The 2014 Olympic Winter games will be here before you know it.  The games are in Sochi, Russia and will be held February 7-23. Check out the broadcast schedule.

Sochi has a population of 400,000 and is located in the third largest region in Russia – Krasnodar. Team USA athletes will represent our country in several competitions.

SPORTS TO WATCH

  • Biathlon
  • Bobsled
  • Curling
  • Figure skating – ice dance, pairs, singles (men’s and ladies), team
  • Ice hockey
  • Luge
  • Short track speed skating
  • Skeleton
  • Skiing – alpine, cross country, freestyle, jumping/Nordic combined
  • Snowboarding
  • Speed skating

The Sochi Olympic Park has been built along the Black Sea coast.

TOP US ATHLETES TO WATCH

The U.S. Figure Skating team is sending a strong team to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Some of the ice skaters to watch are ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White. They won the silver medal at the 2010 Games and also beat the Olympic champs to take the 2011 world title.

Ashley Wagner will lead a very competitive group of women after becoming the first repeat ladies U.S. champion since Michelle Kwan. Others to watch in 2014 are 2010 Olympian Mirai Nagasu, Christina Gao, Agnes Zawadzki and Gracie Gold, who took silver at the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

For the men, Olympian Jeremy Abbott entered 2013 as the top American, but marquee names – including 2010 Olympic champion Evan Lysacek and two-time Olympian Johnny Weir – could be contenders, but Max Aaron claimed the 2013 U.S. title, while Abbott finished third.

Teen sensation Sarah Hendrickson will lead U.S. female ski jumpers to the first Olympic competition in the sport's history. The U.S. Women's Ski Jumping Team has established itself as a true contender for an Olympic gold medal. Hendrickson won nine out of 13 World Cups to secure the overall World Cup title.  2009 world champion Lindsey Van will also be a contender.

Shani Davis will be one of the top contestants in speed skating. He recently won his 53rd World Cup competition.  Heather Richardson leads the women's squad. She earned two top-10 finishes at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The U.S. Alpine Ski team is headed to Sochi with some question marks. Anchored by veteran gold medalists Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller, Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso, the team has also experienced a recent surge from Alpine World Cup podium finishers Stacey Cook, Marco Sullivan, Steven Nyman and 17-year-old phenom Mikaela Shiffrin. These will be my favorite U.S. athletes to watch perform.

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