Who'll Win Can Jean Racine and Gea Johnson overcome controversy to take the first women's bobsledding gold? Will there be any big surprises? Here are SI's fearless medal picks
ALPINE SKIING
MEN
DOWNHILL
[Gold]--Stephan Eberharter, Austria
[Silver]--Hannes Trinkl, Austria
[Bronze]--Fritz Strobl, Austria
At 33, Trinkl became the oldest world champion in Alpine history
in 2001
SUPER G
[Gold]--Stephan Eberharter, Austria
[Silver]--Didier Cuche, Switzerland
[Bronze]--Daron Rahlves, U.S.
Eberharter will be the first skier to sweep the downhill and the
Super G
COMBINED
[Gold]--Kjetil Andre Aamodt, Norway
[Silver]--Bode Miller, U.S.
[Bronze]--Lasse Kjus, Norway
Aamodt's stash of 15 world and Olympic medals is an Alpine record
GIANT SLALOM
[Gold]--Fredrik Nyberg, Sweden
[Silver]--Benjamin Raich, Austria
[Bronze]--Frederic Covili, France
Daredevil Nyberg has a fear of dogs, but not of man-eating slopes
SLALOM
[Gold]--Bode Miller, U.S.
[Silver]--Ivica Kostelic, Croatia
[Bronze]--Rainer Schonfelder, Austria
Miller, the son of 1960s nonconformists, grew up in a New
Hampshire cabin that had no electricity or plumbing
WOMEN
DOWNHILL
[Gold]--Isolde Kostner, Italy
[Silver]--Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria
[Bronze]--Hilde Gerg, Germany
Home-fan favorite Picabo Street will make a strong run but just
miss a medal
SUPER G
[Gold]--Hilde Gerg, Germany
[Silver]--Karen Putzer, Italy
[Bronze]--Renate Gotschl, Austria
Putzer's brothers, Pirmin and Marc, were named for ski greats
Zurbriggen and Girardelli
COMBINED
[Gold]--Renate Gotschl, Austria
[Silver]--Janica Kostelic, Croatia
[Bronze]--Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria
Gotschl was the overall World Cup champ in 2000 and runner-up in
2001
GIANT SLALOM
[Gold]--Sonja Nef, Switzerland
[Silver]--Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria
[Bronze]--Karen Putzer, Italy
Despite six operations on her right knee since 1989, the
29-year-old Nef is back on top of the mountain
SLALOM
[Gold]--Anja Parson, Sweden
[Silver]--Laure Pequegnot, France
[Bronze]--Kristina Koznick, U.S.
Koznick skis apart from the U.S. team to train with beau and
coach Dan Stripp
BIATHLON
MEN
10K SPRINT
[Gold]--Raphael Poiree, France
[Silver]--Frank Luck, Germany
[Bronze]--Ole-Einar Bjorndalen, Norway
Poiree will become the first Frenchman to win an Olympic biathlon
event
12.5K PURSUIT
[Gold]--Raphael Poiree, France
[Silver]--Pavel Rostovtsev, Russia
[Bronze]--Frank Luck, Germany
Poiree still has a plate in his left arm from a 1999 motorcycle
crash
20K INDIVIDUAL
[Gold]--Pavel Rostovtsev, Russia
[Silver]--Frank Luck, Germany
[Bronze]--Halvard Hanevold, Norway
Hanevold made up 15 meters in the final two kilometers to win
gold in Nagano
4x7.5K RELAY
[Gold]--Germany
[Silver]--Russia
[Bronze]--Norway
The USSR, Russia or Germany has won every gold since event
debuted in '68
WOMEN
7.5K SPRINT
[Gold]--Liv Grete Skjelbreid-Poiree, Norway
[Silver]--Olena Zubrilova, Ukraine
[Bronze]--Magdalena Forsberg, Sweden
Liv Grete and Raphael Poiree will be the first married couple to
win gold for different countries
10K PURSUIT
[Gold]--Magdalena Forsberg, Sweden
[Silver]--Olena Zubrilova, Ukraine
[Bronze]--Liv Grete Skjelbreid-Poiree, Norway
In the off-season Forsberg works part-time as a tax adviser
15K INDIVIDUAL
[Gold]--Magdalena Forsberg, Sweden
[Silver]--Liv Grete Skjelbreid-Poiree, Norway
[Bronze]--Gunn Margit Andreassen, Norway
Scandinavians will sweep the women's individual events for first
time
4x7.5K RELAY
[Gold]--Germany
[Silver]--France
[Bronze]--Norway
Even the great Forsberg can't beat Germany, with five of the
world's top nine sprinters
BOBSLED
MEN
TWO MAN
[Gold]--Langen/Zimmermann, Germany
[Silver]--Hays/Hines, U.S.
