Lydia Lassila in Calgary January 2010. Image - AP

Words:: Tess Cook

With only days from the official team announcement, here are the likely athletes that will pull on an Australian tracksuit for the Vancouver Olympics.

Australia is expected to send a team of about 36 to the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The successful 'Flying Kangaroo's' aerials squad, with previous World Number One athletes Jacqui Cooper and Lydia Lassila, will lead the charge with Snowboard super stars Torah Bright, Holly Crawford and Nate Johnstone(if cleared o f a recent injury) stamping the Aussie flag on the half pipe and 2006 Torino gold medal winner Dale Begg-Smith in the mogul skiing is looking to be Australia's first ever dual gold medalist at a Winter Olympics.

There are plenty of other athletes to watch, Tatiana Borodulina in the short track, the snowboard cross boys Damon Hayler and Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin and rising skeleton talent Melissa Hoar to name a few.

With quota spots already drawn for each country and national sporting bodies committing their team nominations for each sport. We now await the AOC (Australian Olympic Committee) to make the official announcement which will be sometime next week. In the meantime, here's what Twenty Ten thinks the 2010 Australian Winter Olympic Team may look like.

(Scroll below this chart to read a full breakdown for each sport)

See Olympic Selection Explained to learn more about how the Olympic team is selected

Short track skating
Quota places earned: 1 x Female 500m, 1000m and 1500m; 1 x male 1000m
Lachlan Hay and Tatiana Borodulina are confirmed as Australia's short track skaters. World Cup medal winner Borodulina earned a quota place for Australia in all three distances in the female events and was the sole choice for Olympic selection. The five-strong men's team managed to secure only one male quota place and selection came down to a skate-off between Hay and Jeremy Beck which took place before Christmas.

Short Track ice skater Tatiana Borodulina, will compete for Australia for the first time after immigrating to Australia after the last Winter Olympics. Image - OWI

Speed Skating
Quota places earned: 1 x female, possibly 1 -2 x male
Sophie Muir will be Australia's only, and first, female Olympic speed skater, having earned an Olympic quota place in December. Josh Lose is the first reserve place on the International Skating Union (ISU) quota place list for 5000m, should one athlete not take up their Olympic place, Lose will receive the quota. Ben Southee and Daniel Grieg are also on reserve lists for the 1500m and the 1000m.

Biathlon
Quota places earned: 1 x male
The competition between 33 year old veteran Mark Raymond and 19 year old Alexei Almoukov for Australia's sole biathlon place is too close to call. At the final qualification event they placed 108th and 109th. The final decision rests with Australian Biathlon.

Australia's Alpine skiing champion Jono Brauer has qualified for all 5 Alpine events. Image - courtesy Jono Brauer

Alpine Skiing
Quota places earned: 2 x male spots across five disciplines
Jono Brauer and Craig 'Bud' Branch are both confirmed for Vancouver, Branch in downhill and super G and Brauer in all five disciplines, though his recurring knee problems may confine him to the speed disciplines

Luge
Quota places earned: 1 x female
Hannah Campbell-Pegg was confirmed as Australia's sole lugist on 13 January after a solid season that saw her end up 30th in the World Rankings.

Skeleton
Quota places earned: 2 x female
Based on current World Rankings, Emma Lincoln-Smith and Melissa Hoar should fill Australia's two quota places for skeleton. Before Christmas Hoar was Australia's third ranked athlete behind Lincoln-Smith and Michelle Steele but recent success has placed her in number one position, pushing Steele to third and out of Olympic contention.

Australian 2-men bobsleigh crew are not qualified but are hoping for a start at the 2010 games - Image Courtesy Duncan Harvey

Bobsleigh
Quota places earned: possibly 1 x female possibly 2 x male 2 man
Olympic selection is still very unclear in bobsleigh. Female duo Astrid Loch-Wilkinson and Cecilia McIntosh did not earn a national quota place but may be given the single Oceania continental quota place. The men's squad may be given two places for two man crews but have not won allocation for a four man crew; Jeremy Rolleston, Duncan Harvey, Anthony Ryan, Duncan Pugh and Chris Spring are waiting for the naming of the Vancouver team.

Snowboard - Half Pipe
Quota places earned: 2 x female, 2 x male
Nathan Johnstone and Ben Mates for the men and Torah Bright and Holly Crawford for the girls are all but confirmed for the Games. Bright, Crawford and Johnstone are three of the sport's greatest athletes and strong medal contenders.

Nathan Johnstone is Australia's highest ranked halfpipe snowboard competitor. Image Tyler Heffernan

Snowboard - Snowboard Cross
Quota places earned: 2 x male, possibly 1 x female
Damon Hayler and Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin are slated for snowboard cross (SBX) selection; they are also medal chances. Female snowboard cross competitor Steph Hinkey only recently fulfilled Olympic selection criteria and has not earned quota place, however she is the next eligible athlete on the International Ski Federation (FIS) quota allocation list, meaning should one nation choose not to fulfil an allocated place, Hickey will get an Olympic berth.

Snowboard - Parallel Giant Slalom
Quota places earned: 1 x female
Female parallel giant slalom (PGS) competitor Jo Shaw also looks set for Olympic team nomination.

Results from World Cup half pipe, SBX and PGS events taking place in Quebec, Canada from 20 - 24 January will finalise the athletes' Olympic selection bids.

Freestyle skiing - Moguls
Quota places earned: 2 x male
Dale Begg-Smith is undoubtedly one of Australia's top winter athletes. The 24 year old has claimed three World Cup golds in four events, with one silver, in 2010 and will be defending his Torino 2006 Olympic gold medal. Ramone Cooper had been a certainty for the second place on the mogul team however a knee injury on 15 January will likely put him out of action, leaving Sam Hall to step into the spot. Hall has not earned his own quota place however he is the next eligible athlete on the FIS list. If Cooper is medically cleared Hall may win his own place if another nation does not fill its quota place.

Freestyle skiing - Aerials
Quota places earned: 4 x female, 1 x male
Australia's 'Flying Kangaroo's' female team of Jacqui Cooper, Lydia Lassila, Liz Gardner and Bree Munro are one of the world's best aerials teams. There are high medal hopes for Lassila and Cooper who have both held the world's number one ranking. David Morris is the surprise late riser in the men's aerials, solid recent performances in World Cups and a store of potential to advance the difficulty of his jumps means Morris would be an asset to the Australian Olympic team.

Jenny Owens (left) on the Ski Cross World Cup podium during the 2009 tour. Image - courtesy Jenny Owens

Freestyle - Ski Cross
Quota places earned: 1 x female
Jenny Owens is assured Olympic team selection. The former alpine racer has won World Cup medals in her new sport of ski cross. Australia is second on the FIS reallocation list for both male and female snowboard cross, should redistribution give Australia those places Katya Crema, who has consistently made the top 32 in 2009/10 season World Cups will be the next female athlete. Scott Kneller, who has also performed solidly on the World Cup circuit will hopefully earn a male quota place.
Final events ski cross at Blue Mountain, Canada and aerials and moguls in Lake Placid, USA will be the last opportunity for the athletes to demonstrate their competition ability and secure Olympic nomination.

Cross country
Quota places earned: 2 x male, 1 x female
Esther Bottomley,?Paul Murray and Ben Sim will represent Australia in the cross country. The three are now in training in Canada preparing for the Olympics where they will compete in a number of different disciplines each.

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