Yesterday ESPN announced nominees for its 2010 ESPY awards. Fans vote for winners until July 10. The network will broadcast half-hour a nomination show today at 8p.m. ET. Winners will be announced during The 2010 ESPYs, televised LIVE Wed, July 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN HD. The complete list of categories with female nominees: BEST FEMALE ATHLETE Maya Moore, NCAA Basketball Helped lead UConn to back-to-back national championships. Averaged 28.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG in the two games at the Final Four. Averaged team-high 18.9 PPG and 8.3 RPG during 2009-10 regular season. Diana Taurasi, WNBA Named WNBA MVP for 2009 regular season and playoffs. Led WNBA in scoring during regular season (20.4 PPG). Helped Phoenix win the WNBA championship. Lindsey Vonn, Skiing Capped a historic season with her third straight overall World Cup title. Won gold medal at Olympics in downhill, becoming the first American woman to do so. Won the final super-G race of the season for her 33rd World Cup win, eclipsing Bode Miller as the most decorated American skier. Serena Williams, Tennis Earned number one world ranking at the end of the 2009 season. Won 2010 Australian Open, becoming the first woman to successfully defend her Aussie title since Jennifer Capriati in 2002. Tied Billie Jean King for 6th on the all-time women’s Grand Slam titles list (12). BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE Brittney Griner, Baylor Women’s Basketball Averaged 18.4 PPG and 8.5 RPG as a freshman. Totaled 223 blocked shots, an NCAA-record. Registered an NCAA Tournament record 40 blocks in five 2010 tourney games, which includes tournament single-game record 14 vs. No. 13 Georgetown. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans Improved from 1,228 rushing yards and 10 total touchdowns as a rookie to 2,006 rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns in the 2009 season. Led the league in rushing with 2,006 yards and became the sixth player in league history with 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals Became the first pitcher to record at least 14 strikeouts and zero walks in his MLB debut. Struck out the final seven batters he faced in his debut and fell one shy of the record for strikeouts in a MLB debut of 15 by Karl Spooner (1954 Dodgers) and J.R. Richard (1971 Astros). John Wall, University of Kentucky Basketball As a freshman, led the Wildcats in scoring (16.6), assists (6.5) and steals (1.8) while setting the school single-season assist record with 241. Recorded five double-doubles on the season as Kentucky went 35-3 and made it to the Elite Eight. BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE Usain Bolt, 100 and 200-meter World Records Shattered 100 and 200-meter mark at World Track and Field Championships. Ran 100 meters in 9.58 seconds, 0.11 seconds faster than the mark he set in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. Set a world record of 19.19 seconds in the 200 meters at the world championships. Brett Favre, NFL record for consecutive starts Set an NFL record for consecutive starts at 271, passing the old mark of Vikings DL Jim Marshall at 270, which ran from 1961-1979. Began his consecutive starts streak 17 years ago. Roger Federer, Most Grand Slam singles titles Won 15th Grand Slam singles title, eclipsing Pete Sampras by winning Wimbledon 2009. Won the finals in an epic battle against Andy Roddick, capturing the fifth set 16-14. Served 50 aces in the record-breaking victory. Connecticut Women’s Basketball, Longest winning streak in Women’s NCAA Basketball History Undefeated season extended their record 78-game winning streak. Won second straight national championship in 2009-2010 season. Made women’s college basketball history with NCAA- record 71st straight win, a 59-44 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. Isner vs. Mahut at Wimbledon, Longest Match in Professional Tennis History Tied 59-59 in the fifth set when match was suspended due to darkness. Played for ten hours until match was stopped, which is nearly three and a half hours longer than the previous record. BEST UPSET Frankie Edgar over B.J. Penn, MMA Dethroned the long-time lightweight champion, winning the title with a unanimous 50-45, 48-47, 49-46 decision at UFC 112. Became Penn’s first loss at lightweight since 2002. Hawaii softball upsets #1 Alabama, NCAA Softball Defeated Alabama 5-4 on a two-run, walk-off home run by Jenna Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh in the deciding game of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional. Advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the first time in school history. Northern Iowa shocks No. 1 Kansas, NCAA Men’s Basketball Advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history, making Kansas the first No. 1 seed to lose before the Sweet 16 since Kentucky and Stanford both did it in 2004. Northern Iowa hit nine three-pointers in the stunner. Y. E. Yang stuns Tiger Woods, PGA Championship The 110th-ranked player in the world became the first player to beat Tiger Woods in a major when Woods had at least a share of the 54-hole lead. Shot a two-under-par 70 in the final round, while Woods was +5 (75). BEST MOMENT Phil Mickelson, 2009 Masters Finished 16 under par with a bogey-free final round for the fourth-lowest winners’ score in tournament history. Had back-to-back eagles in third round. Celebrated with his wife Amy, who was battling cancer. Joannie Rochette, Winter Olympics Earned a bronze medal in Olympic skating just days after her mother died. Rochette’s mother passed only a few hours after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter compete. New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV Tracy Porter’s interception helped New Orleans wrap up Super Bowl win over the Colts. Brees finished with a record-tying 32 completions in 39 attempts for 288 yards and two touchdowns as New Orleans captured its first NFL championship, winning 31-17 over the Colts. Landon Donovan World Cup vs. Algeria With the U. S. on the verge of elimination from group play, Landon Donovan converted a rebound from eight yards out in the 91st minute. Helped the U. S. beat Algeria, 1-0, to advance to the knockout stage. Was the first World Cup win for the U.S. in eight years, placing the Americans in first place in Group C. BEST TEAM Alabama Football Won its first national championship since 1992. Earned its eighth major poll championship after going 14-0, with 12 games decided by more than a touchdown. Won BCS championship with 37-21 win over Texas. Chicago Blackhawks Won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961. Only the New York Rangers had more time between Cups (53 seasons). Had 52 regular-season wins, second-most in the NHL during 2009-10 season. Connecticut Women’s Basketball Completed their second straight perfect season, the second basketball team to do that in Division I history, joining the 1971-73 UCLA men. UConn has won 78 straight games, 10 shy of UCLA’s Division I record. The Huskies beat Stanford by 6, their first single-digit win of the streak, to win their seventh National Championship. Los Angeles Lakers Won 16th NBA championship in franchise history. Won the final two games of the series to beat the Celtics in seven games for its second consecutive championship. 