2010 Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics, like the Summer games, are held every four years. They were first held in Chamonix, France in 1924. The idea came from the Nordic Games which were held in Norway every four years. Then the International Olympic Committee agreed to add one week of Winter sports on the end of the 1912 Summer games. They used to be held on the same year as the Summer Olympics until 1992 when the schedule was changed to allow for Summer competitors to compete in the Winter sports as well. Now it is held on the alternating even year schedule. Lillehammer Norway was the first host of the Winter games after the change to alternating years. It includes sports that are considered cold winter sports such as alpine and cross-country skiing, figure and speed skating, bobsledding, and ice hockey, with new sports being added almost every Olympic season. The second winter Olympics were particularly memorable as the opening ceremonies were held during a blizzard in St. Moritz. Lake Placid New York played host to the first Winter games held away from Europe. This was during the depression, so there were less participants due to the longer journey from Europe and the shortage of money.

Some memorable moments of the Winter Olympics were Sonja Henne winning the gold medal at age 15, making her the youngest gold medal figure skating champion in Olympic history, a title which she held for 74 years. Also Bobsledder Eddie Eagan, who had also won a boxing gold medal in the 1920 Summer games, became the first and only Olympian to win gold medals in both summer and winter Olympics. In 1980, Eric Heiden became the first American to win a speed skating gold medal and the U.S. Hockey team overcame all obstacles and beat the Soviet Hockey team. This has been called "the Miracle on Ice", and would become the greatest upset in Olympic history. 1986 saw the rivarly between Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding in the figure skating arena, in which neither won the gold medal. In Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002, the world saw two gold medals in the same ice dancing competition due to some behind the scenes deals in the judges booth. Throughout the years there have been wars, boycotts, and steroid use that has marred the reputation of and hindered one of the goals of the Olympics, which is to promote peace through fair competition.

In 2003, the International Olympic Committee formerly awarded Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada the 2010 Winter Olympics. This would be the second time that Canada has hosted the Winter games, the first being Calgary Alberta in 1988. With a metropolitan population of over 2.5 million people, it will be the largest metro area ever to host a Winter Olympics. Vancouver is a sea port town located in the Pacific Northwest and was voted one of the world's most liveable cities due to its economy, inclusivity, and diversity. Because of its reputation, it has hosted countless events including the World Exposition of 1986. Its coastal climate gives it the reputation of being the Canadian city with the mildest climate. Most of the sporting events will be held within the city of Vancouver and its surrouding area, while the Nordic and alpine events, such as skiing, jumping, and bobsledding, will be held at Whistler resort, in the mountains north of the city.

Vancouver was originally settled by Salish Indians and was later colonized by the British and named Vancouver after British Captain George Vancouver. It officially was recognized as a town in 1886, then in 1887, the Transcontinental railway made the seaport a stop. It then became one of the largest trade cities between Canada, London, and Asia.

Some athletes to watch during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games are Team USA's Lindsey Vonn, who had a major crash within days of the opening ceremonies in 2006. If she is able to compete this time, she is a medal hopeful. Teams Canada and Russia are both gold medal favorites in the sport of ice hockey. American speed skater, Apolo Ohno is hoping to get his last two medals which would make him the most medaled Winter Olympian. Teams Norway and Switzerland are favorites to win the cross-country and biathlon events. Lindsay Jacobellis and Shaun White are favored to win gold in one of the Olympics' newest sports, snowboarding. Mao Asada of Japan and Jeffrey Buttle of Canada are the current figure skating world champions and are expected to have a great showing and probably win medals in their sport.

From a personal point of view I love the Winter Olympics, even more so than the summer games. I just find the whole spectacle of the Winter events to be on a different scale, the downhill, ski-jumping and sliding events in particular I find amazing. These sports are not just about strength and technique but also involve huge amounts of bravery, the dangers are very real as has sadly already been proved in the 2010 games. The Winter Olympics is 2 weeks of non stop sporting action, lots of people will be looking for the Winter Olympics live online so that they don't miss any of the action during work hours. If you're in the UK then your one stop shop for online Winter Olympic coverage has to be the BBC. The BBC really have embraced showing live sports action online and the Winter Olympics is due to benefit from that full coverage experience. As with any major sporting event there will also be dozens of other places to watch the Winter Olympics live online depending on where you live.