Before chasing gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, elite winter-sport athletes will sharpen their form and focus at competitions across the globe, from World Cup and Grand Prix series to national, continental and world championships.
Universal Sports will provide extensive on-air and online coverage in the "Countdown to Vancouver," including the following can't-miss competitions; check the US TV broadcast schedule for details of upcoming events.
Figure Skating: Grand Prix Final (Dec. 4-5)
Figure skating's most prestigious global circuit reaches its final stop as the world's best skaters convene in Tokyo. Many of those who qualify for the Grand Prix final will be medal contenders two months later in Vancouver. The Tokyo field is expected to include South Korea's dominant Kim Yu-Na, the heavy favorite to win the ladies' gold in Vancouver; reigning men's world champion Evan Lysacek of California; and the 2006 Olympic silver medalists in ice dancing, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. NBC Sports has coverage of the U.S. Nationals in January, but the best international field pre-Vancouver will be here at the Grand Prix Final.
Alpine Skiing: Kitzbuehel World Cup (Jan. 22-24)
Universal Sports TV and UniversalSports.com will have blanket coverage of the World Cup Alpine season, highlighted in mid-January by the series' annual stop in Kitzbuehel, Austria. Imagine flying 100 mph down a hill, where every turn and jump has its own name, where every winner becomes an immediate legend and where a slight loss of balance can cause a spectacular, bone-rattling crash. The annual Hahnenkamm men's downhill at Kitzbuehel is the Everest of Alpine, an event that no ski racer dares miss. Watch it live at www.universalsports.com, and off same-day delay on Universal Sports TV.
Ski Jumping: 4-Hills Tournament (Dec. 29; Jan. 1, 3, 6)
Considered the Super Bowl of ski jumping, the Four Hills Tournament is an annual series of four World Cup events held in four separate cities (Oberstdorf, Germany; Garmish-Partenkirchen, Germany; Innsbruck, Austria; and Bischofshofen, Austria). The tournament's ski jumping-crazed crowds will be out in droves to see what Gregor Schlierenzauer can do for an encore -- the young Austrian star won a record 13 World Cup events in 2008-09.
Speed Skating: World Sprint Championships (Jan. 18-22)
The fastest men and women on skates gather in Obihiro, Japan, for this specialty event crowning world "sprint" champions. Among those scheduled to compete in the 500m and 1000m races is 33-year-old Canadian Jeremy Wotherspoon, one of the most decorated sprinters in speed skating history, who will chase his first Olympic gold on home ice at the 2010 Vancouver Games. American Shani Davis, a threat at any distance, is the reigning men's champion; Wang Beixing of China took the 2009 women's title.
