Winter Olympics action

The summer Olympics has a long build-up with athletes traversing the globe, fine-tuning their techniques in a plethora of feeder events. This is not the case with the Winter Olympics, where the sports are condensed into a few months in a handful of locations.

This has meant a series of major winter sports events have concluded recently. It will therefore be interesting to see whether these were an indicator of form or if athletes were holding something back for the main event.

British skeleton star, Lizzy Yarnold, will arrive in Sochi as World Cup champion having clinched the title last Friday, despite having finished off the podium for the first time all season. Another highlight was Hannes Reichelt of Austria winning the famous Hahnenkamm at Kitzbuehel.

Conversely, the Flying Tomato, aka Shaun White, elected to miss the grandiose X-Games. The double-defending champion in the halfpipe (he won in 2006 and 2010),  lead guitarist in the band, Bad Things, is also seeking to win gold in snowboarding slopestyle and was honing his technique.

While he will start as one of the favourites having previously won five gold medals in this event in the X-Games, he has not competed since 2009 and now faces much stiffer competition. Canadian, Mark McMorris, is the favourite with his signature triple-cork spins having elevated the sport to new heights.

However, a recent fall resulting in a broken rib may open the door for Max Parrott who won this event and the Big Air competition at the X-Games, becoming the first person to throw back-to-back triples in the process.
 
Lindsey Jacobellis, the American snowboarder who threw away a three-second lead by showboating in Turin in 2006, became the most decorated X-Games female ever with her eighth cross title.

Snowboarding starts tomorrow, a day ahead of the opening ceremony.

The XXII Winter Olympics will host 15 sports where an anticipated three billion worldwide viewers will witness 98 events. It is the first time the event will have been held in the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. These events will lead to the awarding of 1,300 medals made from precious alloys found across Russia.

However, those awarded on February 15 will be extra special as, to commemorate the first anniversary of the Chelyabinsk meteorite crash into Lake Chebarkul in the Urals, pieces of the space rock will be embedded into the 10 gold medals issued that day. These include alpine and cross-country skiing, speed-skating (including short-track), ski jumping and the skeleton.

The event that the majority of the home crowd will be watching is the ice hockey. Dating back to 1952 their hockey team won medals at every Olympics until 1992, failing to win the gold in only 1960 and 1980 when the Games were held in the US.

However, this year their hopes are high. Led by reigning NHL MVP, Alex Ovechkin, he will be boosted by the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk although it will be captain, Pavel Datsyuk, who will be expected to gel the individual flair into a cohesive team unit. They were successful in 2012, winning the world championship.

The other key factor, believe it or not, is the size of the rink. In Vancouver 2010 the rink was standard NHL-size although European competitions are played on a larger surface. The additional five metres of width alters angles and creates more space, although this often translates to a slower game with players unwilling to commit forward. This has been reflected in past results with the Czech Republic winning in 1998 (Nagano) with Sweden capturing the title in 2006 (Turin).

Vladimir Putin himself is expected to be present for the final, which will bring the curtain down on the Games. Imagine the atmosphere if Russia reaches that far! However, to do so they will have to get past defending champions Canada and joint favourites, Sweden. The US will also be strong contenders.

Another must-watch event for thrills and spills is short track speed skating. The closely competitive action with jostling around the tight turns leads to high-octane races. Russia is hoping that the South Korean-born skater, Ahn Hyun-soo, wins the hosts their first ever medal in this discipline. Ahn’s face was flashed across international media recently when he became famous for winning a race only for the Netherland’s Sjinkie Knegt to make two inappropriate hand-signals in his direction after the finish!

The South Koreans will be strong in both men’s and women’s, although it is the latter that will give Team GB a strong hope for a medal. Elise Christie claimed gold in the 1000m of the European Championships while the team fared well in the relay. In the longer format, watch for the Dutch and their colourful supporters. Four years ago Sven Kramer failed to add the 10km gold to the one he won in the 5km, having been disqualified as a result of a coaching error.

Team USA will be taking a record 230 athletes to Sochi. The only nation to have won gold at every previous Winter Olympics will look towards the alpine skiing events for their best chances.

Lyndsey Vonn was robbed of her chance to shine by injury leaving the door ajar for 18-year old Mikaela Shiffrin. Despite her tender years she is already a world champion having secured the slalom title in Austria last year. Her main competitor will be the most successful slalom skier in history, Austrian Marlies Schild. If successful, Shiffrin will become the youngest US alpine medallist in history.

Providing moral support will be a five-time Olympic medallist, 36-year-old Bode Miller. This controversial character appears to have bounced back from surgery on his left knee that meant he missed the entire 2012 season. Miller showed a return to form with two podium finishes in Kitzbuehel.

Elsewhere, keep an eye out for Norwegian cross-country skier, Marit Bjoergen, who won five individual medals in Vancouver. Waving the same flag will be biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen who will be aiming for a record-equalling 12th Olympic medal. Yuna Kim is another coming to the end of an illustrious career and will be aiming to retain her figure skating title.

The final word is saved for the Norwegian curlers. Dressed by Loudmouth they will be sporting outfits that may have the older generation of viewers adjusting their TVs!