Over the course of 18 days, 294 medals will be distributed through hotly contested competition. The U.S. enters the Sochi Games coming off its record performance at the Vancouver Olympics, when the Americans topped the medal charts with a haul of 37, easily the most of all competing countries.
Can the U.S. match its dominance in an Olympics considerably farther from home than four years ago? That's unlikely as Norway -- coming off just 23 medals in Vancouver -- appears poised to rival Team USA for supremacy in Sochi. And don't count out a rise from the Russians capitalizing on their home-ice advantage.
Below are my projections for the final medal count as well as predictions for each of the 98 events.
Projected Medal Count
| COUNTRY | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | 2014 PREDICTED TOTAL | 2010 TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 13 | 12 | 10 | 35 | 23(4) |
| U.S. | 13 | 12 | 9 | 34 | 37(1) |
| Canada | 12 | 8 | 11 | 31 | 26(3) |
| Germany | 8 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 30(2) |
| Russia | 9 | 10 | 6 | 25 | 15(6) |
| Austria | 5 | 9 | 5 | 19 | 16(5) |
| The Netherlands | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 8(12) |
| South Korea | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 14(7) |
| Sweden | 2 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 11(T-8) |
| France | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 11(T-8) |
| China | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 11(T-8) |
| Switzerland | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9(11) |
| Czech Republic | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6(T-13) |
ALPINE SKIING
| MEN'S DOWNHILL | |
| Never doubt 36-year-old Miller, who has five medals over three Olympics. | |
 Norway |
Aksel Lund Svindal |
 Canada |
Erik Guay |
 U.S. |
Bode Miller |
| Men's Super-G | |
| Defending champ Svindal, 31, leads the World Cup standings in downhill, Super-G and overall. | |
|
Norway |
Aksel Lund Svindal |
 Switzerland |
Patrick Kueng |
 Austria |
Georg Streitberger |
| Men's Giant Slalom | |
| Part Norwegian, Pinturault has dual citizenship. | |
|
Austria |
Marcel Hirscher |
|
U.S. |
Ted Ligety |
 France |
Alexis Pinturault |
| Men's Slalom | |
| Hirscher is a two-time overall World Cup champ. | |
|
Austria |
Marcel Hirscher |
 Germany |
Felix Neureuther |
|
Austria |
Mario Matt |
| Men's Combined | |
| Ligety started his own ski equipment company. | |
|
U.S. |
Ted Ligety |
|
France |
Alexis Pinturault |
|
Norway |
Aksel Lund Svindal |
| Women's Downhill | |
| Maze is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines. | |
|
Germany |
Maria Hoefl-Riesch |
|
Switzerland |
Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden |
 Slovenia |
Tina Maze |
| Women's Super-G | |
| All nine of Liechtenstein's medals have come in Alpine skiing. | |
|
Switzerland |
Lara Gut |
|
Austria |
Anna Fenninger |
 Liechtenstein |
Tina Weirather |
| Women's Giant Slalom | |
| Lindell-Vikarby will turn 30 on the day the Games open. | |
 Sweden |
Jessica Lindell-Vikarby |
|
Sweden |
Maria Pietilae-Holmner |
|
Austria |
Anna Fenninger |
| Women's Slalom | |
