Sochi Winter Olympics: Who to Watch
By Livi Pitzo
It’s that time of year when the world provides us with another opportunity to stay inside and procrastinate on studying: the Olympics. While Sochi might be a little unprepared, the U.S. Olympic athletes are anything but. Here are the top Olympic athletes to watch in this year’s games.
Lolo Jones- Jones competed in track and field in the London summer Olympics, but failed to medal after narrowly missing two hurdles in competition. Instead of giving up on her Olympic dreams, she thought, “Well if I can’t medal in track, why not just make it to the Olympics in a whole new sport!” The athlete will be competing in the Women’s Bobsled competition in Sochi and is looking to become one of ten athletes to compete in the Summer and Winter games.
Mikaela Shiffrin- With Lindsey Vonn inactive for this year’s Olympics, Shiffrin is the U.S. favorite for Women’s Downhill Skiing. For her first Olympics, the 18 year-old athlete is looking to medal in the Slalom and Giant Slalom. Women’s Downhill and Slalom Skiing starts February 10th.
Shaun White- Though he no longer has his signature flow, the “Flying Tomato” is back again and looking to medal in his 3rd consecutive Olympics. Even six years later, White is still the gold medal favorite for men’s snowboard. Men’s Half Pipe competition starts February 11th.
Ted Ligety- The world champion is one of the medal favorites this year in Men’s Skiing and will be competing against fellow U.S. skier Bode Miller for the gold medal. Ligety is the gold medal favorite in the Giant Slalom, which starts February 16th.
Brianna Decker, Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight, and Jessie Vetter- These four Olympic hockey players willing be representing Wisconsin in this year’s Winter games. So set your alarms and watch these former Badgers and the U.S. Women’s Hockey team take on Switzerland February 10th at 6 a.m. On Wisconsin!
That being said, for the next two weeks keep your TV tuned into NBC 24/7 and root for your favorite Olympians. To see the full Olympic schedule and find out when your favorite events are, go here!