LONG-TRACK SPEEDSKATING

MEN’S 5,000 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 11.

* Best of the U.S.: Shani Davis, Chad Hedrick and KC Boutiette. Davis, of Chicago, competed on the short-track squad in Salt Lake City. Hedrick, of Spring, Texas, was nicknamed “the Exception” by former roommate Derek Parra, who said Hedrick did everything differently. Boutiette, of Tacoma, Wash., is a veteran and former inline skater.

* Best of the rest: Eskil Ervik of Norway, an all-distances athlete, won gold at the European championships. Sven Kramer of the Netherlands and Johan Rojler of Sweden also could contend.

* U.S. chances to medal: Davis and Hedrick are versatile and will skate several races. They should do well. Riding on the outcome for the Americans is who will get a chance to race the 10,000 meters.

* Little-known fact: Hedrick is far less publicized than some other American Olympians, such as Michele Kwan and Bode Miller, but he has a chance to become this country’s highest-profile star.

WOMEN’S 3,000 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 12.

* Best of the U.S.: Catherine Raney, Maggie Crowley and Kristine Holzer. Raney has put in the most laps on the ice over the years, but this is not a strong American event.

* Best of the rest: World-record holder Claudia Pechstein of Germany is the favorite, but Canadians Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen should threaten.

* U.S. chances to medal: Probably not going to happen.

* Little-known fact: Pechstein will be a four-time Olympian. In her previous three Games, she won bronze, then silver, then gold.

MEN’S 500 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 13.

* Best of the U.S.: Joey Cheek, Casey FitzRandolph, Kip Carpenter and Tucker Fredricks. This is a seasoned group. FitzRandolph just turned 31, was the 2004 U.S. sprint champion and is competing in his third Olympics. He set the Olympic record by winning this two-heat event at Salt Lake City.

* Best of the rest: Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia, leader in the World Cup standings and runner-up to Cheek in a Cup event Jan. 29, is in the mix. Jeremy Wotherspoon of Canada and Jan Bos of the Netherlands also could factor in.

* U.S. chances to medal: Excellent. Cheek set an unofficial outdoor sprint world record of 35.18 on Jan. 28 and a week earlier became the first American to win the world sprint championship since 1988. FitzRandolph took bronze in the same World Cup.

* Little-known fact: The International Skating Union does not recognize records set on outdoor tracks, though previous Olympics have been contested outdoors, such as the 1980 Games at Lake Placid, N.Y.

WOMEN’S 500 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 14.

* Best of U.S.: Jennifer Rodriguez, Chris Witty, Amy Sannes and Elli Ochowitz. Witty, 30, of West Allis, Wis., is in her fourth Winter Olympics. This is the third for Rodriguez.

* Best of the rest: Chiara Simionato, who has home-country advantage, won the gold medal at the Jan. 29 World Cup in Collalbo, Italy. Jenny Wolf of Germany is the overall World Cup leader. Russian world champion Svetlana Zhurova and Manli Wang of China make this a tough event.

* U.S. chances to medal: Witty is the best American bet.

* Little-known fact: Witty is one of nine Americans to compete in the Summer and Winter Games. She was a member of the 2000 U.S. cycling team in Sydney.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S

TEAM PURSUIT

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 15 and Feb. 16.

* Best of the U.S.: In addition to Olympic newcomers Clay Mull of Gastonia, N.C., and Charles Leveille of Atlanta, the three-skater men’s team will be selected from the individual competitors. The women’s team will be chosen from among eight skaters. Only eight nations will be permitted to enter.

* Best of the rest: Italy, which will have big fan support, and Norway should rule the men’s side. Germany and Canada figure to be the top two on the women’s side, with the Netherlands also vying for a medal.

* U.S. chances to medal: The U.S. has depth and experience, with all six long-track medalists from 2002, and could pull off a medal here on either side.

* Little-known fact: The team pursuit is a new Olympic event. It resembles the Summer Olympics’ cycling pursuit race. Competitors go off in pairs, and each heat eliminates a racer.

MEN’S 1,000 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 18.

* Best of the U.S.: Chad Hedrick, Shani Davis, Casey FitzRandolph and Joey Cheek. This may be the deepest foursome in the world.

* Best of the rest: Erben Wennemars of the Netherlands, always a formidable competitor. Wennemars finished second to Davis in the Italian World Cup event entering the Games. Jeremy Wotherspoon of Canada is a veteran star.

* U.S. chances to medal: The U.S. will be aiming for a sweep, though the odds are long. Still, this is Davis’ best event; he has six World Cup victories this season. Hedrick is chasing five golds. FitzRandolph recently won two bronzes in World Cups and Cheek cannot be overlooked.

