Travel Spotlight: U.S. Olympic Athletes' Hometowns

Olympic athletes practically grow on trees in winter sports meccas like Lake Placid, New York; Park City, Utah; and Vail, Colorado, but you don't have to grow up in a ski town to play a starring role in the Winter Olympics. America's Olympic hopefuls hail from cities like San Jose, Chicago and Buffalo; small towns in the Heartland where the biggest hill wouldn't scare your average 6-year-old toboggan owner; and even Sun Belt outposts where the schools close if the weatherman dreams of snow.

During the next week, we're going to introduce you to the hometowns of three Olympians: Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the unlikely hometown of freestyle skier Nick Goepper; South Buffalo, the working class Irish neighborhood where hockey standout Patrick Kane grew up; and San Jose's Almaden Valley, the stomping ground of 15-year-old figure skating phenom Polina Edmunds.

Click on any of the athletes below to learn more about their hometowns.