With that future date in mind, the U.S. Ski Team asked several of this year's team members and contenders for the Olympic team for their thoughts as the Games get closer.
Shannon Bahrke
Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) won Olympic moguls silver in 2002 at Deer Valley Resort. Since then she has also won a World Cup title, two World Championship medals.
"I am super optimistic about the Olympics 12 months from now. I have had an OK season with my skiing and speed, but my jumps far from where they need to be. I know where I have to improve and I know I can do that with time. I really want to go back to the Olympics and represent the United States one more time. I know I have it in me to make it happen!"
Hannah Kearney
Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT), the 2005 World Champion in moguls skiing, failed to qualify for finals in Torino. A year out from Vancouver, Kearney is leading the FIS Freestyle World Cup with two wins and was second in the debut of the Olympic course in Cypress Mountain.
"It's hard to believe that it has been exactly three years since the last Olympics...I am excited for the Vancouver games for so many reasons. I will be more prepared because I know what to expect and I am looking forward to having a chance to redeem myself for my last Olympic showing. I am planning on enjoying these games and taking in every moment."
Lindsey Vonn
Reigning World Cup overall champion and double World Championship gold medalist Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) said that, while a year away, she's already anticipating the chance to complete a goal.
"I've been looking forward to the Olympics since 2006. I wasn't able to accomplish my goal of winning an Olympic medal there, but after winning the super G and downhill gold at World Championships this year, I know I can compete and win in big events," Vonn said.
Andy Newell
Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) wants to raise the bar from his 16th place cross country finish in the 2006 Games. Since then, he's been on the World Cup podium twice.
"I'm feeling more confident than ever that we'll be ready to compete. This season is far from over but we've already learned a lot about what it takes to peak our fitness for the big events and what kind of training we're going to need to do over the next 365 days in order to be in medal contention," Newell said. from the World Cup circuit in Italy, a week before the Nordic Ski World Championships in the Czech Republic. "I am for sure more excited than nervous. That might change by the night before my event, but right now I'm fired up."
Like many of the other athletes, Newell said he is happy to be "home" for the Games. "It definitely doesn't hurt that they are so close to home. It's going to allow us to have a more relaxed camp leading into the games and for once we'll have a little less travel than our competition. I'm most excited to compete in the Vancouver Olympics because I feel more prepared than ever to take a stab at a medal."
Kikkan Randall
Randall was a story in Torino with the best U.S. women's Olympic finish in history (ninth). She was a bigger story a year ago when she won a World Cup in Russia. One of her strategies has been to spend a lot of time at the Whistler Olympic Park.
"When the IOC announced that Vancouver would be the host for the 2010 Olympics, I had to pinch myself," said Kikkan Randall. "Could I really be that lucky?"
Ted Ligety
Being familiar with skiing well in Whistler is something the Olympic combined gold medalist Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) says is an advantage.
"I feel like I'm skiing well right now and it's always fun to be competing at big races. Vancouver isn't really that far away and I'm looking forward to competing in Whistler" Ligety said. "I was fourth in the last World Cup we had there, so I know that I can compete for a medal..."
Jeret "Speedy" Peterson
Jeret (Boise, ID) took the 2006 Torino Olympics by storm - or, rather, by Hurricane, his unique quintuple twisting triple flip was much anticipated and only almost got him a medal. A year out from the 2010 Games, Speedy was on the hill in Cypress Mountain outside Vancouver.
"I'm very glad to see that I like this site. The actual jump hill reminds me a lot of Deer Valley and I have always loved that hill... It makes you want to train that much harder knowing you will be competing there in one year for your shot at an Olympic medal."
Emily Cook
Emily Cook (Belmont, MA) won the hearts of America in 2002 when a horrific training accident in Lake Placid took her out of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. She came back to make the Team in 2006. A year out from the 2010 Games, she was falling in love - with the Olympic aerial hill in Cypress.
"I absolutely love the Olympic site in Cypress," she said. "I had an incredible week of training and competition in Vancouver - lots of great jumps and a very high landing percentage on that hill..."
"I now feel like I have the perfect combination of training, preparation and experience for Vancouver in 2010 and I am so excited to go there and represent our team! I really can't wait and can't believe it's just one year away!"