57-25 in regular season; best record in Western Conference. New Orleans Saints Set a franchise single-season record for wins and consecutive victories; captured Super Bowl XLIV. Ended the regular season with the NFL’s No. 1 ranked offense. Scored 31 of the game’s final 38 points to bounce back from a 10-0 deficit and win Super Bowl XLIV, the first Super Bowl championship in the franchise’s 43 seasons. Became the first team to win in its Super Bowl debut since the 2002 Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. New York Yankees Won their record 27th World Series championship by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. Had an MLB-best 103–59 record during the regular season. Led MLB in runs scored with 915. Capital One Best College Athletic Program (not included in voting module) BEST COACH/MANAGER Geno Auriemma, Connecticut Women’s Basketball Led UConn. to back-to-back national championships and perfect 39-0 records. Won his seventh national championship. Joe Girardi, NY Yankees Led the Yankees to their 27th World Series in his second year as manager. Became the first manager to win a World Series title for the same team for which he had played on a World Series champion since Billy Martin. Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers Won his 11th NBA title after leading the Lakers to the franchise’s 16th championship. Passed John Wooden for most championships by a major basketball coach. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Men’s Basketball Took a team ranked eighth in the preseason ESPN/USA Today poll and led them to the national championship. Blue Devils finished the season with a 35-5 record. Joined John Wooden (10) and Adolph Rupp (four) as only men with at least four national championships. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints Led Saints to 13-0 start en route to the Super Bowl championship. The Super Bowl champions set a franchise single-season record for wins and consecutive victories. Nick Saban, Alabama football Led Tide to BCS championship with win over Texas. Became the second head coach to win two BCS national championships, joining Urban Meyer of Florida. Became the first head coach in major college football history to win a national championship at two different schools. BEST COMEBACK (Not featured in voting module) Kim Clijsters, Tennis Made history to become the first unseeded woman to win the Open. Beat both Serena and Venus Williams as well as seeded players Caroline Wozniacki and Na Li en route to the championship. The first unseeded player to win the US Open and is just the second unranked player to win a major since the inception of computer rankings in 1975, joining Evonne Goolagong at the 1977 Australian Open. BEST WNBA PLAYER Tamika Catchings, Indiana Named WNBA defensive player of the year. Led her team to the WNBA finals in the 2009 season. Becky Hammon, San Antonio Finished second in regular season in scoring (19.5 PPG). Finished third in the regular season in assists (5.0 APG). Lauren Jackson, Seattle Finished third in scoring during the regular season (19.2 PPG). Tied for 10th in rebounding (7.0). Candace Parker, Los Angeles Averaged 13.1 PPG during the regular season. Led the league in rebounding with 9.8 RPG. Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Led WNBA in scoring during the regular season (20.4 PPG). Named MVP for the regular season and playoffs. Helped Phoenix win the WNBA championship. BEST FEMALE GOLFER Cristie Kerr Had 13 top 10 finishes in 25 events played in 2009. Helped USA team win Solheim Cup. Lorena Ochoa Won three LPGA tournaments and finished second four times. Had 13 top 10 finishes in 22 events. Led LPGA in scoring average (70.16). Jiyai Shin Was top money winner on LPGA Tour with over $1.8 million. Earned Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors. Won three LPGA tournaments in 2009. BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER Kim Clijsters Won 2009 U. S. Open. Became the first mother since Evonne Goolagong at 1980 Wimbledon to come back and win a Grand Slam singles title. Became the first unseeded woman to win the Open, beating both Serena and Venus Williams en route to the championship. Serena Williams Set the record for single-season prize money in women’s tennis by topping $6.5 million in 2009. Won 2009 WTA season-ending championship in Doha, Qatar. Won 2010 Australian Open. Venus Williams Finished 2009 season as the sixth-ranked woman’s player. Moved up to #2 in world rankings by the start of the 2010 French Open. BEST FEMALE COLLEGE ATHLETE Tina Charles, Connecticut Women’s Basketball Averaged 18.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 61.8 field goal pct in under 28 minutes per game Helped lead the Huskies to a National Championship and a 39-0 record for a second consecutive year. Became the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. Megan Hodge, Penn State Volleyball Led her team to its third straight NCAA championship title, winning 102 straight matches. Led the Big Ten with an average of 4.67 kills per set (560 kills total). Megan Lagenfeld, UCLA Softball WCWS Most Outstanding Player as UCLA won its 12th national softball championship. Batted .527 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI in 61 games during season. Posted 14-1 record with 1.53 ERA as a pitcher. Maya Moore, Connecticut Women’s Basketball Helped lead UConn to back-to-back national championships. Named Most Outstanding Player at 2010 Final Four. Averaged 28.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG in the Final Four and a team-high 18.9 PPG and 8.3 RPG during the regular season. BEST FEMALE ACTION SPORT ATHLETE Torah Bright, Snowboarding Won gold at the Winter Olympics in the halfpipe. Ashley Fiolek, Motocross Won Super X gold at the 2009 X Games and her second straight WMX season title. Jen Hudak, Freestyle Skiing Won 2010 Winter X Games SuperPipe gold and the 2009-2010 AFP World Tour Championship. Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing Has won the world title in all three of her seasons on the Women’s ASP World Tour. Ashleigh McIvor, Freestyle Skiing Won ski cross gold at the Winter Olympics and earned Skier X silver at the 2010 Winter X Games. BEST FEMALE ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY Linnea Dohring A gymnast without the lower half of her right arm and hand, she consistently scored in the 8.1-8.5 range in both the vault and floor exercises during all regular season meets. Was a three-year starter and co-captain on Grandview’s varsity Soccer team. Alana Nichols Won two gold medals (sitting downhill, sitting giant slalom) among four total medals at 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Amy Palmiero-Winters Became the first amputee to qualify for a U.S. national track and field team. Competed in the 24-hour world championships in May 2010 in Brive, France. Won the AAU Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete. Stephani Victor Won gold in the sit-ski super combined to earn her third medal of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. BEST BOWLER Kelly Kulick Became the first woman to win a PBA Tour title when she defeated Chris Barnes to win the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. Bill O’Neill Finished second in points (208.2). Won Lumber Liquidators U. S. Open. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Led PBA in points (229.1), earnings ($152,670), scoring average (222.9) and match play appearances (15). BEST FEMALE US OLYMPIC ATHLETE Hannah Kearney, Skiing Won a gold medal in freestyle skiing moguls. Scored 26.63 points to win by .94 — a wide margin in a sport often decided by tenths and hundredths. Julia Mancuso, Skiing Won two silver medals in alpine skiing. Her silver in the downhill marked the first time the U.S. has captured the top two spots in alpine skiing since 1984 (and 3rd time overall). Lindsey Vonn, Skiing Won a gold medal in the women’s downhill, marking the first gold medal by an American woman in the Olympic downhill. Also won a bronze medal in the women’s super-G. BEST TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE Usain Bolt Shattered the world record, running 100 meters in 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships. Set a world record of 19.19 seconds in the 200 meters at the world championships. Allyson Felix Won the 200-meters at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships. Sanya Richards Won the 400-meters at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships with a time of 49 seconds.

