Men's aerials presents a strong stable of interesting athletes to watch when the event gets underway. Belarus is sporting a particularly competitive team, spearheaded by top-ranked World Cup aerialist Anton Kushnir. He's won four of six World Cup events in the aerials this season, and placed in the top three in the two that he didn't win. Kushnir is backed up by two Belarusian veterans. Dmitri Dashinski is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, and before that, captured bronze at Nagano in 1998. Meanwhile, Aleksei Grishin, the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist and three-time world champion, rounds the Belarusian triple threat.

China is also packing a strong punch in the event. Guangpu Qi is ranked second in the World Cup standings, while Zongyang Jia is ranked third. Also joining them is Xiaopeng Han, who is the defending Olympic aerials champion from Turin.

1. Anton Kushnir, Belarus, 540 pts                               

2. Guangpu Qi, China, 265 pts                               

3. Zongyang Jia, China, 246 pts                               

4. Renato Ulrich, Switzerland, 215 pts                               

5. Timofei Slivets, Belarus, 192 pts    

Canada's medal hope lies in one of the most formidable aerialists to grace the sport, Steve Omischl. He has won four world championship medals and has three-straight World Cup titles under his belt. Teammates Kyle Nissenand and Warren Shouldice will also be representing Canada.  Nissenand placed fifth in Turin, and was fourth in the World Cup aerials standings in the 2008-09 eason. Shouldice meanwhile while won bronze at the 2009 Worlds.

Xiaopeng Han , aka "Rock Star," is the reigning gold medalist from Turin. He gets his nickname from the soul patch he sports which is always accompanied by a pair of designer shades. Han is ranked 23rd in World cup standings, but the rank is misleading: Han's missed several events because of injuries. He could be a potential wildcard in the event.