Sochi 2014: Looking Ahead

It's never too early to start thinking about Sochi. And that's just what Ashley Caldwell did-until she suddenly found herself in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

One year ago, the Hamilton, Va., native was simply the most promising student in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's Elite Air Program, hoping to debut in Olympic aerials at Sochi.

After finishing second at the U.S. Olympic Trials in December and stringing together two strong performances at World Cup events in January, Caldwell found herself making plans for Vancouver.

At 16, Caldwell was the youngest member of Team USA. With no expectations, she went to Cypress Mountain and promptly finished 10th, ahead of her more experienced U.S. teammate Emily Cook.

And then the focus was right back on Sochi, the Russian host city for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

"My coach told me I wasn't allowed to think ahead until the competition was over," Caldwell said, "but once I landed, I immediately started thinking about Sochi."

Caldwell is one of many young U.S. athletes who hope to take center stage at the Sochi edition of the Olympic Winter Games. The U.S. Olympic Committee is already looking for ways to help Caldwell and others to build upon Team USA's record 37 medals earned in Vancouver.

"Our operational teams are starting to send their leaders to Sochi this coming year so we can do everything we can to prepare for those Games," said Mike Plant, a speed skater on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team who served as the USOC's chef de mission in Vancouver.

Some of the potential future stars are young, relative unknowns. Others, like Caldwell, are now grizzled Olympic veterans.

Another one of those veterans is Hannah Kearney. The Norwich, Vt., native, 24, captured the nation's attention when she won Team USA's first gold medal in Vancouver with a victory in mogul skiing. If you ask her coach, Nick Preston, from Waterville Valley, N.H., you ain't seen nothin' yet.

"This is just the start for Hannah," he told TeamUSA.org. "Skiers like her are just starting to come into their peak at her age. She's got so much ahead for her. She's going to win more World Championships, and who knows what she could do at the next Olympics. She has the fire, the work ethic to keep going to get everything out of her talent. I'm excited just thinking about what's coming around the corner for her."

And then there's figure skating. After winning at least one Olympic medal in every Winter Games since 1968, the U.S. ladies were kept off the podium in Vancouver.

"At 16, you don't have the experience and maturity that they (the medalists) skate with, so hopefully I will (in the future)," said Mirai Nagasu, who was the top U.S. finisher with a fourth-place showing and is just several months older than Caldwell.

But the future looks bright, with Nagasu and teammate Rachael Flatt, 17, expected to set their sights on Sochi now. Flatt, the reigning U.S. champion who is known as one of the most technically gifted skaters in the world, placed seventh.

They won't be without competition, though. Christina Gao, who turns 16 on March 7, finished fifth at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash., and is expected to be among the contenders in 2014, as well.

"She's definitely one to watch for 2014," said Brian Orser, her coach and a two-time Olympic silver medalist. "She has a pretty sound technique. One criticism she had was she had a hard time laying it out there when it counts. My project with her was to help her compete well and feel more secure. I'm really impressed with this young woman."

Her youth was evident at the U.S. Championships, in which Orser said she was "star struck" by 2006 silver medalist Sasha Cohen. Even though Gao trains with newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Yu-Na Kim of South Korea, "She was in awe of Sasha," Orser said.

By 2014, young girls might be in awe of Gao.

On the men's side, there will be big skates to fill in 2014. Evan Lysacek became the first American man to win an Olympic figure skating gold medal since 1988, but there are other young talented Americans in the pipeline.

Adam Rippon, 20, who was fifth at the U.S. Championships and is expected to be among the top names in 2014. After Spokane, he went to the Four Continents Championships, which is an annual competition of skaters from everywhere but Europe. Rippon was seventh after the short program but rallied to win the title. He will be representing the United States at the World Championships later this month in Torino.

"Adam works really hard," said Orser, who also coaches Rippon. "I was so proud of how he came back to win Four Continents.''

The ice dancing duo of Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates placed 11th in their Olympic debut in Vancouver. Bates enjoyed celebrating his 21st birthday during the Games (Feb. 23) and the couple will compete at the World Championships in Torino. The 2008 World Junior champions hope to keep up the United States newly found strength in the sport. In the last two Winter Games, American teams have earned two silver medals. When Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto earned a silver medal in 2006, it marked the first medal for the U.S. in the sport since 1976.

