索契冬奥会：哪些运动员值得关注
索契冬奥会：哪些运动员值得关注
Countries across Asia and Oceania, including some that have never seen snow, will compete at the Sochi Olympics. South Korea, Japan and China are sending some of the biggest teams and will be legitimate contenders to win many medals, particularly in skating, ski jumping and freestyle skiing. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, South Korea finished seventh in overall medals, while China placed eighth and Japan finished a disappointing 16th. Here's a look at these countries' top athletes in Sochi, as well as some interesting characters from smaller countries, including a skier from East Timor and a luger from Tonga.
CHINA
Li Nina, a freestyle skier from northeast China's Liaoning province, made a comeback last year after retiring with silver medals in aerials from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as well as the 2006 Games in Turin. She is now 31 years old, and Sochi will surely be the last chance Li - who is nicknamed Snow Princess - has of winning that elusive Olympic gold. This is her fourth winter Olympics, as she also competed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Xu Mengtao, a former gymnast and the great-niece of famous storyteller Liu Lanfang, is one of the favorites to win the women's freestyle skiing aerials event in Sochi. Since finishing sixth at the Vancouver Olympics, the 23-year-old from Liaoning province has risen to the top of the sport and is the reigning world champion. China's other medal hopes in the women's aerials include Cheng Shuang and Zhang Xin.
Liu Zhongqing, nicknamed Daqing Flying Man, won bronze in the men's aerials event at the Vancouver Olympics. At 28, he is the oldest member of the Chinese men's aerials team, which includes Jia Zongyang, Qi Guangpu and Wu Chao. All of them will be looking to emulate Han Xiaopeng, who won China's first Olympic skiing gold medal, in the men's aerials at the 2006 Olympics in Turin. According to the official website for the Sochi Olympics, Liu has a pragmatic sporting philosophy. 'I get what I want from ice and snow,' is his motto.
Fan Kexin will be carrying Chinese hopes in short-track speedskating since Wang Meng, the country's most successful winter Olympian, was ruled out of the Games after breaking her ankle in training last month. Even Fan's nickname is Shadow of Wang Meng, according to her Olympic profile. She finished second in the 500-meter World Cup standings last season. Sochi is the 20-year-old's first Olympics. Zhou Yang, a short-track skater from Changchun, is another medal prospect in skating. She won two gold medals at the Vancouver Olympics, in the 1,500 meters and the relay.
Pang Qing and Tong Jian prove that love is on the ice, as well as in the air. The couple, who won silver in Vancouver, got engaged in 2011 when Tong proposed during a live television show called 'Art on Ice.' 'Before the Vancouver Winter Games, claiming an Olympic medal was my dream. But now my dream is to have you with me forever,' Tong said during the show in Shanghai. Tong and Jian are fourth in the International Skating Union world rankings.
Wang Bingyu, Liu Yin, Yue Qingshuang, Zhou Yan are among the lesser-known Chinese Olympic medal winners, namely because they compete in a sport that scarcely existed a decade ago in China. After winning won bronze in curling at the Vancouver Olympics, this team of female Chinese curlers, who have been training under Canadian champion Marcel Rocque, will slide on the ice again for a chance at gold.
South Korea
Kim Yuna is eyeing a second-straight gold after she became the first figure skater to win a medal for South Korea in Vancouver. Her preparation for Sochi, however, has been unsettled after she injured her foot in September. The 23-year-old returned to action in December, winning an event in Croatia's capital Zagreb. If Kim wins, she will become the first person to take two straight gold medals in figure skating since Katarina Witt of East Germany in the 1980s. Kim was the sixth-highest paid female athlete in the world last year with earnings of $14 million, according to Forbes. She says she will retire after Sochi.
Lee Sang-hwa won gold in the women's long-track speed-skating 500 meters in Vancouver and set the world record over that distance in November, when she clocked 36.36 seconds in the Speed Skating World Cup in Utah. She had already broken the world record twice during that event. Lee, who made her international debut in 2005 at the age of 14, hasn't been beaten over 500 meters in World Cup events this season.
Mo Tae-bum won Olympic gold in the skating 500 meters on his birthday in Vancouver, and he also took silver in the 1,000 meters. His stated ambition is to become Korea's first Olympic 1,000-meter champion. He won both the 500- and 1,000-meter events in the last World Cup event before Sochi, which took place in Berlin in December.
