The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are set to begin starting on February 4th. Beijing will be the first city to ever host both a Winter and Summer Olympic event. The Opening Ceremony will be held in the “Bird’s Nest” but will, unfortunately, be closed off to the public due to the lingering COVID-19 concerns. With seven new medal events, it is sure to be an exciting and unique experience.

Two of the new events debuting in this Olympics are the women’s monobob, an individual version of bobsledding, and the freestyle big air, which is new for both men’s and women’s teams. Mixed team events, women and men competing together, were first added at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games; and the addition of these events to the Winter Olympics follows a new trend that crowds are loving. The four mixed events that will debut this year include short track speed skating relay, ski jumping, snowboard cross and short track speed skating.

Students at West are looking forward to the bigger team events like hockey.

“USA, Canada, Russia and Sweden are always gold medal contenders. It’s fun to watch big commercialized games like the rivalry of U.S. vs Canada. I know the US is sending a fairly young team this year of rookies and NHL prospects, so I don’t know too many of the guys going, but it’s still some of the best hockey in the world,” senior Jacob Berkowitz stated.

Many favorites are returning to this season as well, such as the decorated and three-time gold-medalist Shaun White, who is likely making this his last Olympic game. White will also be breaking records being the oldest halfpipe snowboarder in Olympic history. This, however, will not stop him from working to reach his fourth gold, relying specifically on his experience and determination to push through this competition.

Another U.S. Olympian to look out for is three-time men’s figure skating world champion Nathan Chen. Having set multiple records in the previous Olympics, fans are looking forward to what Chen will have next. He has almost been undefeated in competitions since the 2018 games, only losing to fellow teammate Vincent Zhou in Skate America.

People are excited to watch their favorite athletes perform on one of the biggest stages in the world.

“Although I have been keeping up with all of Team USA, my favorite skater has to be Chen. He is unlike any other skater, with incredible jumps and technical skills. I’m very excited for the Olympics as it brings in lots of hype for all participating sports. It is also an opportunity for the world to recognize the sport of figure skating and how talented these skaters are,” senior Izzy Leskaj stated.

Even those who do not figure skate are fond of such events. “I’m most excited for figure skating because it’s crazy how intricate the moves are, especially when the duos perform,” senior Jack Werneke said.

To follow the Olympics, the schedule can be found posted on their official website.