Olympics preview: America’s best

Published February 12, 2010 5:00am ET



More OlympicsFollow our daily coverage with our Olympics RSS feed.» All eyes on Ohno in Vancouver» The Olympics are all about pressure and Vancouver should prove no different» Vancouver: An outdoor enthusiast’s dream» Key Olympic dates and events to watch» Olympics preview: America’s best» Jim Williams: Costas, Michaels will lead NBC coverage

Lindsey Vonn
Is trouble brewing for the face of these Games? Another crash in practice last week left Vonn with a nasty right shin bruise. She hasn’t skied since. On Dec. 28 she hurt her left arm in a crash. Said Wednesday she may have to skip one — or all — of her five events.

Shani Davis
The first black athlete to win a medal at the Winter Games when he captured the 1,000-meter speedskating gold in Torino. Davis hopes to win four this time around. It’s a longshot. But he’ll be favored in both the 1,000 and 1,500-meter races.

Steve Holcomb
Surgery saved his deteriorating eyesight and his career in 2008. Now, Holcomb hopes to pilot the United States’ first gold medal sled in four-man bobsled since 1948. Drove his sled — nicknamed “Night Train” — to a world-championship gold in 2009. Was first U.S. gold at worlds in 50 years.

Shaun White
A breakout start at the 2006 Games in Torino with his overwhelming mop of red hair, White took gold in the men’s snowboard halfpipe. A new generation of rising stars is gunning for the 23-year-old. What tricks has he come up with to hold them off?

Evan Lysacek
An American medal in ladies’ figure skating is unlikely. But the men’s event is a different story. Lysacek is the reigning world champion and the 24-year-old just missed the podium in 2006. Jeremy Abbott — who won U.S. title last month — and Johnny Weir also will contend for a medal.

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