Russia’s Alexander Tretiakov, who has just won his second overall World Cup, has been the most successful and consistent athlete of the 2018-2019 season.

He has notched up four World Cup wins, plus two second-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes.

And the 2013 world champion has enjoyed positive results at Whistler Sliding Centre in the past.

He won the Olympic bronze medal there in 2010 and has also finished on the podium three times out of his last four World Cup appearances.

Olympic champion Yun Sungbin is another a firm contender for a World Championship medal.

The South Korean has finished in the top three in all eight World Cup races this season and has also celebrated two victories.

The 2016 World Championship silver medallist has also won the last two World Cup races in Whistler.

Defending world champion Martins Dukurs of Latvia is also likely to be in medal mix having previously won Olympic silver in Whistler and claimed two of his 51 World Cup race victories there.

 A win for him would secure his sixth World Championship title.

The list of potential medal winners in the women’s skeleton is long and includes the overall World Cup winner Elena Nikitina of Russia.

Among the others are Canada's home team and its experienced starters Mirela Rahneva and Elisabeth Maier, and the three German athletes, especially Tina Hermann, who came second in the overall World Cup and triumphed at the 2016 World Championships.

Defending world champion Jacqueline Lölling of Germany and European champion Janine Flock of Austria will be returning to action in Whistler. 

Lölling, who won silver at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, missed out on the final World Cup races in Calgary for family reasons.

Flock, meanwhile, was forced to miss the last three World Cup races due to illness but is once again back to full fitness in time for the World Championships.

Furthermore, the three members of Great Britain’s team will be aiming high, even without Pyeongchang 2018 gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold, who is expecting her first baby.

Olympic bronze medallist Laura Deas celebrated her first podium finish of the season at the World Cup finale in Calgary, while Madelaine Smith was the highest-ranking Briton in the overall World Cup in 11th place.

Youth Olympic champion Ashleigh Pittaway, meanwhile, is celebrating her first-ever selection for the British World Championship squad.

Germany’s Francesco Friedrich won the four-man bobsleigh gold medal at Pyeongchang 2018 and will arrive in Whistler as the defending title holder alongside his team-mate Johannes Lochner.

Both pilots and their teams tied for first place to take home the discipline’s title at the 2017 World Championships.

Pyeongchang 2018 also saw two more athletes tie, Germany’s Nico Walther and South Korea’s Won Yun-jong.

Both teams won silver at the Winter Olympics and will certainly be aiming to take home the title and a medal in Whistler.

Other sides with the same goal are those of Latvia’s Oskars Kibermanis, who was second overall in the World Cup, and home favourites Justin Kripps, Chris Spring and Nick Poloniato.

Maxim Andrianov of Russia has also enjoyed a great deal of success in the four-man bobsleigh this winter.

He finished no lower than sixth in any of the World Cup races and also achieved the first podium finish of his career in Lake Placid. 

The team from Monaco will also have their sights set on a podium finish once again this season.