Ones to Watch: Kaitlyn Hawayek

BEIJING, China — Ice dancer Kaitlyn Hawayek has connections to our area.

She is from Buffalo and is currently working on a sociology degree online at Penn State World University.

The 25-year-old and her partner, Jean-Luc Baker, are making their Olympic debut in Beijing. They were alternates for the 2018 games in Pyeongchang.

During the pandemic, they stayed with Hawayek’s parents in Buffalo and trained in the place where she started skating at 4-years-old.

“I spent almost 10 years with having the support of all the coaches that trained me and telling me that if I wanted to go after skating that I shouldn’t quench a dream,” she said.

Hawayek and Baker join Madison Hubbel, Zachary Donohue and Olympic veterans Madison Chock and Evan Bates on the U.S. Olympic Ice Dancing Team.

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics: Figure skating preview Figure skating is one of the few Olympic sports where you have to show emotion in your performance, so for Team USA it's about letting them all hang out.

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