Lee Seung-hoon, another member of the strong South Korean skating team, won gold in the Vancouver Olympics in the 10,000 meters and silver in the 5,000 meters. Lee started as a short-track skater but switched to speed skating in 2009 when he failed to make the Korean short-track team. His main rivals include Sven Kramer of the Netherlands, who won gold in the 5,000 meters at the Vancouver Olympics.
Shim Suk-hee is the youngest member of South Korea's team in Sochi but is a strong candidate for medals in short-track skating. The 17-year-old won three gold medals at the 2012 World Cup in Calgary and holds the 1,000-meter world record. Sochi is her first Olympics and she is tipped for success in the women's 500 meters, 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters, as well as the 3,000-meter relay.
Sung Eun-ryung started her sports career in track and field before moving to taekwondo. She only took up the luge in 2011 but was soon a member of the national team. She is the first South Korean woman to compete in a sledding event at the Olympics. Sung's goal for Sochi is to place in the top 20 in the singles and the top 10 in the team race.
Shin Mi-sung is the captain and the oldest member of the South Korean women's curling team. Shin tried out the sport after discovering her university had a curling club. The South Korean women's team reached the semifinals of the 2012 World Championships in Canada. It also won the 2013 China Open and Pacific-Asia Curling Championships. At the end of last year, the Korean team was tenth in the World Curling Federation rankings.
Japan
Mao Asada is a highly rated figure skater whose main rival for gold in Sochi is South Korea's Olympic champion Kim Yuna. Asada lost out to Kim in Vancouver, picking up a silver medal in the 2010 Games. Like her South Korean rival, Asada says she will retire after Sochi. The 23-year-old is famous for her triple axels, though some observers say she should give up the move given how difficult it is to produce a clean landing. Even Asada's dog is well-known in Japan; it appeared in a commercial for chocolate. Japan's other medal hopes in women's figure skating include Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami.
Sara Takanashi is being talked up as a hot favorite for gold in the women's ski jump, the first time the event has been included in the Olympics. Takanashi is only 17 years old but she is dominating the sport, winning 10 out of 13 events this season after being crowned world champion last year. The 5-foot tall student, who is coached by her father, Hiroya, has been dubbed The Big Small Jumper by the Japanese media. She says her hero is American ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson, whom she will be competing against in Sochi.
Noriaki Kasai is a veteran ski jumper who made his Olympic debut in the 1992 Games in Albertville, France. Sochi will be his seventh Olympics, more than any other ski jumper in history. In January, the 41-year-old became the oldest jumper to win a World Cup and he is now third in the season's rankings. His best result at an Olympics came in the team event in Lillehammer in 1994, when he won silver.
Yuzuru Hanyu is a figure skater from Sendai, which was devastated by the tsunami that followed the 2011 earthquake. Hanyu was reportedly training when the earthquake struck, and he ran from the rink in Miyagi without removing his skates. In April 2012, he moved to Toronto to be coached by Brian Orser. Hanyu, 19 years old, is in good form coming into Sochi, having won the Grand Prix finals in Fukuoka last month, as well as topping 100 points in the Japan nationals. Another medal hope in men's figure skating is Daisuke Takahashi, who won bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Keiichiro Nagashima won silver in the men's 500-meter speed skating competition in Vancouver in 2010, his second Olympics. His compatriot Joji Kato won bronze in the same event. The skaters could be in line for payouts if they win medals again, with Nidec Sankyo Corp. offering 20 million yen ($200,000) to for a gold, 10 million yen for a silver and six million yen for a bronze.
Aiko Uemura is a freestyle skier competing in the moguls event. This is her fifth Olympics and she has been desperately close to winning a medal in the past. She came fourth in Vancouver 2010, fifth in Turin in 2006, sixth in Salt Lake City in 2002 and seventh in Nagano in 1998.
Australia
Dale Begg-Smith is Australia's most successful Winter Olympian. He is the country's first Olympic skiing gold medalist, an achievement made at the 2006 Turin Olympics when he became the youngest person to win the men's moguls. He was 21. After a cruciate ligament injury ruled him out of action for much of 2009, Begg-Smith won silver at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. He was born in Vancouver in 1985 and moved to Australia when he was 16. He wasn't allowed to compete for three years as he waited to get Australian citizenship.
Alex Pullin is a snowboarder from Sydney. He competes in the snowboard cross event, which is a race involving four snowboarders at a time. Pullin, who is nicknamed Chumpy, came 17th in the Vancouver Olympics, but he won the World Championships in Stoneham, Canada, last year. He also won the championships in La Molina, Spain, in 2011-the first time an Australian won a world championship snowboard title.
