Vancouver Games getting close, eh?

Six months from today, an estimated 5,500 athletes from 80-plus countries, including about 215 Americans, will converge in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics. The Gazette’s Olympic sports beat writer, Brian Gomez, takes a look at what fans should expect:

THREE AMERICANS TO WATCH

APOLO ANTON OHNO
Age: 27    Hometown: Seattle
Sport: Short-track speedskating
Olympic record: In 2002, gold medal in the 1,500 meters, silver in the 1,000, fourth in the 5,000 relay, 11th in the 500. In 2006, gold in the 500, bronze in the 1,000, bronze in the 5,000 relay, eighth in the 1,500.
What to know: The former Olympic Training Center resident has plenty of gas left in the tank, considering 13 of his 23 world medals have come the past two years.
Our take: The spotlight will shine the brightest on Ohno, whose hometown Seattle is 140 miles from Vancouver. Then again, pressure didn’t bother Ohno in 2007, when he won “Dancing with the Stars.”

LINDSEY VONN
Age: 24    Hometown: Vail
Sport: Alpine skiing
Olympic record: In 2002, sixth in combined, 32nd in slalom. In 2006, seventh in super-G, tied for eighth in downhill, 14th in slalom.
What to know: She’s the only American woman with back-to-back World Cup overall titles, and she’s the reigning world champion in the downhill and the super-G.
Our take: It would be a major upset if Vonn doesn’t touch the podium. Get the Band-Aids ready in case she cuts her thumb again on a broken champagne bottle in the celebration.

SHAUN WHITE
Age: 22    Hometown: Carlsbad, Calif.
Sport: Snowboarding
Olympic record: In 2006, gold in halfpipe.
What to know: Loads of progressive tricks and lots of really big air have carried the “Flying Tomato” to 13 medals at the Winter X Games, including nine golds.
Our take: The face of U.S. snowboarding probably won’t falter on the world’s biggest stage, as long as he recovers from a sprained left ankle he suffered in March that has limited his training over the summer.

BY THE NUMBERS

9: Sports on the Olympic program – biathlon; bobsled and skeleton; curling; figure skating; ice hockey; luge; skiing; snowboarding; and speedskating

17: Days of competition, from Feb. 12-28

258: Medals available in 86 events

25,000: Volunteers needed to run operation

3,000,000,000: Anticipated worldwide TV viewers — Americans can watch on NBC

THE BROADMOOR SKATING CLUB’S BEST BETS

RACHAEL FLATT
Age:17    Hometown: Del Mar, Calif.
School: Cheyenne Mountain High School (senior)
Her resumé: 2008 world junior champion; U.S. Championships runner-up in 2008 and ‘09; fifth-place finisher at ‘09 worlds.
Why she’ll make it: Has revamped both of her programs, with increased speed, improved posture and upbeat music that sits much better with judges.
Flatt on her Olympic chances: “It keeps me motivated every day. … I have to train really hard this year and make sure that I do everything I can to make the team. It’s going to be a lot of training and an incredible amount of work, but I’m looking forward to it.”

BRANDON MROZ
Age: 18    Hometown: St. Louis
School: Cheyenne Mountain (graduated in May)
His resumé: Runner-up at the Junior Grand Prix final in 2006 and ‘07; U.S. Championships runner-up in ‘09; ninth-place at ‘09 worlds.
Why he’ll make it: Has the potential to bring down the house with an electrifying long program featuring two quadruple jumps and seven triple jumps.
Mroz on his Olympic chances: “I try not to think about it too much. I like to stay in the present. But you have to have that Olympic moment every day. I’m at the OTC almost every day, so I’m driving past those Olympic rings. It gives me great motivation.”

COLORADANS TO WATCH

Alpine skiing: Sarah Schleper, Vail
Biathlon: Lanny and Tracy Barnes, Durango
Freestyle skiing: Casey Puckett, Aspen
Ice hockey: Paul Stastny, Cherry Creek
Luge: Courtney Zablocki, Highlands Ranch
Nordic combined: Todd Lodwick, Steamboat Springs
Skeleton: Katie Uhlaender, Breckenridge
Snowboarding: Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen

MEDAL PROJECTION

Canada    29
Germany    28
U.S.    28
Norway    25
Austria    18
China    13
Russia    13
South Korea    13
Switzerland    13

By former Italian Olympic Committee official Luciano Barra

IMPORTANT EVENTS

Date                Sport                   Event             

Aug. 17-19     Hockey (M)        U.S. Olympic camp          

Aug. 19-23     Hockey (W)        U.S. national festival     

Sept. 8-12     Speedskating      U.S. Olympic trials

Oct. 21-25     Speedskating     *U.S. World Cup              

Dec. 26-30     Speedskating     ^U.S. Championships

Jan. 15-23     Figure skating     *U.S. Championships

* — Event is an Olympic qualifier

^ — Event is secondary Olympic trials

ON THE WEB

For continuous Olympic sports coverage, visit our Olympics sports page at www.gazette.com/olympics. Stay current with The Gazette’s Brian Gomez through his blog at http://gazetteolympics.freedomblogging.com and his Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/gazetteolympics.