Five from Washington will compete for U.S.

ELLIOTT SMITH, THE OLYMPIAN

SEATTLE -- While Apolo Anton Ohno has received most of the publicity, there are four other athletes with Washington ties who hope to be successful at the Winter Olympics, which begin today in Salt Lake City.

Along with Ohno, a Seattle native and one of the favorites in short track speedskating, other Washington Olympians include speedskater KC Boutiette (Tacoma), cross-country skier Torin Koos (Leavenworth) and Alpine skiers Scott Macartney (Redmond) and Tom Rothrock (Cashmere).

It's a group that may give the area a good shot at bringing home the gold.

Of course, much of that hope lies with Sports Illustrated coverboy Ohno, whose powerful performance and easygoing demeanor have made him one of America's new Olympic stars.

Ohno will race in four events at the Games, the 500-, 1,000- and 1,500-meter individual races and the 5,000-meter relay. He is predicted to medal in all four events, although he will receive stiff competition from South Korea's Kim Dong-Sung.

Ohno was the overall world champion last season, ranking first in each of the Olympic distances.

"He's talented enough to do it, but short track is short track," U.S. coach Susan Ellis said. "There's always guys looking to sweep the medals, but I don't think anyone can do it."

Ohno was accused by 1998 Olympian Tommy O'Hare of intentionally throwing a race so that Ohno's friend Shani Davis could make the team, a charge Ohno vigorously denied before O'Hare withdrew his claim.

Will that distract Ohno? Likely not.

While Ohno participates in his first Olympics, Boutiette, 31, prepares for his third Winter Games after making the switch from inline skating to speedskating before the 1994 Games.

Boutiette finished fifth in the 1,500 meters at the 1998 Nagano Games, one of four events he participated in during those Olympics.

At Salt Lake City, Boutiette will compete in the 5,000-meter race, where he will be an underdog against Dutch favorites Carl Verheijen and Bob de Jong.

Koos burst onto the cross-county scene with a strong 11th-place finish in his first World Cup race at the site of the Olympic event.

The 21-year-old is no stranger to the discipline -- his father was a member of the U.S. Biathlon Team in the 1970s -- but medaling in the Olympics as a rookie may be too much too ask in a field dominated by Swedes and Norwegians.

Alex Tiedeman, 19, of Leavenworth, an acquaintance of Koos, said: "He's been completely devoted to cross-country since he got into it, and it's neat to see that he got somewhere with it.

"It's a pretty big deal. He's obviously as good as he thought he was."

Macartney, 24, has overcome his fair share of injuries to qualify for three events at Salt Lake City. Tendinitis in his knee and a crash knocked out most of his 2000 season, but strong performances during the season and trials earned him a spot on the team.

He will participate in the slalom, giant slalom and combined races.

Macartney will be joined by fellow Washington native Rothrock, another Olympic rookie who parlayed strong efforts in Europe into a spot on the team.

Like Macartney, 24, Rothrock will participate in the slalom, although it seems highly unlikely that he will figure in the top 10.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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