The 21st Winter Olympics will take place beginning Friday, February 12 (opening ceremonies), and continue through Sunday, February 28, 2010 (men’s ice hockey final and closing ceremonies), in Vancouver, British Columbia. This will be the third time that Canada has hosted the Olympic Games, the first being the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the second being the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

An estimated 5,500 athletes from more than 80 countries are expected to compete in a total of 86 events in 15 different sports, eight of which are categorized as “ice sports”.  Those ice sports include ice hockey (men’s and women’s), figure skating (men’s, ladies, pairs and ice dancing), speed skating (men’s and women’s) short track speed skating (men’s and women’s) and curling (men’s and women’s teams).  The remaining three ice sports are luge, bobsleigh and skeleton.

Figure Skating

The Olympic figure skating competition will begin on Sunday, February 14, and conclude on Saturday, February 27.  The results of the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, which were held this spring in Los Angeles, will determine the number of skaters from each country that are allowed to skate in the Olympics.  There are a total of 83 spots, including 24 in the men’s division, 24 in the ladies, 16 in pairs and 19 in ice dancing.

Based on the results from Los Angeles, the United States will be allowed three competitors in the men’s division, two competitors in the ladies, two teams in the pairs and three teams in ice dancing.  These competitors will be chosen based on the results of the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships to be held in Spokane, Washington, from Thursday, January 14, through Sunday, January 24, 2010.

Men’s

The three U.S. entries in the men’s division will likely be chosen from among Evan Lysacek, who is the 2009 World Champion, Jeremy Abbott, Johnny Weir, Adam Rippon, Brandon Mroz and Stephen Carriere.  They will face extremely stiff competition from Brian Joubert (FRA), Patrick Chan (CAN), Daisuke Takahashi (JPN), Takahiko Kozuka (JPN), Nobonari Oda (JPN) and, possibly, Evgeny Plushenko (RUS), who is reported to be returning to competition for these Olympics.

Ladies

The U.S. will only be allowed two entries in the ladies division and those two slots are “up for grabs” among a large number of possible contenders, including Sasha Cohen, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, who is returning to competition, Rachel Flatt, Caroline Zhang, Alissa Czisny, Mirai Nagasu, Ashley Wagner and Kimmie Meissner.  They will face formidable competition from Yu-Na Kim (KOR), Mao Asada (JPN), Joannie Rochette (CAN) and Miki Ando (JPN), among others.  It has also been rumored that Michelle Kwan is considering a return to competition.

Pairs

Similarly, the U.S. will only be allowed two entries in pair skating and they will likely be chosen from among Keauna McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker, Rena Inoue & John Baldwin, Caydee Denney & Jeremy Barrett, Tiffany Vise & Derek Trent and Brooke Castile & Benjamin Okolski.  It is unlikely that any of these teams can compete effectively against the World Champion pair team from Germany, or against any of the three Chinese teams (including the return to competition of Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao) or against the two top Russian or Canadian teams.

Ice Dancing

The U.S. is allowed three entries in ice dancing and each of the three teams is likely to end up in the top ten at the Olympics.  Tanith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto are already World and Olympic medalists, including a silver medal at the recent 2009 World Championships, close behind the championship team from Russia.  Meryl Davis & Charlie White are also top competitors who have risen quickly through the international ranks.  Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates are new to the senior ranks but are stylish competitors who should also rise quickly through the ranks.  The U.S. teams, however, will face tough competition from the Russian, French and Canadian teams, among others.

The following is the schedule of figure skating events at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Ice Hockey

2010 will mark the first time since 1998, when NHL players were first allowed to compete in the Olympics, that the Winter Olympics will be held in a city with a NHL team.  In addition, for the first time, Olympic ice hockey will be played on a 13.5’ narrower, NHL-sized ice rink instead of the traditional international size.

The men’s ice hockey competition includes twelve teams, split into three groups of four teams each.  The men’s tournament begins on Tuesday, February 16, and concludes on Sunday, February 28.  The United States is in Group A, along with Canada, Switzerland and Norway.  Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia are in Group B while Sweden, Finland, Belarus and Germany are in Group C.

The women’s ice hockey competition includes eight teams, split into two groups of four teams each.  The women’s tournament begins on Saturday, February 13, and concludes on Thursday, February 25.  The United States is in Group B along with Finland, Russia and China.  Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia comprise Group A.

Speed Skating

The men’s and women’s speed skating competition will begin on Saturday, February 13, and continue through Saturday, February 27.  A total of 12 events are scheduled, six for men and six for women.

Short Track Speed Skating

The men’s and women’s short track speed skating competition will begin on Saturday, February 13, and conclude on Friday, February 26.  A total of 8 events are scheduled, four for men and four for women.  Two-time Olympic gold medalist, Apolo Anton Ohno is training to compete again in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Curling

The curling events will be held on Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27, and will involve a round robin competition among the men’s and women’s teams from ten countries which will result in the selection of four semi-finalist teams.

Comments

Vancouver, British Columbia, located at the eastern end of the Strait of Georgia, is an extraordinarily beautiful city at any time of year and should prove to be a lovely setting for the 21st Winter Games.  It is also the most populous city to ever host the Winter Olympics and the only such city to be located at sea level.  Consequently, the average daytime temperature in Vancouver in February is approximately 40 degrees.  Only the skiing, sledding and Nordic events will be held elsewhere, i.e., at the Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort complex approximately 70 miles north of Vancouver.  All other events will be held in Vancouver.

The motto of the 2010 Winter Olympics is “With glowing hearts!” and its logo is a multi-colored block figure of a human named “Ilanaaq the Inunnguaq”.  “Illanaaq” is the Inuktitut word for “friend”.

Given the popularity of winter sports in Canada, there is a heavy responsibility being placed upon the shoulders of the Canadian Olympic competitors to do well since they will be competing in front of a “hometown crowd”.

Also, of particular interest to residents of the Pacific Northwest, all telecasts of the 2010 Winter Olympics are likely to be available in “real time” since the West Coast is in the same time zone as Vancouver.