[Bronze]--Annen/Hefti, Switzerland
Seven-time world champ Christoph Langen is still going strong at
age 39
FOUR MAN
[Gold]--Germany (driver: Andre Lange)
[Silver]--Germany (driver: Christoph Langen)
[Bronze]--U.S. (driver: Todd Hays)
Hays is a former University of Tulsa linebacker and Ultimate
Fighting champ
WOMEN
TWO WOMAN
[Gold]--Prokoff/Holzner, Germany
[Silver]--Erdmann/Herschmann, Germany
[Bronze]--Racine/Johnson, U.S.
Susi Erdmann won bronze in Albertville and silver in
Lillehammer--in luge
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
MEN
1.5K SPRINT FREESTYLE
[Gold]--Tor Arne Hetland, Norway
[Silver]--Cristian Zorzi, Italy
[Bronze]--Trond Iversen, Norway
Olympic debut for sport's shortest race, which lasts just over
three minutes
15K CLASSICAL
[Gold]--Erling Jevne, Norway
[Silver]--Per Elofsson, Sweden
[Bronze]--Anders Aukland, Norway
In August 1999, Jevne's four-year-old son, Erich Iver, was killed
by a car as the two walked along a road in Norway
COMBINED PURSUIT
[Gold]--Per Elofsson, Sweden
[Silver]--Anders Aukland, Norway
[Bronze]--Thomas Alsgaard, Norway
Starting 24 seconds back, Alsgaard sprinted past his legendary
countryman Bjorn Daehlie with 50 meters to go to win gold by 1.1
seconds in Nagano
30K FREESTYLE
[Gold]--Per Elofsson, Sweden
[Silver]--Christian Hoffmann, Austria
[Bronze]--Anders Aukland, Norway
Elofsson has a shot to be first skier to win more than three
golds at one Games
50K CLASSICAL
[Gold]--Johann Muhlegg, Spain
[Silver]--Per Elofsson, Sweden
[Bronze]--Vitaly Denisov, Russia
Muhlegg skied in three Olympics for Germany before a dispute with
top brass
4x10K RELAY
[Gold]--Norway
[Silver]--Italy
[Bronze]--Sweden
Italy beat Norway by .4 seconds in 1994; Norway edged Italy by .2
seconds in '98
WOMEN
1.5K SPRINT FREESTYLE
[Gold]--Katerina Neumannova, Czech Rep.
