Countdown to Winter Olympics reaches 100 days

Let the final countdown begin.

The 2010 Vancouver Games are 100 days from today, with about 2,500 athletes from 80-plus countries, including an estimated 220 Americans, vying for 258 medals in 10 sports. Olympic Training Center bobsledder Steven Holcomb should qualify for Vancouver, and Broadmoor Skating Club members Rachael Flatt and Brandon Mroz are legit contenders.

Canada enters as the decisive favorite, anchored by the Own the Podium program, a $110 million government initiative that’s designed to produce 35 medals. The U.S. won’t make a medal prediction, but 30 is within reach, and that might be enough to beat Germany, the overall winner in 2006 with 29 medals, including 11 golds.

Here’s a sport-by-sport breakdown of what to expect in Vancouver:

BIATHLON

The skinny: Three-time Olympian Jay Hakkinen and Tim Burke have qualified for Vancouver. Another American man and as many as two U.S. women could punch their tickets with top-30 finishes at World Cup events next month.

Biggest star: A longtime national team member, Hakkinen finished 13th in the 12.5-kilometer pursuit at the 2002 Olympics, and he took 10th in the 20-kilometer individual competition in 2006, missing a bronze medal by 39 seconds.

Pick to click: A 2006 Olympian, Burke helped the U.S. to a fifth-place finish in the relay at a World Cup last season, and he was seventh in the 20-kilometer race at the 2007 world championships — the second-best result in U.S. Biathlon history.

Colorado connection: Durango resident Lanny Barnes stumbled to a 65th-place finish in the 15-kilometer race at the 2006 Olympics, and she has spent the past three years perfecting her shooting and improving her speed on her skis.

Mark your calendar: The Olympic team will be named after the fourth International Biathlon Union Cup, Jan. 9-10 in Altenberg, Germany.

BOBSLED AND SKELETON

The skinny: The 24-person bobsled team and the six-person skeleton team for the World Cup circuit were set after four qualifying races last month in Lake Placid, N.Y., and Park City, Utah. The Olympic team will be named Jan. 23.

Biggest star: Bobsledder Shauna Rohbock, a 2006 Olympic silver medalist, received a bye onto the World Cup team based on her results last season — a silver at worlds and a World Cup gold on the Olympic track in Whistler.

Pick to click: Breckenridge skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender, a two-time World Cup champion, should bounce back from three surgeries to repair a shattered left kneecap, and she wants to honor her late father, Ted Uhlaender, a major-league outfielder and coach.

Colorado connection: Olympic Training Center bobsledder Steven Holcomb also was granted a bye onto the World Cup team after winning a world gold in four man, a world bronze in two man and seven World Cup medals last season.

Mark your calendar: The season-opening World Cup is Nov. 12-14 in Park City.

CURLING

The skinny: Teams led by Debbie McCormick (with Allison Pottinger, Nicole Joraanstad and Natalie Nicholson) and John Shuster (with Jason Smith, Jeff Isaacson and John Benton) qualified for Vancouver at the Olympic trials in February in Broomfield.

Biggest star: In 2006, Shuster, a member of Pete Fenson’s rink, helped the U.S. beat England for a bronze — the first medal by the Americans since curling was reintroduced on the Olympic program in 1998.

Pick to click: The four-time defending national champion, McCormick enters her third Olympics riding momentum from a silver at the 2006 worlds, and her team marked top-four finishes last month at tournaments in Switzerland.

Mark your calendar: The Korbel Championship (a World Curling Tour event with a $16,000 purse) is Dec. 4-6 in Madison, Wis.

FIGURE SKATING

The skinny: The winners at the U.S. Championships (Jan. 15-23 in Spokane, Wash.) probably will earn Olympic berths. A U.S. Figure Skating selection committee will pick two other men, one other woman, one other pairs team and two other ice dancing teams.

Biggest star: Evan Lysacek narrowly missed the podium at the 2006 Olympics, and he rebounded from a third-place finish at nationals in January by giving the U.S. men their first world title in 13 years.

Pick to click: Cheyenne Mountain High School senior Rachael Flatt showed last season that she’s the real deal, with a fifth-place finish at worlds, and another stint on the Grand Prix tour should allow her to perfect a long program that features seven triple jumps.

