Here we go

Must-watch for 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games

By Kwon Ji-youn

The wait is finally over. The 2014 Winter Olympics started in Sochi in Russia on Thursday (KST), the first time in 30 years that events are getting underway before the opening ceremony.

That sound you hear is thousands of journalists rewiring their brains to focus on world-class athletes and their pursuit of excellence, a dramatic adjustment after spilling a massive amount of ink on bad toilets, horrific tap water and unfinished hotel rooms.

Following the Olympics could be an overwhelming challenge. There will be 98 gold medals won over 16 days of competition, with nearly 2,900 athletes from 87 nations competing. It’s inevitable that viewers will pick and choose what events they want to watch. Don’t worry; we’re here to help.

1) Feb. 8, 15:30 (KST 20:30)

― [Speed skating men’s 5,000-meter] Speed skater Lee Seung-hoon will kick off Korea’s medal hunt on Saturday in the men’s 5,000-meter event. Lee will face Sven Kramer of the Netherlands, the reigning Olympic champion, six-time world all-round champion and record holder in the 5,000-meter, 10,000-meter and team pursuit. Kramer hopes to pull off the triple crown that eluded him at the Vancouver Games. Lee will gladly stand in his way.

2) Feb. 8, 20:10 (KST Feb. 9, 01:10)

― [Team ladies short skating] Korean skaters will not compete in the women’s team short competition in figure-skating, but Japan’s Asada Mao will, alongside new national champion Kanako Murakami and Akiko Suzuki. This will be Asada’s first team short program, and will give her a chance to test out the ice before her single’s competition begins.

3) Feb. 9, 18:30 (KST 23:30)

― [Luge men’s singles run] The men’s individual luge provides some intriguing storylines. Felix Loch, who was the youngest luge world champion in 2008, topped the podium at the Vancouver Games, setting records in all four rounds. His victory was overshadowed by the death of Georgia's Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died during training on the notorious Whistler track. The 24-year-old won the World Cup and world championships in both 2012 and 2013, and will focus on blocking out the pressure on his shoulders.

4) Feb. 10, 16:05 (KST 21:05)

― [Short-track men’s 1,500-meter] Korean short-track speed skaters will likely meet Russia’s Viktor Ahn at the starting line of the men’s 1,500-meter event. Ahn, who will represent his adopted homeland of Russia, will surely give the Korean skaters competition, as he has been displaying top form ahead of the Games, pulling off a quadruple-crown at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships last month.

5) Feb. 10, 22:35 (KST Feb. 11, 03:35)

― [Men’s moguls final] Defending moguls champion Alex Bilodeau will compete again this year and will be challenged by Canadian teammate Mikael Kingsbury. Bilodeau is a three-time FIS world champion in dual moguls and a two-time worlds moguls silver medalist.

6) Feb. 11, 16:45 (KST 21:45)

― [Speed skating ladies 500-meter] Reigning Olympic champion Lee Sang-hwa will attempt to shatter her world record again to snag the gold in the women’s 500-meter speed skating. Former record-holder Jenny Wolf of Germany and Olga Fatkulina of Russia, an up-and-coming contender, are vowing to give her competition.

7) Feb. 11, 21:30 (KST Feb. 12, 02:30)

― [Snowboard halfpipe finals] Torah Bright of Australia, the defending Olympic halfpipe champion, is the snowboarder to watch and is heavily favored to win again, with her signature switch backside 720-degree spin that features two rotations and a blind landing. In the men’s competition, legendary snowboarder Shaun White, who jammed his wrist during training, has decided to pull out of the slopestyle event to focus on the halfpipe. Another rider to watch will be Japan’s 15-year-old Ayumu Hirano, who may be small but has big moves. He seems more than capable of replacing White as the face of the sport.

8) Feb. 11, 22:25 (KST Feb. 12, 03:25)

― [Ski jump ladies normal hill] The jumper to beat this year will be Sara Takanashi, the 17-year-old Japanese who will make her Olympic debut this year. Takanashi, winner of four consecutive world cup events, is less than five feet tall, but has a background in ballet training to which she credits her balance and distance.

9) Feb. 12, 11:00 (KST 16:00)

― [Alpine skiing women’s downhill] With Linsey Vonn injured and out, Mikaela Shiffrin has earned the title “the next Lindsey Vonn,” and will compete against Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch and Switzerland’s Lara Gut. Slovenian Tina Maze will also compete this year, making this her fourth Olympic appearance, and she’s determined to clinch her first gold medal.

10) Feb. 13, 14:00 (KST 19:00)

― [Cross-country ladies 10-kilometer classic] Norwegian Marit Bjoergen won three gold medals at the Vancouver Games ― and a silver ― and will continue her medal hunt this year against Polish rival Justyna Kowalczyk, winner of the 2013 World Cup. Another skier to watch will be Petter Northug, who hopes to make a successful return from illness.

11) Feb. 18, 17:00 (KST 22:00)

_ [Speed skating men’s 10,000-meter] Lee Seung-hoon and Kramer will meet again in the men’s 10,000-meter event. Kramer came in first at the 2010 Vancouver Games but was disqualified, yielding the gold medal to Lee. He may be favored to win, but Lee has been shaving seconds off his record.

12) Feb. 20, 17:30 (KST 22:30)

― [Curling women’s gold medal game] Margaretha Sigfridsson of Sweden, who is the European champion, and Eve Muirhead of Britain, the world champion, will compete against each other at the Sochi Games.

13) Feb. 20, 19:00 (KST Feb. 21, 00:00)

― [Figure skating free program] Figure-skating megastar and reigning Olympic champion Kim Yu-na will appear on her last Olympic stage alongside long-time rival Asada. Gracie Gold of the United States is also expected to give Kim competition, but Kim is nonetheless heavily favored to defend her gold medal. If she snags it, she will become the third woman to win two consecutive gold medals in figure skating.

14) Feb. 23, 15:00 (KST 20:00)

― [Bobsleigh four-man] The man to watch in bobsleigh this year will be Steven Holcomb of the United States, who won the gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games, and Alexandr Zubkov, who has won a silver and bronze in four Olympic appearances. The Korean team will be represented in all bobsleigh events this year, and while they aren’t expected to contend for medals in Sochi, they hope to reach the podium at the PyeongChang Games in 2018.

15) Feb. 23, 16:00 (KST 21:00)

― [Ice Hockey gold medal game] Reigning NHL MVP Alex Ovechkin will attempt to lead the Russian team to victory this year. The two-time world champion and his team placed sixth in the Olympics four years ago, but this year he hopes to make the best of the fact that he will be playing on home ice. Fellow stars Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk will join him in his pursuit of gold.