Torah Bright won gold in the snowboard halfpipe at the Vancouver Olympics. The 27-year-old will compete in the halfpipe, slopestyle and snowboard cross in Sochi, becoming the first person to participate in three different Olympic snowboarding events.
Lydia Lassila is a freestyle skier and reigning Olympic champion in the aerials. Her main competitors at Sochi include the Chinese pair of Li Nina and Xu Mengtao. Like her Chinese rivals, Lassila used to be a gymnast. The 32-year-old has competed at three Olympics, finishing eighth in Salt Lake City in 2002 and 14th in Turin in 2006. At Sochi she is aiming to become the first person to win two Olympic golds in freestyle skiing.
Belle Brockhoff has been selected in Australia's snowboard cross team. This is her first Olympics, though her family has history with the event as her uncle, Peter Brockhoff, skied in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. The 21-year-old, who is gay, says she has been working for Athlete Ally, an organization that aims to make sports inclusive for everyone. The organization has said athletes at Sochi have a unique opportunity to draw attention to Russia's antigay laws.
Independent Olympic Participant
Search for India on the country dropdown menu on the official website for Sochi and you'll find a word that starts with the letters I-n-d. But the word isn't India, it is Independent. That's because the Indian Olympic Committee has been suspended as it failed to comply with the International Olympic Committee's charter. As a result, Shiva Keshavan, a veteran of four Olympics, can't compete under the Indian flag in the luge event. After being so badly let down by his national Olympic committee, Keshavan will race in a suit bearing the names of well-wishers rather than the Indian tricolor. Keshavan's best performance at an Olympics came at the 2006 Games in Turin, where he finished 25th.
Tonga
That's right. Tonga, a tropical archipelago in the south Pacific, will be represented in Sochi. Bruno Banani(previously called Fuahea Semi) will compete in the luge event, fulfilling Tongan princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita's unlikely wish of seeing someone from the nation compete at the Winter Olympics. The 26-year-old moved to Germany and changed his name as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign for an underwear manufacturer. He finished 28th in a World Cup event in Utah in December, which was comfortable enough to secure his place in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The Philippines
Michael Christian Martinez is a 17-year-old figure skater from a Manila suburb. He came in seventh in the Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 2012 and finished fifth in the World Junior Championships in Milan last year. He has suffered several injuries in his brief career, which he blames on the poor quality of ice rinks in the Philippines. Martinez is the first skater to represent the Philippines at the Winter Olympics, and the first person from his country to compete at the Games in 22 years. He took up the sport after walking past an ice rink in a mall.
New Zealand
Three brothers are among those carrying New Zealand's hopes at Sochi. Josiah Wells, Byron Wells and Beau-James Wells are all freestyle skiers, and they are all experiencing their first Olympics. A fourth brother,Jackson, is also a skier but at 15 is too young to qualify for these Games. They are coached by their father, Bruce.
Christy Prior won the snowboard slopestyle event at the World Cup in Stoneham, Canada, in January and is ranked seventh in the world in the discipline. In Stoneham, the last Olympic qualifying event ahead of Sochi, Prior was top of the podium ahead of Cheryl Maas of the Netherlands and Anna Gasser of Austria.
Kazakhstan
Elena Khrustaleva won Kazakhstan's only medal at the Vancouver Olympics: a silver in the biathlon. She is one of 10 athletes from Kazakhstan competing in the biathlon at Sochi, according to reports. Khrustaleva's silver in 2010 is the only time Kazakhstan has won a medal in the biathlon. Kazakhstan is the third country she has represented at the Olympics. She has also competed for Russia and Belarus.
Taiwan
Taiwan is sending three young athletes to the Winter Olympics. Lien Te-An, 19 years old, will compete in the luge, while Sung Ching-Yang and Mackenzie Blackburn, both 21 years old, will compete in the speed-skating and short-track skating events, respectively.
Hong Kong
Pan-To Barton Liu is the first man to represent Hong Kong at the Winter Olympics. The 20-year-old short-track skater has done much of his training in northeast China and South Korea because of the lack of Olympic-size skating facilities in Hong Kong. His best World Cup performance this season came in Turin, where he finished 26th in the 1,500 meters.
