This is the third time that Canada has hosted the coveted Olympic Games. The first time was in Montreal during the 1976 Summer Olympics, followed by the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. Vancouver beat out Pyeong Chang, South Korea in what was the second closest hosting bid vote in Olympic history. It has already cost Canada roughly $1.76 billion to fund the highly anticipated games, and the country promises this will be the greatest Winter Olympic games in history.
Here is a glance at a few key sports to check out over the coming weeks. We've highlighted major athletes to watch and included the dates, so you know what you're watching and when to watch it.
Bobsled
Objective:
Dates:
Venue:
Athletes to Watch:
Why You Should Watch: Cool Runnings
Freestyle Skiing
Objective(s): There are three parts to this event: moguls, aerials and Skicross. The moguls consist of skiers speeding down a steep incline filled with bumps, gaining points for speed and for jumps. The aerials are the incredible high altitude, acrobatic jumps that are scored by a panel of judges. Skicross is a new event that was added to the Olympics this year: the objective is to race down the hill as fast as possible through moguls, over jumps and around corners. The first one down the slope wins.
Dates: Feb. 13-14 and 20-25
Venue: Cypress Mountain
Athlete to Watch:
Why You Should Watch: Freestyle skiing is always a crowd favorite. The slope for the moguls is 680-800 feet long and consists of two jumps where anything can happen. Also, Skicross will make its Olympic debut and adds a unique twist to traditional ski events.
Ice Hockey
Dates:
Venues:
Group A:
Group B:
Group C:
Teams to Watch:
Key Games:
Why You Should Watch:
Short-Track Speedskating
Objective:
Date:
Venue:
Athletes to Watch:
Why You Should Watch:
Skeleton
Objective: This is an individual racing event where athletes speed down a steep winding mountain on a four-foot sled. After numerous heats, the fastest time wins.
Dates: Feb. 18-19
Venue: Whistler Sliding Centre.
Athletes to Watch: Representing America will be Noelle Pikus-Pace. She missed the Turin games because she broke her right leg in a bobsled accident. After missing out on the last Olympics, she came back and won the 2007 world by the largest margin ever. Pikus-Pace took a year off to have her first child and returns to the sport in search of a gold medal.
Why You Should Watch: This is an intense high-speed sport where competitors can top 75mph at points. The top two American women were favored before suffering freak injuries, so it'll be interesting to see if they've recovered enough to take the gold.
Snowboarding
Objective(s): There are three Olympic snowboarding events: the parallel giant slalom, bordercross, and the halfpipe. The parallel giant slalom is a race down the mountain, and the goal is to successfully navigate around stationed gates. Bordercross is similar to the parallel giant slalom event, except instead of two boarders competing at once, four athletes race down the winding hill filled with bumps and jumps all at the same time with the first one down winning. The halfpipe event is a freestyle showcase of boarders' skills. As they make their way across the halfpipe, the athletes perform various aerial tricks and try to impress the judges, who grade them on a scale of 0-10.
Dates: Feb. 15-18 and 26-27
Venue: Cypress Mountain
Athletes to Watch: Shaun White may be the most recognizable U.S. athlete going to the games in Vancouver. At the 2006 Olympics, he won the gold medal and is looking to repeat that result this year. Because of his red hair, he has earned the nickname of 'The Flying Tomato,' and although he may not like that title, if he takes first place in Canada, it won't matter what you call him.
Why You Should Watch: There may not be anything more exciting than snowboarding. Whether it is the downhill race or halfpipe competition, men's and women's snowboarding has everything to offer. Relatively new to the Olympics, snowboarding took off behind the popularity of perennial powerhouse Shaun White. White seemingly guarantees adding to the total medal count for the USA.
E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
