Day 16 and Closing Ceremony

The USA 4- man bobsled team of Steven Holcomb, Curtis Tomasevicz, Steven Langton and Christopher Fogt wins bronze. Russia wins gold and Latvia wins silver.

The Closing Ceremony was a reflection of Russian history and culture. The Russians re-created the Olympic rings that had malfunctioned when one of the stars did not open into the fifth Olympic ring with performers on the ground. Then to "fix things" the performers created the fifth ring to an ovation from the crowd.

A children's choir sung the Russian national anthem and then flag bearers from each country came into the stadium followed by the athletes. There was a tribute to Russian artist Marc Chagall. An upside down house reflected how Chagall saw the world. There was ballet dancers and mirrors to reflect on Russian history and culture. There was also a tribute to Russian writers Tolstoy, Gogol,and Dostoyevsky. The Olympic flag is carried out of the stadium. The Korean flag is raised to the Korean national anthem. Then there was also a touch of Korean history and culture. IOC President Bach announced that the games were closed. References to a bear, hare and leopard followed as the bear represents the past- the 1980 Moscow games. Then the bear blew out the Olympic flame and a tear ran down its face. The flame is now extinguished. At the conclusion of NBC's coverage all of the athletes were mingling together in a party like atmosphere.

This was a very good closing ceremony. It was as good as the opening ceremony and in my opinion, second best to the Chinese in 2008. NBC cut and edited out parts and it ended at 10:35 pm eastern time to premiere a new show. In this regard NBC cut out several performances just like in 2012 and 2010.

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Final Medal Count

Russia 13 gold, 11 silver, 9 bronze - 33 total
USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 12 bronze - 28 total
Norway 11 gold, 5 silver, 10 bronze - 26 total
Canada 10 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 25 total
Netherlands 8 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 24 total

Day 15

The USA did not win any medals today.

The USA men's hockey team lost in the bronze medal game to Finland, 5-0. The USA finished 4th in the tournament.

After 2 runs of the 4-man bobsled the USA team of Steven Holcomb, Curtis Tomasevicz, Steven Langton and Christopher Fogt is in 4th place.

In Alpine Skiing men's Slalom, Nolan Kasper, of the USA finished 13th. Ted Ligety of the USA did not finish.

In the Biathlon men's 4 by 7.5km relay, the USA finished 16th.

The USA speedskating team of Brittany Bowe, Heather Richardson and Jilleanne Rookard finished 6th in women's Team Pursuit.

The USA speedskating team of Brian Hansen, Jonathan Kuck and Joey Mantia finished 7th in men's Team Pursuit.


Medal Standings after Day 15

Russia 11 gold, 10 silver, 8 bronze - 29 total
USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze - 27 total
Norway 11 gold, 5 silver, 10 bronze - 26 total
Canada 9 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 24 total
Netherlands 8 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 24 total

Day 14

American Mikaela Shiffrin wins gold in womens Alpine Skiing Slalom. Marlies Schild of Austria wins silver and Kathrin Zettel, also of Austria wins bronze.

In the men's short track speedskating 5000M relay, the United States team of Eduardo Alvarez, J.R. Celski, Chris Creveling and Jordan Malone win silver. Russia wins gold and China wins bronze.

The USA men's hockey team lost to Canada 1-0 and will advance to the bronze medal game vs. Finland on Saturday.

Americans Jessica Smith finished 4th and Emily Scott finished 11th in women's short track speedskating 1000M.

J.R. Celski of the USA finished 6th in men's short track speedskating 500M.

The USA finished 7th in the biathlon women's 4 by 6km relay.

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Medal standings after Day 14

USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze - 27 total
Russia 9 gold, 10 silver, 7 bronze - 26 total
Canada 9 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 24 total
Norway 10 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze - 22 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total

Day 13

American Maddie Bowman wins gold in Womens Ski halfpipe. Marie Martinod of France wins silver and Ayana Onozuka of Japan wins bronze.

The USA womens' hockey team lost to Canada 3-2 in OT. The USA was up 2-0 in the third period and then Canada scored 2 goals to tie it and won it in OT. The USA wins silver, Canada wins gold. Switzerland beat Sweden 4-3 for bronze.

