Winter Slaw: name game

Just because the Winter Olympics have been over for days doesn't mean I have to stop writing about them, does it? Before we move on from Turin 2006, I think it's time to take a look at all the new and wonderful athlete names we've come across in these games. I'm one of those people who loves finding athletes with strange and wonderful names. I'm not sure why, but I definitely find a kind of poetry in all the strange and wonderful names. Some are well-known competitors, like Apolo Anton Ohno. Some are known only to me and a few others (does anyone remember Markus Prock?)

Regardless, the Turin Olympics added a bunch of good names to my mental store. Here's a list of some of my favorites, from Kjetil André Aamodt to Pirmin Zurbriggen. Olympians make this list by dint of a mellifluous name, the achievement of a random or dubious feat, or just being part of a memorable moment. All the new additions to this list (which, to be honest, I've never written out before) are in bold.

Kjetil André Aamodt

Surya Bonaly
Phillip Boit
Jan Bos
Annelise Coberger
Deborah Compagnoni
Harald Czudaj
Bjørn Dæhlie
Shani Davis
Toby Dawson
Eddie Edwards
Enrico Fabris
Marc Girardell
Nicky Gooch
Edgar Grospiron
Georg Hackl
Midori Ito
Jean-Claude Killy
Johann Olav Koss
Janica Kostelić
Ted Ligety
Roar Ljoekelsoey
Uwe-Jens Mey
Carole Montillet
Cammy Myler
Gunda Niemann
Matti Nykänen
Apolo Anton Ohno
Tanja Poutiainen
Markus Prock
Rintje Ritsma
Vreni Schnieder
Katja Seitzinger
Resi Stiegler
Picabo Street
Fritz Strobl
Alberto Tomba
Eva Twardokens
Vegard Ulvang
Markku Uusipaavalniemi
Bart Veldkamp
Gustav Weder
Andreas Wenzel
Pernilla Wiberg
Yang Yang (A) (formerly Yang Yang (L))
Yang Yang (S)
Zhao Hongbo
Pirmin Zurbriggen