>> obviously after torino there definitely was a reflection period.ually a period of time, about a year, where i was deciding if i even wanted to come back and do the olympic games. being an olympic athlete for me is 100% full sacrifice. everything i did was dedicated towards the sport, so i had to ask myself a serious question. do i want to dedicate four years of my life solely to becoming this athlete that essentially has 40 seconds on the ice to create something that is perfect in an imperfect scenario. >> we talked a few months ago in seattle. we talked about the ft you had had the perft race, that 500 in torino. you didn't have the perfect race here. does that bother you? >> i think it depends on how you define a perfect race. i think many, many times during these olympic games i was very close to having a perfect race. you know, in sho track speed skating, a lot of things are out of your control, whether you get bumped or whether a referee makes a decision to disqualify you or another skater grabs you or pushes you. a lot of things are out of yo

had won in a nondomestic olympics was 25 four years ago in torino. given the american strength in events still to come, some experts believe the u.s. could rack up another 10 medals here shattering that record before these games end. >> a hug straight air for shaun. >> with a full week of competition ahead, every one of america's most promising hopes and then some has already delivered. >> sometimes that pressure can get to you, and i think we've done a good job as a whole of sort of standing up and holding our heads high and wearing our usa on our back with pride. >> along with evan like sek, white, vonn, davis, onh omb ode. >> they're looets in the prime of their careers and they're mentally ready to do it. >> the american dominance is fueled by a strong showing in alpine events. >> once that momentum starts, everyone wants that more. >> that momentum includes the u.s.'s first medal in the nordic combined, and athletes who exceeded expectations like skier julia mancuso with two sill verz and the bronze medal in the super g, a skier who has never pl

she took the silver in torino and did not even make the final this time. not going to be considered next time around. and how about alpine skier ted ligetyreported $2 million in deals with ralph lauren. the torino gold medalist hasn't made the podium here while 2006 busts bode miller of course has a medal of every color. erin, often it's not gold if you don't have gold then you're gone in terms of the marketing world, but the woman joannie rochette of canada, she won a bronze medal, and she could do pretty well on the speaking tour around here, her mother of course died just a couple of days ago. and for more check out my blog sportsbiz.cnbc.com, we have the 25-most remarkable olympian, erin? somehow thank you very much to darren. >>> and next you've been e-mailing us, a lot of e-mails, about your thoughts on toyota. risk versus recall. we'll have them in a moment after your "trend of the day." boss: y'know, geico opened its doors back in 1936 and now we're insuring over 18 million drivers. gecko: quite impressive, yeah. boss: come a long way, that's for s

pipe king. 32-year-old veteran bode miller winning three medals four years after getting shut out in torinof too much partying and not enough practice. >> i can't think of another athlete who has changed the perceptions about the entire career over the course of two weeks like this in the course of my lifetime >> reporter: but attention to these once every four years events is still fleeting. the only winter athletes who seem assured of long lasting fame and the money that goes with it, figure skaters, like 1998 gold medalist tara lipinski. >> i didn't really have that many challenges. afterwards i just really wanted to scailt professionally and learn my way in that world because i was a newbie. >> reporter: on the other end of the spectrum, cross country skier caitlin compton. her sport doesn't attract high numbers or big endorsement, so she splits her time between training and cultivating grassroots support on her web site. >> right now i'm in the middle ground where i have to accept the fact that probably most of my net worth is in skis and boots. >> for athletes, the dream endures, whet

more than they had in torino, salt lake and nagio combined. now have big performances to match. >> you have depth and insurance and they were ready to rock. >> led by bode miller, lindsey vonn and jaulia mancuso. they brought new records. bode's was good enough for a hat trick, medal of each. bronze, silver and gold. vonn captured a pair of medals including the downhill before failing to finish in other events. breaking up along the way. her long time teammate and rifle julia mancuso beat the games with two silvers as an encore to torino gold. andrew ranked 41st and stunned the first with a bronze if his olympic debut. nordic has been around for a long as the games themselves. this courageous band of brothers snapped that streak. >> the united states has never been here. >> earning an historic silver as a team. he got a silver as an individual and finishes and two in the individual events. how did the americans achieve such staggering success in many invested in the teams, including a state-of-the-art training center? utah open just last sprin

a violent training run crash at the torino games left her with a bruised hip, jet 48 hours after beingom the course, she raced. >> lindsey vonn is one of the toughest young women you would ever want to meet. she is tough as nails. >> don't count her out? >> do not count lindsey vonn out. i would fully expect to see lindsey vonn out there skiing and skiing well. >> reporter: vonn refused an x-ray. while being cared for by team doctors, she is also using rather unorthodox treatments. >> natural healing thing where you put cheese on your leg and that takes the swelling out. >> reporter: but the pressure's on. this high-speed cover girl is touted to win multiple races. there have been comparisons with michael phelps. vonn doesn't like what she calls the phelps syndrome. >> i'm just going to go out there and fight. that's all i can do. i'm not out there to be michael. i'm just lindsey. >> reporter: there's one other thing vonn doesn't like, and that is any suggestion she is trying to purposefully lower expectations. she says if she can be in the starting gate, she is going to be there to wi