| Schild, 32, had five knee surgeries by age 19. | |
|
U.S. |
Mikaela Shiffrin |
|
Austria |
Marlies Schild |
|
Sweden |
Frida Hansdotter |
| Women's Combined | |
| Hoefl-Riesch is also nationally ranked in tennis. | |
|
Austria |
Nicole Hosp |
|
Canada |
Marie-Michele Gagnon |
|
Germany |
Maria Hoefl-Riesch |
Biathlon
| Men's 10K sprint | |
| Martin's older brother, Simon, is a medal threat too. | |
|
France |
Martin Fourcade |
|
Norway |
Emil Hegle Svendsen |
|
Norway |
Ole Einar Boerndalen |
| Men's 12.5K pursuit | |
| Svendsen has at least one world title in each event. | |
|
Norway |
Emil Hegle Svendsen |
|
France |
Martin Fourcade |
|
Germany |
Simon Schempp |
| Men's 15K mass start | |
| Boe¸ won this event and two others at the 2013 worlds. | |
 Russia |
Alexey Volkov |
|
Norway |
Tarjei Boe¸ |
|
France |
Martin Fourcade |
| Men's 20K individual | |
| Lake Placid's Tim Burke took silver in this race at the world championships. | |
|
Norway |
Emil Hegle Svendsen |
|
France |
Martin Fourcade |
|
Russia |
Evgeni Ustyugov |
| Men's 4x7.5K relay | |
| Team Norway includes 40-year-old legend Ole Einar Boerndalen. | |
|
Norway |
|
|
Germany |
|
|
France |
|
| Women's 7.5K sprint | |
| Berger was Norway's sportsperson of the year in 2012. | |
|
Norway |
Tora Berger |
 Belarus |
Darya Domracheva |
 Finland |
Kaisa Makarainen |
| Women's 10K pursuit | |
| Valj's twin sister, Vita, is also an Olympian. | |
|
Finland |
Kaisa Makarainen |
|
Norway |
Tora Berger |
 Ukraine |
Valj Semerenko |
| Women's 12.5K mass start | |
| Henkel is dating U.S. team member Tim Burke. | |
|
Belarus |
Darya Domracheva |
|
Norway |
Tora Berger |
|
Germany |
Andrea Henkel |
| Women's 15k individual | |
| Domracheva once shot 500 hours of material for a biathlon documentary about her. | |
 Czech Republic |
Gabriela Soukalova |
|
Belarus |
Darya Domracheva |
|
Norway |
Tora Berger |
| Women's 4x6K relay | |
| Berger erased a 40-second deficit to lead Norway to world gold in 2013. | |
|
Norway |
|
|
Germany |
|
|
Russia |
|
| Mixed relay | |
| Twenty-one nations have won biathlon medals, but not the U.S. | |
|
Norway |
|
|
Czech Republic |
|
|
France |
|
Bobsled
| Men's Two-man | |
| The last U.S. medal in this event came in 1952, in Oslo. | |
|
Switzerland |
Driver: Beat Hefti |
|
U.S. |
Driver: Steve Holcomb |
|
Germany |
Driver: Francesco Friedrich |
| Men's Four-man | |
| The U.S. took gold in Vancouver, its first since 1948 in St. Moritz. | |
|
U.S. |
Driver: Steve Holcomb |
|
Russia |
Driver: Alexander Zubkov |
|
Germany |
Driver: Maximilian Arndt |
| Women's Two-woman | |
| Humphries' husband, Dan, was an Olympic sledder for Great Britain and for Canada. | |
|
Canada |
Driver: Kaillie Humphries |
|
U.S. |
Driver: Elana Meyers |
|
U.S. |
Driver: Jamie Greubel |
Cross-Country skiing
| Men's 1.4K Sprint (Free) | |
| Harvey's dad, Pierre, was a ski and cycling Olympian. | |
|
Russia |
Nikita Kriukov |
 Italy |
Federico Pellegrino |
|
Canada |
Alex Harvey |
| Men's Team Sprint (Classic) | |
| Just 1.5 seconds separated the top three teams in Vancouver. | |
|
Russia |
Russia |
|
Norway |
Norway |
|
Sweden |
Sweden |
| Men's 15K Classic | |
