CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING

U.S. OUTLOOK: Bill Koch's 1976 silver will remain the only Nordic medal ever won by an American.

MEN

1.4K Sprint (freestyle)
Tor Arne Hetland, Norway
Björn Lind, Sweden
Vasily Rochev, Russia
Hetland won gold in Salt Lake City by a 10th of a second.

Team Sprint (classical)
Sweden
Norway
Russia
Five of the top 10 sprinters this season are Swedes.

15K Classical
Tobias Angerer, Germany
Jens Arne Svartedal, Norway
Vasily Rochev, Russia
Angerer wrapped up January with his fifth straight World Cup win.

30K Pursuit
Tobias Angerer, Germany
Pietro Piller Cottrer, Italy
Axel Teichmann, Germany
A part-time deejay, Angerer posts a monthly playlist on his website.

50K Mass Start (freestyle)
Tobias Angerer, Germany
Lukas Bauer, Czech Republic
Pietro Piller Cottrer, Italy
A Scandinavian has won a medal in the 50K at all 19 Winter Olympics.

4_10K Relay
Norway
Italy
Germany Norway took the last two gold medals by a total of half a second.

WOMEN

1.2K Sprint (freestyle)
Marit Bjørgen, Norway
Yulia Chepalova, Russia
Lina Andersson, Sweden
Bjørgen began as a sprint specialist.

Team Sprint (classical)
Norway
Russia
Sweden
Norway leads all nations with 83 cross-country medals.

10K Classical
Marit Bjørgen, Norway
Claudia Künzel, Germany
Beckie Scott, Canada
Bjørgen won five medals at the 2005 world championships.

15K Pursuit
Marit Bjørgen, Norway
Beckie Scott, Canada
Yulia Chepalova, Russia
In '02, after two Russians were DQ'd for doping, Scott won gold.

30K Mass Start (freestyle)
Katêriná Neumannova, Czech Republic
Marit Bjørgen, Norway
Yulia Chepalova, Russia
Neumannova, 32, will be in her sixth Olympics, including the Atlanta Games in 1996 when she finished 18th in mountain biking.

4_5K Relay
Russia
Norway
Finland
Four-time defending champ Russia pulled out in '02 after one of its skiers was disqualified for having a high hemoglobin level.

CURLING

U.S. OUTLOOK: The men are a long shot, but the women, who won silver at worlds, aren't.

MEN

Norway
Canada
Sweden
Familiar with quadrennials, U.S. skip Pete Fenson was born on Feb. 29.

WOMEN

Sweden
Canada
U.S.
Sweden beat the U.S. 10-4 to win the 2005 world title in March.

FIGURE SKATING

U.S. OUTLOOK: Evan Lysacek or Kimmie Meissner could also win a medal for this deep team.

MEN

Evgeni Plushenko, Russia
Stephane Lambiel, Switzerland
Johnny Weir, U.S.
Last month Plushenko overcame the flu to win his fifth European title.

WOMEN

Sasha Cohen, U.S.
Irina Slutskaya, Russia
Shizuka Arakawa, Japan
Japan's Mao Asada, 15, who would be favored but is too young to compete, won't be there, but Michelle Kwan will-and don't count her out.

Pairs
Tatiana Totmianina & Maxim Marinin, Russia
Maria Petrova & Alexei Tikhonov, Russia
Dan Zhang & Hao Zhang, China
Soviet or Russian pairs have won 11 straight Olympic titles.

Dance
Tatiana Navka & Roman Kostomarov, Russia
Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, U.S.
Elena Grushina & Ruslan Goncharov, Ukraine
The favorites are coached by Navka's husband, Alexander Zhulin.

FREESTYLE SKIING

U.S. OUTLOOK: If Jeremy Bloom (moguls) and Jeret Peterson (aerials) are in top form, the team could win five medals.

MEN

Aerials
Dmitri Dashinski, Belarus
Kyle Nissen, Canada
Ryan St. Onge, U.S.
Dashinski led after the qualifying round in '98 but finished third.

Moguls
Dale Begg-Smith, Australia
Toby Dawson, U.S.
Janne Lahtela, Finland
Vancouver native Begg-Smith competed for Canada until 1999.

WOMEN

Aerials
Li Nina, China
Evelyne Leu, Switzerland
Guo Xinxin, China
Last season Li had six firsts and four seconds in 11 World Cup events.

Moguls
Kari Traa, Norway
Jennifer Heil, Canada
Michelle Roark, U.S.
Once addicted to chocolate, Traa now eats it only as a reward.

HOCKEY

U.S. OUTLOOK: The men will be hard-pressed to match their silver from 2002, and the women will be hard-pressed to better theirs.

MEN

Czech Republic
Canada
Russia
SI hockey writer Michael Farber disagrees and picks Canada.

WOMEN

Canada
U.S.
Finland
The top scorer at the world championship in April, Krissy Wendell is the new U.S. captain.

LUGE

U.S. OUTLOOK: Tony Benshoof could win his first Olympic medal, Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin their third.

MEN

Singles
Armin Zöggeler, Italy
Albert Demtchenko, Russia
David Möller, Germany
Zöggeler has won bronze (1994), silver (1998) and gold (2002).

Doubles
Patric Leitner & Alexander Resch, Germany
Christian Oberstolz & Patrick Gruber, Italy
André Florschütz & Torsten Wustlich, Germany
The medals will go to those who tame tricky Turn 14.

WOMEN

Singles
Silke Kraushaar, Germany
Tatjana Hüfner, Germany
Sylke Otto, Germany
Otto led a German sweep in 2002.

Issue date: February 6, 2006