Thailand
Vanessa Mae is a violinist and a British citizen, who is representing Thailand at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. She qualifies for the team because her biological father is from Thailand. She will compete in the slalom competition under the name Vanessa Vanakorn. In her record-breaking classical crossover music career - she shot to fame as child star - Mae has sold an estimated 10 million records. She is 35 years old. Mae, or Vanakorn, won't be the only person competing for Thailand in Sochi. Kanes Sucharitakul, who was educated at Cambridge University, England, is in the men's slalom and giant slalom.
East Timor
Yohan Goutt Goncalves will represent the small and snow-starved Southeast Asian nation of East Timor in Sochi. Goutt Goncalves, 19 years old, will compete in the men's slalom. He grew up in France (his father is French and his mother is from East Timor) and first tried skiing in Val d'Isère when he was 2 years old, according to French media reports. 'Tomorrow is a big day for me, the biggest step towards my dream, I will be on my way to the Olympic Games in Sochi...I will be the flag holder of my country, my nation,' an entry on his Facebook page said Wednesday.
Pakistan
Mohammad Karim will ski for Pakistan at Sochi. 'Karim is a great athlete and we think he has very strong medal chances during the Olympics,' the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Obaid-ur-Rehman Abbasi, the spokesman of Ski Federation of Pakistan, as saying. Pakistan made its Winter Olympics debut in Vancouver in 2010, where Muhammad Abbas finished 79th in the giant slalom. Abbas is traveling to Sochi as a reserve in case Karim gets injured, the Express Tribune reported.
Nepal
Given the topography of Nepal, it's a surprise that the nation doesn't have any world-class downhill skiers. The country will, however, be represented in Sochi by Dachhiri Sherpa, a 44-year-old cross-country skier and bricklayer. Sherpa was born in the village of Chulemo at the foot of Mount Everest and raised in a monastery, according to an Agence France-Presse report, which also said he predicts he will finish last.