Colorado connection: Broadmoor Skating Club member Brandon Mroz must improve a jazzy short program highlighted by a quadruple jump — a sloppy performance last month at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow resulted in a seventh-place finish.

Mark your calendar: The Grand Prix Final is Dec. 3-5 in Tokyo.

ICE HOCKEY

The skinny: The U.S. men held a 34-player Olympic orientation camp in August in Woodridge, Ill. The U.S. women are 2-1 on a pre-Olympic tour, which includes a Dec. 12 game against Canada in Denver and a Feb. 4 game against Finland at World Arena.

Biggest star: Defenseman Angela Ruggiero returns for her fourth Olympics, holding gold, silver and bronze medals, as well as a pink slip from Donald Trump, who fired the Harvard graduate from the NBC reality show “The Apprentice” in 2007.

Pick to click: Goaltender Jessie Vetter had Canada’s number before a defeat last month in an exhibition game snapped a streak of five straight wins, including three at the past two worlds, won by the U.S.

Colorado connection: Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny is a candidate for an Olympic spot, and the former University of Denver standout has overcome a slow start to his third NHL season, with three goals and four assists in the past six games.

Mark your calendar: The Four Nations Cup continues in Vierumaki, Finland, as the U.S. women play Sweden today and Canada on Friday.

LUGE

The skinny: Chris Mazdzer, Emily Sweeney and Ashley Walden were winners last month in the first two World Cup qualifying races in Lake Placid. The next qualifier is Friday in Park City, and the final cuts will be made Nov. 15 in Whistler.

Biggest star: Erin Hamlin defied the longest odds with a gold at worlds in February, solidifying herself as a serious threat for Vancouver and handing Germany its first loss in 99 races, a streak that dated to 1997.

Pick to click: In doubles, nine-time world medalists Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin already have qualified for the World Cup series, and they’re a virtual lock for their third Olympics — a gold is the obvious goal after a bronze in 1998 and a silver in 2002.

Colorado connection: Highlands Ranch resident Courtney Zablocki is fourth entering the home stretch of World Cup qualifying, and the two-time Olympian looks like she has regained her form after surgery in March to relieve pain in her hands.

Mark your calendar: The Olympic team will be named after the fourth World Cup, Dec. 12-13 in Lillehammer, Norway.

SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING

The skinny: Ted Ligety, a 2006 Olympic gold medalist, shook off rust from an injured right knee with a runner-up finish in the giant slalom last month at the season-opening World Cup in Soelden, Austria, and Vail resident Lindsey Vonn was ninth.

Biggest star: Nobody in the sport can match the star power of snowboarder Shaun White, a 2006 Olympic gold medalist whose long, curly red hair, countless endorsement deals and Rolling Stone magazine cover make him a hit with the fans.

Pick to click: Alpine skier Bode Miller created a stir with wild partying at the 2006 Olympics, but he has two Olympic silvers, an American-record 31 World Cup victories and an awful lot of motivation in a comeback that could start Nov. 15 in Levi, Finland.

Colorado connection: The two-time defending World Cup champion, Vonn closed last season with world golds in her marquee disciplines, the downhill and the super-G, and now she’s smart enough to know broken champagne bottles can lead to thumb injuries.

Mark your calendar: The fourth World Cup is Nov. 28-29 in Aspen.

SPEEDSKATING

The skinny: Apolo Anton Ohno and Katherine Reutter led 10 Olympic qualifiers in short track at the Olympic trials in September in Marquette, Mich. Shani Davis and Jennifer Rodriguez headlined 19 World Cup qualifiers in long track last month in Milwaukee.

Biggest star: A former OTC resident, Ohno heads into his third Olympics looking to cement his legacy in the sport — his five medals (two golds, a silver and two bronzes) are tied with Eric Heiden for the most by an American man at the Winter Games.

Pick to click: Long-track speedskater Chad Hedrick touched the podium three times at the 2006 Olympics, the high point a gold in the 5,000 meters, and the fire in his heated rivalry with Davis is still burning.

Colorado connection: Short-track speedskater J.R. Celski, who sliced open his left thigh when he fell and landed on his skate’s blade at the trials, continues rehabilitation at the OTC, where he’s trying to increase his strength and range of motion.

Mark your calendar: The U.S. Championships (a secondary Olympic trials and world qualifier) are Dec. 26-30 in Salt Lake City.