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Like Alberto Tomba, Johann Koss and Katarina Witt before them, these five athletes from beyond the North American continent could easily become household names this February. Each has the necessary credentials - four of the five are reigning world champions - and all seem to be entering their prime as the 2010 Olympic Winter Games near. Perhaps just as important, these athletes possess the glitz and glamor to capture the public's attention when away from the mountain, rink or oval. Below is a closer look at the top five athletes most likely to produce the kind of star-making performance than can only occur every four years.
KIM YU-NA - Figure Skating
Age (in 2010): 19
South Korea
Long the teenage sensation, Kim Yu-Na proved last season that when happy and healthy she is near impossible to beat. Kim emerged from her shell during the 2008-09 season, triple-tripling her way to several high-level wins, including a world title. The 2009 Worlds crown, a first in figure skating for South Korea, only furthered Queen Yu-Na's position as a national hero. Following the victory, she graced the cover of every major domestic publication and was named the number one celebrity by Forbes Korea based on professionalism, popularity, income and influence (Oprah Winfrey is #1 on Forbes U.S. list.)
But while Kim is adored by her countrymen and figure skating fans, she has yet to approach the stratosphere of the Tigers and Sharapovas of the global sports world. All that could change in February. Kim is considered the favorite to win Olympic gold. Her flowing style and technical arsenal is as impressive as any of the female skaters and her program, while difficult, involves little risk. Kim is coached by two-time Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser, who will help her deal with the pressure of entering her first Olympics as reigning world champion - something he knows from the 1988 Games. Expect her fame to go global with a strong performance in Vancouver.
AKSEL LUND SVINDAL - Alpine Skiing
Age (in 2010): 27
Norway
With the continued decline of veteran Austrian skier Hermann Maier, the men's Alpine world has lacked the kind of global icon the sport once seemed to churn without delay. Enter Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal (AK-sul LUND SVEEN-dahl). The two-time overall World Cup champion and five-time world medalist should contend for medals in multiple events. Despite hailing from a vertically-challenged region of Norway, Svindal started skiing at age three. His mother, Ina, competed internationally and instructed Aksel and his younger brother Simon before she passed away during childbirth when he was eight. His father, Bjorn, then helped guide his career and is one of his most dedicated fans.
In November 2007, Svindal's ascent to the sport's elite endured a serious setback after he crashed during a downhill training run at Beaver Creek, Colo. The 6-foot-5, 220 pound colossal suffered multiple facial fractures, an 8-inch deep laceration caused by his ski and had several teeth knocked out. During his five-month recovery, Svindal lost over 30 pounds of muscle mass, but through the delay he maintained his focus. "He's mentally very, very strong," says his father. "I think that's his main advantage before many of his competitors." A year after the crash, Svindal won a World Cup downhill event on the same Beaver Creek course. Proving there's also enough panache to carry Alpine's mainstream mantle into the future, the quick-witted Norwegian, who blogs and tweets incessantly in English, is a popular member on the World Cup circuit. Svindal developed an unlikely alliance with the men's Alpine team from Canada, branded the Canadian Cowboys. The two small Alpine nations shared training camps this past summer and the joint sessions spurred a nickname of their own for Svindal and his teammates - the Vikings.
TORAH BRIGHT - Halfpipe
Age (in 2010): 23
Australia
While much has been made this past season of the strong riding of China's Liu Jiayu and 2002 Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark, Australia's Torah Bright has shown she is a legitimate threat to steal the women's halfpipe title in Vancouver. The 23-year-old placed fifth in Torino and has since developed a technical prowess to match any on the circuit. During the 2008-09 season, Bright won X Games gold, the U.S. Open title and the Toyota Championship on the Winter Dew Tour. Bright, who is Mormon and lives and trains in Salt Lake City, already has a substantial following in the United States. Bright was one of the first winter athletes to have her own signature clothing line, with Roxy, and was nominated for both ESPY and Teen Choice awards in the category of best action sports athlete in 2009.
Unlike the other athletes on this list, Bright will only compete on a single day during the 2010 Games. Despite that handicap, snowboarding's halfpipe is the one event that can take athletes, particularly ones with striking good looks and warm personalities, and turn them into overnight sensations (see Shaun White and Hannah Teter). A medal for Bright would be the first Olympic snowboarding medal for Australia and make her one of her country's biggest names in sport.
SVEN KRAMER - Speed Skating
Age (in 2010): 23
Netherlands
In Vancouver, Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer (KRAH-mur) will be as heavy a gold medal favorite as they come. At the 2006 Games, Kramer took Olympic silver in the 5000m behind American Chad Hedrick. Since then the Dutchman has been virtually unbeatable at that distance and the 10,000m, owning the world record in both. At the 2009 Single Distance World Championships, he cemented his leading-man status by winning three gold medals in his two preferred distances and team pursuit for the third consecutive year - a remarkable testament to his consistency. Barring major injury, Kramer seems all but guaranteed at least one gold in Vancouver, and possibly two or three - Netherlands is considered the favorite in team pursuit.
Kramer, who bears a surprising resemblance to Canada's golden boy Sidney Crosby, is already a bona fide celebrity in the Netherlands, where speed skating is a national pastime. Kramer is currently dating the eye-catching Naomi van As, a Dutch field hockey gold medalist from the 2008 Games, though the couple prefers to maintain a low profile and avoid the paparazzi. If anything, Kramer takes the sport seriously and says he is focused on training, 310 days a year, for the Olympics. For Kramer to transcend speed skating culture he'll need Olympic gold. That's something his father, Yep, a two-time Olympian, but without a medal to his name, knows well.
MARIA RIESCH - Alpine Skiing
Age (in 2010): 25
Germany
Maria Riesch (REESH) was a four-time junior world champion before a series of injuries stalled her rise in the senior ranks prior the 2005-06 Olympic season. Instead of having a shot at winning her first Olympic medal, Riesch was left to watch the competition from Torino on television. The German Alpine star has maintained her health and has since emerged as one of the most successful female skiers on the circuit, winning the slalom world title and finishing second in the overall World Cup standings to close friend Lindsey Vonn of the United States in 2009. When the two were young, Riesch spent time with Vonn at her home in Minnesota. The pair went to amusement parks, ate cheese dogs and visited the Mall of America, making sure Maria had what Vonn calls, "the full-blown American experience." This winter, Vonn joined Riesch's family for Christmas at her home in Germany for the fifth consecutive year.
The unlikely Alpine duo appears to form the perfect union. While Vonn is a threat in all five events, her strongest are the speed disciplines with Riesch better at the technical ones. With this in mind, Riesch and the endlessly playful Vonn have jokingly mapped out who will win what. If all goes according to plan, Vonn will win downhill and super-G and Riesch will take slalom and super combined. That leaves giant slalom up for grabs. "That's our weakest event, so we're like, ‘Maybe we'll let someone else win that one.'" Vonn says, tongue-in-cheek. "There's not many people that can joke around about that stuff, it's just really fun - we talk about dominating the world together." The world, maybe not, but sweeping the women's Alpine gold medals between them is a definite possibility.