he explodes on camera and he's done extremely well in the years since torino.m in the future? >> yeah. i mean, shaun white is a huge brand. and given that his sport is televised in off-olympic years, it's much easier for him to sustain these deals than the traditional olympian. >> and a lot of people to watch and we will be watching, as you will. peter carlisle, thanks very much. i appreciate it. >> thanks, matt. >>> up next, something to warm us all up, a look ahead to the spring >>> this morning on "today's olympic style," spring fashion. we may be at winter games and the snowstorm is hitting the east coast, but it is time to stt thinking about your warm weather wardrobe. howa how rubenstein is with "in style" magazine. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> it doesn't seem like we should be talking about spring, but it's right around the corner. >> no, but i promise everybody, it's coming, and what's coming for spring, too, is i think something people will welcome. retailers want people back in the stores, so they've got to have something new and fresh. it

. >> that crash there during a training run four years ago in torino left her injured and unable to competeurning point in her life. a lot of eyes will be on her. >> oh, yes. >>> a lot of eyes are on the weather today. veronica johnson is in the storm center with the very latest. what's new? >> what's new? well, at least folks are still a little excited, i guess, about this winter, right? a lot of people are saying, you know, i love snow but i'm starting to get just so tired of it, having to shovel it. bob and sharon, they sent in this image to us, this picture that they captured out on their deck of the snow this morning. on average we pick up between four and five inches during that overnight storm. the way it's looking with the next storm system, it will be a major storm. could be paralyzing in part. 10 to 12 inches is what we'll see on average from this storm system. again, those amounts could change. those are just early totals there for you. but by tomorrow morning, 28 to 27. and throughout the day tomorrow, it will be dry. so a cold start, below freezing. then we'll see more melting

there was a gray cloud around the torino race, it was foggy, visibility was iffy and a lot of peopleng the race shouldn't have happened. i'm bummed for her she has bad weather again today. >> reporter: bode miller didn't finish yesterday but he has one more race. he could become the most decorated alpine skier. what do you think his chances are? >> i think they're great. his chances are great. bode is starting to feel it, you know what i mean? he's a little bit older now and he says he has one leg on his boat already on the beach and another one that he's got an injured ankle that he said he did in december. he's kind of nursing his way through but, you know, it's got to be hard to not be satisfied with what's going on. he has a gold, a silver and a bronze. from here on out we're going to see typical bode style. he's going to go big or go home. unfortunately, that happened yesterday. >> reporter: can i take you off sport for a minute? >> yes, you can. >> reporter: his coach says inside -- >> unbelievable. >> reporter: there was no doubt he was going to win this. he was going to get a

the skiing superstar seeks redemption after a lackluster performance in torino.peed skater apolo anton ohno is sharpening his blades to make history. with five olympic medals already in hand, he's hoping to go further and become the most decorated u.s. olympian ever. the tried and true golden girls of the half pipe say it best. >> we can't wait! >> welcome to hogwarts. >> may is huge for harry potter fans the world over. the "today" show offers a first glimpse into the new wizardy world of harry potter attraction at the universal orlando resort. production designers from the hugely popular films worked closely with universal for five years, bringing harry's world to life. the park covers more than 20 acres. you'll find the legendary hogwarts castle, travel wizard style, and you can pick up your very own magic wand. now muggles the world over can make harry potter's journey their own. and check it out, harry potter fans. there is a live look at hogwarts castle at universal orlando resort, and we're showing it to you because this morning we're kicking off "today's

a nasty crash and training run in torino hurt her medal chances in the last winter games. she is poised now to become the breakout star here in vancouver. a lot of pressure on her shoulders. and we're also going to show you around our new home here in vancouver and teach you a few things about this city that is bursting with excitement now. meredith? >> all right, matt. that sounds very good. we'll check in with you again in a bit. you talk about the warm weather there. a very different story here. let's get the latest on this powerful storm making its way to the east coast, the second big storm in less than a week. we have three reports for you this mornin starting with the weather channel's janel klein in chicago. janel, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. day two of a three-day storm here in chicago, and it is expected to be a big one. ten inches planned for today in addition to the four inches already on the ground, and wind will also be a factor. 40-mile-an-hour gusts that could create ground blizzards and whiteout conditions in some areas. but as tough

olympic team in 2002 salt lake games and the 2006 games in torino.ll once again be competing in the by at lincoln at this year -- in the biathlon at this year's games in vancouver. last year at the whistler world cup which took place at the same venue, he won a bronze medal. the first american to medal in biathlon in 17 years. joining jeremy in vancouver will be sergeant shauna roebuck of the army national guard. she is one of america's champion bobsled drivers. a native of utah, shauna enlisted in 2000. about that time, she began training in bobsled in the hopes of making it to the olympics in salt lake city just 40 miles from her hometown. while she didn't make it to those games, shauna made it to toronto four years later. there she won the silver medal in the women's bobsled. apparently the teamwork required to succeed in the army to the kind necessary to succeed in olympic bobsledding, shauna said recently -- "just like any team or platoon, you are only as good as your weakest person. it takes two people to push a sled in a race. bobsled drivers