Preview: Men's

Nestled in the southern ranges of Blackcomb Mountain, almost 80 miles outside of Vancouver, the Whistler Sliding Centre will be the site of back-to-back skeleton races Feb. 18 and 19 (Days 7 and 8 of the Games). It was also the location for the 2009 World Cup, serving as the Olympic Test Event. This time, 30 male sliders will take four runs each -- twice as many as in 2006.

With the fatal crash of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili during a practice run on Day 1, Feb. 12 of the 2010 Vancouver Games, the treacherous Whistler track underwent swift changes to shorten the course for all Olympic luge events. Skeleton and bobsled, however, did not require such modifications as they each have a running start and are required to return to the top of the track. 

Latvia's Martins Dukurs, who won the 2010 Cup crown, en route to his third gold-medal win during the seventh World Cup race in Koenigssee, Germany.

Canada's Jeff Pain is the only 2006 medalist returning to the Olympic fold in Vancouver. He finished third during the Whistler World Cup in February 2009, and won World Cup bronze in the third race in Cesana, Italy this season. Switzerland's Gregor Staehli -- who earned his second straight Olympic bronze in Torino -- was slated to compete in his third Games, but a thigh injury sustained during the 2009-10 World Cup season opener in Lake Placid last November forced him to withdraw from competition.

The American skeleton men consistently struggled in reaching the podium throughout the 2009-10 World Cup campaign. Upon being kicked off the U.S. team in Torino because of a last-minute doping suspension, Zach Lund bounced back in 2007 to claim the World title. However, the Utah native failed to claim any World Cup medals this time around, having dealt with a handful of mistakes on the track for mostly mixed results. Thirty-eight-year-old Eric Bernotas -- sixth in Torino -- also experienced some difficulty, but his gold-medal win during the seventh World Cup stop in St. Moritz in mid-January restored the Americans' hope leading into the 2010 Games.

But the biggest surprise in the sport this year was undoubtedly Martins Dukurs of Latvia. Dukurs was unstoppable in his rise as the World Cup series leader, earning seven overall medals, including four gold. With a respectable seventh-place finish in Torino, Dukurs is in prime position to land anywhere on the podium in Vancouver. But his best shot is certainly at the top, which would give Latvia their first-ever Winter Games gold medal.

Other fresh faces like Germany's Michi Halilovic, Sandro Stielicke, and Frank Rommel, have all performed well on the World Cup circuit to earn seven total medals. Germany will also be vying for their first Olympic skeleton medal this month.