PRINTGold Contenders test their medal
U.S. Winter Olympic Team hopes to schuss, skate and slide its way to victory in Turin
February 9, 2006 | 12:00 a.m. CST
It’s that time again. Time to dust off your red, white and blue pompoms. Time to practice chanting, “U-S-A!” Time to make sure you have enough blank tapes to last at least 300 hours — just in case you miss an event. As the U.S. team heads to Turin, Italy, here’s a look at some top gold medal contenders.
• Ohno will be looking to outskate Ahn Hyun-Soo of South Korea, who finished third or better in all of the 2005 World Championship competitions.
• Maya Pedersen of Switzerland, Uhlaender’s principal threat in the skeleton, won the 2005 world title one year after giving birth to a daughter.
• Besides teammate Daron Rahlves, Miller’s biggest alpine skiing rival is Austria’s Benjamin Raich, who finished second in the 2005 world standings.
• With specialists in each event, the Netherland’s speed-skating team is hoping to halt Hedrick’s dreams of gold. Newcomer Even Wetten of Norway also has lofty hopes in the 1,000- and 1,500-meter races.
Apolo Anton Ohno, Short Track
Even if you don’t remember his name or that he won both the 1,000-meter silver and 1,500-meter gold medals in short-track skating at the 2002 Salt Lake games, most Americans remember Apolo Anton Ohno’s soul patch and long hair.
Chunkie, as he’s also known, grew up in a single-parent home with his father, Yuki. Within two years of coming onto the scene, Ohno was the best short track skater in the country. He contemplated leaving the sport for good after he failed to make the 1998 Olympic team but came back a year later to win gold at the National Championships. Since 2001, he has been the reigning U.S. Champion and was named overall champion at the past three biennial World Cup events. Ohno, 23, is a gold medal candidate in all four short track divisions, including the 5,000-meter team relay in which he’ll be racing with St. Louis native J.P. Kepka.
Katie Uhlaender, Skeleton
Why would anyone slide headfirst down the bobsled course with nothing except a board on runners? That’s one question to ask Katie Uhlaender, the sole woman on the U.S. skeleton team. Previously a track runner, skier and bobsled brakeman, she attended skeleton school in November 2002. Four months later, she won both the U.S. Junior World Championship and the U.S. Nationals.
During her first World Cup circuit in 2004, Uhlaender broke a bone in her left foot. She continued to compete and finished sixth place overall. She is currently ranked fourth in this year’s standings. After a 54-year absence, skeleton returned to the Olympics in 2002 when the U.S. took both gold medals for men and women and the women’s silver.
Bode Miller, Alpine Skiing
Essentially unknown before Salt Lake, Bode Miller has jumped into the spotlight as the current World Cup Overall Champion.
Growing up in a small cabin in New Hampshire with no electricity or running water, Miller was home-schooled by his mother. At age 3 he put on his first pair of skis, and he started competing at 11. Although most alpine skiers concentrate on technique before speed, Miller likes to shoot down the slopes and worry about the mechanical elements only when there’s a problem.
He is probably best-known for his mouth. Recently, he got in trouble for an interview on 60 Minutes in which he talked about skiing while drunk. He later apologized for his comments.
Women’s Hockey
Playing nice is not an option for the U.S. Women’s Hockey team. In all nine of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s world championships since 1990, the gold medal game has pitted the Canadians against the Americans. Except in 2005, the Canadians emerged victorious.
The sport premiered at the Olympic Games in 1998 with the United States beating Canada for the gold. Four years later, Canada got its revenge, winning by one goal in the final game. U.S. Captain Krissy Wendell, who has played in five of the world championships, will lead the 2006 team.
Chad Hedrick, Speed Skating
This year in Turin, speed skating ace Chad Hedrick of Houston, Texas, is making his Olympic debut. Generally considered the best in-line skater in history, Hedrick has won 50 World Championships. He also revolutionized the sport when he developed the double push, a technique that simultaneously uses both feet to push forward.
After watching the last winter Olympics, Hedrick, 28, decided to give the ice a try and in two months had qualified for the national team. He finished first at the 2004 World Allround Championships and followed it up with a second-place standing in 2005 behind teammate and fellow Olympian Shani Davis of Chicago.
He enjoys a wild nightlife, leading him to be known as “The Exception.” Yet, with a skating style unique to the sport, the exception is now becoming the rule.
— Laura Dotson
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