A year filled with international events is kicking off with the quadrennial Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. “Together for a Shared Future” is the motto for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The events take place in Beijing from Feb. 4 to 20. The opening ceremony is on Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. EST at Beijing National Stadium, with the closing ceremony taking place on Feb. 20 with the time yet to be announced.
There will be 15 events spanning 17 days. Alpine skiing, bobsleigh, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, freestyle skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, luge, Nordic combined snowboarding, ski jumping, Skeleton, speed skating and short track speed skating will be taking place during the entire duration of the games. Most competitions have multiple divisions, so plenty of medals will be given out.
Also, in an effort to add participation of more female athletes, seven new events have been added, with each awarding a medal. The added events include women’s double luge on an artificial track, women’s big air freestyle and women’s monobob. Mixed team events were also added, such as freestyle skiing aerials, snowboard cross and short track speed skating.
There will be 95 countries competing at the games, an increase from the 92 that participated in the 2018 games. American Samoa, Haiti, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Trinidad and Tobago will be competing after missing the 2018 games. Both Haiti and Saudi Arabia are making their debut at the games. The countries are each sending an alpine skier, with Haiti sending Richardson Viano and Saudi Arabia sending Salman Al-Howaish.
A hungry United States should be in line for a big showing after a disappointing outing at the last Winter Olympics. In 2018, the United States of America brought 241 competitors to South Korea. The country brought home 23 medals, nine gold, eight silver and six bronze, which was their lowest medal count since 1998.
In 2022, the USA is bringing 217 athletes to China, none more famous than possibly the most recognizable American athlete in extreme sports, Shaun White. White will be making a return to the half-pipe. The highly decorated snowboarder won the gold medal in 2006, 2010, and 2018. White nearly missed the podium in 2014, finishing fourth. The 35-year-old may be competing in his last Olympic games, so keep a look out what could be a final performance for the legendary snowboarder.
