to seeing what we’re able to do at the Winter Youth Olympics, Gangwon 2024.”

The USABS youth team will begin their Olympic training on Tuesday, and will have their official races on Jan. 22 for girls skeleton and monobob and Jan. 23 for boys skeleton and monobob.

John Lansing is not the only local athlete who will represent the U.S. Kai McKinnon, also of Lake Placid, will compete in girls Nordic combined and Sadie Martin, of Vermontville, will compete in girls double luge.