| Kazakhstan's one Winter gold came in cross-country skiing, in 1994. | |
 Kazakhstan |
Alexey Poltoranin |
|
Sweden |
Johan Olsson |
|
Germany |
Hannes Dotzler |
| Men's 30K Skiathlon | |
| Sundby is coached by his younger brother Sondre. | |
|
Russia |
Alexander Legkov |
|
Norway |
Martin Johnsrud Sundby |
|
Switzerland |
Dario Cologna |
| Men's 50K Mass Start (Free) | |
| Northug, winner of four Olympic medals, has been battling a virus for months. | |
|
Norway |
Martin Johnsrud Sundby |
|
Russia |
Alexander Legkov |
|
Norway |
Petter Northug |
| Men's 4x10K relay | |
| Russia took third at 2013 worlds but has never won an Olympic medal in this event. | |
|
Russia |
|
|
Sweden |
|
|
Norway |
|
| Women's 1.2K Sprint (Free) | |
| Randall was an Alaska champ in speed skiing (going straight downhill) and cross-country running. | |
|
U.S. |
Kikkan Randall |
|
Norway |
Marit Boergen |
|
Germany |
Denise Herrmann |
| Women's Team Sprint (Classic) | |
| The U.S. won this event at the 2013 worlds. | |
|
Norway |
|
|
Sweden |
|
|
U.S. |
|
| Women's 10K Classic | |
| Like teammate Bjoergen, Johaug grew up on a farm. | |
 Poland |
Justyna Kowalczyk |
|
Russia |
Yulia Chekaleva |
|
Norway |
Therese Johaug |
| Women's 15K Skiathlon | |
| Kowalczyk won three medals in 2010. | |
|
Poland |
Justyna Kowalczyk |
|
Finland |
Anne Kyllonen |
|
Norway |
Kristin Stoermer Steira |
| Women's 30K Mass Start (Free) | |
| Bjoergen has won 19 world championship medals, including 12 golds. | |
|
Norway |
Therese Johaug |
|
Norway |
Marit Bjoergen |
|
Poland |
Justyna Kowalczyk |
| Women's 4x5K relay | |
| Norway leads the alltime cross-country table in Olympic medals (96) and golds (35). | |
|
Norway |
|
|
Russia |
|
|
Sweden |
|
Curling
| Men's | |
| Canada has won gold or silver at nine straight world championships. | |
|
Canada |
|
|
Sweden |
|
 Great Britain |
|
| Women's | |
| British skip Eve Muirhead, 23, also toiled at the world bagpiping championships as a teenager. | |
|
Great Britain |
|
|
Sweden |
|
|
Canada |
|
Figure Skating
| Men's | |
| Hanyu's house was damaged by the tsunami in 2011. | |
 Japan |
Yuzuru Hanyu |
|
Canada |
Patrick Chan |
 Spain |
Javier Fernandez |
| Women's | |
| Kim has sung with several recording artists in South Korea. | |
 South Korea |
Kim Yu-na |
|
Russia |
Julia Lipnitskaia |
|
Japan |
Mao Asada |
| Pairs | |
| Trankov writes lyrics for his favorite music genre: hip-hop. | |
|
Russia |
Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov |
|
Germany |
Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy |
|
Russia |
Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov |
| ICE DANCING | |
| Multilingual Pechalat earned a business degree in Moscow. | |
|
U.S. |
Meryl Davis and Charlie White |
|
Canada |
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir |
|
France |
Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat |
| TEAM | |
| Three-time Olympic medalist Evgeni Plushenko, Russia's men's entrant, is the wild card. | |
|
Canada |
|
|
Russia |
|
|
U.S. |
|
Freestyle Skiing
| Men's Aerials | |
| The five Olympic winners have hailed from five different countries. | |
 China |
Qi Guangpu |
|
China |
Liu Zhongqing |
|