The XXI Winter Olympic Games are set to start Friday, February 12 in Vancouver for the 2010 games. This is the 21st installment of the winter games and the third time Canada has hosted the games overall and second time it has hosted the winter games.

While there will be a lot of coverage of the host country and how well the Canadians do on home soil. There is also a chance for Americans to have another good medal haul at the Winter Olympics.

The past two winter games the United States have had their best two medal counts in the Winter Games. In the Salt Lake games held on U.S. soil in Utah the U.S. won 36 medals and in Turin, Italy the U.S. won 25 medals.

Even with all the success the U.S. has had in the past two Winter Olympic Games, there are some events that Americans have had no or very little success in. So with the opening ceremonies upon us here is a look at the winter sports the U.S. look to end medal droughts in.

To break down these winter sports, here is the individual sport and the last gold medal won by a U.S. athlete plus the last medal overall. Also, we will look at the American athletes who will get a chance to break the medal droughts in these winter sports as well as the countries that are considered traditional powers that the U.S. athletes will have to beat to win a medal.

 

Nordic Combined

Last U.S. Gold Medal: None       Last U.S. medal overall: None

The Nordic Combined is one of two sports that American athletes have never medaled in at all. To compete in the Nordic Combined an athlete must be a good cross-country skier and ski jumper. This event is also a male only event.

There are three different events in the Nordic Combined, which are the Individual Large, and Individual Normal, Team. Only the Individual Large event has been at every Olympics while the Team event has been in the last seven and Individual Normal event makes its first appearances in these Olympics.

The U.S. Nordic Combined team is made up of five men. These men are Johnny Spillane, Bill Demong, Todd Lodwick, Brett Camerota, and Taylor Fletcher.