At the end of the free skate in womens figure skating, Americans Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner and Polina Edmund finished 4th, 7th and 9th, respectively. Adelina Sotnikova of Russia wins gold. Yuna Kim of South Korea wins silver and Carolina Kostner of Italy wins bronze.

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Medal Count after Day 13

USA 8 gold, 6 silver, 11 bronze - 25 total
Russia 7 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze - 23 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total
Norway 10 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 21 total
Canada 7 gold, 9 silver 4 bronze - 20 total
Germany 8 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze - 16 total

Day 12

Ted Ligety of the USA wins gold in men's Alpine Skiing Giant Slalom. Steve Missillier of France wins silver and Alexis Pinturault also of France, wins bronze. Jared Goldberg of the USA finished 19th. Bode Miller of the USA finished 20th.

In 2 man bobsleigh, the USA women's teams of Elana Meyers/Lauryn Williams and Aja Evans/Jamie Gruebel wins silver and bronze respectively. Kaillie Humphries/Heather Moyse of Canada wins gold. The other USA women's bobsleigh team of Jazmine Fenlator/
Lolo Jones finished 11th.

After the women's Figure Skating short program, Gracie Gold of the USA is in 4th place. Americans Ashley Wagner is in 6th place and Polina Edmunds is in 7th place.

in the Biathlon 2x6km Women 2x7.5km Men Mixed Relay the USA finished 9th.

The USA men's hockey team beat the Czech Republic 5-2 and now advance to the Semifinals vs. Canada Friday.

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Medal Count After Day 12

USA 7 gold, 5 silver, 11 bronze - 23 total
Russia 6 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze - 22 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total
Norway 9 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 20 total
Canada 5 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze - 18 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total

Day 11

In men's freestyle ski halfpipe, David Wise of the USA wins gold. Mike Riddle of Canada wins silver and Kevin Rolland of France wins bronze.

American Alex Diebold wins bronze in men's Snowboard Cross. Pierre Vaultier of France wins gold and Nikolay Olyunin of Russia wins silver.

In 2 man bobsleigh, the USA women's team of Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams is in first place after the first 2 runs.

Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA finished 5th in women's alpine skiing Giant Slalom.

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Medal Count after Day 11

USA 6 gold, 4 silver, 10 bronze - 20 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze - 20 total
Russia 5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze - 19 total
Norway 7 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 18 total
Canada 4 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze - 17 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total

Day 10

American Ice Dancers Charlie White/Meryl Davis win gold. Canadians Scott Moir/Tessa Virtue win silver and Elena Ilinyh/Niita Katsalapov of Russia wins bronze. Its the first Ice dancing gold for the USA.

In 2 man bobsleigh, Americans Steven Holcomb and Steven Langton win bronze. Alexey Voevoda and Alexander Zubkov of Russia win gold while Alex Baumann and Beat Hefti of Switzerland wins silver. It was the first USA 2 man bobsleigh medal since 1952.

Mac Bohonnon of the USA finished 5th in men's freestyle skiing aerials.

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Medal standings through Day 10

USA 5 gold, 4 silver, 9 bronze - 18 total
Russia 5 gold, 7 silver, 6 bronze - 18 total
Netherlands 5 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze - 17 total
Norway 5 gold, 3 silver, 7 bronze - 15 total
Canada 4 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 13 total

Day 9

In men's Alpine Skiing Super G, Americans Andrew Weibrecht wins silver and Bode Miller ties for bronze. Bode tied Jan Hudec of Canada. Kjetil Jansrud of Norway wins gold.

USA men's hockey team beat Slovenia 5-1. The USA wins group A.

Americans Faye Gulini finished 4th and Lindsey Jacobellis finished 7th in ladies Snowboard Cross.

In figure skating, Charlie White and Meryl Davis of the USA are in 1st place after the Ice dancing short dance. Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates are in 8th place and Americans Alex and Maia Shibutani are in 9th place.

Heather Richardson of the USA finished 7th and Brittany Bowe, also of the USA finished 14th in ladies 1500M speedskating.

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Medal Count after Day 9

Netherlands 5 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze - 17 total
Russia 4 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze - 16 total
USA 4 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze - 16 total
Norway 5 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 14 total
Canada 4 gold, 6 silver, 4 bronze - 14 total
Germany 7 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 12 total

Day 8

Matthew Antoine wins bronze for the USA in men's skeleton. Alexander Tretjyakov of Russia wins gold and Martins Dukurs of Latvia wins silver.