[Silver]--Hilde Pedersen, Norway
[Bronze]--Maj Helen Sorkmo, Norway
Neumannova finished 18th in mountain biking at the '96 Summer
Games
10K CLASSICAL
[Gold]--Bente Skari, Norway
[Silver]--Olga Danilova, Russia
[Bronze]--Julija Tchepalova, Russia
Skari's father, Odd Martinsen, won gold in the 4x10K relay in
1968 in Grenoble
COMBINED PURSUIT
[Gold]--Larissa Lazutina, Russia
[Silver]--Olga Danilova, Russia
[Bronze]--Bente Skari, Norway
Lazutina took home five medals in '98
15K FREESTYLE
[Gold]--Stefania Belmondo, Italy
[Silver]--Larissa Lazutina, Russia
[Bronze]--Julija Tchepalova, Russia
Belmondo ranks eighth in Winter Olympic history, with seven
medals
30K CLASSICAL
[Gold]--Olga Danilova, Russia
[Silver]--Julija Tchepalova, Russia
[Bronze]--Larissa Lazutina, Russia
Top contender Kristina Smigun of Estonia failed preliminary drug
test
4x5K RELAY
[Gold]--Norway
[Silver]--Russia
[Bronze]--Italy
Order of finish in last three Games: Russia, Norway and Italy
CURLING
MEN
[Gold]--Sweden
[Silver]--Canada
[Bronze]--Switzerland
Sweden, which edged Switzerland 5-4 to win the 2001 European
championship, will atone for a disappointing sixth-place finish
in Nagano
WOMEN
[Gold]--Canada
[Silver]--Sweden
[Bronze]--Denmark
Canada has taken the last two world titles and will win again
despite the loss of longtime skip Sandra Schmirler, who died of
cancer two years ago at 36
FIGURE SKATING
MEN
[Gold]--Evgeni Plushenko, Russia
[Silver]--Alexei Yagudin, Russia
[Bronze]--Timothy Goebel, U.S.
Yagudin won the European title last month while world champ
Plushenko was sidelined with a groin injury
WOMEN
[Gold]--Michelle Kwan, U.S.
[Silver]--Irina Slutskaya, Russia
[Bronze]--Sarah Hughes, U.S.
No Soviet or Russian woman has ever won the ladies' singles title
PAIRS
[Gold]--Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze, Russia
[Silver]--Sale/Pelletier, Canada
[Bronze]--Shen/Zhao, China
Soviets or Russians have won 10 in a row
DANCE
[Gold]--Anissina/Peizerat, France
[Silver]--Fusar Poli/Margaglio, Italy
[Bronze]--Bourne/Kraatz, Canada
Marina Anissina's mom, Irina Chernieva of the USSR, was sixth in
pairs in '72
FREESTYLE SKIING
MEN
AERIALS
[Gold]--Eric Bergoust, U.S.
[Silver]--Aleksei Grichin, Belarus
[Bronze]--Ales Valenta, Czech Republic
Bergoust's quad flip is banned until '03
MOGULS
[Gold]--Stephane Rochon, Canada
[Silver]--Jeremy Bloom, U.S.
[Bronze]--Janne Lahtela, Finland
Bloom is also a wide receiver for Colorado
WOMEN
AERIALS
[Gold]--Jacqui Cooper, Australia
[Silver]--Alla Tsuper, Ukraine
[Bronze]--Veronika Bauer, Canada
Taking herbalist's advice, Cooper drank cockroach extract to cure
a bad back
MOGULS
[Gold]--Kari Traa, Norway
[Silver]--Hannah Hardaway, U.S.
[Bronze]--Aiko Uemura, Japan
Traa's career took off once she controlled her chocolate obsession
HOCKEY
MEN
[Gold]--Canada
[Silver]--Czech Republic
[Bronze]--Russia
Canada hasn't won gold since 1952
WOMEN
[Gold]--U.S.
