Predictions

Men

Downhill: Hermann Maier’s withdrawal because of injuries was supposed to give others a chance to win one of the Olympics’ signature events. Instead, Austrian teammate Stephan Eberharter has stepped into the void and dominated, having already won the two most prestigious downhill races on the World Cup circuit: at Wengen, Switzerland, and Kitzbuehel, Austria. Eberharter will be almost the odds-on favorite to win the Olympic downhill as Maier would have been. Others to watch include Kjetil Andre Aamodt (Norway), Kurt Sulzenbacher (Italy), Didier Cuche (Switzerland) and any number of up-and-coming Austrians. Daron Rahlves is America’s only medal hope.

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Combined: This event rewards all-around excellence, combining the times of two slalom runs and a downhill to produce a champion. You have to like the Norwegians here--Lasse Kjus and Aamodt. They finished one-two in combined at the 1994 Lillehammer Games and are still formidable almost a decade later. Aamodt recently won the combined titles at Wengen and Kitzbuehel, with Kjus finishing second to Aamodt in the second race. Austrian slalom star Mario Matt might have been a contender but injured his shoulder in Kitzbuehel and will miss the Olympics. America’s combined chances of winning are zero.

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Super-G: Rahlves is the reigning world champion and the man the Austrians fear most on any given day. Traditionally a slow starter, Rahlves appears to be back on track after recently finishing fourth in Kitzbuehel. Austria’s Eberharter will be the favorite after sweeping downhill and super-G at the famed Hannenkam. Other medal contenders include Cuche of Switzerland and Austria’s Christoph Gruber. The U.S. has little depth behind Rahlves now that Chad Fleischer has been lost after tearing knee ligaments in a downhill crash last month in Switzerland.

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Slalom: America’s Bode Miller might not have needed help to win a medal, but he got some when Austria’s Matt suffered the shoulder injury. Miller is one of the hottest skiers on the World Cup circuit, although he will be challenged by Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic, Italy’s Giorgio Rocca of Italy and Austria’s Rainer Schoenfelder.

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Giant Slalom: Miller posted the first World Cup victory of his career with a GS win in December at Val d’Isere, but the competition is fierce, led by France’s Frederic Covili, Sweden’s Fredrik Nyberg and Austria’s Benjamin Raich. Also, don’t count out Eberharter, who won a silver medal in GS at Nagano. America’s Erik Schlopy, third in final GS standings last year, has been slowed this year by illness.

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Women

Downhill: Picabo Street, Olympic silver medallist in downhill at Lillehammer and winner of the gold medal in super-G at Nagano, would gladly take a bronze in Salt Lake to complete the set. Street is coming off horrific injuries suffered in a 1998 crash but may have one run left in her beat-up body. It’s significant that she won a Nor-Am race on the Olympic course last March. Teammate Kirsten Clark broke through last year with a downhill win and has been consistently strong this season. The best bet to win, though, is probably Germany’s Hilde Gerg.

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Combined: The U.S. sent 18-year-old Caroline Lalive to the 1998 Nagano Games to get experience, and she finished a surprising seventh. Four years later, she remains America’s strongest all-event skier, narrowly missing a medal in combined at last year’s World Championships. Defending Olympic champion Katja Seizinger has retired, but German teammate Gerg, who won the bronze in 1998, returns to challenge for the gold along with Austria’s Michaela Dorfmeister.

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Super-G: This event will be raced in the memory of France’s Regine Cavagnoud, the reigning super-G world champion and World Cup title holder, who died earlier this season after colliding with a coach on a training run. Lalive and Clark of the U.S. are top-10 contenders. Street will be unable to defend her Olympic title because she is not ranked high enough in the standings. Dorfmeister may have the most motivation, having lost the gold medal to Street in 1998 by one-hundredth of a second.

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Giant Slalom: Did we mention Dorfmeister? Her World Cup win in GS at Berchtesgaden, Germany, in January proved she will be a multi-medal threat. The gold medal might come down to her or Switzerland’s Sonja Nef. Sarah Schleper is one of America’s bright young hopes and seems to be building momentum headed to Salt Lake in this event after finishing 10th at a recent World Cup in Slovenia.

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Slalom: Kristina Koznick trains separately from the U.S. team, but it hasn’t stopped her from posting top-notch numbers. She most recently recorded the fifth World Cup victory of her career with a slalom win in Berchtesgaden and ranks near the top of the World Cup slalom standings. Koznick will be looking to make amends for 1998, when she faltered after being one of the favorites to win gold. Schleper can also be a factor here.

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Chris Dufresne