The USA men's hockey team beat Russia in a shootout 3-2. TJ Oshie scored 4 of 6 goal attempts in the shootout.

Julia Mancuso of the USA finished 8th in the ladies Alpine Skiing Super G. Leanne Smith of the USA finished 18th.

Brian Hansen of the USA finished 7th in men's 1500M speedskating while Shani Davis also of the USA finished 11th.

Chris Creveling of the USA finished 10th in men's short track 1000M speedskating. Americans Eduardo Alvarez and JR Celski finshed 11th and 13th, respectively.

Emily Scott of the USA finished 5th and Jessica Smith also of the USA, finished 7th in womens short track speedskating 1500M.

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Medal Count after Day 8

Russia 4 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze - 15 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze - 14 total
USA 4 gold, 3 silver, 7 bronze - 14 total
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Germany 7 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze - 12 total

Day 7

In the women's skeleton, Noelle Pikus-Pace of the USA wins silver. Elizabeth Yarnold of Great Britain wins gold and Elena Nikitina of Russia wins bronze. Katie Uhlaender of the USA finished 4th.

Jason Brown and Jeremy Abbott, both of the USA, finish 9th and 12th respectively in the men's figure skating free skate.

In the men's Super Combined Slalom, Bode Miller of the USA finished 6th while Americans Jared Goldberg finished 11th and Ted Ligety finished 12th.

Americans Emily Cook and Ashley Caldwell finished 8th and 12th place respectively in women's freestyle skiing aerials.

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Medal Count after Day 7

USA 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Russia 2 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze - 11 total
Germany 7 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 10 total

Day 6

The USA sweeps men's ski slopestyle, Joss Christensen wins gold, Gus Kenworthy wins silver and Nicholas Goepper wins bronze.

In ladies short track speedskating 1000M Americans Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe finished 7th and 8th respectively.

Lowell Bailey of the USA finished 8th in the Biathlon Men's Individual 20 km.

The USA men's hockey team beat Slovokia 7-1.

In Figure Skating, after the men's short program, Americans Jason Brown and Jeremy Abbott are in 6th and 15th place, respectively.

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Medal Count after Day 6

Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
USA 4 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze - 12 total
Russia 2 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze - 11 total
Germany 7 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 10 total
Canada 4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze - 10 total

Day 5

Kaitlyn Farrington and Kelly Clark, both of the USA wins gold and bronze respectively in the women's halfpipe. Torah Bright of Australia wins silver. Hannah Teter of the USA finished 4th.

Shani Davis of the USA finished 8th and Brian Hansen also of the USA finished 9th in men's 1000M short track speedskating.

Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir of the USA finished 9th in figure skating pairs free skate while the other USA pairs team Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay finished 12th.

Julia Mancuso of the USA finished 8th while Laurenne Ross, also of the USA finished 11th in women's downhill skiing.

In men's luge doubles run the USA team of Christian Niccum and Jayson Terdiman finshed 11th while the second US team of Matthew
Mortensen and Preston Griffall finished 14th.

Canada beat the USA 3-2 in women's Ice hockey.

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Medal Standings after Day 5

Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze - 10 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze - 10 total
USA 3 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze - 9 total
Russia 2 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze - 9 total
Germany 6 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 8 total

Day 4

Erin Hamlin of the USA wins bronze in women's singles luge. Natalie Geisenberger of Germany wins gold and Tajiana Huefner of Germany wins silver.

Devin Logan of the USA wins silver in women's ski slopestyle. Dara Howell of Canada wins gold and Kim Lamarre of Canada wins bronze.

In men's halfpipe Shaun White of the USA finished 4th.

Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir are in 9th place after the figure skating pairs short program.

Heather Richardson finished 8th in women's 500M short track speedskating.

Jessica Jerome of the USA finished 10th in women's ski jumping normal hill individual.

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Medal Standings after Day 4

Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze - 11 total
Canada 4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 9 total
Netherlands 3 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze - 8 total
USA 2 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze - 7 total
Russia 1 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze - 7 total

Day 3

Julia Mancuso wins gold in the women's Super Combined Slalom. Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany wins gold and Nicole Hosp of Austria wins silver.

