Published in the Times-Courier Online with the permission of Hesperida Sports Network
As the first Winter Olympics is upon us, the average IDUvian must be wondering: how do I best watch, who is favored, and is my nation is expected to bring home the gold? Fear not my friend, for HSN’s expert team of sports journalists is here with the most accurate predictions for each sport and the overall medal table to answer your most burning Olympics questions. This article contains all of the details you need to be fully ready for the action in Lumiere and Atlantis, so buckle up, put your cozy winter gear on, and prepare to dive in!
Event Previews
Alpine Skiing
Alpine Skiing has traditionally been the domain of High Fells, and while they are still expected to have a strong performance, particularly from projected gold medalist Chin-Hae Hu in the Men’s Downhill, their overall total (1G, 1S, 1B) in the event is relatively mild by their standards. Misumi (1G, 1S, 2B) and Opthelia (1G, 3S) are expected to make particularly strong appearances in most events on the slopes, while LOM is predicted two golds from Elisa McKey in the Women’s Downhill and Henry Thoraed in the Men’s Combined. Brent van Norberg will be returning for Haesan in several events this year after his three-medal campaign in Hanshui, and he is expected to take the gold in the Men’s Downhill. Alīse Graudiņa of Huenya is predicted to come away with a gold and a silver in the Women’s Super G and Slalom, respectively. Expect other strong team performances from the debuting Karakhtan (1S, 2B) and Auria (1S, 2B).
Biathlon
Huenya (3S, 1B) and Misumi (2G, 1S, 1B) will be dueling for control of the Biathlon event. Athletes to keep an eye on include Aleksandris Krieviņš and Quetzalmixtli for the Huenyans and Mieko Saeki and Kenji Nishida for the Mizu team. This sport also has standout individual performers from some big-name countries, like Murray Clifton of LOM and Tom Lasserre-David of Laeral, who are both projected gold in their events. The Daryan mixed relay team is a standout for the warm-weather nation and is projected to win silver. High Fells also is projected a gold from Evelyn Watson in the Women’s Mass Start.
Bobsled
The road to gold in bobsled runs through the hosts: Eiria (4G, 1S) is expected to clean up. Notable challengers include the usual suspects: the Hesperidan trio of Haesan (1S, 1B) in two-person events, Laeral (1G, 1S) in Women’s Monobob and Two-Person, and Misako Matsui of Misumi (1S) in Monobob. Sunny Selifleur (1S, 1B) is also expected to be a peripheral contender in the men’s events, while tropical GTI is forecast a bronze. Jamal Rockland of Gardavasque is forecast the gold in Men’s Monobob. Opthelia is forecast a trio of medals (1S, 2B) although their athletes may have greater aspirations than that.
Cross-Country Skiing
This is predominantly a three-nation race, as we will enjoy seeing talented skiiers from High Fells (1G, 3S, 1B), Laeral (3G, 2B), and Misumi (1G, 2S, 2B). Standout athletes include Min-ji Kim, Alizée Ferrand-Ruiz, and Kumiko Yoshino, respectively. Outside of those nations, Victoria Sears of LOM is projected gold in the Women’s Sprint Ski, and Massimo Pellicano is projected a silver and a bronze for Huenya in the men’s individual events.
Curling
This is usually where Haesan dominates, but after the retirement of their captain, it seems as if this is a rebuilding phase for them, which has led to the most open field in IDU history. In the men’s, a Tessier-less Haesan is projected to hold on to gold, but High Fells and Auria have strong teams and may usurp them. High Fells is currently projected the gold on the women’s side, with Haesan and Eiria rounding out the podium. We also project High Fells as slightly favored in the mixed doubles, with Haesan and a surprisingly strong Kerlile entry just behind.
Figure Skating
Eiria is the IDU’s figure skating powerhouse, and with projected medals in all events including a trio of golds, it is clear why. However, these events are projected to be close, and the two other pillars of figure skating, Laeral (3S, 2B) and Novella Islands (2G, 1S), are why. Icons like Eiria’s Mathias Jansons and Laeral’s Héloïse Charvier and Kerry Chan will be the focus, while newcomers like Novella’s Ryo Okada will try and spoil the coronation. Athletes from other nations are not generally in the same class and might get a bronze medal at best; anything more would be a significant upset.
Freestyle Skiing
Misumi (3G, 1S) has the deepest roster top to bottom in freestyle skiing, headlined by Chie Tanabe and Masayoshi Shimizu. As is typical for skiing, High Fells (1G, 2S) also has strong competitors like Chae-eun So and Lewis Yates. Opthelia (1G, 1S, 2B) has strong medaling chances, behind a team with Lewis Brown, Beth Lewis, and Harriet Evans. Cam Gwernick of Astoria is predicted to win gold in Women’s Aerial, the only medal we forecast for the nation. Karakhtan is also forecast bronze medals for Aisuluu Zhumanazarova and Nurbek Ashimin.
Ice Hockey
The hockey field is quite similar for both the men’s and women’s competitions. Opthelia and Misumi are the best two teams, and while our model gives the Opthelians the slight edge for gold in both, it is tight. Our bronze medal pick in both sections, Eiria is the most realistic team to knock off one of those two, and they are of relatively equal quality. Gardavasque, Novella, and the Lavender Countries are potential upset picks.
Luge
Luge is a bit of a mixed bag. Misumi (3S, 1B) is the most uniformly solid group, but we prefer other athletes to take the gold. Laeralian Men’s Doubles team of Shuxiang Hu and Mathys Tang is the only clear standout, and Shuxiang Hu is predicted a bronze as well in the Men’s Individual. Gardavasque has a pair of gold medal favorites in Jamal Rockland in the Men’s Individual and with their Women’s Doubles team. Opthelian Poppy Johnson is a standout and projected gold medalist in the Women’s Individual. However, due to their consistency, it will be hard to avoid Ikuko Sakamoto, Tadashi Shirai, and the aforementioned Mizu team.
