Marissa and Hannah Brandt are sisters playing hockey in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. One will represent the U. S., while the other with represent South Korea
Marissa Brandt gave up figure skating as a child so she could play ice hockey with her sister, Hannah.
Now the pair will grace one of the biggest sporting stages when they take to the ice at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
But this Minnesota sister act won’t be going for gold together or even competing under the same flag.
Hannah has been selected for the US national team while Marissa, who was born in South Korea and adopted when she was just four-months-old, will play for a unified Korea team.
« It’s crazy, » Marissa, 25, replies when asked her thoughts on the situation. « It’s really nothing we could have ever dreamed. »
Hannah, 24, is equally amazed: « You can’t really script something like this, » she says.
« I’m really looking forward to going to the opening ceremonies… but for my sister, to see her walk in in front of the South Korean fans, I think it’s going to be just an incredible experience for her, » Hannah adds.
Some remarkable family tales have graced the Olympics in recent years.
Estonian triplets Lily, Leila and Liina Luik competed in the marathon at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, meanwhile, American born figure skaters Cathy and Chris Reed represented Japan while their sister Allison competed under the Georgian flag.
Yet few family stories can compare to that of the Brandt sisters.
Marissa was adopted in 1992 by Greg and Robin Brandt, a Minnesota couple who had been experiencing difficulties conceiving their own children.
Just before they received their first picture of Marissa from the adoption agency, however, Robin discovered she was pregnant.
« We couldn’t have been happier because we figured, you know, what a joy it would be like having twins, » Greg jokes to CNN.
The sisters would both start out figure skating in their youth but Hannah was the first to switch to the rough and tumble of hockey.
Both would go on to play hockey at College, Hannah as a star forward for the University of Minnesota and Marissa for the nearby Gustavus Adolphus College.
Although they would go for long periods without seeing each other, they were always in touch to catch up or wish each other well before games.
