Canada is coming off its most successful Olympic Winter Games, winning a record 24 medals in Turin. Add to that the ambitious $110 million Own the Podium initiative and Canada is expecting another record medal haul in 2010 and it's first gold medal at an Olympic Games at home.

The most expensive tickets to the men's gold medal hockey game were priced at $775.  Those Canadians lucky enough to get some are hoping that Team Canada will be playing in it, after losing in the quarter-finals in Turin 2006.  Executive Director Steve Yzerman, himself an Olympic gold medallist from 2002, assembled a roster which includes current NHL stars Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla and Roberto Luongo. Veteran defenceman Scott Niedermayer was named team captain at the official roster unveiling on December 30.

Canada's women's hockey team are the two-time defending Olympic Champions and once again will face their stiffest challenge from Team USA which won the 2008 and 2009 World Championship.  Veteran forward Hayley Wickenheiser will be looking for her fourth Olympic medal while the retirements of Cassie Campbell, Danielle Goyette and Vicky Sunohara leave room for the next generation of Canadian female hockey players such as Marie-Philip Poulin.        

No Canadian has won an Olympic alpine skiing medal since Edi Podivinsky's downhill bronze in 1994, but Alpine Canada has their sights set on breaking that streak in Whistler.

The men's team is led by BC's Manuel Osborne-Paradis, who is coming off a career-best World Cup season. Osborne-Paradis won three World Cup medals in 2008-09, and has two World Cup gold medals to his credit in the 2009-10 season. Osborne-Paradis grew up skiing the slopes of Whistler with the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, and is intimately familiar with the Olympic downhill course, which could give him an edge at the Games. The men's speed skiers will likely be rounded out by Mont Tremblant's Erik Guay and Jan Hudec, providing Hudec is not set back by any further knee troubles. Hudec, who returned to the World Cup circuit in January 2009 after a year recovering from a torn ligament in his right knee, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in February 2009. There is also BC native Robbie Dixon, who like Osborne-Paradis, perfected his skiing style on the Whistler slopes. Although the 2009 downhill world champion, John Kucera, will not be attending the Games, the healthy members of the Canadian Cowboys have their sights set on podium finishes in February. In total Canada has lost six potential Olympic alpine skiers to injuries during the 2010 World Cup season including John Kucera, Kelly VanderBeek, Larisa Yurkiw, Jean-Philippe Roy, François Bourque and Anna Goodman.

Whistler's Mike Janyk will lead the Canadian men's team in the technical events, where Canada had two top five finishes in Turin 2006 (François Bourque's fourth place in giant slalom and Geneviève Simard's fifth place in giant slalom). Janyk won a bronze medal in the men's slalom at the 2009 World Championships in Val d'Isere, France. 

In the ladies' speed events, Whistler's Britt Janyk will be racing on her home hill in 2010, where the finish line for the ladies' downhill is roughly 400 metres from her family's house. Emily Brydon has tasted success already in the 2009-10 World Cup season with a silver and bronze in back-to-back downhill races in Lake Louise in early December.

Canada will have something to prove in both the men's and women's bobsleigh competitions - the Canada bobsleigh program was completely shut out of the medals at the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, New York. Veteran pilot Pierre Lueders will become the first Canadian to compete in five Olympic Winter Games. Lueders competed with two bobsleigh rookies in 2009-10, CFL running back Jesse Lumsden and track and field standout Neville Wright. Although Lueders was unable to win a World Cup medal in 2009-10, he will try to use hometrack advantage to win the third Olympic medal of his career. The other Canadian sled will be piloted by Saskatchewan's Lyndon Rush, who would be making his Olympic debut in 2010. In February 2009, racing on the Olympic course in Whistler, Rush had a career-best World Cup result, earning a 4th-place finish in the two-man competition.  Last season and during this 2009-10 season, Rush's two-man sled was pushed by 2006 Olympic silver medallist Lascelles Brown, a move that could help propel Rush onto the Olympic podium.  Rush has already shown his value by winning three World Cup medals in 2009-10: a gold and bronze medal in four-man, and a gold in two-man.

On the women's side, Kaillie Humphries will enter the Games as the top-ranked Canadian pilot after finishing second in the 2009-10 overall World Cup standings. In February 2009, Humphries won a silver medal on the Olympic course in Whistler, pushed by Heather Moyse. Meanwhile, Helen Upperton and Shelley-Ann Brown should also be in the hunt for a medal. Upperton was enjoying a successful 2008-09 season before suffering a injury in January 2009: Upperton separated two ribs while jumping into her sled. Although she continued to compete for the rest of the season, she was hampered by her injury.