Belarus |
Anton Kushnir |
| Men's Moguls | |
| As a teenager Deneen was a champion in the equestrian sport of reining. | |
|
Canada |
Mikael Kingsbury |
|
Canada |
Alex Bilodeau |
|
U.S. |
Patrick Deneen |
| Men's Ski Cross | |
| With Brady Leman and Chris del Bosco, a Canadian sweep is possible | |
|
Canada |
David Duncan |
|
Austria |
Andreas Matt |
|
Sweden |
Victor Oehling Norberg |
| Men's Halfpipe | |
| Married at 20 and a youth pastor, Wise is known as "the Undude." | |
|
U.S. |
David Wise |
|
U.S. |
Aaron Blunck |
|
Canada |
Justin Dorey |
| Men's Slopestyle | |
| The last two world champs, Tom Wallisch and Alex Schlopy, didn't make the U.S. team. | |
|
U.S. |
Nick Goepper |
|
U.S. |
Bobby Brown |
|
Sweden |
Jesper Tjader |
| Women's Aerials | |
| Olympic champ Lassila took two years off to have a baby. | |
|
China |
Zhang Xin |
|
China |
Li Nina |
 Australia |
Lydia Lassila |
| Women's Moguls | |
| A third Dufour-Lapointe sister, Maxime, is also on Canada's team | |
|
U.S. |
Hannah Kearney |
|
Canada |
Justine Dufour-Lapointe |
|
Canada |
Chloe Dufour-Lapointe |
| Women's Ski cross | |
| For the second straight Olympics, U.S. women failed to qualify in this event. | |
|
Canada |
Marielle Thompson |
|
Switzerland |
Fanny Smith |
|
Switzerland |
Katrin Mueller |
| Women's Halfpipe | |
| Angeli Vanlaanen overcame Lyme disease to make the U.S. team. | |
|
U.S. |
Maddie Bowman |
|
U.S. |
Devin Logan |
|
Australia |
Amy Sheehan |
| Women's Slopestyle | |
| Maggie Voisin, 15, is the youngest U.S. Olympian since 1972. | |
|
Canada |
Dara Howell |
|
U.S. |
Keri Herman |
|
Germany |
Lisa Zimmermann |
Hockey
| Men's | |
| U.S. men last won an Olympic hockey medal in Europe in 1956. | |
|
Sweden |
|
|
Russia |
|
|
Canada |
|
| Women's | |
| The U.S. and Canada have met for gold in all 15 world championships. | |
|
U.S. |
|
|
Canada |
|
|
Finland |
|
Luge
| Men's Singles | |
| Zoggeler, 40, could become the first athlete to win six medals in an individual event. | |
|
Germany |
Felix Loch |
|
Italy |
Armin Zoggeler |
|
Germany |
David Moller |
| Men's Doubles | |
| Wendl and Arlt have won three of the last four overall World Cup titles. | |
|
Germany |
Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt |
|
Germany |
Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken |
|
Austria |
Peter Penz and Georg Fischler |
| Women's Singles | |
| German women have won 10 of the last 12 Olympic medals. | |
|
Germany |
Natalie Geisenberger |
|
Germany |
Tatjana Hufner |
|
Canada |
Alex Gough |
| MIXED Relay | |
| Sliders from German- or Italian-speaking nations have won 39 of 40 Olympic luge golds. | |
|
Germany |
|
|
Italy |
|
|
Austria |
|
Nordic Combined
| Normal hill | |
| A French border patrol officer, Lamy-Chappuis was born in Montana. | |
|
France |
Jason Lamy Chappuis |
|
Norway |
Haavard Klemetsen |
|
Germany |
Eric Frenzel |
| Large hill | |
| Todd Lodwick and Bill Demong of the U.S. have combined to make 11 Olympic teams. | |
|
Germany |
Eric Frenzel |
|
Norway |
Magnus Krog |
|
Norway |
Mikko Kokslein |
| Team | |
| Norway has won 11 Nordic combined golds. No other country has more than four. | |
|
Germany |
|
|
Austria |
