BUFFALO, N.Y. — Thursday marked 50 days from the start of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
It's an event the world typically has to wait two years for after the summer games, but after a year-long COVID-delay, the two are happening only six months apart.
Many winter Olympic hopefuls, including several from Western New York, are now vying for their spot on Team U.S.A. with international competitions in skiing, figure skating, and other sports ongoing.
2 On Your Side and its parent company, Tegna, spoke with three athletes from the Buffalo area and one from Rochester, only one of which has a guaranteed spot: Hayley Scamurra, a forward on the U.S. women's hockey team.
"We've really embodied the team spirit aspect, and we're just focusing on one day at a time, just being the best version of yourself, you can be, and being there for your teammates," Scamurra said.
A Getzville native, Scamurra grew up playing boys hockey and competing over the border. As often the only girl on the ice as a kid, she credits growth through adversity.
"You know, you got people targeting you a little bit. But I think it really made me play more physical. And it's kind of how I play now, so I think it only helped me," Scamurra added.
Heading south on the 90, we meet Tricia Mangan from Derby. One of six kids who grew up skiing on the relatively small slopes of Ellicottville, Mangan thrived at alpine ski racing and soon flew the coop to compete and grow her skills out west.
"Being from Buffalo and going to Nardin, and the community I still have at Holimont, are huge, huge pieces of why I'm here today," Mangan said.
While natural ability has certainly played a role, she also credits some sibling rivalry for her competitive nature.
"My mind wasn't like, I want to be an Olympian. It was just I want to beat my brother, and I want to learn how to go faster," Mangan reflected.
Speed soon followed that drive, taking her to Italy and Alberta to compete with other world-renowned athletes in the sport. Mangan, who was 20 at the time, attended her first Olympic Games in 2018 at Pyeongchang after a last-minute injury prevented her teammate from filing the slot. She was competing in Alberta when she spoke with 2 On Your Side two weeks ago, bound for Switzerland with the hopes of securing a good enough run to qualify.
"For now it's just focusing on how to get that best skiing out there, and then the results will take care of themselves, hopefully," Mangan said.
Another local Olympian, via the Thruway east to Rochester and Pittsford, New York, Morgan Schild is also familiar with the spotlight.
"Knowing that I've been an Olympian, it does seem like I could be one again quite easily, but you don't do that without the support that got you here," Schild said.
A freestyle mogul skier, Schild described her specialty as "what some people call the craziest sport in the world." Over just 30 seconds, skiers tackle dozens of bumps or moguls and two aerial jumps; the scoring is based on time, technique and style.
Schild has been recovering from a knee injury over the past few years but says her confidence is there.
"I just need the execution in the next couple of weeks. ... I’m just looking forward to keeping my head down week in and week out of these World Cup competitions so I can end up qualifying for my second Olympic games and represent my amazing town up there," she said.
World Cup Competitions dominate December and January for winter athletes and are one of the best ways to qualify for the Olympics.
Schild was in Sweden competing on the world stage when she spoke with 2 On Your Side, but still fondly reflected on the start of her young career. Her family grew up skiing at Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua, and her former Coach Bob Thomas, who recently passed, pushed her to try moguls.
East Aurora ice dancer Kaitlin Hawayek and her partner Jean-Luc Baker have their own motivation. They were selected as alternates for the 2018 games but are using that "near me" as fuel for their Olympic push.
"It has definitely built like a fire and hunger underneath me, being so close last time, that it's just motivated me even more over these last three and a half years," Hawayek told 2 On Your Side's Lauren Hall back in August.
Baker and Hawayek placed fourth at a competition in Russia last month, which could be enough for selection to the Beijing team.
But with several figure skating world championships remaining, it won't be their last chance.