Also competing at the Whistler Sliding Centre will be men's and women's skeleton. Canada won three skeleton medals in Turin 2006 and they hope to do better in Vancouver. 2006 Olympic silver medallist Jeff Pain is expected to lead the Canadian men's team along with 2008 World Championship silver medallist Jon Montgomery, who won the World Cup race in Whistler in February 2009. Although he had only one medal, a gold, in the 2009-10 World Cup season, Montgomery has proved his ability on the Whistler track. Montgomery will be making his Olympic debut in 2010. 

On the women's side, Canada has two of the best in the world in Mellisa Hollingsworth and Michelle Kelly. Hollingsworth won bronze in Turin 2006 and will enter the Games as the 2009-10 World Cup champion. After finishing 10th at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Kelly failed to qualify for the 2006 Games in Turin and subsequently almost retired. She decided to continue and focus on returning to the Olympic Winter Games in her home province of British Columbia.

Canada has won a curling medal in every event since it was added to the Olympic program in 1998, including gold medals by Sandra Schmirler's rink in Nagano and Brad Gushue's rink in Turin. The 2009 Canadian Curling Trials were held in Edmonton, Alberta December 6-13, 2009 and it was determined that Canada will be represented in the men's tournament by 2002 Olympic silver medallist Kevin Martin of Edmonton, while all of Canada will be cheering for Calgary's Cheryl Bernard and her rink to win the women's Olympic tournament.  

After winning three medals at the 2009 World Championship, there is Canadian podium potential in multiple figure skating events in 2010. Patrick Chan, the 2009 World Championship silver medallist, sidelined by injury for most of the 2009 Grand Prix season, hopes to become the first Canadian to win gold in the men's event in Vancouver. In a wide open men's event, he is one of ten podium contenders and looked in fine form at the Canadian Championships in January.  On the ladies' side, Joannie Rochette has worked to raise her technical difficulty to match the top contenders and has improved her presentation with help from renowned choreographer Lori Nichol.  Ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are the reigning World bronze medallists, who also took silver in 2008.  Partners since 1997, their strengths are their intricate footwork and unison. Together, they stand to become Canada's darling duo as strong gold medal hopefuls. Pairs skaters Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison won the bronze medal at the 2008 World Championships and have since upped the technical difficulty in their programs with help from 2002 Olympic Champions Jamie Salé and David Pelletier.   

Canada's short track speed skaters seem to be peaking at just the right time. After winning four medals in Turin 2006, the team's World Cup results have them poised to win even more medals in Vancouver. The dynamic Charles Hamelin, the 2009 500m world champion, is dangerous in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m events, having landed on the podium in all three in 2009-10. Olivier Jean is determined to win a medal in his Olympic debut, while veteran François-Louis Tremblay is the third medal threat among the men.  After winning 2 silver medals in 2006 in the 500m and the 5000m relay, Tremblay brings experience and determination to Vancouver.

Among the ladies, Kalyna Roberge and Jessica Gregg are the bright stars heading into Vancouver. Roberge has Olympic experience, winning a silver medal in the 3000m relay for Canada in Turin. Gregg will be making her Olympic debut in Vancouver but is considered by many international coaches to be one of the best sprinters in the sport and one of the few capable of beating the top ranked Chinese women. She was a bronze medallist in the 500m at the 2009 World Championship and, along with Roberge, was part of the bronze medal winning relay team at the 2009 World Championship as well. Both men's and ladies relay teams should win medals, as the Canadian ladies' team has been on the podium in every relay event since short track speed skating became an official Olympic discipline in 1992. The men face the toughest competition from South Korea and the United States while the women will try to beat the seemingly unbeatable Chinese.  

Canada's 2006 Olympic gold medallist Jenn Heil looks to become just the second Canadian athlete to succesfully defend an Olympic gold medal in an individual event (Catriona Le May Doan being the other) when she hits the moguls slopes at Cypress. British Columbia native Kristi Richards, 2007 World Champion, will also be a medal threat for Canada in ladies' freestyle moguls. Richards finished seventh in Turin 2006 and started the 2009-10 World Cup season with a gold medal performance. The men's moguls team may be as deep talent-wise as in any Olympic sport. The 2007 World Champion, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, will be the veteran of the Canadian contingent in 2010 though he did not compete at the 2006 Games in Turin. Joining Rousseau will be Vincent Marquis along with 2009 World Cup moguls champion Alexandre Bilodeau, who many consider a favourite in this event.  Together, all three men swept the podium twice during 2008-09 World Cup competition, and the opportunity to repeat such a feat at Cypress in February is a strong possibility.

