Going for the Gold: Women's luge

The "Going for the Gold" series kicked off our One-Year-Countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We will feature a different 2010 U.S. Olympic or Paralympic hopeful each week with a vodcast on the first and second Friday of every month.

The United States' women's luge national team is looking to win its first Olympic medal, maybe even a gold, at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. In our weekly "Going for the Gold'' series, we are featuring six women sliders who have a shot of making the Olympic team, which will compete in February in Vancouver. Three U.S. women will qualify for the individual competition in luge in the upcoming Winter Games.

Erin Hamlin
The 22-year-old from Remsen, N.Y., is Team USA's top female contender and would be an Olympic team member for the second time. She made a huge splash this past winter at the luge track in Lake Placid, N.Y., where she won the 2009 FIL World Championships. In doing so, she became the first non-German luger to win the title in 99 consecutive races. At the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games, Hamlin finished 12th. She joined the senior national team for the 2006-2007 season and is the reigning U.S. champion. In addition to sliding, she is studying nutrition and health science at the State University of New York's Empire State College.

Ashley (Hayden) Walden
Like Hamlin, the 2010 Games would mark Walden's second Olympic appearance. She placed eighth at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games. In 2004 and 2005 she helped secure silver medals for the team event at the World Championships. She married Swedish Olympian slider Bengt Walden in 2006 and was the national champion in 2007. This year she earned silver in the U.S. Championships and finished seventh in the World Championships. The 27-year-old participated in track and field, softball and field hockey while attending high school in Westborough, Mass., but now lives and trains in Lake Placid.

Courtney Zablocki
If she goes to Vancouver, the Highlands Ranch, Colo., native would be attending her third Winter Games. In Salt Lake City in 2002, Zablocki placed 13th. In Torino in 2006 she had the best finish for an American woman at the Winter Games, placing fourth. That same year she was inducted into the Colorado Sports Women Hall of Fame. She is the oldest out of this group at 28, and has battled several injuries. In April, she underwent surgery to relieve pain in both of her hands. Aside from luge, she is a member of the Colorado Army National Guard.

Kate Hansen
Growing up in La Canada, Calif., Hansen spent her free time surfing at the beach. Now she dedicates her life to the ice as she has become a successful young slider for Team USA. She took the junior division, which is for ages 17 to 20, by storm when she raced and won her first World Championship event at 15. At the 2008 Verizon U.S. Junior National Championships, she became the youngest champion and also a gold-medal winner in the team event at the 2008 Junior World Luge Championships. Earlier this year the 17-year-old finished second at the junior national championships and sixth at the national championships.

Julia Clukey
Clukey of Augusta, Maine, is a force to be reckoned with on Team USA. Like Hansen, Clukey would be making her Olympic debut next year. In 2002 and 2003 she earned silver medals at the Verizon Junior National Championships. In 2003 she helped her team to a gold medal in the team event at the Junior World Championships. She began to compete on the senior level in 2004. In the 2007-2008 World Cup season, she had four top-10 finishes. At the 2009 World Championships, she placed fifth. Despite having a busy training schedule, the 24-year-old takes classes through the University of Maine.

Megan Sweeney
In 2006, Sweeney won the overall bronze medal for the Junior World Cup circuit. Hailing from Suffield, Conn., she is a two-time bronze medalist (2005, 2006) and a two-time gold medalist (2006, 2007) in the Verizon U.S. Junior National Championships. Luge is a family affair for the 22-year-old because her younger sister, Emily, is a slider on the Junior World Cup tour. She has never competed in the Winter Games, but she has participated at the Junior Olympic Games -- in a different sport. A former black belt, Sweeny claimed gold and silver medals in karate in the Junior Olympic Games in 1998.

Tags: 2010, Ashley Walden, Courtney Zablockl, Erin Hamlin, Going for the Gold, Julia Clukey, Kate Hansen, Luge, Megan Sweeney, Vancouver