This U.S. team might be the best chance the United States has ever had at winning a medal in the Nordic Combined. The U.S. athlete with the best chance over all could be Lodwick, who came out of retirement in 2008, and won the World Championship in 2009.

For the U.S. to win a medal in the Nordic Combine they must fend off challenges by the traditional powers in this sport. Those traditional powers are Norway, Germany, Finland and Austria.

Norway has dominated this event by far winning the most gold medals with 11 and the most overall medals with 26 total medals. Finland is a distant second to Norway with four gold medals and 14 total medals.

 

Biathlon Men’s and Ladies’ Event

Last U.S. Men’s Gold Medal: None           Last U.S. Men’s Medal Overall: None

Last U.S. Ladies Gold Medal: None          Last U.S. Ladies Medal Overall: None 

The Biathlon is the other Winter Olympic event that no U.S. athlete has ever won. A biathlon is the term used for sporting events that consist of two disciplines.

In this case the two disciplines are cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. There are five events for both the men and women in the Olympics.

For the men there is the Men’s Individual (20km), Men’s Relay (4x7.5km). The next three events are intertwined starting with the Men’s Sprint (10km).

The top 60 finishers of the Sprint race qualify for the next event with is the Men’s Pursuit (12.5km). This event starts with the winner of the Sprint race followed by each of biathlon athletes at the same time interval they trailed the sprint winner.

The top 30 finishers of the Men’s Pursuit are qualified for the Men’s Mass Start (15km). This event has a single start for all the athletes.

In the Ladies’ Biathlon Events the distances are different but the events are the same. The Ladies’ Individual is (15km), Ladies’ Relay (4x6km), Ladies’ Sprint (7.5km), Ladies’ Pursuit (10km), and Ladies’ Mass Start (12.5).

The Men’s Biathlon is made up of five members. These members are Tim Burke, Jay Hakkinen, Jermey Teela, Lowell Bailey, and Wynn Roberts.

Of these five athletes Burke might have the best chance to end the medal drought in any of the five Biathlon events. In December of 2009, Burke became the first America Biathlon athlete to ever lead the overall Biathlon World Cup.

The Ladies’ Biathlon team is made up of four team members. These members are Haley Johnson, Sara Studebaker, Lanny Barnes, and Laura Spector.

None of the four Ladies Biathlon team members have had much success in any of the events. If the U.S. is going to get a medal from the Ladies’ Biathlon it might come from Spector the only woman to qualify for the U.S. based on her performance in the overall World Cup standings.

To win a medal in either the Men’s or Ladies’ Biathlon, U.S. athletes will have to find away to get past the teams from Germany, Norway, and Russia. These three countries have had a lot of success in this event.

Germany has had the most success in the Biathlon, winning 14 gold medal and 38 overall medals. Norway is second in the medal count overall behind the Germans with nine gold medals and 24 overall medals. If Russia counted the medals won by the U.S.S.R. it would lead the medal count with 16 gold medals and 36 overall medals.

 

Luge Men’s and Ladies’ Singles  

Last Men’s Single Luge Gold Medal: None    Last Men’s Single Luge Overall Medal: None

Last Ladies Single Luge Gold medal: None    Last Ladies Single Luge Overall Medal: None

The U.S. has won a Luge medal in the Doubles event four times and all four in two Olympic games. These games were in 1998 in Nagano, Japan and 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 All four of the medals won by American athletes in those two games were a silver and bronze. No U.S. athlete has ever won a gold medal in the Luge in any of the three events.

The Luge first made its Olympic appearance in the 1964 games in Innsbruck, Austria. This event has been in every Olympic game, since the games in Austria.

In the last 46 years the U.S. Men’s and Ladies’ single Luge teams have not been able to break through to reach the medals podium. It took the U.S. 34 years just to win a medal in this event.

The Men’s Single Luge team is made up of three members. Those members are Tony Benshoof, Bengt Walden, and Chris Mazdzer.

Benshoof is the U.S. best chance for a medal in the Men’s Single Luge event. While competing in the Turin games, Benshoof, finished fourth. This is the best finish ever for and American athlete in the Men’s Single Luge.

The Ladies’ Single Luge team is made up of three members as well. These members are Erin Hamlin, Julia Clukey and Megan Sweeney.

Hamlin has the best chance of the Ladies’ in the Single Luge Event. She finished 12th overall in the Single Luge in Turin four years ago.

If the Americans want to medal in any Luge event they will have to find away to bump the Germans off the podium. In the Olympic history of the Luge event it has been owned by the German Team.

No matter what flag the Germans have competed under they have dominated this event. Overall under every flag Germany has won 25 gold medals and 65 medals overall.

 

Men’s Two Man Bobsleigh

Last U.S. Men’s Two Man’s Bobsleigh Gold Medal: 1936    

Last U.S. Men’s Two Man’s Bobsleigh Overall Medal: 1952

While the U.S. men have not won a Gold Medal in the Four Man Bobsleigh Event since 1948, the American Men have medaled since then. In the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City the U.S. Four Man Bobsleigh team won a silver and bronze medal.

