2022 Winter Olympics: Everything you need to know about the Beijing Winter Olympics

By Mary OmatigaFeb 13, 2022, 4:00 PM EST

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The 2022 Winter Olympics are finally here, live on NBC and Peacock! See below for the answers to all of your frequently asked questions surrounding the Beijing Winter Games. If you’ve missed any of the action, we’ve got you covered with the best moments from the 2022 Winter Olympics.

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When are the 2022 Winter Olympics?

The 2022 Winter Olympics are set to take place on Friday, February 4 through Sunday, February 20, just six months after the Tokyo Games. However, the competition begins with curling on Wednesday, February 2, two days before the Opening Ceremony.

Where are the 2022 Winter Olympics taking place?

The 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in China across three zones: Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou. The ice sports will be held in central Beijing, China’s capital, as well as four snow events (snowboard big air and freestyle skiing big air, men’s and women’s). The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will also take place in Beijing. Yanqing, a mountainous suburb of China’s capital located approximately 75 km (46.6 miles) northwest of Beijing’s city center, will host Alpine skiing and sliding events (bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge) and will also be the home of the Olympic Athletes’ village. Zhangjiakou, located approximately 180 kilometers northwest of Beijing (111.8 miles) will host the majority of the ski and snowboarding events including freestyle, cross-country, ski jumping, Nordic combined, and biathlon.

What sports are in the 2022 Winter Olympics?

There will be a total of 109 medal events across the following 15 sports:

Additionally, the 2022 Winter Olympics will feature seven new events: Women’s Monobob, Men’s and Women’s Big Air (Freestyle Skiing), Mixed Team Snowboard Cross, Mixed Team Aerials, Mixed Team Short Track Relay, and Mixed Team Ski Jumping.

What is the expected medal count for the U.S.?

The U.S. finished fourth on the medal table in PyeongChang with a total of 23 medals (9 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze) and is expected to fare a similar result in Beijing. Shaun White (Carlsbad, California), Mikaela Shiffrin (Edwards, Colorado), and Nathan Chen (Salt Lake City, Utah) are just a few of Team USA’s biggest stars that are expected to compete in Beijing. White, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, could become the first U.S. man to win the same individual event at three Olympic Winter Games. Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, could potentially compete in five events in 2022 due to the schedule–the six-time world champion previously competed in five total events at the 2014 and 2018 Olympic Winter Games combined. Chen, the three-time reigning world champion in men’s singles, remains the favorite for gold in Beijing.

Will NHL players be allowed to compete in Beijing?

NHL players were originally set to return to the lineup in Beijing after missing the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics–their first Olympic absence since 1994–but the league made the decision to withdraw in late December 2021 due to a surge in COVID-19 cases that impacted the NHL’s schedule. Many NHL players were frustrated over the decision as letting players make individual choices to leave their NHL teams for the Olympics was never presented as an option.

Will fans be allowed to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics?

The International Olympic Committee announced in mid-January that only “selected” spectators will be allowed to attend the Games due to the pandemic. No fans from outside the country will be allowed to attend the events and tickets are not being offered to the general public.

What is the time difference between the U.S. and China for the Beijing Winter Olympics?

During the 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing will be 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone, and 16 hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone. An event that starts at 10:00 a.m. local time Monday will be at 9:00 p.m. EDT Sunday night.

How can I watch the 2022 Winter Olympics?

Peacock will be the streaming home of the Beijing Winter Games offering live stream coverage of every single event–that’s over 2,800 hours of Olympic action. Viewers can also tune to NBC, USA, and CNBC to watch the Games. Streaming will also be available via NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

How to watch the Closing Ceremony on NBC and Peacock

The Closing Ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics takes place on Sunday, February 20 live at 7:00 a.m. ET on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com and again in primetime at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Who are the mascots of the Beijing Winter Games?

Bing Dwen Dwen: Bing Dwen Dwen, the Olympic mascot, is a panda. In Mandarin, the word “Bing” has several meanings, including ice, and also symbolizes purity and strength. “Dwen Dwen” means robust and lively and also represents children. The mascot wears a full-body shell made out of ice and is said to embody the strength and spirit of Olympic athletes.

Shuey Rhon Rhon: Shuey Rhon Rhon, the Paralympic mascot, is a Chinese lantern child with a glowing heart who symbolizes warmth, friendship, courage, and perseverance of Paralympic athletes. The Chinese lantern is a cultural symbol representing celebration, harvest, and prosperity. Red is considered the most festive color (and is fitting since the Games will overlap with Chinese New Year celebrations).

Chloe Kim, Elana Meyers Taylor among Olympians to join presidential sports council

By OlympicTalkMar 24, 2023, 11:33 AM EDT

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Chloe Kim and Elana Meyers Taylor are among the Olympic and Paralympic medalists set to join the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition.

President Joe Biden intends to appoint the snowboarder Kim, bobsledder Meyers Taylor, retired Olympic medalists Chaunté Lowe (track and field) and Tamika Catchings (basketball) and Paralympic medalist Melissa Stockwell (triathlon) to the council, among other athletes and people in the health and fitness fields, it was announced Friday.