Mongolia
Byambadorj Bold will compete in the men's 15-kilometer cross-country skiing in Sochi, while Otgontsetseg Chinbat is in the women's 10-kilometer event. The two skiers trained at Sky Resort near Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, according to local media reports, and are distinguished in Sochi as being among the first athletes to arrive at the Olympic Village.
亚洲和大洋洲国家(包括那些人们从未见到过雪的国家)都将派遣运动员参加索契冬奥会的角逐。韩国、日本和中国派出最大的代表团，并将以合法竞争者的身份赢得许多奖牌，特别是在滑冰、跳台滑雪和自由式滑雪项目上。在2010年温哥华冬奥会上，韩国在总奖牌榜上列第七位，中国列第八位，日本列第16位。本文介绍上述国家参加索契冬奥会的明星阵容，以及其他小国部分有意思的运动员，其中包括一位来自东帝汶的滑雪运动员和一名来自汤加的无舵雪橇运动员。
中国
李妮娜，来自中国东北辽宁省的自由式滑雪空中技巧运动员。退役后，她去年选择复出，她曾于2010年温哥华冬奥会和2006年都灵冬奥会连续两届获得该项目银牌。李妮娜现年31岁，无疑索契将是她获得奥运金牌的最后一次机会，李妮娜还有“雪上公主”的昵称。这是她的第四届冬奥会，她还参加了2002年盐湖城冬奥会。
徐梦桃，她曾是一名体操运动员，其母是大名鼎鼎的评书表演艺术家刘兰芳的外甥女。徐梦桃是索契冬奥会女子自由滑雪空中技巧项目冠军的有力竞争者之一。徐梦桃在温哥华冬奥会上获得第六名以来，这位23岁的辽宁籍选手的世界排名已升至首位，且赢得了世界冠军称号。中国在这个项目上其他有争冠实力的选手还有：程爽和张鑫。
刘忠庆，昵称“大庆飞人”，是温哥华冬奥会男子自由滑雪空中技巧项目的铜牌获得者。现年28岁的刘忠庆是中国队里的老大哥，其他年轻选手还有：贾宗洋，齐广璞和吴超。他们都希望效仿韩晓鹏问鼎冬奥会。韩晓鹏曾在2006年都灵冬奥会上为中国获得男子自由滑雪空中技巧项目的首枚金牌。据索契冬奥会的官方网站，刘忠庆奉行实用主义体育哲学。他称，冰雪世界已给了他所追求的一切。
范可新是中国短道速滑队的希望，因中国多次获得冬奥会冠军的王蒙上个月在训练中脚腕骨折，不得不退赛。据她参加冬奥会的简介，范可新被戏称为“王蒙的影子”。范可新在上赛季世界杯(World Cup) 500米短道速滑的比赛中获得亚军。索契是年仅20岁的范可新的首届冬奥会。来自长春另一名短道速滑选手周洋也是金牌的竞争者。周洋曾在温哥华奥运会上获得1,500米和接力项目的冠军。
庞清和佟健，他们既是冰上情侣也是现实生活中的情侣。他们曾获得温哥华冬奥会的银牌，2011年在一档“冰舞上海”(Art on Ice)节目中，在佟健策划下，他们已订婚。佟健在上海的这档节目中说：“冬奥会奖牌是我当时的梦想，今天我的梦想是想和你永远在一起。”庞清和佟健在国际滑冰联盟(International Skating Union)的世界排名为第四位。
王冰玉，柳荫、岳清爽、周妍是中国不太知名的奥运奖牌获得者，原因是冰壶运动在中国只有10年左右的历史。中国女子冰壶队在温哥华奥运会上获得铜牌，曾得到加拿大冠军教练罗克(Marcel Rocque)的指导，这只队伍在本次冬奥会上将向冠军再次发起冲击。
韩国
在温哥华冬奥会上为韩国夺得首枚花样滑冰金牌的金妍儿(Kim Yuna)将力争在本届冬奥会上再夺一金。但是，23岁的金妍儿为征战索契冬奥进行的准备并不顺利，去年9月她的脚受伤，一直到12月才重返赛场，赢得了在克罗地亚首都萨格勒布举办的一项花样滑冰赛事。如果金妍儿在本届冬奥会上成功卫冕，她将成为继上世纪八十年代前东德选手卡特琳娜•维特(Katarina Witt)之后，又一位连续在两届冬奥会上夺得花样滑冰金牌的选手。福布斯(Forbes)的数据显示，去年金妍儿的总收入达到1,400万美元，是全球收入排名第六的女运动员。金妍儿表示，她将在索契冬奥会后退役。
