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Fifteen must-follow Olympic athletes on Twitter

There are so many Olympians headed to Sochi, 230 from the U.S. alone, that it can feel overwhelming to choose any of them to single out for precious space on

Mike Bebernes

There are so many Olympians headed to Sochi, 230 from the U.S. alone, that it can feel overwhelming to choose any of them to single out for precious space on your twitter feed. Twitter is about to get interesting, as IOC Rule 40 promises to clear the web of bland sponsor slogans. Here’s a handy list of the 15 must-follow athletes for the Sochi Olympic Games.

Alex and Maia Shibutani (@alexshibutani | @maiashibutani) The entire U.S. figure skating team is probably worth a follow, but the unquestionable social media stars of the group are this brother and sister pair known for their hilariously adorable lip dubs of pop songs and TV parodies.

Roberto Luongo (@strombone1) The Canadian goalkeeper is one of the best athletes to follow at any time of year. He is self-effacing, witty and just the right amount of crass:

Lolo Jones (@lolojones) The hurdler-turned-bobsledder is a lightening rod for debate. It’s easy to agree, however, that her twitter account offers some solid behind the scenes commentary, photos and surprising humor.

Torah Bright (@torahbright) The outspoken Australian snowboarder, and defending women’s halfpipe gold medalist, has already made waves by criticizing the security, facilities and slopes in just a few days in Sochi. She’s also publicly refused to adhere to an Aussie Olympic Committee ban on social media during the Games.

Winston Watts (@wwatt4) The 46-year-old Jamaican bobsled team skipper is still figuring twitter out – hence recent tweets like “Can we do this about 2 pm Mt time” and “Here I am love”- but expect no more joyous a feed than Mr. Cool Runnings himself once he works the kinks out.

Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) He may not tweet that frequently –and even less frequently in English- but the Russian hockey superstar is the signature athlete of these Games.

Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) No, the other face of Russian sports will not be donning a Kevlar speed skating suit in Sochi. Instead, she’ll join NBC as a correspondent, hopefully to contribute worthwhile insight on the host nation.

Eve Muirhead (@evemuirhead) Not only does the 23-year-old Scot captain the reigning world champion curling team, she’s also a world-class bag piper, once wore a kilt made of lottery tickets and has been photographed wearing nothing but the Scottish flag.

Sugar Todd (@sugarmotion) For unbridled exuberance, look no further than the aptly named American speed skater. She has already filled her timeline with tweets expressing her excitement at being an Olympic athlete and she’s proven to not be above fan-girling her fellow members of Team USA.

Askel Lund Svindal (@askelsvindal) Perhaps the best alpine skier in the world, the Norwegian is the rare Scandinavian to consistently tweet in English. The bio from his twitter account is a solid representation of his feed’s overall tone, “Most of the time I travel the world in a spandex race suit trying to be fast...”

Sage Kotsenburg (@sagekotsenburg) The Park City, Utah-grown snowboarder provides pretty much what you’d expect from a snowboarder from Park City, Utah, with extra points for effort and cleverness.

Jeremy Abbott (@jeremyabbottpcf) Another standout from the U.S. figure skating team. Abbott is an Instagram machine.

Julia Mancuso (@juliamancuso) Given her skiing prowess and camera friendly appeal, Mancuso is already being touted as a possible replacement for the injured Lindsey Vonn in the minds of the American public. She’s been known to use the #skilikeaninja hashtag.

Lindsey Van (@lindseyvan) Cat pics and ski jumps. Expect more of the latter unless Van was able to sneak her kitties through customs.

John Daly (@johndalyusa) The American skeleton racer finds just the perfect balance of arrogance that you can’t quite tell if he’s kidding.

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If you’re looking for more folks to follow, no one has a more comprehensive list of Olympic athletes than NBC’s Nick Zaccardi.

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Mike Bebernes
MIKE BEBERNES

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