Meet Chicago's 2006 Winter Olympians

With the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics just a few days away we thought it would be fun to see who will represent the Chicagoland area in Torino, Italy. In all, there are nine hometown favorites to keep your eyes on.

The most recognizable Chicago athlete is no stranger to the Olympics, hockey star and former Blackhawk Chris Chelios. Chris will be appearing in his fourth Olympics for the United States. He was captain for both the 1998 Nagano Olympic team and the 2002 Salt Lake squad. His first match will be on Wednesday, February 15th when the U.S. takes on Latvia.

The majority of our hometown Olympians are figure skaters and ice dancers. Chicagoist is still unclear on the difference between figure skating and ice dancing but are sure you can learn all about it on the Torino Website. Our two ice dancers are Melissa Gregory, of Northfield and Ben Agosto of Northbrook. Three of our representatives are figure skaters: Evan Lysacek, Aaron Parchem and Matt Savoie. So if you get caught watching either of these sports you can just say you were checking in on some local Olympians.

Representing the Chicago area in Speed Skating will be Margaret Crowley, competing in the 3000m and Team Pursuit events, and Shani Davis. Shani is the first African-American to make a U.S. Olympic speed skating team. He will be a busy man during the Olympics competing in the 5000m, Team Pursuit, 1000m and the 1500m.

Lastly, in a fan favorite event, Lorenzo Smith III will be part of the United States Four Man Bobsled team. Bobsled action is scheduled to take place on Friday, February 24 and Saturday, February 25.

You can follow the Torino Olympics from a local perspective by checking out the WMAQ Olympic Blog hosted by Rob Elgas and Paula Faris. If you prefer listening to updates there is also a NBC5 Olympics Podcast. Let the games begin!

Thanks, Todd!