李相花(Lee Sang-hwa)是温哥华冬奥会女子速滑500米的冠军，并在去年11月美国犹他州举行的速滑世界杯(Speed Skating World Cup)上以36秒36的好成绩打破了这一项目的世界纪录，在那次比赛中她两次刷新世界纪录。2005年李相花以14岁的年纪在国际赛事中崭露头角，在本赛季的世界杯赛事中，她一直保持长胜势头。
在温哥华冬奥会上，莫太范(Mo Tae-bum)在自己生日当天夺得了男子500米短道速滑金牌，另外他还拿到了1,000米速滑的银牌。他这次的目标是要为韩国摘得首枚冬奥会男子1,000米速滑金牌。在去年12月速滑世界杯柏林站的比赛中，莫太范在500米和1,000米两个项目上折桂。
韩国滑冰队的另一位种子选手李承勋(Lee Seung-hoon)曾在温哥华冬奥会上摘得男子速滑10,000米金牌和5,000米银牌。李承勋原本是短道速滑选手，但2009年未能入选国家队，所以后来改练速滑长距离项目。他的主要对手包括曾在温哥华冬奥会上夺得5,000米速滑冠军的荷兰名将克莱默(Sven Kramer)。
沈石溪(Shim Suk-hee)是此次韩国队出战索契冬奥会最年轻的运动员，但她也是短道速滑项目奖牌的有力争夺者。17岁的她曾在2012年速滑世界杯卡尔加里站的比赛中夺得三枚金牌，并且是女子1,000米速滑世界纪录的保持者。索契冬奥会是沈石溪首次征战奥运，她将在女子500米、1,000米、1,500米以及3,000米速滑接力四个项目上对金牌发起冲击。
崔恩玲(Sung Eun-ryung)最早是田径选手，后来改练跆拳道。她在2011年才开始接触雪橇，但很快就入选国家队。崔恩玲是韩国第一位参加冬奥会雪橇比赛的女选手，她在本届索契冬奥会上的目标是在单人赛中进入前二十名，在团体赛中进入前十名。
申美顺(Shin Mi-sung)是韩国女子冰壶队队长，也是年龄最大的队员。申美顺在上大学期间参加了学校的冰壶俱乐部，开始接触这项运动。2012年在加拿大举办的世界女子冰壶锦标赛上，韩国女队打入了半决赛。在2013年中国冰壶公开赛和亚太冰壶锦标赛上，韩国女队两次夺冠。去年底，韩国队在世界冰壶联合会(World Curling Federation)的排名是第十位。
日本
浅田真央(Mao Asada)是一位外界评价颇高的花样滑冰选手，她夺金牌的主要对手是韩国的奥运冠军金妍儿。在2010年温哥华冬奥会上，浅田真央不敌金妍儿，最后获得了一块银牌。与金妍儿一样，浅田真央也表示她将在索契冬奥会之后退役。这位年仅23岁的选手以三周半跳著称，尽管一些观察人士认为，由于难以实现干 的落地，她应该放弃这种跳跃动作。即便是浅田真央的狗在日本也很有名，这只狗曾在一个巧克力广告中露面。日本有希望夺取女子花样滑冰奖牌的其他选手包括铃木明子(Akiko Suzuki)和村上佳菜子(Kanako Murakami)。
高梨沙罗(Sara Takanashi)被外界称为夺取女子跳台滑雪金牌的热门人选。这也是女子跳台滑雪首次成为冬奥会比赛项目。高梨沙罗年仅17岁，但她在女子跳台滑雪项目上却拥有统治地位。去年她获得了世界杯系列赛的冠军，在本赛季13个分站赛中又获得了10个冠军。这位身高只有5英尺的学生由她的父亲提供教练指导，被日本媒体称为“有大本领的跳台滑雪小选手”。高梨沙罗称，她心目中的英雄是美国跳台滑雪选手莎拉•亨德里克森(Sarah Hendrickson)。后者将在索契冬奥会上与她一争高下。
葛西纪明(Noriaki Kasai)是一位跳台滑雪老将，他第一次出征奥运是在1992年法国阿尔贝维尔冬奥会上。索契冬奥会将是他第七次征战奥运，这比历史上的任何一位跳台滑雪选手都要多。1月份，这位41岁的老将成为了获跳台滑雪世界杯冠军的年龄最大选手。本赛季，他的系列赛排名暂列第三。葛西纪明在冬奥会上的最佳成绩是在1994年利勒哈默尔上获得银牌。
羽生结弦(Yuzuru Hanyu)是一位来自仙台的花样滑冰选手。2011年地震后的海啸导致仙台遭受重创。据称在地震发生时，羽生结弦正在训练，他没脱溜冰鞋就从日本宫城县的溜冰场跑了出来。2012年4月，羽生结弦前往多伦多接受教练布莱恩•奥泽(Brian Orser)的指导。羽生结弦现年19岁，他将带着上佳的比赛状态参加索契冬奥会。上个月，羽生结弦在日本福冈获得了世界花样滑冰大奖赛决赛的冠军，并在日本国内比赛中获得了超过100分的高分。日本在男子花样滑冰项目的另一个夺牌希望是高桥大辅(Daisuke Takahashi)，他曾在2010年温哥华奥运会上摘得铜牌。
