by Emilie West

Created on: February 19, 2010

It has often been said that one of the most amazing things about the Olympic Games is that previous qualifications are of secondary importance: one can be the reigning champion, but that doesn't mean the gold is secured. Anything can happen at the Olympics, everyone can have a good or a bad day, which makes it such an exciting event. 
However, there are always favorites with the most chance of winning one of the coveted medals. The 2010 Olympics are no different: a couple of athletes are definitely worth watching out for:

Melissa Hollingsworth
Competing in the skeleton competition, this 29 year old will be representing the host country Canada with a fair chance of winning a medal and possibly the gold. She already won bronze in Torino four years ago and has been on a 'winning streak' since then. So will she continue her streak and make her homeland proud?

Lindsey Vonn
This 25 year old alpine from the USA is competing on no less than five disciplines in the 2010 Games, and she is the absolutely favorite on many of these disciplines. She entered the Games with a shin injury, but she is set on starting with this slight disadvantage. Her large clan of supporters have cleverly turned Vancouver  into 'Vonncouver', certain of her success.

Shaun White
Another participant of team USA, Shaun White competes in the snowboard halfpipe competition and, next to being the highest earning Olympian, has the highest expectations of winning the gold in this single discipline. The 23 year old is nicknamed 'The Flying Tomato' for his flaring manes and is said to be the only man to ever execute the 'Double McTwist 1260', an extremely difficult and dangerous jump. Will he successfully execute it at these Winter Games and receive the gold in return?

Sven Kramer
Back in his home country of The Netherlands, speed skating is a very popular sport with Sven Kramer at the absolute top. His training basis is one of the best skating rinks in the world and the 23 year old has been training there very hard to be able to medal in the 3 disciplines he's competing in. His large fan-base has renamed Vancouver to 'Svencouver', expecting him to dominate on the ice and they're not expecting the impossible; Kramer is said to beat favorites as Shani David, Enrico Fabris, Havard Bokko, Ivan Skobrev and Chad Hedrick.

Of course there are many more athletes in many other disciplines, but these four are all very different contenders and watching all four of them compete in their various sports will be a fun experience of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Have fun watching!

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