ATHLETES TO WATCH
1. Francesco Friedrich
(GER): The Germans are the traditional two-man bobsled power, and Friedrich will be vying to recapture the gold he lost to the Austrian team in Sochi. Germany had won gold in the event in 2002, 2006 and 2010 before Beat Hefti and the Austrian sled ended the German dominance in 2014. Friedrich has won the last four world championships and is the clear favorite in Pyeongchang. 2. Women’s hockey (USA): The predicted final between the U.S. and Canada in women’s hockey has set up perfectly, but head coach Robb Stauber’s team won’t have an easy semifinal matchup. Finland gave the U.S. a tough opener in Pyeongchang before losing 3-1. The U.S. was down early and only secured the win with an empty-net goal late in the third period. The U.S. women’s recent run of success means anything short of a shot at the gold medal will be seen as a failure.
3. Maia Shibutani and Alex
Shibutani (USA): The iceskating brother-and-sister team finished second in the ice-dancing portion of the team event and enters the individual competition trying to unseat favorites Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada. The Shibutanis will have their work cut out for themselves as the team of Virtue and Moir won gold in Vancouver and silver in Sochi. A podium finish for the Americans would be a big success. 4. Maddie Bowman (USA): Bowman is the defending gold medalist in the freestyle skiing halfpipe competition and is the favorite heading into the event in Pyeongchang. Bowman has won three of the last four halfpipe competitions at the X Games and will need to hold off Japan’s Ayana Onozuka. 5. Ronald Mulder (NED): The Netherlands will be going for its second straight gold medal performance in men’s 500-meter speedskating. One of the favorites is Mulder, the twin brother of Michel Mulder, who won the gold in Sochi. A gold for Ronald Mulder would mark the third time a pair of siblings has won Winter Olympic gold in the same event.