2014 Olympics: Winter Games' Equivalents to Summer Stars

With just three days left in the 2012 Summer Olympics, attention will start to turn to Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

This year's Olympics have been historic.

Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all-time.

Oscar Pistorius, the "Blade-Runner", finally got a chance to run the games.

Usain Bolt became arguably the most dominant sprinter in Olympic history.

Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor finished a gold medal three-peat as the most dominant duo in beach volleyball.

And, those are just some of the story lines from London.

Every Olympics stars are born and legends are made. While the winter games may never have an athlete as decorated as Phelps, do they have their own Phelps?

Here are some of the winter games equivelants to summer games athletes.

Apolo Anton Ohno as Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps is the most decorated olympian of all time with 22 medals, including 18 golds. He is the face of his sport and one of the most popular athletes in recent history.

With that said, he has a winter counterpart.

Apolo Anton Ohno is the Michael Phelps of the Winter Olympics.

Ohno, an Olympic short-track speed skater, is the most decorated Winter Olympian in American history. He has eight winter medals including two gold, two silver and four bronze.

The speed skater burst onto the scene in 2002 by winning gold in the 1500M and has been the face of speed skating since.

Team Sweden Curling as Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings capped off their historic Olympic careers with their third gold medal in beach volleyball at the London games.

Sweden's curling team is on the verge of a similar run.

Team Sweden won gold in the 2006 games in Turin, Italy and the 2010 games in Vancouver.

The Swedes are the only team in women's Olympic curling to win multiple gold medals. Gold medal number three is on the line in Sochi.

The sport of curling, which is gaining popularity in the United States, captivates audiences with its relatively simple game-play, at least to the average viewer like myself.

I know I didn't miss a day of curling in the 2010 games.

Team Sweden is the most dominant team in the sport, the Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor of curling.

Team Canada Hockey as Team USA Women's Soccer

The United States Women's soccer team lost on penalties to Japan in the 2011 World Cup. They avenged that loss with a 2-1 win over Japan in this year's Olympics.

Team Canada's hockey team lost the 2009 IIHF World Championship to Russia by a 2-1 score. They bounced back in the 2010 Olympic games to beat Team USA in double-overtime to take gold.

These two teams are often regarded as the best in their sport. Anything less than gold can be considered underachieving to these countries.

Both teams also have very similar dynamics, young superstar scorers and dominant veteran goaltending.

For Team Canada, Sidney Crosby, 21, is often regarded as the face of ice hockey. While Alex Morgan, 23, is one of the fastest rising stars in women's soccer.

As for goaltending, Canada used a combination of Martin Brodeur, 37, and Roberto Luongo, 31.

The U.S. women's soccer team has 31-year-old Hope Solo.

Goaltending helped lead both squads to Olympic gold.

Team Canada hockey will look to continue repeat in Russia two years from now.

Sidney Crosby As....

To further on the previous slide, Sidney Crosby of Team Canada hockey is Team USA's Alex Morgan.

No offense to Sid the Kid, but if Morgan asks to go on a date the day of the gold-medal game in Sochi, I'm going to have to use my DVR for that one.

Now back to their parallels:

Crosby didn't compete in the 2010 IIHF World Championships, the year after Team Canada's gold.

Morgan was on Team USA's roster for the 2011 World Championships against Japan but wasn't a significant player in the tournament.

All changed in the Olympics. Crosby scored the game-winning goal in the gold-medal game over the United States.

Morgan counters that with the game-winning goal against Canada in extra-time to propel the US through to the gold-gold medal match.

Again, some interesting parallels but I definitely still prefer Morgan's body paint over Crosby any day of the week.

Lindsey Vonn as Usain Bolt

Speed is captivating.

When Usain Bolt gets ready to run, people stop what they are doing to watch that race knowing that they could be witnessing history in less than 10 seconds.

Lindsey Vonn is no different.

Competing in alpine skiing, Vonn is one of the fastest downhill skiers in the world.

She proved that at the 2010 Vancouver games. Vonn edged out rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds to become the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the downhill.

Bolt, 25, and Vonn, 27, captivate audiences with their dominance of their sport and the speed required to do so.

Vonn appears to be in top-shape this year, winning the 2012 season title in downhill.

She will look to defend her gold in Russia like Bolt did in London.

Bobsledding as Canoeing/Kayaking

This one may just be a personal interest but each olympics there seems to be a sport that I love to watch even though I really don't know much about it.

With that said, I say bobsledding is the winter olympics' canoeing/kayaking.

Did anyone watch the canoe sprints? What about the white-water kayaking?

That stuff is crazy. The speed, the agility, the strength. I have the utmost respect for those athletes just like I do bobsledders.

Someone about going at high speeds, requiring ridiculous reaction time and risking death with every move just makes for good television.

I absolutely love these fact-paced games.

The speed, quickness and danger compare well and appear to the daredevil in us all.