The main events at the 2014 Winter Games

There are five disciplines, and they are all about speed. There's downhill and Super G, the technical disciplines – slalom and giant slalom – and the combined event, which is a combination of a downhill run and two slalom runs. The German medal hopefuls are two-time gold medalist Maria Höfl-Riesch and Felix Neureuther.

Young, fresh and spectacular: freestyle skiing on moguls or on jumps has been around since 1992, but in Sochi, there are two new disciplines: the half-pipe competition and slopestyle. In slopestyle, athletes perform tricks and jumps on an obstacle course.

Olympic champion Shaun White shows how it's done. Snowboarding has been an Olympic sport since 1998, and in 2014 a total of 10 gold medals will be awarded. In addition to the parallel giant slalom, half-pipe and snowboard cross events, there is a new parallel slalom event and a slopestyle event.

This combination of cross-country skiing and target shooting is the most popular winter sport in Germany. There are a total of 11 men's and women's individual and team events, and this year there will be a new mixed relay. German biathletes are regularly on the podium in Olympic events and are at the top of the international rankings.

Cross-country skiing is a staple of the winter Olympic program with 12 individual and team events in the classic and free disciplines. When it comes down to a matter of centimeters at the end of the race, the photo finishes are often amusing lunges to the line like in this picture. German cross-country skiers have so far taken home four gold, 10 silver, and four bronze medals at the Olympics.

Liftoff! Ski jumpers compete on the normal hill (90 meters) and the large hill (120 meters) in individual and team events. A jumper's distance is what counts the most in the score. Women will compete in ski jumping for the first time in Sochi. The crown jewel of Nordic sports – the Nordic combined – is a combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing.

One of the surest bets for a medal for German athletes is the bobsled competition, which has been on the Olympic program since 1924. There are two men's disciplines: the two-person sled with one pusher, and the four-person sled with three pushers. Women have been part of the competition for 12 years but only compete with two-person sleds.

Like the bobsled riders, lugers race down the track, lying down with their backs to the sled and their feet first. Sochi marks the first team relay event: first, a woman races down on a single luge. She then gives the signal to a male athlete to race down, also on a single luge. Finally, a men's doubles team starts down the course and completes the relay. The team with the fastest total time wins.

This event takes a lot of guts: the athletes lie on a sled face-down and head-first for an exhilarating trip down the run. The sport gets its name from the sled the athletes use, which looks like a skeleton. Skeleton made a comeback in 2002 after a 20-year hiatus. Women compete as well: For Germany, Kerstin Szymkowiak won silver and Anja Huber won bronze in the skeleton event in Vancouver.

Similar to boules or boccia, the curling stone must land as close to the middle of a pre-defined circle as possible after sliding across the ice. Only the German men's team will be making the trip to Sochi; the women's team failed to qualify. Forty-eight-year-old John Jahr (pictured above) is the oldest member of the German Olympic delegation in Sochi.

Figure skating athletes combine certain elements, rotations and jumps into a routine. The disciplines are ice dancing, men's and women's individual events and pairs. The German duo of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy are hoping to crown their career with a gold medal following their bronze in the pairs competition in Vancouver. The team event will be a new addition in Sochi.

Speed skating is one of the original winter Olympic disciplines, dating back to 1924. Athletes compete head to head over six different distances ranging from 500 meters to 10,000 meters. In addition, there is a team competition. Claudia Pechstein is Germany's most successful speed skater. In Sochi she'll try to add to the five gold, two silver and two bronze medals she already has.

Although the short track and speed skating events are both held on an ice rink, the major difference is the length of the course: in short track, it's 111 meters, while in the speed skating competition, it's 400 meters. In the short track discipline, there are relay and individual events. So far, Germany has never won a medal in short track.

Another original winter Olympic sport, ice hockey is now dominated by Russia, Canada and the United States. The German men's team has won Olympic bronze twice, but was unable to qualify for Sochi. Women have taken part since 1998, but the German women's team is considered a long shot for a medal this time around.