So now what?
Most of the attention on the Vancouver Games has been focused on downhill skier Lindsey Vonn and the potential for her to be the Michael Phelps of the Winter Olympics. Because of a severe shin bruise, Vonn has said she may skip some or all of the five events she was scheduled to race in — and even if she can participate, who knows how much the painful injury will prevent her from dominating the sport the way she has in recent years.
It could be a bittersweet situation for her best friend and competitor — Germany’s Maria Riesch.
“They pretty much have been dominating for the last couple of years,” NBC Olympic host and Queens native Mary Carillo said. “They pal around together, they have Christmas together. I don’t know if there are two athletes that come from different countries that are that close and respectful of each other. It will be interesting to see what Lindsey can do.”
If Vonn’s not at her best, it could also gives some other American athletes a chance to steal some headlines. Speed skaters Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis, who will both have a great chance at gold, could become the big story. And while the men’s hockey competition always draws a lot of interest, the U.S. women’s team that is likely to end up with a better result than the U.S. men.
“It really looks like they [the U.S. women] could end up against the Canadian team,” Carillo said. “Both are among the very best and that American team is a great group of women, a terrific collection of athletes, who really want it badly and take great pride in what they do.”
And, as usual, figure skating figures to be a marquee event. Scott Hamilton, who captured gold at the 1984 Games, said the American men have a chance to follow in his footsteps.
“The men’s event will probably be the most outrageous, unpredictable,” Hamilton said. “There are nine guys that can all medal. The U.S. men have a legitimate opportunity to win two medals, but they can also get shut out as well.”
While Evan Lysacek, the reigning world champion, and Jeremy Abbott, two-time national champion, and Johnny Weir all have a good chance to end up at the podium, the same cannot be said about the American women.
The chances of Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu winning gold are all but nil because of the dominance of South Korea’s Kim-Yu Na.
“I think it’s going to be hard to for the American women unless Na comes back to the field a little bit,” said Hamilton, who will be an analyst for NBC. “But there’s no weaknesses, nothing about her skating that you can point to. Everything that she does is kind of amazing, perfect, phenomenal.
“She’s not of this world in many aspects. It makes it really tough to make a case for the Americans winning the gold medal. I think if one of them, Rachel or Mirai, make the podium, it would be an extraordinary accomplishment against this field.”
justin.terranova@nypost.com
