The Czech team competing in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, will be the largest squad of athletes the country has ever sent to the Games, and expectations for the group are unprecedented.

The Czech Olympic Committee (ČOV) nominated 83 athletes to travel to Turin — five more than went to the last Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002. In the Turin Games, which run from Feb. 10 to Feb. 26, the Czechs will compete in 13 events and be absent from only two competitions: skeleton and curling.

"Our ambition is to earn recognition through quantity, and quality," said Milan Jirásek, chairman of the ČOV.

Jirásek said the Czech team should win at least three medals at Turin, the same number it brought home from Salt Lake City.

The most successful Winter Olympics for Czech athletes was the 1984 Games in Sarajevo, where the Czechoslovak team won six medals. František Dvořák, the leader of the ČOV mission in Turin, said the Czech team could beat the Sarajevo record in Turin.

"Six medals are quite realistic," he said. "We could in fact get even more."

Many of the Czech athletes competing in the games are currently in top form. Czech Olympic athletes won eight world championship medals last year and are still performing strong.

"I'll be ready to compete for the gold medal," said cross-country skier Kateřina Neumannová, who won two medals at each of the last two Winter Olympics.

The Czechs and Czechoslovaks have only won four gold medals in Winter Olympics history. Before the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czechoslovaks brought home two golds when ski jumper Jiří Raška triumphed in the 1968 Grenoble Games and figure skater Ondrej Nepela dominated in the 1972 Sapporo Olympics.

Since 1993, the Czechs have won two more gold medals. The national hockey team triumphed in the 1998 Nagano Games, and freestyle skier Aleš Valenta won a surprising gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

With the Turin Games rapidly approaching, The Prague Post has short-listed the top Czech medal contenders. When it comes to the Czechs' performance in Italy, one thing is sure: The Czech hockey team's campaign will be closely watched, ČOV Chairman Jirásek said.

"Hockey can bring the nation to its feet, and the Turin Olympics will be no different," he said.

Ice hockey

The entire nation got swept up in hockey fever when the Czech team stunned the world by winning the 1998 Olympic hockey tournament. More than 300,000 people stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets of Prague to greet the players on their return to the Czech Republic. It was the biggest street party since the 1989 Velvet Revolution.

The team failed to defend its medal in Salt Lake City, where it was defeated by Russia in the quarterfinals. This time around, however, the team is hoping for another victory.

The team returned to the throne last year by winning the World Championship in Vienna in May. Thanks to a lockout in the National Hockey League, many Czech NHL stars played in the tournament, making it something of an Olympics rehearsal.

In Turin, the Czech team will rely on the most productive player in the NHL, Jaromír Jágr, and also two star goalies: 40-year-old veteran Dominik Hašek and Tomáš Vokoun. Both goalies rank at the top of the NHL statistics this season.

A rivalry could brew between the two, which could add a volatile element to the team, according to some experts. But the team's head coach, Alois Hadamczik, remains upbeat. "It's not important who plays, but rather the team's results," he said.

Cross-country skiing

Kateřina Neumannová isn't keeping secret her goal to win gold in Turin.

"Actually, it would be hypocritical to claim that my goal was anything other than winning the gold," Neumannová said.

Neumannová won her first gold medal in a major international competition at last year's World Championship in Oberstdorf, Austria.

In the Games in Salt Lake City, Neumannová won a bronze medal in the 15-kilometer (9-mile) race. But the subsequent disqualification of Russian skiers Larissa Lazutina and Olga Danilova, who finished ahead of Neumannová in two races, bumped the Czech skier up to a silver medal in the first race and a bronze-medal finish in the second.

Neumannová received the medals a year after the Olympics.

Lukáš Bauer is another hot medal contender. Bauer last season won the pre-Olympic World Cup race in Pragelato, Italy, and he has twice stood atop the podium in this year's World Cup races.

Ski jumping

Jakub Janda is arguably the most unexpected gold medal contender on the team. For a long time, Czech ski jumpers suffered one debacle after another on the international stage. However, Janda shocked the world by winning two medals at last year's World Championship and has dominated the sport this season. In early January, Janda became the first Czech ski jumper in 35 years to win the prestigious Four Hills Tournament, a series of four races held in Germany and Austria. Janda shared the victory with Finland's star jumper Janne Ahonen. The two are the leading contenders in Turin.

Freestyle skiing

Until the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, only a few people in this country knew anything about freestyle skiing. Then Aleš Valenta won a shocking gold medal and put freestyle skiing on the sporting map in the Czech Republic. After the Games, Valenta became a celebrity in this country. But his performance has since slid, and he's never again been able to land the jump that won him gold in Utah.

While Valenta is unlikely to defend his medal in Turin, mogul skier Nikola Sudová is a new hope for the sport. Sudová won a bronze medal at the World Championship last season, and she appears ready to attack the field in Turin.

Dark horses

While the other Czech athletes with tickets to Turin aren't medal favorites, some have high ambitions.

With recent World Championship titles under their belts, cross-country skier Martin Koukal and biathlete Roman Dostál could have shots at medals in Turin. Koukal, who won the men's 50-kilometer race at the 2003 World Championship, will also be a strong addition to the men's cross-country relay team.

Last season, Šárka Záhrobská became the first Czech in history to win a medal at the World Championship of downhill skiing, finishing third in women's slalom at the World Championships in Italy. So far this season, Záhrobská's most notable achievement was an eighth place finish at the World Cup slalom race in Špindlerův Mlýn, the only downhill skiing World Cup race held in the Czech Republic.

Speed skater Martina Sáblíková might just be the Czech team's unexpected ace in the hole in Turin. The 18-year-old won two medals at the European Championships in Norway in early January. She has hopes of winning a medal in Italy.