In the last decade, U.S. figure skating performed the equivalent a full-lutz, replacing its female luminaries with male ones. Jeremy Abbott, the reigning national champion, and Evan Lysacek, ranked No. 1 in the world, represent two of America’s best chances for medals this year. But it’s the flamboyant pot-stirrer Johnny Weir—back again after nearly giving up the sport last year—whose routine everyone will be waiting to see. ( Swan costume, anyone?) All three will compete this weekend to qualify for the Games.
Lee Jin-man / AP Photo (1, 3); Itsuo Inouye / AP Photo
This week the halfpipe rock star locked down his spot on the Olympic snowboard team, and fans will be glued to their sets to see if White attempts his signature trick, a “double cork McTwist 1260.” (A trick that’s not only never been achieved, but cannot be described in words.) NBC is already promoting the 23-year-old redheaded icon as a must-see competitor at this year’s Games. "I'm happy to be on the team and secure that spot,” said White. “Now I can just work on my stuff and get dialed.”
Doug Pensinger / Getty Images; Streeter Lecka / Getty Images
Jeret “Speedy” Peterson’s last trip to the Olympics was a bit of a disaster. First, the aerialist attempted his signature trick, the Hurricane—a death-defying combination of five spins and three somersaults— and failed to land it, dropping him to a disappointing 7th place. Then he made headlines for getting into a bar fight after the competition. This year, the 28-year-old Coloradan makes his third trip to the Games—and says he may attempt the Hurricane again. "With Torino, maybe I shouldn't have gone for the Hurricane,” he says. “Maybe I should've stepped it down and gone for the podium. But that's not my personality... It's the only way I know how to do things."
Luca Bruno / AP Photo; Peter Dejong / AP Photo
One of the Games’ most intriguing athletes is speed skater Shani Davis. He’s an African-American who’s set two world records (for the 1,000- and 1,500-meter races) in an overwhelmingly white sport. In the 2006 Games, he enraged his teammates and fans by refusing to participate in the team skating event. And most recently, he started a public feud with Stephen Colbert when he called the satirical pundit “ a jerk.” But he could rewrite his whole story in one fell swoop next month when he attempts all five individual races, becoming the first American to do so in 30 years, when Eric Heiden swept five gold medals in Lake Placid in 1980.
Peter Dejong / AP Photo
Speed skating is shaping up to be America’s most drama-filled event this year. In addition to Shani Davis, we’ll watch Jennifer “Miami Ice” Rodriguez, a 33-year-old Cuban-American who made her first Olympic appearance in 1998. The last few years of her life have been a roller coaster. She turned in a terrible performance in Turin in 2006. Since then, her mother died, her marriage ended, and she nearly declared bankruptcy. She announced she was through with skating, but changed her mind in 2008 and, in October, qualified for what she says will certainly be her last Olympics. "I didn't enjoy Torino, not one bit," she said. "I'd really like to enjoy these Games and leave this sport with a good taste in my mouth."
Terje Bendiksby / Newscom
The heartthrob five-time medalist is one of the reasons NBC is devoting more hours to Olympics coverage than ever this year—835 hours, to be precise. Ohno has become one of the most public faces of the Winter Games, appearing in commercials for everything from Proctor & Gamble to Washington potatoes. (He also managed to squeeze in a winning performance on Dancing With the Stars.) He’s the greatest U.S. short-tracker in history, a genuine source of celebrity gossip, (“ who’s he dating???”) and a guaranteed ratings booster who will make this year’s Games, if nothing else, a bit more sparkly.
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Like a perfectly plotted Disney movie, this year’s U.S. men’s hockey team is the scrappy, charming underdog pitted against the evil Canadian empire on its home turf. “We feel we belong on the same ice as them,” aww-shucked captain Jamie Langenbrunner to The New York Times. Two of the team’s powerhouses are Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny, who’s been a bit off his game lately, and New York Rangers star Chris Drury, who was picked because, as the team’s General Manager Brian Burke put it, “he’s Chris Drury.” If the U.S. can squeak out a gold here, it will be a major upset.