[Silver]--Canada
[Bronze]--Finland
Though Canada has beaten the U.S. in all seven world finals since
1990, Yanks won gold in '98 and went 8-0 against Canadians in
pre-Olympic tour
LUGE
MEN
SINGLES
[Gold]--Georg Hackl, Germany
[Silver]--Markus Prock, Austria
[Bronze]--Armin Zoggeler, Italy
A new sled engineered by Porsche will propel Hackl to his fourth
straight Olympic title and deny nine-time world No. 1 Prock his
first gold yet again
DOUBLES
[Gold]--Skel/Woller, Germany
[Silver]--Leitner/Resch, Germany
[Bronze]--Brugger/Huber, Italy
Nagano bronze medalists Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin of the
U.S. are also contenders
WOMEN
SINGLES
[Gold]--Silke Kraushaar, Germany
[Silver]--Sylke Otto, Germany
[Bronze]--Barbara Niedernhuber, Germany
German women have won the last 33 World Cup races
NORDIC COMBINED
INDIVIDUAL (Normal hill, 15k freestyle)
[Gold]--Felix Gottwald, Austria
[Silver]--Ronny Ackermann, Germany
[Bronze]--Samppa Lajunen, Finland
Gottwald will be first Austrian to win this event; Todd Lodwick
could become first American to win Nordic combined medal
SPRINT (Large hill, 7.5k freestyle)
[Gold]--Ronny Ackermann, Germany
[Silver]--Felix Gottwald, Austria
[Bronze]--Samppa Lajunen, Finland
Ackermann finished in the top three in nine of the last 11 races
this season
TEAM (Normal hill, 4x5K freestyle)
[Gold]--Austria
[Silver]--Germany
[Bronze]--Finland
Norway, dominant four years ago, will be denied a spot on the
podium
SKELETON
MEN
[Gold]--Gregor Stahli, Switzerland
[Silver]--Chris Soule, U.S.
[Bronze]--Martin Rettl, Austria
A stuntman in the film G.I. Jane, Soule has also appeared in Sex
and the City
WOMEN
[Gold]--Alex Coomber, Great Britain
[Silver]--Maya Pedersen, Switzerland
[Bronze]--Lea Ann Parsley, U.S.
Oxford-educated Coomber is a lieutenant in the Royal Air Force
SKI JUMPING
NORMAL HILL
[Gold]--Adam Malysz, Poland
[Silver]--Sven Hannawald, Germany
[Bronze]--Matti Hautamaki, Finland
Malysz is first Pole to win World Cup; only Pole to win Winter
gold was ski jumper Wojciech Fortuna in Sapporo
LARGE HILL
[Gold]--Sven Hannawald, Germany
[Silver]--Adam Malysz, Poland
[Bronze]--Martin Hollwarth, Austria
In January, Hannawald became first to sweep four events in
prestigious Four Hills tournament in Austria and Germany
TEAM
[Gold]--Germany
[Silver]--Austria
[Bronze]--Finland
The order could vary but not which countries mount the platform;
nine of the world's top 11 jumpers are members of these three
teams
SNOWBOARDING
MEN
HALFPIPE
[Gold]--Magnus Sterner, Sweden
[Silver]--Ross Powers, U.S.
[Bronze]--Heikki Sorsa, Finland
Magnus's cousin Fredrik was World Cup champ in '98; his father,
Kristen, was goalie in Swedish pro hockey league
PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM
[Gold]--Dejan Kosir, Slovenia
[Silver]--Nicolas Huet, France
[Bronze]--Jasey Jay Anderson, Canada
Hermann Maier's kid brother, Alex, from Austria, could sneak onto
the platform
WOMEN
HALFPIPE
[Gold]--Nicola Pederzolli, Austria
[Silver]--Doriane Vidal, France
[Bronze]--Sabine Wehr-Hasler, Germany
Though Austria didn't qualify for a slot in this event,
Pederzolli was allotted a last-minute berth after World Cup
success
PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM
[Gold]--Karine Ruby, France
[Silver]--Doris Guenther, Austria
[Bronze]--Julie Pomagalski, France
New event--in which pairs of boarders race head-to-head--replaces
the giant slalom, which Ruby won in '98
SPEED SKATING
MEN
500M
[Gold]--Jeremy Wotherspoon, Canada
[Silver]--Hiroyasu Shimizu, Japan
[Bronze]--Casey FitzRandolph, U.S.