Skeleton
Apparently Laeral is the IDU’s skeleton powerhouse? We project Andy Gao and Sophia Hu to cleanly win gold. Eiria and High Fells have the next best teams, we give Tae-song Kye the edge over Karl Revē in the men’s but have Amalija Medne over Yu-na Kim in the women’s. Karakhtan’s team of Kenes Amirev and Iba Raxmonova are just outside our projections and could steal a medal, while Misumi’s Tsuneo Kubota and Kazuko Takano also have dark horse chances.
Ski Jumping
Somewhat unsurprisingly given Brentmania after Hanshui, Haesan is favored in both men’s and women’s ski jump. Van Norberg himself is projected to win gold for the men, with his protege Se-rin Yeong the gold medal favorite on the women’s side. Dramatically, Téo Xu and Elena Berthelot of Laeral are both forecast silver, in what could be the makings of yet another chapter of the nations’ storied rivalry. LOM’s team of Alan Simons and Addison Belfont are forecast the bronzes, but our model likes Auria’s Paskal Karlin and Marija Kiska about as much. The multitalented Jamal Rockland of Gardavasque has an outside medal shot on the men’s side as well.
Snowboarding
On the sport’s debut, you will watch snowboarding primarily to see the epic feats of Mizu snowboarders,, as Misumi (5G, 1S) has the best talent, and it’s often not close. Chieko Fujioka is a legend in the making, while the youngster Koji Suzuki is eager to prove himself. Benito Lomand of Gardavasque is our only predicted gold medalist not to be wearing Shimo blue, and we narrowly give him the edge over Suzuki in Men’s Snowboard Cross. Not to be discounted, Auria (2S, 4B) has an incredibly deep roster led by names like Lucija Solvieka and Kristers Miknins, and they have real upset chances. Adrian Rooke is an ace for LOM, and he’s projected silver in the halfpipe. Karakhtan’s Kunduz Abaiev and Alfia Ayaneva are both projected silver, and they are projected a bronze as well. Kerlile also has a solid medal chance with Basilia Botha in Women’s Snowboard Cross, who is projected bronze. While Misumi has the big name headliners, it could shape up to be far from an easy win for them.
Speed Skating (Long Track)
One nation is currently projected to medal in all 10 long track events, and it is Opthelia (5G, 1S, 4B). However, the true standouts in the event, Lena Vignon-Chu and Lingzhan Jin hail from Laeral (4G, 2S, 1B), the sport’s traditional powerhouse, which has a projected medal count to match that status. Entering the mix is Misumi (1G, 4S, 4B), which although having some clear standouts like Kaoru Mizuno and Miyoko Takeuchi on the women’s side, seems to be a bit outclassed by their competition. Eiria (2S) is also fielding a dangerous team, and Siena Aleksejeva and Remi Briand are world-class talent. Novella’s Men’s Team Pursuit squad is the only other projected medal with a bronze, and competitors from other nations only have an outside shot, like the hopeful Maximusian squad and the upstart Slokasian team.
Speed Skating (Short Track)
It will be Laeral (2G, 3S), Misumi (2G, 2S, 1B), and Opthelia (1G, 3B) duelling on the short track. Look out for Feiyun Zhao, Vanessa Yu, Kaoru Mizuno, and Kazuhiko Koizumi in the individual events, while Opthelia’s relay team is the one to beat. Eiria has the next best team from top to bottom, and Ana Luazō is the only projected medalist from outside the three juggernauts. Mareks Kuzmins of Auria also has an outside shot in the Men’s 500M.
Medal Table Predictions
Top Contenders
Our predictions show two nations will be battling for the lead: Misumi (15G, 18S, 11B) and Laeral (15G, 12S, 7B). Who tops the medal table will likely come down to whether the nations can convert their advantages in Snowboarding and Speed Skating, respectively. Opthelia (11G, 7S, 12B) is the only other nation in range, but is a clear third.
Marginal Contenders
Eiria (7G, 5S, 6B) is projected to be the best of the rest, but High Fells (6G, 7S, 4B) will likely compete for that title as they are always dangerous in the snow. Haesan (4G, 5S, 1B), LOM (4G, 1S, 2B), and Gardavasque (4G, 1B) are all predicted to to bring back at least a few gold medals, but they likely do not have the depth to make a run up the medal table.
Event Challengers
The nations in this category all have the strength to win a few medals and possibly a gold due to their strength in a few events. Novella Islands (2G, 1S, 1B) is strong in Speed Skating and Figure Skating. Huenya (1G, 5S, 4B) is particularly strong at Biathlon. Auria (4S, 10B) and Karakhtan (3S, 6B) are contenders in Skiing, while Selifleur (1S, 1B) is a contender in Bobsled.
One Medal is Enough
The remaining nations have slim to no medaling chances. Those we project to win medals are:
- Astoria (1G)
- Kerlile (3B)
- Darya (1S)
- Aredoa (1B)
- GTI (1B)
- Lavender Country (1B)
We do not project Andhrapur, Ecclesiastical Dominions, Kabo Geshaan, Kolda, Lauchenoiria, Mallacaland, Opthelian Commonweath Team, Pharitaya, Refugee Team, Salad Land, Serriel, Slokais Islands, or Xiomera to win medals at the Winter Olympics.
Thank you for reading this preview, and we hope you enjoy these Winter Olympics! Tune into HSN for non-stop coverage of all the action from the Games.