Stephen and Ayesha Curry are also on the list.

The council “aims to promote healthy, accessible eating and physical activity for all Americans, regardless of background or ability.”

Last year, Biden appointed basketball gold medalist Elena Delle Donne a co-chair of the council.

Kim, the two-time reigning Olympic halfpipe champion, sat out this past season but is expected to return to competition for a third Olympic run in 2026.

Meyers Taylor, the most decorated U.S. Olympic bobsledder in history with medals in all five of her Olympic events, sat out this past season due to pregnancy. She took her first bobsled run in 13 months this past week in Lake Placid, New York.

There is a long history of Olympians and Paralympians serving on the council, which was created in 1956.

In 2017, Barack Obama appointed medalists including gymnast Gabby Douglas, soccer player Carli Lloyd and fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad.

Others to previously be on the council include sprinter Allyson Felix, figure skater Michelle Kwan and swimmer and triathlete Brad Snyder.

Members serve for two years and can be reappointed.

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Kaori Sakamoto wins figure skating worlds; top American places fourth

By OlympicTalkMar 24, 2023, 9:00 AM EDT

Kaori Sakamoto overcame a late error in her free skate to become the first Japanese figure skater to win back-to-back world titles and the oldest women’s world champion since 2014.

Sakamoto, 22, totaled 224.61 points on home ice in Saitama to prevail by 3.67 over Lee Hae-In of South Korea in the closest women’s finish at worlds since 2011.

Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx took bronze, edging 16-year-old American Isabeau Levito for a medal by 2.77 points.

Sakamoto is the oldest women’s singles world champion since Mao Asada (2014), who is now the only Japanese skater with more world titles than Sakamoto.

She appeared en route to an easier victory until singling a planned triple flip late in her free skate, which put the gold in doubt. She can be thankful for pulling off the second jump of that planned combination — a triple toe loop — and her 5.62-point lead from Wednesday’s short program.

“I feel so pathetic and thought, what was all that hard work I put into my training?” Sakamoto said of her mistake, according to the International Skating Union (ISU). “But I was able to refocus and do my best till the end.

“Because I have this feeling of regret at the biggest event of the season, I want to make sure I don’t have this feeling next season. So I want to practice even harder, and I want to make sure to do clean, perfect performances at every competition.”

Lee, who had the top free skate, became the second South Korean to win a world medal in any discipline after six-time medalist Yuna Kim.

Hendrickx followed her silver from last year, when she became the first Belgian women’s singles skater to win a world medal.

FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule

Levito, last year’s world junior champion, had a chance to become the youngest senior world medalist since 2014.

After a solid short program, she fell on her opening triple Lutz in the free skate and left points on the table by performing two jump combinations rather than three. The Lutz was planned to be the first half of a combination with a triple loop.

“I am severely disappointed because I’ve been nailing my Lutz-loop for a really long time, and this is the first time I’ve messed it up in a while, and of course it had to be when it actually counted,” Levito said, according to the ISU. “But I’m pretty happy with myself for just trying to move past it and focusing on making the most out of the rest of the program.”

Levito entered worlds ranked fourth in the field by best score this season. She matched the best finish for a U.S. woman in her senior global championships debut (Olympics and worlds) since Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan took silver and bronze at the 1991 Worlds. Sasha Cohen, to whom Levito is often compared, also placed fourth in her Olympic and world debuts in 2002.

“I feel very proud for myself and grateful for my coaching team for helping me get this far so far in my skating career, and I’m just very proud to be where I am,” Levito said on USA Network.

American Amber Glenn was 12th in her world debut. Two-time U.S. champion Bradie Tennell was 15th. They had been 10th and eighth, respectively, in the short program.

The U.S. qualified two women’s spots for next year’s worlds rather than the maximum three because the top two Americans’ results added up to more than 13 (Levito’s fourth plus Glenn’s 12th equaled 16). The U.S. was in position to qualify three spots after the short program.

Glenn said after the short program that she had a very difficult two weeks before worlds, including “out-of-nowhere accidents and coincidences that could have prevented me from being here,” and boot problems that affected her triple Axel. She attempted a triple Axel in the free skate, spinning out of an under-rotated, two-footed landing.

Tennell, who went 19 months between competitions due to foot and ankle injuries in 2021 and 2022, had several jumping errors in the free skate.

“This season has been like one thing after another,” said the 25-year-old Tennell, who plans to compete through the 2026 Winter Games. “I’m really excited to get back and work on some stuff for the new season.”

Earlier, Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates topped the rhythm dance, starting their bid for a first world title in their 12th season together and after three prior world silver or bronze medals.

“We skated as best we possibly could today,” Bates said, according to the ISU, after they tallied the world’s top score this season.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White are the lone U.S. ice dancers to win a world title, doing so in 2011 and 2013.

Worlds continue Friday night (U.S. time) with the free dance, followed Saturday morning with the men’s free skate, live on Peacock and USA Network.