Whoa,
The pace at which
“Own the Podium” program has improved the country’s winter sports
results in anticipation of the Vancouver Olympics will almost certainly
halt
But, almost paradoxically,
In fact, ski jumping is the lone discipline among the 15 being contested in which
“We expect to have the Canadians in a very strong position,” said
in his first Olympics as USOC director of sport performance. “(But)
breakout results in some sports add a lot of opportunities for
With three strong Nordic combined athletes, two of
whom won individual world titles last year, the U.S. should win its
first medal in the sport that combines ski jumping and cross-country
skiing.
first women’s cross-country medal and the first men’s bobsled gold
medal since 1948.
Of course, the last time the U.S. had a contender in biathlon,
the media like a frightened deer after finishing 25th in his first race.
USA Biathlon executive director
“That created a kind of pressure he wasn’t
accustomed to, and a new dynamic,” Cobb said. “He physically is still
really fit, and the down time before the Games will get him back at
ease.”
Because winter sports are not in the DNA of most
U.S. sports fans, the external pressure on the athletes generally is
minimal. That does not prevent them from feeling great internal stress.
And the U.S. has enjoyed tremendous success in the last two Olympics, spurred by having the Winter Games at
After finishing sixth in the overall medal count with 13 at
in 1998, a performance relatively equal to those of the four preceding
Winter Games, the U.S. won 34 in 2002 and 25 in 2006, finishing second
to
Both countries are strong in many of the same
events, meaning they will be fighting for the same medals. That has led
to charges that Canadian sports officials were limiting U.S. athletes’
training time at
That is especially important on the Whistler sledding track, where repeated experience on the course is critical.
“There certainly is a home-ice advantage, especially on a difficult track like this,” said USA Bobsled & Skeleton boss
“But it kind of evens the playing field when you
have a new track everyone has limited runs on, with the exception of
the Canadians, who certainly are going to be pretty tough up there. As
for looking at this as an unfair advantage, we really don’t.”
A Latvian bobsled team (95.08 mph) and German luger
“There is no team in the world that wouldn’t have wanted to get additional time,” USA Luge executive director
After he helped USA Speedskating fill a
complained about how little time they got on the Olympic Oval.
Canadian officials since have decided to open the
Oval a few days earlier than planned to foreign teams for pre-Olympic
training.
USOC leaders decline to make medal predictions.
“It’s important for our nation to have its athletes
perform up to expectations,” English said. “From where we had been in
years past, we are in a great position.”
—
(c) 2010, Chicago Tribune.
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