It has been 62 years since the U.S. last won gold in Four Man Bobsleigh it has been even longer since they won a gold in the Two Man Bobsleigh. The U.S. men have not won a gold medal in the Two Man Bobsleigh in 74 years and no medal overall in 58 years.

The U.S. has qualified three sleds in the Two Man Bobsleigh. Most of the American Two Man Bobsleigh team will also compete in Four Man Bobsleigh team as well.

To find a place on the medal podium the U.S. Men Bobsleigheder’s will have to find away to get past Switzerland and Germany. The good news is that the U.S. is third in overall medals in the Bobsleigh events with 18 overall. Those 18 medals are also with the Women’s two Ladies Bobsleigh team medals as well.

Switzerland is the best country in this event as far as medals go. The Swiss have won nine gold medals and 30 medals overall.

The Germans are also strong in this event under any flag as well. Germany has won 15 gold medals and 37 medals overall under different flags.

 

Men’s Ski Jump: three events (Large Hill Individual, Normal Hill Individual and Large Hill Team

Last U.S. Ski Jump Large Hill Individual gold medal: None   

Last U.S. Ski Jump Large Hill Individual overall medal: 1924

Last U.S. Ski Jump Normal Hill Individual gold medal: None

Last U.S. Ski Jump Normal Hill Individual medal overall: None

Last U.S. Ski Jump Large Hill Team gold Medal: None

Last U.S. Ski Jump Large Hill Team overall medal: None 

The U.S. has not had very much success in these three events. Only one medal in these three events and the last medal came 86 years ago.

The Large Hill Individual is one of ten sports that have been in every Winter Olympic Games. All the U.S. has to show for it is one bronze medal won in 1924 by Anders Haugen.

Vancouver could chance that for the U.S. with a strong three man team. This team is made up of Nick Alexander, Peter Frenette and Anders Johnson.

Alexander won first place in the U.S.  Men’s Ski Jump Championship in 2009. Frenette is a dark horse who has not competed in the Ski Jump World Cup.

Johnson is a returning Olympian who finished in the top 50 in all three events in Turin in 2006 and his best finish was a 14th place in the Large Hill, Team. This team could steal a medal if they make strong jumps and get some breaks from the best ski jump countries.

For the Americans to get in the medal race they will have to find away to beat three strong countries in the ski jump events. Those countries are Finland, Norway and Austria.

The Fins have won 10 gold medals and 22 medals overall. Norway has won nine gold medals and 28 medals overall.

Austria has won five gold medals and 20 medals overall. These three countries are the only ones to win double digits in medals in this event.

 

Men’s and Ladies’ Cross Country Skiing  (events: individual, team, speed and relay)

There are 16 Men’s and Ladies’ Cross Country Skiing Events combined. The U.S. has only managed one medal in Cross Country Skiing. 

Last gold medal in any Cross Country Skiing Event: None

Last overall medal in any Cross Country Event: 1976

Cross Country Skiing is another Winter Olympic event that the U.S. has struggled in. The last time an American won a medal in Cross Country Skiing of any time was 1976.

The U.S. has men’s and Ladies’ Cross Country Ski team. There are six members of the men’s team and five members of the ladies team.

Winning a medal in this event will be a long shot for the U.S. in these games. There are five countries who have won double digit medals in this event.

If the U.S. is going to get any medals they will have to find away to beat Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Italy. These five countries dominate the Cross Country Skiing Events.

The U.S. has one medal which was a silver medal and won by Bill Koch in the Men’s 30 km. This event was changed in 2006 to a 30 km double pursuit.

 

Other Winter Olympic Events That the U.S. Is In A Medal Drought: 

Pairs Figure Skating:

Last Gold Medal: Never             Last overall medal: 1988   

 

Men’s Alpine Skiing:

Men’s Downhill last gold medal: 1994     Men’s Downhill last overall medal: 1994

Men’s Slalom last gold Medal: 1984        Men’s Slalom last overall medal: 1984

Men’s Super G last gold medal: None     Men’s Super G last overall medal: 1994

 

Ladies’ Alpine Skiing:

Ladies’ Downhill last gold medal: none    Ladies’ Downhill last overall medal: 1994

Ladies Slalom last gold medal: 1972         Ladies’ Slalom last overall medal: 1972

Ladies Super G last gold medal: 1998      Ladies Super G last overall medal: 1998

Ladies Combined last gold medal: none   Ladies Combined last overall medal: 1948

 

Ladies’ Speed Skating:

Ladies’ 500 meters last gold medal: 1994   Ladies’ 500 meters last overall medal: 1994

Ladies’ 3000 meters last gold medal: none   Ladies’ 3000 meters last overall medal: 1980

Ladies’ 5000 meters last gold medal: none   Ladies’ 5000 meters last overall medal: none

 

Ladies’ Short Track Speed Skating:

Ladies’ 500 meters last gold medal: 1994     Ladies’ 500 meters last overall medal: 1994

Ladies’ 1000 meters last gold medal: none   Ladies’ 1000 meters last overall medal: none

Ladies 1500 meters last gold medal: none    Ladies’ 1500 meters last overall medal: none

Ladies’ 3000 meter relay last gold medal: none  

Ladies 3000 meters relay last overall medal: 1994 

The 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver are just two weeks away.

