Vancouver Olympics 2010 is a showcase for winter sports with athletes from more than 80 countries participating. Sports events at Vancouver Olympics 2010 include the wildly popular, like hockey, figure skating and skiing, and the less well-known like curling, skeleton and biathlon. With the backdrop of the beauty of Canada in the winter, Vancouver Olympics sports demonstrate the ways athletes handle the snow, ice and cold of a northern climate. There will be 86 medal events to reward their skill and determination.
Biathlon
Part cross-country skiing and part rifle shooting, biathlon is an Olympic sport that requires both speed and accuracy. Look for Norway and Germany to be medal winners at Vancouver Olympics 2010.
Bobsled
The bobsled, or bobsleigh as we call it in Canada, is the best known of the Olympic sliding sports. Fast and dangerous, the bobsled often attracts successful athletes from other sports, and is considered by many to be a glamour sport at the Winter Olympics. At Vancouver Olympics 2010 the Germans and Swiss will be battling it out, but watch for medal contenders from both Canada and the United States.
Curling
Curling is a game of strategy, and has sometimes been called "chess on ice." Curling is an ancient sport, but it wasn't until the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics that it became an official Olympic sport. Since its debut as a medal sport, Canadians have been on the medal podium each time and they will be favorites on home ice at Vancouver Olympics 2010. The enthusiastic audiences in Canada will add a buzz to the competition.
Figure Skating
Figure skating, a combination of athleticism, speed and grace, is always one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics. At the Vancouver Olympics 24 ice dance teams, 20 pairs teams, 30 men and 30 ladies are competing. Canada has medal contenders in all disciplines, and the audiences will be knowledgeable as well as enthusiastic. Jo Ann Schneider Farris, About.com Figure Skating, has details.
Hockey
Hockey is one of the most anticipated sports of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. There are two tournaments. Twelve teams of players, including the best of the NHL, compete in the men's tournament. Eight teams compete in the women's tournament. Canada is seeded number one in both. The number two seeds are Russia for the men and the United States. for the women. The pressure is enormous and you can expect to see great hockey. Jamie Fitzpatrick, About.com Hockey, covers hockey at the Vancouver Olympics in detail.
Luge
The Olympics luge is an exciting specatcle in which the athletes lie on their backs on sleds which hurtle down an icy track in a chute of concrete at speeds approaching 150 kph (93 mph). The Germans dominate this Olympics sport, and only five countries - Germany, Austria, Italy, the former Soviet Union and the United States - have won Olympic medals in luge.
Short-Track Speed Skating
Short-track speed skating at the Olympics is a dizzying and dazzling sport. Wild relays with high speeds, passing, bumping and crashing make for exciting moments. Since short-track speed skating first bscame an Olympics medal sport in 1992, Canadians have had 20 podium finishes, so there will be plenty of warmth from the crowd at the Vancouver Olympics.
Skeleton
Skeleton is the newest sliding sport at the Olympics. In the skeleton the atletes take a running start carrying their sled, then dive face first onto the small sled and race down an icy track at speeds of up to 135 kph (84 mph). The sport is slowly growing. Most top skeleton racers are from the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Germany, but there is growing competition from countries like Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Skiing
Olympics skiing includes the thrill of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, ski jumping, cross-country ski racing and Nordic combined. Mike Doyle, About.com Skiing, introduces you to skiing at Vancouver Olympics 2010, including the venues and the schedules.
Snowboard
Snowboard is one of the newest Winter Olympic sports, and it's a young sport with a daredevil attitude. Part surfing, skating and skiing, snowboard speed, acrobatics, jumps and tricks are always exciting. Canadians have been enthusiastic supporters of snowboard since Ross Rebagliati became the sport's first Olympic gold medallist in the giant slalom in the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Speed Skating
A staple of the Winter Olympics, long-track speed skating is one of the most watched sports at the Winter Olympics, and Vancouver Olympics 2010 will be no different. With 12 speed skating events, six each for the men and women, there will be plenty of opportunity to catch this elegant and fast sport. Speed skating has given Canada 28 Olympic medals, more than any other sport.
Vancouver Olympics 2010 Schedule
For 17 days in February 2010, athletes will be competing in Vancouver, Whistler and Richmond, British Columbia at the Vancouver Olympics. Competition begins on February 12 and ends on February 28. Check here for individual schedules for each sport.
