Ohno, Reutter guide U.S. to Vancouver on WC

Three gold medals.

Three runner-up finishes.

One third-place result.

Three B final victories.

Apolo Ohno and Katherine Reutter led the U.S. short track team during the four-meet World Cup season, as evidenced by their combined totals from individual races above. Reutter, 21, earned the first World Cup victory of her career in Beijing, taking the 1000m title at the first stop of the series. She followed that by winning the 1500m race in Montreal nearly two months later.

It was the best World Cup showing ever for the Illinois native.

Ohno managed just one individual title, the 1000m gold medal in Marquette last weekend. But he also tallied two second-place finishes and two B final wins.

At September's U.S. Olympic Trials, five men and five women were selected as candidates to skate at the Vancouver Games. US Speedskating subsequently put those skaters -- and a few others -- onto the World Cup circuit to earn their way onto the squad. The results from the final two meets in Montreal and Marquette will be used to determine who ultimately competes at the Games and in which events. The final roster will be announced in January.

The World Cup featured the top skaters in the world, so it's essentially a four-meet version of the Olympics; minus the hype, media attention and immense pressure.

It is true that Ohno and Reutter were the shining stars of a promising U.S. squad that potentially could win more than a few medals, but their teammates skated well too. We pored over the results and tried to analyze how each U.S. athlete on the Vancouver shortlist performed.

MEN
Apolo Ohno
Ohno was the only U.S. man to finish in the overall top 10 in each of the three individual disciplines -- 500m, 1000m and 1500m. His 1000m victory in Marquette propelled him to second in that event's standings behind South Korean Lee Jung-Su. Ohno's three medals (100m gold, 500m and 1500m silver) all came at the final two meets.

Travis Jayner
Jayner had two World Cup highlights this season: a third-place finish in the 1500m at Montreal, and a victory in the B final of the 1000m at Beijing. The 27-year-old has never competed at an Olympics. He also skated in the 5000m relay at three of the meets, helping the squad earn a silver medal (Marquette) and two B final victories (Beijing, Seoul).

Jordan Malone
Malone, who grew up in Texas, switched from inline skating to short track in 2003. He came in second in the 1000m race in Seoul and won the 1500m B final at Seoul, while finishing second in the B final at Beijing. Malone is ranked ninth in the 1000m World Cup standings, and 14th in the 1500m.

Simon Cho
Cho skated on the 5000m relay team at each of the four meets, earning a second- and fourth-place finish to go along with two B final wins. In Seoul, the 18-year-old Maryland native skated to fourth in the 500m.

J.R. Celski
Celski was injured in a nasty crash at the Olympic Trials, his right skate blade slicing into his left leg near the knee. The result was a six-inch gash, and he did not participate at any of the World Cup meets. However, US Speedskating said Celski will skate at Vancouver. The 19-year-old Celski is a serious medal contender if he is healthy.

WOMEN
Katherine Reutter
This new season has been a breakout one for Reutter. She won two World Cup races -- 1000m in Beijing, 1500m in Montreal -- and had four overall medals plus a B final win. She's good in every event, but the one person that might stand in her way come February is China's Wang Meng. Reutter also helped the 3000m relay team win two silver medals.

Kimberly Derrick
Derrick ended the 2008-09 season as the highest-ranked U.S. woman (fifth) in the world, but was only able to muster a sixth-place finish (1500m, Beijing) on the recent World Cup circuit. She skated in the relay at every meet, however, which earned two silver medals and a fourth-place finish. Derrick is No. 11 in the 1500m and 21st in the 1000m rankings.

Allison Baver
Baver skated at the Olympic Trials seven months after breaking her right leg in a violent crash at a meet in Bulgaria. She qualified for the World Cup team at those trials, and is ranked 14th in the overall 1500m standings after winning the B final in Beijing. She also skated with the relay squad at three of the four meets.

Alyson Dudek
Dudek will most likely skate on the relay team after contributing to the squad's solid performance at each World Cup meet. The 500m was her individual event highlight, as the 19-year-old finished second in the B final in Seoul.

Lana Gehring
Gehring could be another relay team member in Vancouver. She did not advance in any individual finals (A or B) on the World Cup, but was part of the relay squad that finished second in the B final in Marquette.