Tuesday afternoon at a U.S. Speedskating press conference in Vancouver:

Athletes in men’s bobsled, pairs figure skating, luge, Nordic combined and skeleton went through U.S. Olympic Team Processing on Monday in Richmond, British Columbia, getting all the gear they need for the Vancouver Games.

Three days before the start of the Vancouver Games, some of the best American athletes are showing it all – not on the slopes, in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

The annual edition, which hits newsstands Tuesday, features awfully revealing photos of skiers Lacy Schnoor and Lindsey Vonn and snowboarders Clair Bidez and Hannah Teter. Schnoor, Vonn and Teter are competing in Vancouver, where action begins Friday.

A look at some of the photos:

     Clair Bidez

     Lacy Schnoor

     Hannah Teter

     Lindsey Vonn

WANT MORE OLYMPIC COVERAGE? VISIT http://twitter.com/gazetteolympics

     Tony Benshoof

Looking for Olympic-related audio and video links? Here’s the best of the best from the past week:

♦ Click here to follow the “Samsung Mobile Explorers,” who will be blogging, Tweeting and providing video from the Vancouver Games.

♦ Click here for six commercials featuring Visa-sponsored athletes who will compete in Vancouver and Olympic legends who have left their mark at the Winter Games.

♦ Click here for a preview of “The Biggest Loser” episode at the Olympic Training Center that will air Tuesday on NBC.

♦ Click here for an “Endurance Planet” podcast with Olympic triathlete Barb Lindquist.

♦ Click here, here, here, here, here and here for a USA Luge conference call with Olympians Tony Benshoof, Erin Hamlin, Dan Joye and Christian Niccum. Click here, here, here, here, here, here and here for a USA Luge conference call with the team’s honorary Olympic captains.

♦ Click here to vote for Olympians and Paralympians worthy of 14K gold commemorative rings by U.S. Olympic Committee licensee O.C. Tanner.

♦ Click here for video of a volleyball game, featuring a team of international All-Stars, including six Americans, that beat a team of Russian All-Stars 3-2 last Sunday in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

♦ Click here to create a Pringles can with an Olympic-themed design.

♦ Click here for U.S. Anti-Doping Agency videos promoting the “Supplement Safety Now” initiative.

WANT MORE OLYMPIC COVERAGE? VISIT http://twitter.com/gazetteolympics

The USA Boxing National Championships, the nation’s longest-running amateur boxing tournament, are scheduled for June 12-17 in Colorado Springs. Video of a press conference Friday at the Crowne Plaza:

The U.S. Olympic Assembly, an annual gathering of U.S. Olympic Committee officials, Olympic national governing body leaders and American athletes, will be held Sept. 23-25 in Colorado Springs. A look at what Olympic folks are saying about the event:

JIM SCHERR, FORMER USOC CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

“The fact that it’s back here in Colorado Springs not only speaks to the USOC’s commitment to embrace Colorado Springs, but it gives Colorado Springs an opportunity to demonstrate what is unique about this community to the entire Olympic sports world.”

RICH BENDER, USA WRESTLING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“The more we can do in this community, the better. Obviously, this community stepped up for Olympic sport and the U.S. Olympic movement. Any time we can bring the family and the community here to this city, we should try to do that.”

DAVE OGREAN, USA HOCKEY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“The USOC hasn’t had as many meetings in Colorado Springs in recent years. There are a lot of newer members of the Olympic family that aren’t as familiar with the town and the training center and everything else. … We certainly can handle it, and I think having the identification with the home of the USOC is great.”

Want to dress like an Olympian? Now you can – for $1,149 plus tax.

Polo Ralph Lauren unveiled its Opening Ceremony apparel Monday for an estimated 150 American athletes who will strut their stuff Feb. 12 in Vancouver. The outfits, inspired by the 1932 Lake Placid Games, feature a navy puffer jacket, a cream-colored sweater, white tapered pants, black boots and my personal favorite, a knit hat with moose eyeing a tree.

Click here to purchase items from Ralph Lauren. The jacket is $325; the sweater is $425; the pants are $165; the shoes are $159; and the adorable hat is perhaps the biggest bargain at $75. I dare you to roll into Wal-Mart and try finding the same hat. There’s no way.

That comes to $1,149. Luckily, there’s free shipping on orders over $195, so with tax, the total is $1,222.54. What a steal! Throw down the plastic, and you’re guaranteed to be the coolest guy at your Opening Ceremony viewing party. Just make sure not to spill any nacho cheese on your pants. You won’t be able to afford dry cleaning.

A look at the full wardrobe:

     Hunter Kemper

Looking for Olympic-related audio and video links? Here’s the best of the best from the past week:

▪ Click here for a Time magazine video about American biathletes training for the Vancouver Games next week.

▪ Click here for a U.S. Olympic Committee video about wheelchair basketball player Alana Nichols preparing for the Paralympics in Vancouver next month in Alpine skiing.

▪ Click here for the “Vancouver Daily” video series, the USOC’s countdown to the Olympics.

▪ Click here for the “Science of the Winter Olympic Games” video project by NBC, in which U.S. Olympic ice hockey player Julie Chu explains the physics of a slapshot.

▪ Click here for a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency video about the revamped “I Compete Clean because …” campaign, featuring Broadmoor Skating Club member Rachael Flatt.

▪ Click here, here, here and here for interviews with American lugers, courtesy of USA Luge.

▪ Click here to listen to U.S. triathlete Matt Reed on “The Competitors” radio show.

▪ Click here for a “Growing Bolder” video about Olympic Training Center triathlete Hunter Kemper.

▪ Click here for a video interview with U.S. national sled hockey coach Ray Maluta, courtesy of USA Hockey.

     Iavor Kostadinov

Three Olympic Training Center judo players are competing this weekend at the Belgian Open in Vise and four OTC residents are competing at the Belgian Ladies Open in Arlon.

Iavor Kostadinov (198 pounds) is the top-ranked player in the open division in the latest USA Judo national standings; Julio Rodriguez is second at 145; and Toshiya Nishimura is unranked at 145.

Christal Ransom, a 2009 Pan American Championship team member at 139, heads back to Europe for the first time since last year’s Belgian competition. Also a Pan American Championship team member, Alexa Liddie (106) is looking to land on the podium in her final year of junior eligibility.

Anna Palmer (125) competes in her first major event since she was hurt at the 2008 Pan American Championships, coming off a second-place finish at the Continental Crown in November. A third-place finisher at last year’s national championships, Samantha Bleier (154) is making her European debut.

     Andy Potts

Ever dreamed of competing in a race with an Olympic triathlete?

Now you have a chance. Through March 18, you can bid on a relay team spot with Andy Potts, an Olympic Training Center resident who competed at the 2004 Athens Games, or Matt Reed, a Boulder resident who competed at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Click here to join the action for the Gateway to the Bay Triathlon on April 11 in Kemah, Texas. Right now, Potts’ bike leg stands at $1,120 and his run leg is $250, while Reed’s bike leg is $1,190 and his swim leg is $315. All proceeds benefit Jenny’s Light, a charity trying to increase awareness of prenatal mood disorders.