With the latest installment of the Olympic program set to begin in Vancouver on Feb. 12, 2010, here's a look at some key story lines to watch at the XXI Olympic Winter Games.
Winter sports machine: At the 2002 Salt Lake Games, the U.S. authored its most successful Winter Olympic performance ever: 34 medals, including 10 golds. Four years later, Torino became the most successful offshore Winter Games in American history, with 25 medals and nine golds. Now, the U.S. looks to continue its rise as a winter sports power at the next best thing to a home Olympics: Vancouver, site of the 2010 Games, is less than a three-hour drive from Seattle. With several stars from Torino back for another Olympic run - names such as snowboarder Shaun White, alpine skier Lindsey Vonn and short track speed skater Apolo Ohno - the U.S. team is poised to build on its recent winter success with another strong medal haul.
Canada's elusive gold: Canada has hosted the Olympics twice - the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary - and on both occasions, the Canadian team surprisingly failed to win a single gold. In 2010, at Canada's third home Olympics, that semi-dubious distinction has a strong chance to decisively change. Two potential candidates to usher in a long overdue celebration: speed skater Cindy Klassen (five Olympic medals, including one gold, in Torino) and 2006 Olympic moguls champion Jennifer Heil.
The quest for Alpine redemption: Though Americans won a combined 59 medals at the Salt Lake and Torino Games, just four of those came in the high-profile arena of alpine skiing. In Vancouver, the U.S. could top the cumulative alpine medal haul from Salt Lake and Torino, thanks in large part to Vonn seizing the mantle of top skier in the world. During her banner 2008-09 campaign, Vonn won two gold medals at the World Championships (downhill, super-G) and became just the second American - male or female - to win consecutive overall World Cup titles (Phil Mahre won three in a row between 1981-83). Making Vonn's performance even more formidable was the fact that she raced during the final five weeks of the season despite a severed tendon in her right thumb.
With Vonn poised to become the alpine star of the Vancouver Games, and with potential assistance from reigning Olympic champions Ted Ligety (men's combined) and Julia Mancuso (women's giant slalom), the U.S. is set to put the number two (its alpine medal total at each of the last two Games) very firmly in the rear-view mirror.
Redividing the ice: The figure skating landscape has changed dramatically since the 2006 Torino Games. Gone from the women's field is 2006 Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa of Japan, and out of action (but potentially eyeing a return to competition) is Olympic runner-up Sasha Cohen of the United States. In the meantime, 2008 world champion Mao Asada of Japan and two-time world bronze medalist Kim Yu-Na of South Korea have established themselves as the top contenders for Olympic gold.
The top contenders in ladies figure skating.
On the men's side, reigning Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia has been away from the sport but is eyeing a title defense in Vancouver, while former world champions Jeff Buttle of Canada and Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland have retired, leaving Brian Joubert of France, the 2007 world champion, as one of the key names to watch in the men's field. Among the expected American returnees are Evan Lysacekand Johnny Weir (fourth and fifth in men's singles, respectively, in Torino), and not to be overlooked is reigning U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott, who had a breakout season in 2008-09.
Two other memorable names back in the medal mix for 2010 are Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, whose silver at the Torino Games was the first U.S. Olympic ice dancing medal since 1976.
Skating stars: While the figure skating world has seen a considerable amount of turnover, familiar names abound elsewhere on the ice. In speed skating, the U.S. returns two of its top stars: Chicago native Shani Davis (who won gold and silver in Torino) and Texas native Chad Hedrick, who left the 2006 Games with one gold, one silver and one bronze. Add to those two Trevor Marsicano, the latest American star who won four medals as a 19-year-old at the 2009 World Championships. Another omnipresent name in the speed skating world is Canada's Klassen. The five-time Torino medalist has undergone surgery on both knees since 2006, but is hoping to be in peak form for a star turn on home ice. Meanwhile, in short track, five-time Olympic medalist Ohno will headline the American squad once again, but in 2010 he may have some additional help. Teenager J.R. Celski won four medals at 2009 Worlds, and rising star Katherine Reutter gives the U.S. a legitimate chance for its first women's short track medal since 1994.
The chase for hockey gold: For Canada, winning the Olympic title in ice hockey is not mildly important. It is not of medium importance. It is enormously important. In 2002, the Canadian men's team won gold (its first Olympic title in 50 years) with the women's team claiming the Olympic title as well, with some superstitious assistance from a lucky loonie (Canadian one-dollar coin) hidden beneath the Salt Lake City ice. In Torino, the Canadian women won their second straight gold, but the men's team finished a disappointing seventh. In Vancouver, anything less than gold will be a disappointment for Team Canada, which will center its chase for the Olympic title around Sidney Crosby, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the win the Stanley Cup in 2009. Elevating the stakes even higher is that Vancouver may be Crosby's only Olympic appearance - it is unclear whether or not the NHL will permit its players to compete at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Say hello to ski cross: Much like BMX racing, which made its Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Games, ski cross will make its first appearance on the Olympic program in Vancouver. Featuring a mass start just like snowboard cross, ski cross puts alpine skiers into a fast-paced, unpredictable, head-to-head racing environment. Among the names to watch in the newest Olympic event is an old veteran. Three-time Olympian Daron Rahlves of the U.S. retired from alpine skiing after Torino, but could make his fourth Olympic appearance in ski cross in Vancouver, where he'll be 36 years old.
Snowboarding capital of the world: In Torino, the U.S. won seven out of 18 snowboarding medals awarded (including three of six golds), and the core of the dominant U.S. team remains intact heading toward Vancouver. Among the top names expected to return: 2006 Olympic men's halfpipe champion White - who has become the face of action sports - and Olympic women's halfpipe champion Hannah Teter. Other key components of the formidable U.S. contingent include 2006 Olympic halfpipe silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler, 2006 Olympic snowboard cross champion Seth Wescott and Lindsey Jacobellis, who lost a seemingly insurmountable lead after falling on a late trick in women's snowboard cross, but still came away with a silver medal. The U.S. owns more snowboarding medals (14) than any other nation, and there's every reason to believe in the strength of the American squad for 2010.
