2006 Winter Olympic games: meet some of the U.S. athletes going for gold in Turin.

OBJECTIVE

Students should understand

* where the 2006 Winter Olympics will be held, what some of the events will be, and the names and interests of five members of the U.S. team.

WORDS TO KNOW

podium: a small, raised platform * hard core: most basic, fundamental; having strong determination.

BACKGROUND

The original Olympic Games were held in ancient Greece. During the Roman Empire, they gradually died out. The modern Games began in 1896 in Athens, Greece. At that first modern Olympics, athletes from 13 nations participated in 43 events. The first Winter Olympics--separate from the Summer Games--took place in 1924 at Chamonix, France. This year's competition, being held February 10 to 26 in Turin (Torino), Italy, will be the XX (20th) Winter Olympic Games.

CRITICAL THINKING

NOTING DETAILS: Which of the athletes interviewed won medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics? (Apolo Anton Ohno and Julie Chu)

MAKING INFERENCES: Lindsey Jacobellis says, "Falling is part of snowboarding, To learn more tricks, you need to fall. "Is it possible to learn anything new without making mistakes? Explain. (Answers will vary. However, students should show some understanding that errors are a crucial part of the learning process.)

ACTIVITY

KEEP CURRENT WITH EVENTS: Follow the fates of the U.S. team and other Olympians at olympic.org or one of the Web sites at right. How do things turn out for the five athletes interviewed? Which nation's team wins the most medals?

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* Individuals, groups, and institutions: How the efforts and aspirations of athletes contribute to an Olympic team's competitiveness.

* Individual development and identity: That Olympic athletes start training young, and dedicate many hours and hard work to improving their skills.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Ohno, Apolo Anton and Richardson, Nancy Ann, A Journey: The Autobiography of Apolo Anton Ohno (Simon & Schuster, 2002). Grades 6-12.

* United States Olympic Committee, Basic Guide to Skiing and Snowboarding (Gareth Stevens, 2002). Grades 6-12.

WEB SITES

* Torino 2006 torino2006.org

* The U.S. Olympic Team usolympicteam.com

At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, the U.S. team won 34 medals--an all-time best for U.S. athletes at the Winter Games. This year's skiers, skaters, and snowboarders hope to do even better in Turin (Torino), Italy. The 17-day competition, which will feature 2,500 of the world's top amateur athletes, will begin on February 10.

JS recently spoke with five members of the U.S. Olympic Team at their training facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Whether or not their journey to Turin ends with a trip to the medals podium, "just being part of the Olympic team," says speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, "is something special."

Lindsey Jacobellis

Lindsey Jacobellis (jah-koh-BELL-iss) has been snowboarding half her life. But the 20-year-old from Stratton, Vermont, admits that she was not always queen of the mountain. "It took a while to learn how to turn," says the 2005 world champion in snowboard-cross. "Everyone else in my family picked it up very quickly. I wanted to go as fast as everyone [else], so it was really frustrating to me."

Although she got off to a rocky start, Jacobellis now has seven career World Cup wins under her belt. She is helped by a workout routine that she describes as "hard core." She lifts weights, bikes, runs, and, in the off-season, surfs and skateboards.

With all of that training and competition, Jacobellis has suffered her share of ankle, knee, and elbow sprains. "Falling is part of snowboarding," she tells JS. "To learn more tricks, you need to fall."

Apolo Anton Ohno

Speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is at the top of his game, and he has the hardware to prove it. Ohno, 23, is already a decorated Olympian. He won gold and silver at the 2002 Winter Games. Last year, he was crowned the 2005 World Cup overall champion.

Still, there is always room for improvement, says Ohno. What would he like to do better? "Lots of things," he tells JS. "Technique, physical strength, and being stronger and faster."

The Seattle, Washington, native began skating at age 14, with the encouragement of his father. Like all elite athletes, Ohno devotes most of his waking hours to his sport.

"There's not much balance, because I train so much during the day," says Ohno. "In my off time, I'm usually just relaxing and getting ready for my next workout."

Julie Chu

Hockey is a full-time job for Julie Chu, 23. On a typical day, she spends three hours on the ice and two hours lifting weights. That routine has proved to be a winning combination for the Fairfield, Connecticut, star.

In 2002, Chu won a silver medal as a member of the U.S. Olympic women's ice-hockey team. Now, she is hungry for more.

Chu began her career at age 8, when she convinced her father to let her trade in her figure skates for a pair of hockey skates. She moved quickly up the youth hockey ladder, playing for several boys' teams. In college, Chu co-captained the women's hockey team at Harvard University.

Among her loyal fans is her grandmother, who came to the U.S. from Hong Kong 30 years ago. "She'smy lucky charm," says Chu. "She doesn't speak much English, but after games, she goes 'thumbs-up' a lot."

Ryan St. Onge

When he's not flying down the slopes, Ryan St. Onge is plunging into the water. During the off-season, the 22-year-old freestyle skier practices his gravity-defying flips in a pool. "We train in the summer on water ramps, and we land into a swimming pool," says St. Onge, who is the reigning U.S. national champion in aerials. "You can get a lot more tricks in because it hurts a lot less when you crash."

Bumps and bruises are part of the job for Olympian freestyle skiers like St. Onge, who strapped on his first pair of skis at age 2. So are long hours. St. Onge, who comes from Hartford, Connecticut, trains up to six hours a day, six days a week.

Now, all that hard work is paying off. Always a fierce competitor, he is determined to excel in his first Olympic competition. "I want to go bigger and jump better than I ever have before," St. Onge tells JS. "If I do that, then I will be happy no matter what happens."

Kimmie Meissner 

At age 16, Kimmie Meissner has already been skating for a decade. But she still gets a thrill from hearing the roar of the crowd.

"I really like it when the audience goes crazy when I go out there," Meissner tells JS. "I really enjoy it when they scream for me."

As a youngster growing up in Bel Air, Maryland, Meissner tagged along with her three older brothers to the local hockey rink. At age 6, she finally laced up her own skates and took to the ice.

Although just 5 feet 4 inches, Meissner stands tall among the competition. In 2004, she won gold at the U.S Junior Championships, and she took third place at the 2005 U.S. Championships. Now, she hopes to add one more honor to her skating resume Olympic gold.

Your Turn

THINK ABOUT IT

1. What are some of the most important qualities that an athlete needs to succeed in Olympic competition? Explain.

2. Would you like to compete in the Winter Olympics? Why or why not?

QUICK QUIZ

* Decide whether each sentence is true, false, or an opinion. Write your answer on the blank line provided.

1. Lindsey Jacobellis has never been injured in training or competition.

2. The 2006 Winter Games will be Apolo Anton Ohno's second Olympics.

3. Julie Chu's team should have won the gold medal at the 2002 Winter Games.

4. Ryan St. Onge would be a better freestyle skier if he spent more time on the slopes and less in swimming pools.

5. Kimmie Meissner is the tallest Olympic female figure skater ever.

ANSWERS

1. false

2. true

3. opinion

4. false

5. false