Spring Break
Columnist breaks down key events for Winter Olympics
Vancouver 2010 less than 100 days away from start
Brian Gomez - The Gazette (MCT)
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Sports
Let the final countdown begin.
The 2010 Vancouver Games are fewer than 100 days away, with about 2,500 athletes from 80-plus countries, including an estimated 220 Americans, vying for 258 medals in 10 sports.
Canada enters as the decisive favorite, anchored by the Own the Podium program, a $110 million government initiative that's designed to produce 35 medals. The United States won't make a medal prediction, but 30 is within reach, and that might be enough to beat Germany, the overall winner in 2006 with 29 medals, including 11 golds.
Here's a sport-by-sport breakdown of what to expect from U.S. athletes in Vancouver:
BIATHLON
The skinny: Three-time Olympian Jay Hakkinen and Tim Burke have qualified for Vancouver. Another American man and as many as two U.S. women could punch their tickets with top-30 finishes at World Cup events next month.
Biggest star: A longtime national team member, Hakkinen finished 13th in the 12.5-kilometer pursuit at the 2002 Olympics, and he took 10th in the 20-kilometer individual competition in 2006, missing a bronze medal by 39 seconds.
Pick to click: A 2006 Olympian, Burke helped the U.S. to a fifth-place finish in the relay at a World Cup last season, and he was seventh in the 20-kilometer race at the 2007 world championships - the second-best result in U.S. Biathlon history.
Colorado connection: Durango resident Lanny Barnes stumbled to a 65th-place finish in the 15-kilometer race at the 2006 Olympics, and she has spent the past three years perfecting her shooting and improving her speed on her skis.
Mark your calendar: The Olympic team will be named after the fourth International Biathlon Union Cup, Jan. 9-10 in Altenberg, Germany.
BOBSLED AND SKELETON
The skinny: The 24-person bobsled team and the six-person skeleton team for the World Cup circuit were set after four qualifying races last month in Lake Placid, N.Y., and Park City, Utah. The Olympic team will be named Jan. 23.
The 2010 Vancouver Games are fewer than 100 days away, with about 2,500 athletes from 80-plus countries, including an estimated 220 Americans, vying for 258 medals in 10 sports.
Canada enters as the decisive favorite, anchored by the Own the Podium program, a $110 million government initiative that's designed to produce 35 medals. The United States won't make a medal prediction, but 30 is within reach, and that might be enough to beat Germany, the overall winner in 2006 with 29 medals, including 11 golds.
Here's a sport-by-sport breakdown of what to expect from U.S. athletes in Vancouver:
BIATHLON
The skinny: Three-time Olympian Jay Hakkinen and Tim Burke have qualified for Vancouver. Another American man and as many as two U.S. women could punch their tickets with top-30 finishes at World Cup events next month.
Biggest star: A longtime national team member, Hakkinen finished 13th in the 12.5-kilometer pursuit at the 2002 Olympics, and he took 10th in the 20-kilometer individual competition in 2006, missing a bronze medal by 39 seconds.
Pick to click: A 2006 Olympian, Burke helped the U.S. to a fifth-place finish in the relay at a World Cup last season, and he was seventh in the 20-kilometer race at the 2007 world championships - the second-best result in U.S. Biathlon history.
Colorado connection: Durango resident Lanny Barnes stumbled to a 65th-place finish in the 15-kilometer race at the 2006 Olympics, and she has spent the past three years perfecting her shooting and improving her speed on her skis.
Mark your calendar: The Olympic team will be named after the fourth International Biathlon Union Cup, Jan. 9-10 in Altenberg, Germany.
BOBSLED AND SKELETON
The skinny: The 24-person bobsled team and the six-person skeleton team for the World Cup circuit were set after four qualifying races last month in Lake Placid, N.Y., and Park City, Utah. The Olympic team will be named Jan. 23.
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