Ski cross will be the only new Olympic event to debut in 2010, and Canada will be strong on both the men's and ladies' side. The trio of Chris Del Bosco, Stan Hayer and Dave Duncan represent Canada's best chances in the men's event. Among the ladies, Ashleigh McIvor won the 2009 World Championship, and captured four medals in six races in the 2009-10 World Cup season. Meanwhile, Kelowna, BC's Kelsey Serwa has established herself as a favourite to make the 2010 Olympic team. Whistler's Julia Murray, daughter of the late Canadian alpine skier and Crazy Canuck Dave Murray, won her first career World Cup medal in 2008-09, and has shown signs of consistent improvement.  McIvor, Serwa and Murray enter the Games ranked 2-3-4 in the overall World Cup standings, trailing France's Ophélie David. 

For two years, Steve Omischl has dominated freestyle aerials on the World Cup. The two-time World Cup champion is now focused on the last remaining title he has not won: Olympic gold. Omischl competed at both the 2002 and 2006 Games, but left both without a medal.

Just as Cindy Klassen won five medals in Turin 2006, Kristina Groves has the potential to do the same in 2010.  A three-time medallist at the 2009 World Single Distances Championships, Groves will be 33-years-old in 2010 but is proof that some people get better with age.  Challenging Groves will be Christine Nesbitt.  Nesbitt is undefeated in the 1000m during the 2009-10 World Cup season and heads in to Vancouver with an impressive 11 World Cup medals during the 2009-10 season.

Canada's most decorated Olympian, Klassen is also the world record holder in the ladies' 1000m, 1500m and 3000m.  But when the 2009-10 season began, she had been out of competition for more than a year.  Before the start of this current World Cup season, her last event was a February 2008 World Cup, prior to returning home following her sister's near-fatal car accident.  Arthroscopic surgery on both knees in July 2008 caused her to miss the entire 2008-09 season.  Although she has not earned a World Cup podium finish in an individual event in 2009-10, she did earn World Cup silver in team pursuit along with both Nesbitt and Groves on December 13, 2009.

If Canada wins a snowboard medal, it will most likely come from the men in parallel giant slalom or the ladies in snowboard cross.  Jasey-Jay Anderson, a four-time overall World Cup champion and 2009 World Champion in PGS, is still looking for that elusive Olympic medal after placing 20th in 2006 and 29th in 2002. Anderson was joined on the 2009 World Championshp podium by Matthew Morison, who won a bronze at the Worlds. Morison, who will be 22 years old in 2010, is Canada's newest snowboard star. While growing up in the small town of Burketon, Ontario, Morison admired Anderson, and had his picture taken with Anderson when he was just 14 years old. Both riders have already won World Cup gold in the 2009-10 season, and are poised to own the podium at Cypress in February. Shortly after winning a World Cup gold medal in December 2009, Morision fractured his left elbow, and was unable to compete for the rest of the 2009-10 season. He expects to be recovered in time for Olympic competition. Also in the mix is Toronto's Michael Lambert, who enters the Games in the midst of the best season of his life. Lambert won two World Cup medals - a gold and silver - in 2009-10, the first World CUp medals of his career.

After placing third and fourth in SBX in Turin 2006, Dominique Maltais and Maëlle Ricker have continued to excel in the event. Ricker finished second to American Lindsey Jacobellis in the 2008-09 World Cup standings, while Maltais finished 4th. Both women should again contend for a medal in 2010, with Ricker already having won two World Cup gold medals in 2009-10 and Maltais earning two bronze. 

In cross-country skiing, Sara Renner and Chandra Crawford are probably Canada's best hopes for a top-ranked performance, when they combine to compete in the team sprint. While Crawford missed the entire 2008-09 season because of shin surgery and subsequent recovery, her determination in concert with Renner's Olympic medal winning experience could put them close to the podium at Whistler Olympic Park. On the men's side, Alex Harvey has been the man to watch. Despite his youthful age, Harvey won 2 medals during the 2008-09 World Cup season and that success, combined with his genetics, makes for a possible medal performance from Harvey in 2010. Harvey's dad Pierre was one of Canada's best ever World Cup and Olympic cross country skiers in the 1980's.