Shaun White and Team USA will look to continue their dominance on the half pipe; Lindsey Jacobellis will look to make amends for a showboating error that cost her a gold medal in Torino; and Lindsey Vonn will look to stand atop the alpine skiing world at the third time of asking.

America will likely move into second on the all-time list of medal winners in 2010, moving ahead of the Soviet Union and looking to close the gap on runaway leaders Norway. Team USA brought home 25 medals from Torino four years ago, their best ever haul on international soil, and a strong run north of the border could help them add to the 78 gold metals captured over the years.

In part one of my two-part look at America’s chances in Vancouver, here are the movers are shakers, the contenders and the pretenders, for the seven snow sports of the 2010 Games.

 

Alpine Skiing

The Basics

There are five different events in the alpine skiing program, each of which will be contested by the men and women.

The downhill and super-G events are known as the speed events, and medals are awarded purely on a “quickest down the mountain” basis. In the more technical giant slalom and slalom events, athletes make two runs and racers’ times are combined. In the super-combined event, changed slightly for this year’s Games, skiers make one downhill run and one slalom run, with medals awarded to the racers with the fastest combined times.

American Hopes

20 of the 49 athletes racing down the newly-designed Whistler Creekside courses next month will be representing Team USA.

Austria has historically been the dominant force in alpine skiing, having won twice as many medals than every other nation (101) other than Switzerland. But all eyes will be on Lindsey Vonn, who had a headline crash in Torino four years ago, as she looks to quench her thirst for an Olympic medal at the third time of asking.

Vonn is currently ranked No. 1 in the 2009-10 FIS Alpine World Cup standings. She won the women’s downhill event at Lake Louise in Canada and the super combined race at Val d’Iserein France in December, and she followed it up with downhill and super-G victories in Haus im Ennstal in Austria and at Italy’s Cortina d Ampezzo at the start of 2010.

25-year-old Vonn, an Olympian in 2002 and 2006, is still searching for her first Olympic medal, despite winning the World Championship twice. She has dominated in all five World Cup downhill races this season, and she’ll be looking to cap February off in style in Vancouver.

Leanne Smith from North Conway, N.H. is probably America’s next best hope of an alpine skiing medal, while Bode Miller on the men’s side will be looking to put a disappointing 2006 Games in Torino behind him and build on the two silver medals he captured eight years ago in Salt Lake City.

Competition

German Maria Riesch, ranked second overall in the World Cup standings, is a close personal friend of Vonn as well as the American’s biggest challenger in the downhill and slalom speed events. Defending World Champion Kathrin Zettel of Austria is accomplished in both slalom and giant slalom, and Sweden’s Anja Parson, a five-time medallist, can never be discounted.

Janica Kostelic, who defended her combined title and won a super-G silver medal in Torino will not be competing in Vancouver.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 80 percent

 

Biathlon

The Basics

The biathlon combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. There are five events scheduled for the 2010 Winter Olympics: individual, sprint, pursuit, mass start, and relay, where the format is the same for the men’s and women’s competition with only the distances varying.

American Hopes

Team USA has never won a medal in the biathlon—one of only two droughts for the red, white, and blue in the Winter Olympics—but a trio of New Yorkers are hoping to change all that in Vancouver.

Returning Olympian Tim Burke, Lowell Bailey, and Haley Johnson represent America’s best chances in the two-pronged event. Burke finished second in the 20km individual race in Ostersund in Sweden at the end of 2009, and he became the first American to lead the World Cup standings when he wore the yellow bid earlier this month.

Without the pressure of the eyes of a nation, Burke and co. might have a legitimate shot at picking up a medal in one of the four men’s events (10km sprint, 12.5km pursuit, 20km individual, and 15km mass start) north of the border.

Competition

Norway’s duo of Ole Einar Bjorndalen and Emil Hegle Svendsen make a gold medal unlikely for Burke, but if he shoots well, there’s every chance of him being in the mix.

The women unfortunately are less likely to break their 18-year biathlon famine—although Johnson had a top-30 finish in a World Cup event last month—and a team medal in either the men’s or women’s relay is out of the question because of the strength of nations like Russia, Austria, Sweden, Germany, and Norway.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 15 percent

 

Cross-Country Skiing

The Basics

Cross-country skiing involves athletes skiing over different terrains in two different styles. There is the “classical” style where athletes glide across a prepared track that has parallel grooves cut into the snow, and there is “freestyle”which is move like ice skating where skiers transfer their weight over a smoothed course.

There are 12 events in Vancouver, six for the men and six for the women. The events, which specify whether you must ski in the freestyle or classical style, are the same for both men and women, but the distances vary.

American Hopes

America will send 10 athletes to Vancouver—eight who were allocated a roster spot and two more by quota re-allocation.

Kris Freeman is America’s best hope in the men’s competition, while Kikkan Randall will lead the charge for the women.

Freeman, from Andover, N.H., is the top distance racer in the country and he’ll be hoping for a medal when he takes his poles for the third time on the Olympic stage. He is a five-time World Champion, and he will have his best chances of a medal in the 15km freestyle or the 50km classical race.