|
|
Norway |
|
Skeleton
| Men's | |
| Younger brother Martins is a three-time Latvian sportsman of the year. | |
 Latvia |
Martins Dukurs |
|
Russia |
Alexander Tretiakov |
|
Latvia |
Tomass Dukurs |
| Women's | |
| Pikus-Pace nearly lost her leg when she was struck by a bobsled in 2005. | |
|
Great Britain |
Elizabeth Yarnold |
|
U.S. |
Noelle Pikus-Pace |
|
Great Britain |
Shelley Rudman |
Ski Jumping
| Men's Normal hill | |
| Prevc is nicknamed Muscle for his trademark fist pumps. | |
|
Norway |
Anders Bardal |
|
Slovenia |
Peter Prevc |
|
Germany |
Thomas Diethart |
| Men's Large hill | |
| Schlierenzauer's uncle is Austrian luge great Markus Prock. | |
|
Slovenia |
Peter Prevc |
|
Austria |
Gregor Schlierenzauer |
|
Poland |
Kamil Stoch |
| Men's Team | |
| Japan's Noriaki Kasai is in his seventh Olympics. | |
|
Austria |
|
|
Germany |
|
|
Norway |
|
| Women's Normal hill | |
| Takanashi, 17, has eight victories in nine events this season. | |
|
Japan |
Sara Takanashi |
|
U.S. |
Sarah Hendrickson |
|
Germany |
Carina Vogt |
Snowboarding
| Men's Halfpipe | |
| Podladchikov, whose nickname is iPod, competed for his native Russia in 2006. | |
|
U.S. |
Shaun White |
|
Japan |
Ayumu Hirano |
|
Switzerland |
Yuri Podladchikov |
| Men's Parallel Giant Slalom | |
| Slovenia is looking for its first Winter gold. | |
|
Slovenia |
Zan Kosir |
|
Austria |
Lukas Mathies |
|
Russia |
Vic Wild |
| Men's Parallel Slalom | |
| U.S. boarder Justin Reiter has been living in his truck to defray costs. | |
|
France |
Sylvain Dufour |
|
Austria |
Andreas Prommegger |
|
Slovenia |
Zan Kosir |
| Men's Slopestyle | |
| McMorris and his brother, Craig, are the subjects of an MTV series. | |
|
Canada |
Mark McMorris |
|
Norway |
Torstein Horgmo |
|
Canada |
Sebastien Toutant |
| Men's Snowboardcross | |
| Australia's two-time world champ, Alex (Chumpy) Pullin, has struggled this season. | |
|
Austria |
Markus Schairer |
|
Italy |
Omar Visintin |
|
Australia |
Jarryd Hughes |
| Women's Halfpipe | |
| Arielle is one of three Golds on the U.S. team. | |
|
Australia |
Torah Bright |
|
U.S. |
Kelly Clark |
|
U.S |
Arielle Gold |
| Women's Parallel Giant Slalom | |
| U.S. women did not qualify for PS or for PGS. | |
|
Germany |
Isabella Labock |
|
Austria |
Julia Dujmovits |
|
Japan |
Tomoka Takeuchi |
| Women's Parallel Slalom | |
| Kober was pregnant when she competed in 2010. | |
|
Switzerland |
Patrizia Kummer |
|
Czech Republic |
Ester Ledecka |
|
Germany |
Amelia Kober |
| Women's Slopestyle | |
| Anderson was 16 when she won an X Games title in 2007. | |
|
U.S. |
Jamie Anderson |
|
Canada |
Spencer O'Brien |
|
Czech Republic |
Sarko Pancochova |
| Women's Snowboardcross | |
| Ricker doesn't recall the crash that knocked her out at the 2006 Games. | |
|
Canada |
Maelle Ricker |
|
Norway |
Helene Olafsen |
|
Canada |
Dominique Maltais |
Speedskating (Long-Track)
| Men's 500 Meters | |
| Mulder's twin brother, Ronald, could also medal. | |
 Netherlands |
Michel Mulder |
|
South Korea |
Mo Tae-bum |
|
Japan |
Joji Kato |
| Men's 1,000 Meters | |
| Kuzin nearly quit the sport after a shoulder injury in 2012. | |
|
U.S. |
Shani Davis |
|
Netherlands |
