Gallery • 4 Photos

[untitled phot of US olympic athlete].Retreived February 13, 2014, from:http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304757004579334882188578174

The fast-approaching, well-anticipated, Winter Olympics are well on their way and the athletes with ties to Colorado are making their mark in Olympic history. Sochi, Russia is home to the twenty-second Winter Olympics, taking place from February 7^th to the 22^nd. With a humid, subtropical climate and an allotted budget for 51 billion dollars, this is the warmest, most expensive Winter Olympics yet. The main Olympic village will be off the coast of the Black Sea with all venues and stadiums within walking distance, but the events needing a cooler outdoor temperature and mountainous terrain will be located roughly fifty minutes away at the mountain cluster in Krasnaya, Polyana. With fifteen different events ranging from freestyle skating to alpine skiing, spectators are sure to have their hands full. Athletes participating in the 2014 Games from Colorado who are making their mark include, but are not limited too: Jeremy Abbott, Paul Stastny, Mikaela Shiffrin, Keri Herman, and Todd Lodwick.

Jeremy Abbott is an Aspen born figure skater who is currently training in Michigan. He graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School and skated for the Broadmoor skate club. Abbott is a 2010 Olympian and four time U.S. figure skating champion.  In winning the previous U.S. championships, Abbott won the short program and set a new Nationals record score of 99.86. After competing in the new team competition February 6^th, Abbott fell on his first jump and then left out at least one rotation on his subsequent two jumps, placing the team in seventh. Team USA finished third after the women’s short, pairs, and dance programs followed Abbott’s troubles.

Paul Stastny is a Canadian-born hockey forward playing for the Colorado Avalanche after attending the University of Denver.  As an alternate captain for the Avalanche, Stastny looks to play in his second Olympic Games. After taking home a silver medal in Vancover, Stastny ranked second among all players with 15 points and was named to the media All-Star team. On February 13^th, the United States men’s hockey team faced Slovakia and won 7-1. Stastny had two goals in the second period helping the men’s team win a huge victory.

Mikaela Shiffrin is slalom’s new teenage sensation, having made her big splash at the early age of 17 when she won the World Cup alpine event.  She is the youngest slalom World Champion in history and this year she is replacing well-known Lindsey Vonn in hopes of reaching the podium in Sochi. Now 18, Shiffrin, a Vail resident, is competing against the world’s best. Shiffrin will partake in the downhill slalom skiing later this month.

Keri Herman, a freestyle skier, started out as a star hockey player before attending Denver University; shortly after, she found her true calling – the slopes. Herman traded her skates in for skis and quickly earned a silver medal in the 2010 and 2011 Winter X Games. Her previous wins helped her snatch up the World Cup slopestyle title, the first American female to do so. The first ever US freestyle slope team was announced January 27^th and Herman’s fate was decided: Keri Herman was going to the Sochi Olympics. On February 12^th, Herman finished tenth in the final of the slopestyle skiing event.

Todd Lodwick is an American Nordic Combined skier and was only 17 years old when he made his Olympic debut at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Now 37, Lodwick has competed in six Olympic Games, the most of any U.S. skier. The Steamboat Springs native won the 2014 U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Trials and punched his ticket to Sochi. On February 12^th, Lodwick finished in 34th position after competing in the individual Gundersen 10 km competition round.

The United States Winter Olympic Team is representing their country extremely well and there are definitely more exciting events to come. Standing on top of the podium is an athlete’s dream, hearing the national anthem playing is surreal, and competing against the world’s best is all a part of the journey these athletes have worked so hard to achieve. Help give these exceptional athletes the credit they deserve by watching NBC or checking online daily!