The 23rd Winter Olympics are about to begin. Over the next fortnight, 92 countries are taking part in 102 events. But who should we be expecting to shine in South Korea? We asked our readers...

Australia

We can have a very successful time in Pyeongchang. Freestyle skier Lydia Lassila has a great chance in the aerial events. She won a memorable gold in Vancouver in 2010 and followed that up with a bronze at Sochi four years later. She is the first Australian woman to compete at five successive Winter Olympics; hopefully she can become the first Australian to pick up three medals. Britteny Cox, a 23-year-old mogul skier, is another medal candidate. I’ll also be interested in seeing what we can achieve in the halfpipe and slopestyle events. Schnaxxl

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Australian mogul skiers Britt Cox, Matt Graham, Brodie Summers and Jakara Anthony. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Austria

Expectations are relatively high. We have a rich history of doing well at the Winter Games and Pyeongchang should be no exception. The alpine skiers Marcel Hirscher, Michael Matt, Anna Veith should all be aiming for the podium. I’ll be keeping a close eye on the ski jumping too. Katrin Mayer

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Marcel Hirscher will be one of the favourites in the alpine skiing events. Photograph: Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images

Canada

Canada will hopefully finish in the top three in the medal table. We should also be a strong contender for the most gold medals. The ice dancing partnership of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir should be successful. Figure skater Patrick Chan, snowboarder Mark McMorris, and the freestyle skiing Dufour-Lapointe sisters are also strong medal contenders. Our hockey and curling teams will be worth watching too. We’ve got strong athletes across the board, so confidence is high. Tony Bruneau

Denmark

Our silver medal in the women’s curling event in Nagano back in 1998 remains our only Winter Games medal ever. Our curling teams are again our best chance of claiming another one – although speed skater Elena Rigas also has a chance. But they’re all long shots. Alex Rokholm

Finland

We aren’t as great a sporting nation as we used to be, but the Winter Olympics is still a big deal for us. I’m expecting up to 10 medals from the Nordic skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey and biathlon events. Finland has a great young team who are full of potential. While Pyongchang might come too early for some of them, biathlete Kaisa Makarainen, skier Krista Parmakoski and the men’s ice hockey team should be successful. Combined skier Ilkka Herola is another surprise candidate for the podium. Jesse Aarnikko

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Biathlete Kaisa Makarainen will be aiming for the podium again in South Korea. Photograph: Luciano Solero/EPA

Iceland

You would think we’d be good at winter sports judging by our name, but in truth we are pretty awful. We had one good skier about 20 years ago but even Kristinn Björnsson didn’t win a medal at the Olympics. Only five athletes will compete in South Korea; two alpine skiers and three for the cross-country events. Snorri Einarson, Isak Stianson Pedersen and Elsa Gudrun Jonsdottir are our best cross-country skiers. Sturla Snær Snorrason and Freydis Halla Einarsdottir will do their best in the slalom and giant slalom events. Kári Tulinius

Great Britain

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Our involvement in the Winter Olympics doesn’t play major factor in my interest thankfully, because I don’t think Great Britain will be on top of many podiums in Pyeongchang. Based on previous Olympics you would have to say curling will be our best chance of doing so. Skeleton racer Lizzie Yarnold, who took that memorable gold four years ago in Sochi, and biathlete Amanda Lightfoot are also worth following. But whether we can improve on the four medals we won in 2014 remains to be seen. Simon Hurst

Japan

I have been waiting for the Olympics in Pyeongchang since it was announced. South Korea is such a beautiful country and I hope the host nation will perform well. It’s always a little extra fun when the hosts are successful as it improves the atmosphere. I have a weakness for figure skating, so I am looking forward for that. I’ll be very excited to see Japan’s hopeful Yuzuru Hanyu on the ice. Andrea Johansen

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Big things are expected from Japan’s figure skating ‘Ice Prince’ Yuzuru Hanyu. Photograph: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images

South Korea

I’m delighted that we will walk under one flag with our brothers and sisters from the DPRK. South Korean speed skater Lee Sanghwa should do well. I’m also excited about the snowboard big air event making its debut here. I definitely have Olympic fever now. Lorenzo

Netherlands

I’m excited about the speed skating but realise the chances of the Dutch team emulating the enormous success they had at Sochi 2014 are next to zero. I’m also excited about the men’s short track team. Sjinkie Knegt just won everything there was to win at the European speed skating championships. He’s an interesting character too. It will likely be Sven Kramer’s last Olympics. He’s already the most successful Dutch speed skater of all time and we all hope he’ll cement his legendary status with at least two gold medals. I have similar hopes for Ireen Wust, the most successful female speed skater of all time. She too could come home with three golds in the 1,500 metres, 3,000 and team pursuit events. We also have Kjeld Nuis, the world’s best sprinter in the 1,000m and 1,500m categories. Johan

Norway

The Winter Olympics are absolutely massive for most Norwegians. The expectations are sky high and the anticipation can remind you of the national mood in England approaching a World Cup. The biggest names being spoken about aren’t the athletes taking part, but those being left at home. Cross-country skier Petter Northug has been left at home. Biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen, the greatest Winter Olympian of all time, was also ruthlessly axed. This will be the first time since 1988 he won’t be competing at an Olympic event. The third star staying at home is skier Therese Johaug, who is serving an unfortunate doping ban. There will still be plenty of medal hopefuls though and the entire nation expects success. Robert Utvik

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ski jumpers Robert Johansson and Johann Forfang are just two of Norway’s many medal hopefuls. Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Poland

Poland can win four or even five gold medals this time. We’ve taken 63 athletes to South Korea and that is our biggest ever contingent at a Winter Olympics. Kamil Stoch and the men’s ski jumping team is our main hope. I’ll also be cheering on Maryna Gasienica-Daniel, who is our only chance of success in all four of the women’s alpine skiing events. Maggie

Spain

Winter sports might not be the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks about our country but we were taught at school that Spain is “the second most mountainous nation in Europe” – only behind Switzerland. Despite this, we have never made much of a splash in the Winter Olympics. We’ve only ever won two medals, and the last one of those was back in Albertville 1992. Only 12 Spanish athletes will compete in Pyeongchang, the second smallest Spanish contingent since 1984, but there are three good medal hopes among them. Figure skater Javier Fernández will become a three-time Olympic veteran and has already been twice a world champion and six times a European Champion. Snowboarder Lucas Eguíbar came second in the 2017 World Championships and Queralt Castellet is another strong contender in the half-pipe event. Rogorn Moradan

Sweden

Expectations are high. Whether it’s ice hockey, curling or skiing events, we usually do well in something. The ice hockey team is always expected to win medals but, with no NHL players coming over, I’m not sure how strong our team will be. Both our men’s and women’s curling teams are usually up there fighting for medals as well. A lot depends on the form our skiers are in before the Games, but we should be strong in the cross-country events. We have some amazing skiers when they’re in good shape. There is usually a Swedish athlete who does surprisingly well in one of the more obscure events too, so it’ll be interesting to see who will spring a surprise on us this time. Sebastian Akerberg

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USA

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mikaela Shiffrin has been tipped for stardom at these Games. Photograph: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Now that the Super Bowl is behind us, the focus will be turning to Pyeongchang. The expectation is that the US will be competing with Germany for the No1 medal spot. There is genuine excitement about our alpine skiers. Mikaela Shiffrin can become a mega-star at these games and Lindsey Vonn is back for her last stand. With the NHL based hockey players unavailable, our outstanding women’s hockey team should receive some well deserved attention. America has a terrible record in biathlon events but Lowell Bailey could be about to change that. A first ever Olympic biathlon medal would be a real highlight. Patrick