Also expected to be part of the 2014 U.S. squad is the sister-brother team of Maia and Alex Shibutani, who are coached by Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva. That coaching duo guided Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to gold in Vancouver as well as Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White to silver.

Elsewhere on the ice, Team USA has a slew of young, talented hockey players and speed skaters.

Both U.S. hockey teams came home from Vancouver with silver medals. The men's team entered the tournament with only three Olympic veterans on a squad of 23 and as the youngest team in the tournament with an average age of 26.5. If the NHL allows its players to compete in Sochi, Team USA should make another run at the gold behind star players such as goalie Ryan Miller, 29, and forward Zach Parise, 25.

The U.S. women brought 15 Olympic rookies on their roster of 21 players. With star youngsters such as forwards Hilary Knight, 20, and twin sisters Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, also 20, and a residency program in Blaine, Minn., the U.S. women's hockey team should be a contender for the foreseeable future.

"Hilary Knight is going to be around for a long time," said Julie Chu, a three-time U.S. Olympian. "She can do everything. For her to be able to come back and play is a dedication that the team is going to need for the future."

Team USA's goalie Jessie Vetter, 24, was another Olympic rookie in Vancouver.

"Getting the experience of us first-timers, an Olympic medal, the Olympics in general, can only help if we all continue to play moving forward towards Russia (in 2014)," Vetter said. "It'll never be this team again, which we're all sad about, but we're moving forward. Women's hockey is in a good direction."

In speedskating, short track's J.R. Celski, 19, debuted with a bronze medal in the 1500 meters and in the 5000-meter relay. Katherine Reutter, 21, came home with a silver medal in the 1000 meters and a bronze in the 3000-meter relay. On the long track, Team USA's Trevor Marsicano, 20, will be looking to build off his 2010 silver medal in team pursuit.

"He should be happy to be here,'' said Dan Jansen, a U.S. speedskating gold medalist at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer. "That's what the first Games are all about. He's got a couple more (Olympics) to go."

Team USA looks to be in a good place on the mountains, too-on the slopes and on the icy track.

First-time Olympians Andrew Weibrecht, 24, and Alice McKennis, 20, could be the next U.S. stars in alpine skiing. Meanwhile, on the more even terrain, first-time Olympians Liz Stephen, 23, and Andy Newell, 26, could be the future of U.S. cross-country skiing.

Moguls skier Sho Kashima, 23, hoped to make his Olympic debut in Vancouver after finishing sixth at the most recent world championships, but now has to wait four years for that moment. He suffered a knee injury just weeks before the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver and was unable to compete.

The USA Luge women's World Cup team was invaded by teenagers earlier this winter when Emily Sweeney, 16, and Kate Hansen, 17, earned spots on the five-woman team (only four competed in World Cups).

Neither was able to crack the three-woman U.S. Olympic team, but Sweeney was in Whistler, anyway, watching her older sister Megan, 23, race to 22nd place. Afterward, the Sweeneys' mother, Sue, wrote to their local newspaper, The Hartford Courant, to thank fans for their support. She also had a prediction for down the road.

"Start saving your money for Sochi in 2014 - we are, as we're hoping the Sween Team will once again have reason to cheer on one of our own!"

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Chrös McDougall is a freelance contributor for teamusa.org. This story was not subject to the approval of any National Governing Bodies.

 

Tags: Adam Rippon, Alice McKennis, Andrew Weibrecht, Andy Newell, Ashley Caldwell, Christina Gao, Chros McDougall, Emily Sweeney, Hannah Kearney, Hilary Knight, J.R. Celski, Jessie Vetter, Jocelyne Lamoureux, Kate Hansen, Katherine Reutter, Liz Stephen, Megan Sweeney, Mirai Nagasu, Monique Lamoureux, Patrick Kane , Rachael Flatt, Ryan Miller, Sho Kashima, Sochi 2014, Trevor Marsicano