长岛圭一郎(Keiichiro Nagashima)是2010年温哥华冬奥会男子500米速滑银牌得主，那是他第二次参加冬奥会。他的同胞加藤条治(Joji Kato)是那次比赛的铜牌得主。如果再次获得奖牌，这两位速滑选手将可以获得三协精机(Nidec Sankyo Corp.)提供的奖金，其中金牌奖金为2,000万日圆(合20万美元)，银牌奖金为1,000万日圆，铜牌奖金为600万日圆。
上村爱子(Aiko Uemura)是一位自由式滑雪选手，她将参加自由式滑雪的雪上技巧项目。这是她第五次参加冬奥会。上村爱子在过去几次冬奥会上都已经和奖牌非常接近了，她在2010年温哥华冬奥会上获得第四，在2006年都灵冬奥会上获得第五，在2002年盐湖城冬奥会上获得第六，在1998年长野冬奥会上获得第七。
澳大利亚
贝格-史密斯(Dale Begg-Smith)是冬奥会上最耀眼的澳大利亚选手。2006年意大利都灵冬奥会，21岁的他为澳大利亚摘得了首枚奥运滑雪金牌，成为男子滑雪项目最年轻的冠军。2009年的大部分时间，他因交叉韧带损伤不得不远离赛场。2010年温哥华冬奥会，他夺得一枚银牌。贝格-史密斯1985年出生于温哥华，16岁时移居澳大利亚。在他等待获得澳大利亚公民身份期间，曾有三年时间不得参赛。
普林(Alex Pullin)是一名来自悉尼的单板滑雪选手，将参加单板滑雪越野赛的竞逐。该比赛每组有四名选手参赛。外号“大块头”(Chumpy)的普林曾在温哥华冬奥会雪板项目上获得第17名，去年在加拿大斯托纳姆世界锦标赛上夺得冠军。此外，2011年他还曾在西班牙拉莫利纳世锦赛上称冠，那也是澳大利亚首次在世界上获得雪板项目冠军。
布莱特(Torah Bright)曾在温哥华冬奥会的单板滑雪半管赛上夺冠。今年27岁的她将在索契参加单板半管式滑雪、花式滑雪和单板滑雪等项目的比赛，同时她也是参加冬奥会三种不同单板滑雪项目的第一人。
拉斯拉(Lydia Lassila)是一位自由式滑雪运动员，也是冬奥会自由式滑雪空中技巧的卫冕冠军。她在本届冬奥会上的主要竞争对手是中国选手李妮娜和徐梦桃。与这两名中国选手一样，拉斯拉以前也是一名体操运动员。今年32岁的她已经参加了三届冬奥会，在2002年的盐湖城和2006年的都灵冬奥会上分别取得了第八和第14名的成绩。这次索契冬奥会，她力争要成为自由式滑雪的双料冠军。
贝勒·布罗克霍夫(Belle Brockhoff)被选入澳大利亚单板滑雪越野赛团队。这是她首次参加冬奥会，不过其家人与这一赛事却有着不解之缘。她的叔叔彼得·布罗克霍夫(Peter Brockhoff)曾以滑雪运动员的身份参加过1960年和1964年的冬奥会。21岁的贝勒是一名同性恋。她说，自己一直在为运动员联盟(Athlete Ally)工作。该组织的目标是让体育成为全民运动。运动员联盟表示，参加索契冬奥会的选手拥有独一无二的让外界关注俄罗斯反同性恋法的机会。
冬奥会独立参赛者
如果在索契冬奥会官方网站的参与国下拉菜单中寻找印度，你会看到一个以I-n-d开头的单词，但这个词指的不是印度，而是独立参赛者。印度奥委会(Indian Olympic Committee)因没有遵守国际奥委会(Indian Olympic Committee)的奥林匹克宪章而被暂停会籍。曾参加过四届冬奥会的资深运动员Shiva Keshavan因此不能代表印度竞逐雪橇项目的比赛。对印度奥委会深感失望的他参加比赛时将身穿印有“祝福者”字样的服装，而非印度三色旗服装。他取得的冬奥会最好成绩是在2006年都灵冬奥会上，获得了第25名。
汤加
你没看错，南太平洋热带岛国汤加将参加索契冬奥会。布鲁诺•巴纳尼(Bruno Banani)(原名富赫•塞米(Fuahea Semi))将参加无舵雪橇项目的比赛，从而实现汤加公主皮洛莱乌•图伊塔(Pilolevu Tuita)看到该国选手参加冬奥会的愿望。这位现年26岁的选手已经移居德国，改了名字，偶尔参加一家内衣品牌的营销活动。去年12月，他在犹他举行的世界杯上取得了第28名的成绩，这足以确保他拥有参加2014年索契冬奥会的资格。
菲律宾
马丁内斯(Michael Christian Martinez)现年17岁，是一位来自马尼拉郊区的花样滑冰选手。2012年他在因斯布鲁克举行的青年冬奥会上获得了第七名，并在去年米兰举行的世界青少年花样滑冰锦标赛上获得第五名。虽然职业生涯不长，但他却受到多处伤病困扰，他称这是菲律宾溜冰场质量不佳造成的。马丁内斯将是首位代表菲律宾参加冬奥会的滑冰选手，也是22年来首位参加冬奥会的菲律宾选手。他是在经过一家大型商场里的溜冰场时和花样滑冰结下姻缘的。
