Olympic Athletes to Watch

As I said before, the Olympics are kind of my Achilles heel. My major every two-year weakness. The Summer Olympics are a little more my thing (I don't really like the cold, so I don't relate quite as well to the Winter Olympic sports...), but I'm a sucker for the Olympics in general. I read every and any article and story I can get my hands on leading up to the Games. And this year, there were some good ones! I was full of trivia last night during the Opening Ceremonies, commenting on different countries and athletes to my friends' likely boredom. Totally worth it. I care about these athletes - the more I know about who's participating in the Olympics, the more I care, the more emotional I get about otherwise generally ignored sports - like curling or the biathlon.

And so, welcome to my first ever list of athletes to watch/care about:
Marjan Kalhor, Alpine Skiing - Iran: Kalhor is not much of a medal threat, but she is worth knowing, at least, because she is the 1st woman to earn a spot on Iran's Winter Olympic team. She came into the Ceremonies last night as Iran's flagbearer, because of the impressive history she's making in her country. To be an Iranian woman competing in the Olympics is a win in itself - no podium stand needed.

Dow Travers, Slalom Skiing - Cayman Islands: Who would believe the Caribbean would bring a few Winter Olympians?? Well, Jamaica and Bermuda both have a skier each, and same with the Cayman Islands. Another Olympian who's unlikely to make the medal stand, Dow is impressive because he's just there to make his small country proud and inspire his people to do the unexpected. I'm also a fan of Travers because he seems kind of unselfish. He hopes to improve his own standings in slalom, and to return the Olympics again, but he's also a huge support for his younger brother, whom he hopes to see do really well in the Olympics one day as well.

Lascelles Brown, Bobsledding - Canada: The Jamaican bobsledding team did not make it to the Olympics this year (sad, but not really surprising), but Brown is Jamaica's closest shot for an actual medal this year. Though he's officially competing on the Canadian team, he is Jamaican-born and would be the 1st Jamaican to win gold if he and his partner win in Vancouver. And he has the ability to do it. He and a different partner took silver last W.O, and he and his current partner have all the skills and talent to go all the way this year. As much as I'd love to see Americans take as many golds as we possibly can, I'd be happy to see certain athletes like Brown make history like this.

Robel Teklemariam, Nordic Skiing - Ethiopa: Yes, I did list an Ethiopian in the Winter Olympics. Instead of running on the streets, Teklemariam will be "running" on the snow, skiing for the 2nd time on the Ethiopian Olympic Team (consisting of Teklemariam and...that's all - he created the Ethiopian ski team). I like Teklemariam for his unique training. When he's at home, his training is roller skiing up and down hills. It's not the best training, but it probably gives him some more minore abilities that other traditional training methods might not provide. I don't know what they are, but I'm going keep thinking that.

United States Olympic Team: This is just a given. Go America! We really have amazing talent, and I'm excited to see what we can do with it this year. With Shaun White, Apollo Ohno, Lindsey Jacobellis, and so many others with talent and determination seeping through their pores, I'm anticipating some great moments for the U.S. in Vancouver.

On a different note, I appreciated how all the countries acted as one in their condolences and tributes to the Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died on a practice run on the luge before the Opening Ceremonies began. Such a sad way to begin the Olympics. But to see so many of different backgrounds and countries take time to recognize him and his family when they have so many of their own concerns and stresses to think about. I really respect the actions of the other lugers, who met together before the Ceremonies to figure out how to honor him as their fellow athlete. They are wearing black bands on their helmets during their trial runs in memory of an athlete they respected.

While it was a sad way to begin the 2010 Olympic Games, there will be much joy in the next two weeks, and I look forward to feeling it with the athletes as they pour their hearts into their sports on the grandest stage possible! PLAY BALL!