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USA Teams to watch for Olympics

The TVClubHouse: General Discussion ARCHIVES: 2006 Mar. ~ 2006 May: Winter Olympics: USA Teams to watch for Olympics users admin

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Jan
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08-01-2000

Sunday, February 05, 2006 - 10:14 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jan a private message Print Post    
What to Follow During the 2006 Winter Games
Zapit
By Ryan Berenz

Sunday, February 05, 2006

12:01 AM PT
Fifteen sports, 16 days and a whole lot of athletes you've never heard of. That's the overload of options viewers face as the XX Winter Olympic Games get under way on NBC from Turin, Italy, on Friday, Feb. 10.

To combat this, we've assembled a guide to these games that gives the whos, whats and whys of each sport, so that by the time the Opening Ceremonies roll around, you'll at least have an idea as to what's going on.

Alpine Skiing

The Sport: Skiers compete in five disciplines: downhill, fastest, steepest and longest course; slalom, shortest course with the quickest turns; giant slalom, with wider and smoother turns than slalom; super-G, combining speed and precision; and combined, one downhill run and two slalom runs.

The Story: Reigning overall World Cup champ Bode Miller will be the man to beat, and Daron Rahlves will be competing in his last Olympics. The women's team has high medal hopes in Lindsey Kildow and Julia Mancuso.

Biathlon

The Sport: Biathlon combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting in five events: individual, sprint, pursuit, mass start and relay.

The Story: Jay Hakkinen, Jeremy Teela and Rachel Steer lead the U.S. team. At the 2002 Games, Hakkinen had the highest finish ever (13th in pursuit) for an American in biathlon.

Bobsled

The Sport: Bobsledders navigate an enclosed sled down a curved track of ice reaching speeds near 80 mph. Competitions include two-man, four-man and two-woman bobsled.

The Story: The U.S. ended its 46-year medal drought in bobsled by winning three in 2002, and will look to Todd Hays, Steve Holcomb, Mike Kohn, Shauna Rohbock and Jean Prahm to start a new medal streak.

Cross-Country Skiing

The Sport: Cross-country skiers compete in sprint, relay and pursuit events with varying lengths, formats and styles.

The Story: The best U.S. cross-country skier is Kris Freeman, who was diagnosed with diabetes five years ago.

Curling

The Sport: Described as "chess on ice" because of the strategy involved, curling involves sliding 42-pound stones down a strip of ice toward a target, with points being awarded based on the stone's proximity to the target.

The Story: Team USA has never won a curling medal, but with a year of preparation, team skips Pete Fenson and Cassie Johnson and their rinks give the U.S. team its best shot yet.

Figure Skating

The Sport: Singles and pairs include two phases: the short program, in which skaters must complete eight elements within a time limit, and the free skate, a longer program that allows more freedom for artistic interpretation. Ice dancers perform in compulsory, original and free dance programs emphasizing rhythm, interpretation and precision.

The Story: Will injuries (or the U.S. Figure Skating Association) keep Michelle Kwan from capturing gold? Will Sasha Cohen have a clean program?

Freestyle Skiing

The Sport: Freestyle consists of aerial and mogul competitions. In aerials, skiers complete twists, flips and spins nearing 50 feet in midair. In moguls, skiers race down a slope with moguls and perform two aerials-style tricks.

The Story: Team USA will be out to prove it has the best team with reigning men's aerials World Cup champ Jeret "Speedy" Peterson and reigning World Cup moguls champ Jeremy Bloom.

Ice Hockey

The Sport: Twelve men's teams and eight women's teams are divided into A and B groups. In the first phase, teams play every team in their group in a round-robin tournament. The top teams from each group advance to elimination rounds to determine medalists.

The Story: The U.S. women are a lock to meet Canada in the gold-medal game.

Luge

The Sport
: Lugers lie on their backs on a sled, using their feet to steer down a curved track of ice, reaching speeds of up to 90 mph. Events include men's singles, women's singles and doubles.

The Story: Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin won bronze in 1998, silver in 2002, and look to add a gold in 2006.

Nordic Combined

The Sport
: Nordic combined includes ski jumping and cross-country skiing, with individual, sprint and team events.

The Story: Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane hope to become the first Americans to medal in Nordic combined.

Short-Track Speed Skating

The Sport
: Short-track speed skaters compete in 500-meter, 1,000-meter, 1,500-meter and relay events (5,000 meters for men, 3,000 meters for women).

The Story: An intense rivalry between Team USA's Apolo Anton Ohno and South Korea's Ahn Hyun-Soo.

Skeleton

The Sport
: Athletes lie on their stomachs on a sled and maneuver headfirst down a curved track of ice at 80 mph.

The Story: U.S. medal hopes rest on Katie Uhlaender, Eric Bernotas and Zach Lund.

Ski Jumping

The Sport
: Jumpers propel themselves off a ramp, staying airborne for 5-6 seconds. Jumpers (men only) compete in normal hill, large hill and team events.

The Story: Team USA hasn't won a ski jumping medal since the 1924 Olympics. Three-time Olympian Alan "Airborn" Alborn and two-time Olympian Clint Jones will give it a go.

Snowboarding

The Sport
: Snowboarders vie in halfpipe, aerial tricks performed on a half cylinder; parallel giant slalom, two boarders racing head to head on a course; and snowboard cross, four boarders racing down a slope. Snowboard cross makes its Olympic debut.

The Story: U.S. men Ross Powers, Danny Kass and Shaun White hope to sweep the halfpipe event again. Lindsey Jacobellis, Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark are all probable medalists.

Speed Skating

The Sport
: Skaters race around a 400-meter track at speeds up to 40 mph. Men and women compete in 500-meter, 1,000-meter, 1,500-meter, 5,000-meter and team pursuit races. Women also compete in 3,000-meter races, and men also compete in 10,000-meter races. The team pursuit makes its Olympic debut.

The Story: Chad Hedrick will be chasing Eric Heiden's record of five gold medals in one Olympics.