JR Celski of the USA finished 4th in 1500M short track speedskating.

The USA women's hockey team beat Switzerland 9-0.

Patrick Deneen finished 6th in men's ski moguls.

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Medal Count after day 3

Canada 3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze - 7 total
Netherlands 3 gold, 2 silver 2 bronze - 7 total
Norway 2 gold, 1 silver 4 bronze - 7 total
Russia 1 gold 2 silver 3 bronze - 6 total
USA 2 gold 0 silver 3 bronze - 5 total

Day 2

Jamie Anderson of the USA wins gold in women's slopestyle. Enni Rukajarvi of Finland wins silver and Jenny Jones of Great Britain wins bronze.

Figure skating team final results:

Gold - Russia with 75 points
Silver - Canada with 65 points
Bronze - USA with 60 points

Gracie Gold of the USA finshed 2nd in women's free skate.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the USA finshed 1st in Ice Dancing.

In men's downhill skiing Travis Ganong and Bode Miller of the USA finished 5th and 8th respectively.

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Medal Count after Day 2

Norway 2 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze - 7 total
Netherlands 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
USA 2 gold 0 silver, 2 bronze - 4 total
Canada 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
Russia 1 gold, 2 silver 1 bronze - 4 total

Day 1- February 8

American Sage Kotsenberg wins gold in men's slopestyle. Stale Sandbech of Norway wins silver and Mark McMorris of Canada wins bronze.

In women's freestyle ski moguls Hannah Kearney of the USA wins bronze. Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada wins gold and her sister Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Canada wins silver.

After the second day of the team Ice skating competition Russia leads with 47 points, Canada is in second place with 41 points, the USA is in third place with 34 points, Italy is in fourth place with 31 points and Japan is in fifth place with 30 points.

The USA women's hockey team beat Finland 3-1.

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Medal Count after day 1

Norway 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
Canada 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 3 total
Netherlands 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 3 total
USA 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze - 2 total

Thurs. Feb. 6 and Opening Ceremony

Results from Feb. 6

In women's slopestyle Americans Jamie Anderson and Karly Shoor advanced to the finals.
Jessica Jenson of the USA advanced to the semifinals.

In team figure skating, Jeremy Abbott and pairs Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir have the USA tied for 5th place(7th after tiebreakers) after the first day.

Hannah Kearney of the USA advanced to the finals of women's ski moguls.


Opening ceremony highlights from Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia:

There are 88 countries participating and over 2,800 athletes competing. They are the most ever for a winter Olympics.

The opening ceremony that opened the Games of the XXII Winter Olympiad told the story of Russia's history through the dreams of an 11 year old Russian girl. There was a video of famous Russian artists Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich, Composer Tchaikovsky and writers Chekhov, Pushkin and Tolstoy, the Russian Space Station and Chemist Mendeleev.

There was a glitch as snowflakes on cables were supposed to form the Olympic rings and one of them failed to open so there was four Olympic rings instead of five.

Next, the Russian state anthem was performed by the Sretensky Monastery Choir which has been around for over 600 years. During the performance Russians in LED costumes made the Russian flag on the floor of the stadium.

Then there was the parade of nations. The nations order was determined by the Cyrillic alphabet which is used in Russia. Greece was the first nation to enter the stadium. The USA had very nice sweaters and hats made by Polo. The USA has 230 athletes which is the second most of all time in a winter Olympics. Russia has 232 athletes, which is the most ever at a winter Olympics. Canada has 220 athletes while Switzerland has 163, Germany has 153, Austria 133, Norway 118, France 114, Japan 113 and Sweden 111.

The second part after the parade of nations was a thousand years of Russian history in three minutes. There was an 80 feet tall and 213 feet long Trioka(three horses pulling a carriage) which is a symbol of power and hope to Russians.

There was a Russian folk tale about the origin of Russia formed in the belly of a whale.

The scene switched from Medieval Russia to Imperialist Russia and Peter the Great and then again moved from the Imperialist age to the 20th century and the Russian revolution.

A white light was used to remember the 20 million who died in World War II.

The little girl appeared again who flied around the stadium chasing after a red balloon. The balloon represented the end of the 20th century dream, saying goodbye to the past.