For the women, Kikkan Randall is the USA’s best hope. She’s in the top 40 in the World Cup sprint standings, and she has been on the podium twice in 51 World Cup starts, most notably her second-place finish in Liberec last year.

She also finished an impressive ninth in the sprint event in Torino in 2006 after coming 44th in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Competition

Petter Northug is one of Freeman’s biggest rivals at the games. The Norweigien 24-year-old, who won three gold medals in last year’s World Championships, is arguably the favourite in four individual events in Vancouver. He’s the current Tour leader and world No. 1, and everything points to more success at Whistler.

In the 15km race, don’t discount Italian Pietro Piller Cottrer. He is a strong distance skier and was part of the Italian team which took gold in the relay in Torino four years ago.

Andrus Veerpalu from Estonia is one of the ones to watch in the 50kn event. The veteran, who turns 39 next week, will be competing in his sixth Olympic Games, and he’ll be favored to come away with a medal of some color after winning gold at the 15km distance twice before.

Randall will have to overcome the likes of Charlotte Kalla, Petra Madjic, and Justyna Kowalczyk if she wants to reach the podium in Vancouver.

22-year-old Kalla is widely touted as Sweden’s best hopes of a cross country champion in more than four decades, while Slovakian Majdic is a two-time defending spring champion at the World Cup. She came runner-up in the overall standings last winter.

Majdic lost out to Kowalczyk in the World Cup, the woman who also won Poland’s first ever Olympic medal in cross-country skiing in Torino in 2006. She won a pair of gold medals at the Worlds, so she will head to Whistler Olympic Park as a firm favourite.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 20 percent

 

Freestyle Skiing

The Basics

There are three different events in the 2010 Olympic program: Moguls, aerials, and ski cross. Men and women compete in all three.

The mogul event will see skiers racing down a hill over a course of large bumps, making sharp turns while keeping their knees bend. There are also two ramps which send the skier into the air where they are expected to perform flips and twists. Skiers are judged on speed and style.

The aerial competition is one of the most exciting events on the Winter Olympics schedule. Skiers fly down a slope and over a concave ramp, propelling them up to 50ft into the air to give them enough time to perform multiple flips and twists before landing the other side. Get ready to hear a lot about the lay-full-full, lay-tuck-full, and double-full-full-full. Tune in to this—you’ll be glad you did.

The ski cross is a new event for 2010 and pits four racers against each other in a first-to-the-line battle over jumps and turns.

American Hopes

Team USA will go into the Olympics feeling confident. Four of the team’s women swept the top four spots at Lake Placid in upstate New York last week, and Jeret Peterson—a two-time Olympian and seven time World Champion—says he is looking to push the envelope with his trademark three-flip, five-twist jump.

Hannah Kearney will spearhead a strong mogul team in her second Olympic Games. She failed to live up to expectations in 2006 despite entering the games as the World Champion, but a strong showing on Whiteface Mountain has her name being thrown out once again as a possible medallist.

She has the speed and air assault to dominate the mogul, and it’s likely that the US will have a great start to the competition when Kearney takes to the mountain on Day One of the competition. Shannon Bahrke, Michelle Roark, and Heather McPhie could also challenge for spots in the top 10.

Also watch out for Emily Cook in the aerial event. She came in fourth in the 2009 World Championships and will be competing in her second Olympic Games. She is a strong medal contender, even if she is unlikely to strike gold.

Jeret Peterson, who has never placed better than seventh in his previous two trips to the Games, may represent the best chance for the men in the aerial competition. Talk will center around him landing “The Hurricane” his signature quintuple spinning triple flip. If the conditions are right and he pulls it off, his daredevil approach to his sport may just be worth it.

Competition

If the Americans hope to win a medal in the men’s aerial, a feat they failed for the first time in Torino four years ago, they may have to withstand the barrage of Canadian trio Steve Omischl, Kyle Nissen, and Ryan Blais.

Omischl has stood on the World Championship podium four times, including the last three years on the very top step. Nissen finished fifth at the 2006 Olympics and fourth in the 2009 World Cup aerials, and Blais rebounded from injury in 2007 to finish seventh in 2008.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 60 percent

 

Nordic Combined

The Basics

This event combines cross-country skiing and ski jumping—two events in one day. It is a male-only event and features three events: two individual events distinguished by the size of the hill, and a team competition.

American Hopes

Bill Demong and Todd Lodwick will be flying the flag for Team USA. They have competed in nine Olympic Games between them and both have won the World Championships.

Demong won the bronze medal in last year’s World Cup, and he is excellent on the large hill; Lodwick took the gold in the 2009 normal hill competition.

Many fans of the sport will know Demong for one of two reasons: as the 22-year-old star forced to miss a year of action after fracturing his skull in 2002, or as the member of the American team that lost his bib in the 2009 World championships, and thus getting disqualified. He’s looking to set the record straight in February and be remembered for all the right reasons.

Johnny Spillane adds depth to the American roster for the team competition, and pundits are saying this is probably the best chance the country has ever had for its first Nordic combined medal.

