Muhammad Ali once said, “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.”
Athletes from around the world will converge on Vancouver, British Columbia from February 12-28 to prove that they have the desire, dreams and vision to be a gold medalist and world champion.
Held every four years, the Winter Olympics feature as many as 100 countries from around the globe.
Participants come from all different climates, from the frozen waters of Norway and Sweden to the year-round warmth of the tropical Bahamas.
Athletes will be competing in 15 different sports, ranging from figure skating to bobsledding and curling.
Vancouver earned the right to host these Olympics by beating Calgary, Alberta in the first round of voting, then by advancing over PyeongChang, South Korea and Salzburg, Austria in the final rounds of voting.
This will be the first Olympics to be held in Canada since the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.
There is plenty of excitement surrounding these Winter Games.
This year’s opening ceremonies, set to air tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. on NBC, will surely match, if not surpass the high standards left by the opening ceriemonies of the 2008 Bejing Summer Olympics.
When it comes to the events everyone wants to know if the American team take home more gold medals than the other countries?
The U.S. has its first chance at gold on Feb. 13 at 1 p.m. in normal hill ski jump, men’s 5000m speed skating and women’s sprint biathlon. At 7 p.m. the U.S. will seek another gold in men’s 1500m speed skating.
On Feb. 14 at 12 p.m. the U.S. team will hope to win its first ever gold medal in nordic combined.
Hopes for gold will continue on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. as Team USA competes in pairs figure skating, men’s SBX and men’s 500m speed skating.
Another U.S. gold medal first is possible on Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. as the team competes in men’s 12.5k and women’s 10k biatholon.
Erin Hamlin ended Germany’s 99 international luge competition streak by winning last year’s world championship and is now looking for an Olympic gold on Feb. 16 at 11:30 p.m.
On Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. the most successful female cross country skier in the U.S. and silver medalist at the world chapionships will compete for Olympic gold.
At 7 p.m. Shani Davis must fend off fellow Americans Chad Hedrick and Trevor Marsicano to repeat gold in men’s 1000m speed skate.
At 7:30 p.m. Shaun White will show off his new tricks in hopes to defend his gold medal in men’s halfpape. Later, reigning world champion Lindey Vonn looks for gold in downhill skiing, her best of the five events she’ll be competeing in.
With world record holders Shani Davis and Apolo Anton Ohno on the speed ice, the “Colbert Report” sponsored speed skating team, national champion figure skater Jeremy Abbott and Shaun “the flying tomato” White on the halfpipe,
Team USA’s mission to gold looks promising.
With the athletes’ desires, dreams and visions, any of them could be the next Muhammad Ali.
By Lola Runyan, Sports Editor