Russian ballroom dancers performed to Swan Lake.

Next, the Olympic flag was raised and the Olympic hymn was sung. IOC President Thomas Bach of Germany spoke, followed by Russian president Putin who declared the games open.

The next part paid tribute to the athletes. It was called the Olympic gods. A light show depicted different winter games sports. In this part 250 roller skaters were wearing LED costumes.

The torch entered the stadium. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova handed the torch off to Russian track star Yelena Isinbayeva who handed the torch to Russian wrestler Alexander Karelin who handed it off to Russian gymnast Alina Kabayeva who handed it off to Russian figure skater Irina Rodnina who finally handed it off to Russian hockey goalie Vadislov Tretiak. Rodnina and Tretiak both ran toward the cauldron and Tretiak lit the cauldron, which is outside of the stadium.

Overall, in my opinion this opening ceremony was second best all time to Beijing in 2008. This opening ceremony was creative with lots of moving images on the ground and in the air. I am a fan of these high tech opening ceremonies. Lots of color, artistry, and fireworks. The cauldron was very modern and sleek. The Russian venues are all new and modern looking. Well done Sochi!

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5 days before the games start- Some notes and a few predictions

The Sochi games start in 5 days and although I do not know winter sports as well as in the summer games. I'm going to try and make a prediction in the USA medal count.
The USA has a 230 member Olympic team that I believe is the second largest contingent of any country going to Sochi. That is a big reason why the USA can do very well at these games. Also supporting that is more events than the 2010 Vancouver games. There are 98 total events at the Sochi games and the USA has competitors in 94 out of the 98 events.

I do feel however, that without Lindsey Vonn and Evan Lysacek, Apolo Anton Ohno(retired) and the location of the country hosting the games, Russia(not friendly to us) the USA may not do as well in total gold medals won..I believe performance by USA athletes in countries not friendly to us affect the total gold medals won. In 2008 in Beijing the USA had more total medals than China 110 to 100 but lost the gold medal count 51 to 38. In 2012 in London, UK(our strongest ally) the USA won the total medal count over China 104 to 87 and in the gold medal count 46 to 38.
Ever since 2002 the USA winter Olympic team has been winning 30 medals or more each games.

As the number of athletes and events in winter games increases the number of medal events increases as well. The USA won 37 total medals at the 2010 Vancouver games. The USA won 9 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze. The USA was first, followed by Germany with 30 total medals, Canada was third with 26, Norway was fourth with 23 and Austria was fifth with 16.

Before I make a prediction in the USA total medal count I am going to talk a bit about our 230 member USA Olympic team.
The complete roster and roster facts is courtesy of teamusa.org.

2014 U.S. Olympic Team:


Alpine Skiing

David Chodounsky
Stacey Cook
Erik Fisher
Julia Ford
Travis Ganong
Jared Goldberg
Tim Jitloff
Nolan Kasper
Ted Ligety
Julia Mancuso
Megan McJames
Bode Miller
Steven Nyman
Laurenne Ross
Mikaela Shiffrin
Leanne Smith
Resi Stiegler
Marco Sullivan
Andrew Weibrecht
Jacqueline Wiles

Biathlon

Lowell Bailey
Lanny Barnes
Tim Burke
Annelies Cook
Russell Currier
Sean Doherty
Hannah Dreissigacker
Susan Dunklee
Leif Nordgren
Sara Studebaker

Bobsled

Cory Butner
Nick Cunningham
Aja Evans
Jazmine Fenlator
Chris Fogt
Jamie Greubel
Steven Holcomb
Lolo Jones
Steve Langton
Elana Meyers
Justin Olsen
Johnny Quinn
Dallas Robinson
Curt Tomasevicz
Lauryn Williams

Cross-Country Skiing

Erik Bjornsen
Sadie Bjornsen
Holly Brooks
Sophie Caldwell
Jessie Diggins
Brian Gregg
Kris Freeman
Simi Hamilton
Noah Hoffman
Torin Koos
Andy Newell
Kikkan Randall
Ida Sargent
Liz Stephen

Curling

Erika Brown
Debbie McCormick
Jessica Schultz
Ann Swisshelm
Allison Pottinger John Shuster
Jeff Isaacson
Jared Zezel
John Landsteiner
Craig Brown