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images; David Zalubowski / AP Photo (2)
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosoto’s chemistry (professional, not romantic) is reason enough to watch the figure-skating duo, but there’s some extra drive behind the pair’s performance this year: It may be their last. The two have been practicing their routine for more than a year, and will give their 11-year partnership one last shot at the gold in Vancouver. “We have achieved a lot of the goals we set—more than we thought we could when we were younger, so there’s nothing to be upset about,” said Agosoto.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP Photo
Defending alpine World Cup champ Lindsey Vonn was born a Minnesotan snow sensation. At age 25, she has already won four World Championship medals—two gold, two silver—and 28 World Cups in four different disciplines. Merely a day after winning three back-to-back events at the World Cup, Vonn said her Olympic expectations are modest, despite the hype. “The toughest thing about ski racing is all the variables involved in our sport," she said. "I haven't given any thought to the possibility of winning more than one medal at the Olympics because it's going to be really, really tough.”
Luca Bruno / AP Photo
Known as much for clashing with team officials as he is for his alpine ski racing skills, rumors of Bode Miller’s retirement turned out to be overstated, and he recently nabbed his first win since March 2008 at the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup. Miller has won two silver medals at the Olympics, and in 2004 he became the fifth man to win World Cup races in all five disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, Super-G, downhill, and combined). At the 2006 Games, his nightlife shenanigans and cavalier attitude came to define him—and didn’t win him many fans. This year, he says, “will speak much more loudly than an apology.”
Alain Grosclaude, Agence Zoom / Getty Images
The halfpipe has long been snowboarding’s main stage, but the snowboardcross—raced through a gated course like a traditional ski race—has gained a legion of devoted followers in recent years. One of those converts is Seth Wescott, who switched from the halfpipe to snowboardcross and won a gold medal for it in 2006. He’s still competing for a berth in this year’s Games—if he makes it, he’ll join teammate Nate Holland, who all but sealed his spot with his third World Cup win in Austria this week.
Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images; Streeter Lecka / Getty Images
The ladies of American snowboarding are noted for their drop-dead looks as often as for their abilities. But make no mistake: U.S. women’s snowboarding has become a force to be reckoned with. Halfpiper Gretchen Bleiler just secured her Olympic bid, and Hannah Teter hopes to be there soon—both are among the best in the world. (Among her many accomplishments, Vermont-native Teter has a Ben & Jerry’s flavor named after her.) And snowboardcross racer Lindsey Jacobellis has claimed her own spot on the team and hopes to pick up a medal just like she did four years ago. The star-power they bring can only help the discipline continue to climb in popularity at this year’s Games.
Mike Coppola / Getty Images; Harry How / Getty Images; Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images
When she was just 12 years old, USA Luge’s Slider Search Program first introduced New York-born Erin Hamlin to the sport. Since then, the now-24-year-old luger has become one of the country’s top female competitors. As a Junior National Team member, Hamlin earned two titles and eventually raced her way into the ’06 Games. Though she placed 12th, Hamlin is now the reigning 2009 FIL World Luge Champion, marking the first time in 99 races that a German woman did not take the title.
Eckehard Schulz / AP Photo
Burke proved he’s quick on his skis—and with the trigger—on December 20 when he became the first American ever to lead the overall Biathlon World Cup, the top title for the sport. The 27-year-old New York-born athlete also notched the best performance of his career in this most recent Biathlon World Cup season in Sweden. Burke is a serious contender for what could be his first Olympic Games in Vancouver. With him is Lanny Barnes, who’s been competing internationally since her teens (along with her twin sister, also a professional biathlete) and made her first Olympic appearance at Turin. The mountain-town girl from Durango, Colorado, knows how to play tough, according to her sister. “There is something inside Lanny that makes her one of the fiercest competitors I know. I know her better than anyone and I still don’t know what it is about her that makes her so darn good under pressure.”
Alex Domanski, NordicFocus / Getty Images; Jens Meyer / AP Photo
Though he’s also a master of cross-country, nordic skier Johnny Spillane fell head over heels in love with ski jumping and has been competing as a nordic skier since 1999. He became the first American nordic skier to win a gold in the world championships (Spillane made the Olympic team in 1998, 2002, and 2006) and hopes to make another Olympic appearance and occupy a spot on the four-man team event in Vancouver.
Matthias Schrader / AP Photo
Unlike many Olympic hopefuls, who are finding out this month if they’ll be going to Vancouver, America’s curling stars secured their spots nearly a year ago. Debbie McCormick, who is coached by her dad, blew her team’s bid for the Turin Games four years ago with a bad throw, but this year made up for it by sealing their slot with a spectacular throw on the match’s final rock. John Shuster is also headed for the Olympics (his second—he took home a bronze at Turin). Both athletes will lead their teams to what they hope will be a sweep of curling gold.
Morry Gash / AP Photo; Jeff Bassett / AP Photo