Michel Mulder |
|
Kazakhstan |
Denis Kuzin |
| Men's 1,500 Meters | |
| Davis has two Olympic silvers and the world record in this event. | |
|
Russia |
Denis Yuskov |
|
Netherlands |
Koen Verweij |
|
U.S. |
Shani Davis |
| Men's 5,000 Meters | |
| Bergsma abandoned a plan to skate for Kazakhstan in 2010 after learning he'd have to give up his Dutch citizenship. | |
|
Netherlands |
Sven Kramer |
|
Netherlands |
Jorrit Bergsma |
|
South Korea |
Lee Seung-hoon |
| Men's 10,000 Meters | |
| Kramer lost gold in Vancouver after being DQ'd for committing a lane violation. | |
|
Netherlands |
Jorrit Bergsma |
|
Netherlands |
Sven Kramer |
|
Netherlands |
Bob de Jong |
| Men's Team Pursuit | |
| The Dutch have the most Olympic oval medals (82), but the U.S. has the most golds (29). | |
|
Netherlands |
T |
|
South Korea |
|
|
U.S |
|
| Women's 500 Meters | |
| Lee has a fascination with Lego. | |
|
South Korea |
Lee Sang-hwa |
|
China |
Yu Jing |
|
U.S. |
Heather Richardson |
| Women's 1,000 Meters | |
| Richardson is engaged to Bergsma. | |
|
Russia |
Olga Fatkulina |
|
U.S. |
Heather Richardson |
|
China |
Zhang Hong |
| Women's 1,500 Meters | |
| Wust was just 19 when she won the 3,000 in Turin. | |
|
Netherlands |
Ireen Wust |
|
U.S. |
Brittany Bowe |
|
Russia |
Yuliya Skokova |
| Women's 3,000 Meters | |
| Pechstein is a sergeant in the German Federal Police. | |
|
Netherlands |
Ireen Wust |
|
Czech Republic |
Martina Sablikova |
|
Germany |
Claudia Pechstein |
| Women's 5,000 Meters | |
| There are no speedskating ovals in Sablikova's home country. | |
|
Czech Republic |
Martina Sablikova |
|
Germany |
Claudia Pechstein |
|
Netherlands |
Yvonne Nauta |
| Women's Team Pursuit | |
| The Dutch women have never won an Olympic medal in team pursuit. | |
|
Netherlands |
|
|
Poland |
|
|
Canada |
|
Speedskating (Short-Track)
| Men's 500 Meters | |
| Korean-born Ahn Hyun-soo, now Viktor Ahn, became a Russian citizen in 2011. | |
|
Russia |
Viktor Ahn |
|
Canada |
Charles Hamelin |
|
China |
Wu Dajing |
| Men's 1,000 Meters | |
| Hamelin's father, Yves, runs Canada's national team. | |
|
Canada |
Charles Hamelin |
|
Russia |
Viktor Ahn |
|
China |
Wu Dajing |
| Men's 1,500 Meters | |
| Look for 2010 bronze medalist J.R. Celski of the U.S. to challenge. | |
|
Canada |
Charles Hamelin |
|
South Korea |
Lee Han-bin |
|
Russia |
Viktor Ahn |
| Men's 5,000-Meter Relay | |
| The U.S. has taken third in this event at the last two Games. | |
|
Canada |
|
|
Russia |
|
|
U.S. |
|
| Women's 500 Meters | |
| Favorite Wang Meng of China is out with a broken ankle. | |
|
China |
Fan Kexin |
|
South Korea |
Shim Suk-hee |
|
South Korea |
Park Seung-hi |
| Women's 1,000 Meters | |
| A season ago, Shim won her first World Cup race, at age 15. | |
|
South Korea |
Shim Suk-hee |
|
Italy |
Arianna Fontana |
|
South Korea |
Kim A-lang |
| Women's 1,500 Meters | |
| South Koreans have won two medals in this event at each Olympics. | |
|
South Korea |
Shim Suk-hee |
|
South Korea |
Kim A-lang |
|
Canada |
Valerie Maltais |
| Women's 3,000-Meter Relay | |
| The U.S. got bronze in 2010 but didn't qualify in 2014. | |
|
South Korea |
|
|
China |
|
|
Italy |
|