Figure Skating

Jeremy Abbott
Jason Brown
Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir
Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Meryl Davis & Charlie White
Polina Edmunds
Gracie Gold
Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani
Ashley Wagner
Felicia Zhang & Nathan Bartholomay

Freeskiing

Aaron Blunck
Maddie Bowman
Bobby Brown
Joss Christensen
Lyman Currier
Annalisa Drew
Nick Goepper
Keri Herman
Gus Kenworthy
Julia Krass
Devin Logan
Brita Sigourney
John Teller
Angeli Vanlaanen
Maggie Voisin
David Wise
Torin Yater-Wallace

Freestyle Skiing

Mac Bohonnon
Ashley Caldwell
Emily Cook
Patrick Deneen
Hannah Kearney
Heidi Kloser
Heather McPhie
Eliza Outtrim
Bradley Wilson

Ice Hockey

Kacey Bellamy
Megan Bozek
Alex Carpenter
Kendall Coyne
Julie Chu
Brianna Decker
Meghan Duggan
Lyndsey Fry
Amanda Kessel
Hilary Knight
Jocelyne Lamoureux
Monique Lamoureux
Gigi Marvin
Brianne McLaughlin
Michelle Picard
Josephine Pucci
Molly Schaus
Anne Schleper
Kelli Stack
Lee Stecklein
Jessie Vetter
David Backes
Dustin Brown
Ryan Callahan
John Carlson
Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler
Jimmy Howard
Patrick Kane
Ryan Kesler
Phil Kessel
Paul Martin
Ryan McDonagh
Ryan Miller
Brooks Orpik
T.J. Oshie
Max Pacioretty
Zach Parise
Joe Pavelski
Jonathan Quick
James van Riemsdyk
Kevin Shattenkirk
Paul Stastny
Derek Stepan
Ryan Suter
Blake Wheeler

Luge

Summer Britcher
Preston Griffall
Erin Hamlin
Kate Hansen
Aidan Kelly
Chris Mazdzer
Matt Mortensen
Christian Niccum
Jayson Terdiman
Tucker West

Nordic Combined

Billy Demong
Bryan Fletcher
Taylor Fletcher
Todd Lodwick

Skeleton

Matt Antoine
John Daly
Noelle Pikus-Pace
Kyle Tress
Katie Uhlaender

Ski Jumping

Nick Alexander
Nick Fairall
Peter Frenette
Sarah Hendrickson
Jessica Jerome
Anders Johnson
Lindsey Van

Snowboarding

Jamie Anderson
Nick Baumgartner
Greg Bretz
Kelly Clark
Danny Davis
Alex Deibold
Kaitlyn Farrington
Arielle Gold
Taylor Gold
Chas Guldemond
Faye Gulini
Jackie Hernandez
Nate Holland
Trevor Jacob
Lindsey Jacobellis
Jessika Jensen
Sage Kotsenburg
Justin Reiter
Karly Shorr
Ryan Stassel
Hannah Teter
Ty Walker
Shaun White

Speedskating (Long Track)

Brittany Bowe
Lauren Cholewinski
Shani Davis
Tucker Fredricks
Jonathan Garcia
Kelly Gunther
Brian Hansen
Jonathan Kuck
Maria Lamb
Emery Lehman
Joey Mantia
Patrick Meek
Heather Richardson
Anna Ringsred
Jilleanne Rookard
Sugar Todd
Mitchell Whitmore

Speedskating (Short Track)

Eddy Alvarez
Kyle Carr
J.R. Celski
Chris Creveling
Alyson Dudek
Jordan Malone
Emily Scott
Jessica Smith

Team USA has 106 returning Olympians. The USA returns 99 Olympians from the 2010 Vancouver games. Out of the 99 returning Olympians from 2010 49 are Olympic medalists from previous games and 13 are Olympic champions.
There are 105 women and 125 men on the US Team.

Nordic Combined skier Todd Lodwick is competing in his sixth Olympics, another Nordic Combined skier Billy Demong is competing in his fifth Olympics and Alpine skier Bode Miller is competing in his fifth Olympics.


My predictions for the USA medal count:

The USA will win 12 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze for a total of 38 and finish first. Germany, Russia, Canada and Norway will round out the top 5 in that order.

5 more days until the opening ceremony!