* Little-known fact: Davis, 23, has conducted his speedskating on a dual track, alternating between short- and long-track events. He was undefeated for two years at 1,500 meters and has been skating since he was 6.

WOMEN’S 1,000 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 19.

* Best of the U.S.: Jennifer Rodriguez, Chris Witty, Amy Sannes and Elli Ochowitz. Rodriguez was world No. 1 in 2003 and ’04 after winning bronze at Salt Lake City.

* Best of the rest: Anni Friesinger of Germany, 29, is an Olympic gold medalist, European and world champion. She’s also famous for her autobiography, for disrobing in a magazine and for suggesting speedskaters’ are sexy in their skintight suits. Recently recovered from an injury that kept her out of the biggest early-season races, Friesinger won a Jan. 28 World Cup gold in the fastest outdoor time ever, though the time was bettered the next day. Italian Chiara Simionato is a threat too.

* U.S. chances to medal: Rodriguez is third in the World Cup standings and is close enough in points to win the overall title in March if she skates well.

* Little-known fact: Rodriguez, the first Latina to win a Winter Olympics medal, is from Miami and enjoys reading fantasy books including “The Lord of the Rings” and the Harry Potter books.

MEN’S 1,500 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 21.

* Best of the U.S.: Chad Hedrick, Shani Davis, Joey Cheek and Derek Parra. At the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, Parra won the first Winter Olympic gold medal by a Latino. Hedrick set the world record of 1:42.78 in December.

* Best of the rest: Enrico Fabio of Italy won his country’s first European championship this season. Konrad Niedzwiedzki of Poland is a prospect, but at that same European championship Norwegians took four of the top eight places.

* U.S. chances to medal: Davis may turn out to be the king at 1,000, but he also could be a prince at 1,500 meters. Hedrick has the goods in several events in his quest for the biggest medal haul in speedskating since Eric Heiden’s success in 1980.

* Little-known fact: When Heiden won his five gold medals at Lake Placid, N.Y., he set records in each event. Hedrick came to speedskating from inline skating and says he is flattered just to be mentioned alongside Heiden.

WOMEN’S 1,500 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto

* When: Feb. 22

* Best of the U.S.: Jennifer Rodriguez, Chris Witty, Maria Lamb and Catherine Raney. Witty won the bronze medal in this event in the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.

* Best of the rest: Anni Friesinger is the defending champion. Netherlands skaters Irene Wust and Renate Groenewold have had solid seasons, but Claudia Pechstein of Germany rates as the likely favorite.

* U.S. chances to medal: Rodriguez, 29, who is married to men’s racer KC Boutiette, won bronze at the 2002 Winter Olympics and is the Americans’ best chance.

* Little-known fact: Diane Holum’s victory in 1972 gave the U.S. its only gold medal in this event.

MEN’S 10,000 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 24.

* Best of the U.S.: Chad Hedrick, who has the world’s second-fastest time, KC Boutiette and Shani Davis are potential U.S. entries. Boutiette is a distance specialist. Hedrick’s first major success was a third in the 10,000 at the 2004 World Single Distance Championships. Nations do not know how many of the 16 slots they will be allotted until performances are recorded in Turin. These three, the same lineup inthe 5,000, compose the U.S.’ eligible skaters.

* Best of the rest: Carl Verheijen of the Netherlands set a world record of 12:57.92 in December. Lasse Saetre and Oysten Grodum of Norway and Sven Kramer of the Netherlands will be medal contenders, depending on how many spots their countries earn.

* U.S. chances to medal: Hedrick has won gold at the single-distance championships and seems prepared for an all-around multi-distance performance, even in the marathon of speedskating.

* Little-known fact: When Eric Heiden won the 10,000 meters at Lake Placid, N.Y., it was a frigid day. The speedskating oval was outdoors, in front of the local high school. Some reporters watched him win gold through the school’s windows.

WOMEN’S 5,000 METERS

* Where: Oval Lingotto.

* When: Feb. 25.

* Best of the U.S.: The American entries will be selected much as the men’s 10,000 entries are chosen. The 3,000 team of Catherine Raney, Maggie Crowley and Kristine Holzer may take the starting line.

* Best of the rest: Claudia Pechstein of Germany, Renate Groenewold of the Netherlands and Maren Haugli of Norway. Pechstein has won gold three times.

* U.S. chances to medal: It’s unlikely any hardware will travel across the ocean.

* Little-known fact: Newcomer Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic may be the new wunderkind of the sport. She is only 18, has shown skills in a wide variety of events and could be the sleeper star of the Games.

*

-- Lew Freedman,

Chicago Tribune