Vancouver 2010: A glimpse at the Winter Olympics

A cold Olympic torch relay. Photo credit: GregRob/Flickr

As a Canadian in London and resident sports nut, the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympics are at the forefront of my mind. Unfortunately, the world’s largest sports competition is almost barely mentioned in London papers or broadcasts. I understand the Winter Olympics includes events that are usually played in the snow or in very cold conditions, both of which don’t typically exist in the United Kingdom (except for this past December and January where the UK was a haven for snow sports).

However, the papers haven’t shunned the Olympic Games entirely; they’ve just shifted their focus from 2010 to 2012 when the Athenian flame will make its way to London. Nonetheless, it is important we shed light on the athletes and competitions that will soon take place in the Great White North (O, Canada…).

Vancouver 2010 lasts for 17 days, coming to a close on 28 February after 86 medal events in 15 winter sports, held at nine venues. The Opening Ceremonies commence on February 13th. You can follow the games online on the BBC iPlayer, BBC Five and checking your local BBC listings.

The Winter Olympics boasts various sports, but I’ve selected a few viewer favourites of which to give some in-depth analysis.

Men’s and Women’s Hockey

Canada undoubtedly has the most skilled and well-rounded men’s hockey team in the world. The chosen players are the best of the NHL, and most of them are captains of their respective teams. Canada last won the Olympics in Salt Lake 2002, but wasn’t a contender in Torino 2006 as Finland and Sweden battled for the top piece of hardware.

However, Russia has four top forwards, including Washington Capitals’ superstar Alexander Ovechkin. Sweden, the defending gold medal winners, also champion two of the NHL’s top forwards, Henrik and Daniel Sedin. The United States has goaltending phenomenon Ryan Miller, but boasts a very young team.

Canada can bring home the gold if they can hold off Russia who appear to be second in strength and depth.

As for Women’s Hockey, both Canada and the United States dominate this category. The Canadian Women’s team are the defending gold medal champions from Torino 2006. Their team is a combination of veterans and rookies, the same that lost to the U.S in the 2009 World Championships. The U.S. also won the 2008 World Championships against Canada by 1 goal.

Both Canada and the U.S. have stacked teams. It will be a battle to the end for gold.

Who to watch: Men - Canada, Russia, United States, Sweden; Women – Canada, United States

Schedule: Men – Gold Medal Game (Feb.28); Women – Gold Medal Game (Feb. 25)

Alpine Skiing

Also look for Quatchi in the Olympics! / Photo Credit: mag3737 via Flickr

One of the most popular events at the Olympics, Alpine Skiing is about speed and staying on the right course. In Slalom, skiers make their way through multiple direction changes and must take a track on the correct side of the gate (think skiers going tightly around poles in the ground). For Giant Slalom there are more gates that aren’t as tightly spaced. Super G is a combination of downhill skiing and Slalom that allows the skier to achieve greater speeds. Alpine Skiing Combined consists of one downhill and two slalom runs.

Who to watch: Women - U.S. alpine skier Lindsay Vonn; Maria Riesch (Slalom; Germany); 2008 Austrian National Champion Kathrin Zettel, and five-time Olympic medallist Anja Paerson (Slalom; Sweden). Men – Two time Olympic medallist Benjamin Raich (Super Combined; Austria), Aksel Lund Svindal (Super G; Norway), Julien Lizeroux (Slalom; France), and Didier Couche completes 12 years after making his debut (Switzerland)

Schedule: Men’s Downhill (Feb. 13); Super Combined Women (Feb. 14); Super Combined Men (Feb. 16); Women’s Downhill (Feb. 17); Super-G Men (Feb. 19); Super-G Women (Feb.20); Giant Slalom Men (Feb. 21); Giant Slalom Women (Feb. 24); Slalom Women (Feb. 26); Slalom Men (Feb. 27)

Figure Skating

Who to watch: Men – Jeremy Abbott (U.S), Brian Lysacek (France) Evgeny Plushenko (Russia) who returns to the scene after an injured four years with an Olympic gold under his belt, and 19-year Canadian firecracker Patrick Chan; Women – Mao Asada (Japan), Yu Na Kim (South Korea), Mirai Nagasu (U.S.), Joannie Rochette (Canada) ; Pairs – China dominates this event with Zhang & Zhang and Shen & Zhao, Savchenko & Szolkowy (Germany) ; Dance – Virtue & Moir (Canada), David & White (USA), Belbin & Agosto (USA)

Schedule: Men’s Free skate (Feb. 18); Ladies Free skate (Feb. 25); Pairs (Feb. 15); Ice Dance Free Dance (Feb. 22)

If you have any fave sports in the Winter Olympics that you are looking forward to seeing or if you are just excited about the latest sporting craze, let us know by adding a comment or emailing intranslation@thefirstpint.co.uk.