新西兰
有望在索契冬奥会上替新西兰争夺奖牌的选手包括一个三兄弟组合。乔赛亚•韦尔斯(Josiah Wells)、拜伦•韦尔斯(Byron Wells)和波-詹姆斯•韦尔斯(Beau-James Wells)都是自由式滑雪选手，三人均是首次参加冬奥会。最小的弟弟杰克逊(Jackson)也是一名滑雪运动员，但他只有15岁，不到参加奥运会的资格标准。四兄弟的父亲布鲁斯(Bruce)担任他们的教练。
克里斯蒂•普赖尔(Christy Prior) 1月份在加拿大Stoneham的世界杯赛事上获得了单板滑雪坡面障碍技巧冠军，目前他在该项目的世界排名第七。在索契冬奥会之前，Stoneham世界杯是最后一场决定奥运资格的赛事。在这次比赛中，普赖尔站上了最高领奖台，荷兰的谢里尔•马斯(Cheryl Maas)和奥地利的安娜•加瑟(Anna Gasser)分列第二、第三位。
哈萨克斯坦
克鲁斯塔莱娃(Elena Khrustaleva)为哈萨克斯坦争到了温哥华冬奥会上的唯一奖牌：冬季两项的一块银牌。有报道称，她将是代表哈萨克斯坦参加索契冬奥会冬季两项的10名选手之一。克鲁斯塔莱娃在2010年摘得的这块银牌也是哈萨克斯坦唯一一次在冬季两项比赛中获得奖牌。哈萨克斯坦是克鲁斯塔莱娃代表出征奥运会的第三个国家。她也曾经代表俄罗斯和白俄罗斯出战。
台湾
台湾将派出三名年轻运动员参加冬奥会。现年19岁的连德安(Lien Te-An)将参加无舵雪橇项目的角逐，现年21岁的宋青阳(Sung Ching-Yang)和吕明龙(Mackenzie Blackburn)将分别参加速滑和短道速滑项目。
香港
吕品韬(Pan-To Barton Liu)将成为首位代表香港参加冬奥会的男子运动员。由于香港缺乏奥运规模的滑冰设施，这位20岁的短道速滑选手多半在中国东北和韩国进行训练。他本赛季参加世界杯赛的最佳成绩是在都灵取得。他在男子1,500米比赛中获得第26名。
泰国
陈美(Vanessa Mae)是一位小提琴家，也是一位英国居民，她将代表泰国参加索契冬奥会。她之所以有资格代表泰国参赛，是因为她的生父是泰国人。她将使用Vanessa Vanakorn的名字参加女子回转项目的角逐。作为曾经的童星，陈美一举成名，在从事古典跨界的职业生涯中她屡破纪录，卖出了大约1,000万张专辑。陈美现年35岁。她不是代表泰国参加索契冬奥会的唯一选手。苏乍立打军(Kanes Sucharitakul)将参加男子回转和大回转项目的角逐，他曾在英国剑桥大学(Cambridge University)接受教育。
东帝汶
古特•干卡维斯(Yohan Goutt Goncalves)将代表东帝汶参加索契冬奥会。现年19岁的他将参加男子回转项目的争夺。据法国媒体报道，干卡维斯在法国长大(父亲是法国人，母亲来自东帝汶)，他两岁时在瓦勒迪泽尔首次尝试滑雪。干卡维斯周三在自己的Facebook上写道：对我来说，明天将是重要的一天，将是我朝着自身梦想迈出最大步伐的一天，我将踏上出征索契冬奥会的旅途，我将成为我的祖国和民族的旗手。
巴基斯坦
穆罕默德•卡里姆(Mohammad Karim)将代表巴基斯坦参加索契冬奥会滑雪比赛。巴基斯坦联合通讯社(Associated Press of Pakistan)援引巴基斯坦滑雪联合会(Ski Federation of Pakistan)发言人阿巴西(Obaid-ur-Rehman Abbasi)的话说，卡里姆是一位优秀的运动员，我们认为他在奥运会上争夺奖牌的概率很大。2010年温哥华冬奥会是巴基斯坦首次派选手出征，当时穆罕默德•阿巴斯(Muhammad Abbas)在大回转项目中取得了第79名的成绩。据Express Tribune报道，阿巴斯正前往索契，以便在卡里姆受伤时担任替补。
尼泊尔
从尼泊尔的地貌来看，该国没有任何世界级的速降滑雪选手令人颇感惊讶。不过，该国将派出44岁的越野滑雪选手夏尔巴(Dachhiri Sherpa)参加索契冬奥会。夏尔巴也是一名瓦匠。据法新社(Agence France-Presse)报道，他在喜马拉雅山脚下的Chulemo村出生，被寺庙养大。法新社还报道称，夏尔巴预计自己将垫底。
蒙古
包勒德(Byambadorj Bold)将在索契冬奥会上参加男子15公里越野滑雪比赛，钦巴特(Otgontsetseg Chinbat)将参加女子10公里比赛。据当地媒体报道，这两位滑雪选手在蒙古首都乌兰巴托附近的天空滑雪场(Sky Resort)进行训练，他们是首批抵达索契奥运村的运动员之一。