A nagging back injury, which he has been fighting for four
months, will cost Nagano champion Shimizu the gold
1,000M
[Gold]--Jeremy Wotherspoon, Canada
[Silver]--Erben Wennemars, Netherlands
[Bronze]--Michael Ireland, Canada
Wotherspoon says skating is his second favorite passion--behind
fishing
1,500M
[Gold]--Adne Sondral, Norway
[Silver]--Ids Postma, Netherlands
[Bronze]--Jan Bos, Netherlands
If Derek Parra of the U.S. regains the fine form he showed early
this season, the Floridian could take a medal
5,000M
[Gold]--Jochem Uytdehaage, Netherlands
[Silver]--Carl Verheijen, Netherlands
[Bronze]--Frank Dittrich, Germany
After 5,000 king Gianni Romme's shocking failure to qualify at
Dutch trials, this race deserves an asterisk
10,000M
[Gold]--Frank Dittrich, Germany
[Silver]--Gianni Romme, Netherlands
[Bronze]--Bob de Jong, Netherlands
In his fourth Winter Games, the 34-year-old Dittrich will
finally bring home his first gold medal
WOMEN
500M
[Gold]--Catriona LeMay Doan, Canada
[Silver]--Andrea Nuyt, Netherlands
[Bronze]--Svetlana Zhurova, Russia
LeMay Doan has the eight fastest times at this distance, and at
the Olympic Oval she should break her world record
1,000M
[Gold]--Sabine Volker, Germany
[Silver]--Jennifer Rodriguez, U.S.
[Bronze]--Catriona LeMay Doan, Canada
No Hispanic-American has won a medal
1,500M
[Gold]--Anni Friesinger, Germany
[Silver]--Claudia Pechstein, Germany
[Bronze]--Marianne Timmer, Netherlands
Friesinger's mom skated for Poland in '76
3,000M
[Gold]--Anni Friesinger, Germany
[Silver]--Claudia Pechstein, Germany
[Bronze]--Gretha Smit, Netherlands
Defending champ Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann is on maternity leave
5,000M
[Gold]--Claudia Pechstein, Germany
[Silver]--Anni Friesinger, Germany
[Bronze]--Gretha Smit, Netherlands
Unheralded Smit will be huge surprise
SHORT TRACK
MEN
500M
[Gold]--Li Jiajun, China
[Silver]--Kim Dong-Sung, Korea
[Bronze]--Takafumi Nishitani, Japan
A fitting name: In Mandarin, Jiajun means "winner"
1,000M
[Gold]--Kim Dong-Sung, Korea
[Silver]--Apolo Ohno, U.S.
[Bronze]--Min Ryoung, Korea
Now 21, Kim became first skater to win world senior title as a
junior, in '97
1,500M
[Gold]--Marc Gagnon, Canada
[Silver]--Kim Dong-Sung, Korea
[Bronze]--Apolo Ohno, U.S.
In fourth Games, four-time world champ Gagnon will win first
individual gold
5,000M RELAY
[Gold]--Canada
[Silver]--Korea
[Bronze]--U.S.
U.S. skater Rusty Drew Smith of Sunset Beach, Calif., was named
for Rusty Staub and Drew Pearson
WOMEN
500M
[Gold]--Evgenia Radanova, Bulgaria
[Silver]--Yang Yang (A), China
[Bronze]--Yang Yang (S), China
The letters A and S--A stands for nothing, S for "small"--are used
to distinguish the unrelated Yangs
1,000M
[Gold]--Yang Yang (A), China
[Silver]--Evgenia Radanova, Bulgaria
[Bronze]--Ko Gi-Hyun, Korea
Yang's name translates as "flying flag"--and at the medal
ceremony, hers will
1,500M
[Gold]--Yang Yang (A), China
[Silver]--Joo Min-Jin, Korea
[Bronze]--Choi Min-Kyung, Korea
Yang won five world allround titles from 1997 to 2001
3,000M RELAY
[Gold]--China
[Silver]--Korea
[Bronze]--Canada
Korea edged China by just .123 seconds in this event in Nagano
PHOTOGRAPH BY GERARD RANCINAN