Individually or as a team, the US really does have more than a punchers’ chance.

Competition

France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis is the skier in form heading to Canada. He won his fifth World Cup event of the season last weekend and currently holds a 38-lead over Felix Gottland at the top of the international standings.

34-year-old Gottwald came out of retirement last May, adding an extra threat to the Americans’ chances. He has won two gold medals, a silver medal, and three bronze medals in four Olympics, and he gives the Austrian team a dangerous combination of skill and experience.

Meanwhile, Finland’s Anssi Koivuranta, the defending World Cup champion, is as good as anybody on his day, and Notway’s Magnus Moan will likely be in contention in both the normal and large hill events.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 75 percent

 

Ski Jumping

The Basics

There are three events in Vancouver in the ski jumping class: two individual events and a team event. As with the Nordic combined event, it is contested by the men only.

The individual events are separated into two categories: the normal hill and the large hill. Athletes are awarded points based on the length of their jump and their style, both in-flight and on the landing. The team event is also held on the large hill, where the scores of four members are combined to produce a grand total.

American Hopes

The US is sending three athletes to Vancouver to compete in the ski jumping events: Nick Alexander, teenager Peter Frenette, and Anders Johnson.

The bad news is that none of them will seriously contend for a medal.

Johnson, who became the youngest American representative on the Olympic ski jumping team when he competed as a 16-year-old in 2006, will look to improve on his 40th position in Torino, but it is doubtful whether he will even be in serious contention for a top-30 finish.

Johnson finished just inside the top 50 at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec in 2009, and he has never finished better than 29th in a World Cup meeting. An ACL injury slowed down his Olympic preparations last year, but he insists he is fit and ready to go. Even a healthy Johnson is no match for more than two dozen other jumpers.

Competition

With Team USA unlikely to feature at the business end of any of the competitions, there are scores of ski jumpers you could expect to finish ahead of the American trio.

Gregor Schlierenzauer, a winner of a record 13 World Cup events in 2009, is definitely one to watch in Vancouver, as are fellow Austrians Thomas Morgenstern (large hill) and Wolfgang Loitzl (normal hill). Expect the Austrian team to win gold or silver in the team event and have at least one jumper on the podium in each of the individual competitions.

Swiss Harry Potter look-alike Simon Ammann, who burst onto the scene with individual victories in the normal and large hill eight years ago, can also be counted on for an impressive Olympics, and Finnish nine-time world champion Janne Ahonen could add some serious European spice to an already-bursting top five.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: Two percent

 

Snowboarding

The Basics

There are six events on the Vancouver snowboarding program, three for the men and three for the women. They are the halfpipe, parallel giant slalom, and snowboard cross.

American Hopes

America took home seven of the 18 snowboarding medals at the 2006 Olympics, including three golds.

Shaun White and Danny Kass went one-two in the halfpipe for the men, while Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler replicated the feat in the women’s event. Seth Wescott took gold in the snowboard cross, while Team USA also took silver in the women’s cross (Lindsey Jacobellis) and bronze in the parallel giant slalom (Rosey Fletcher).

Jacobellis is once again one of the main gold medal contenders in Vancouver. Few will forget the crash that cost her gold four years ago when, with a big lead and the finish line in sight, Jacobellis mis-timed the landing on a showboat trick and hit the ground, allowing Switzerland’s Tanya Frieden to win gold.

Shaun White will also head into the Games as one of the favorites for a gold medal. One of Team USA’s more high-profile athletes, White will look to defend his Olympic championship with a lot of confidence.

He dominated the field at the US Snowboarding Grand Prix last week, finishing one point off a perfect score after nailing his “Double McTwist,” a jump including one-and-a-half horizontal flips packed inside two vertical flips.

On the women’s side, Kelly Clark is also in good form, winning her third half pipe event in the last four outings. The 2002 Olympic champion should have scooped a medal in Torino, but she tried a 900-degree spin to try and snatch gold when a 720-spin would have likely landed her at least bronze. She crashed and finished fourth. With that behind her, she is one of the favorites for another gold next month.

Two teammate who may have something to say about that are 23-year-old Hannah Teter and the covergirl of US snowboarding Gretchen Bleiler.

Teter, the defending champion and humanitarian from Vermont will more than likely be on the podium in Vancouver, while Bleiler is coming into form at just the right time after winning her first win of the season on Mammoth Mountain in California earlier this month.

Competition

Team USA’s competition could come from within: from friends and teammates. That said, there are still a number of athletes, particularly in the women’s competition, that could ruffle some feathers.

In the half pipe competition, China’s Liu Jiayu represents the biggest threat to an American sweep. She is the 2009 World Champion and could ruin more than one American dream in Canada mid-February.

22-year-old Australian Torah Bright could also upset the established order on the half pipe. She beat Kelly Clark to the gold medal three times in 2009, and she could very well bring the Aussies their first Olympic snowboarding medal.

Chances of a Gold in Vancouver: 95 percent

 

In part two I will preview the ice sports: bobsled, curling, figure skating, hockey, luge, short track, skeleton, and speed skating.