design: DJ Pelles
The beginning of 2022 has already brought a number of notable sports events, but in February the commencement of one of the largest sporting events, The Winter Olympics, finally returns after four years.
This year’s games are being hosted by Beijing and take place from Feb. 4 and will conclude on Feb. 20 with a closing ceremony. With the Winter Games being held in Beijing, the city will be the first to claim the honor of being the first to host both a Summer and Winter Games.
The games continue to support a number of popular events such as skiing, hockey, and figure skating. This year also brings the introduction of seven new events with one of the most notable being Monobob, which is similar to traditional bobsled events but with only one athlete.
Unlike the Summer Games where the United States. is accustomed to earning the most medals and dominating a number of events, America does perform well but typically falls behind a number of other countries in medal count.
Many younger skaters are hopeful that the United States can overcome adversity and find success even with the different limitations on training that exist in each country.
“The United States has a lot of regulations like Safe Sport- and NCAA regulations that other nations do not. Athletes from other countries who do not have these requirements can push themselves through more extreme training,” senior figure skater Katie Walcutt said.
However, senior figure skater Kendall Hackler is optimistic on the American team’s odds this year.
“Between 1992 and 2006, the United States women took home eight Olympic medals out of a possible 15, including three golds and three silvers. For the upcoming Olympics, the United States has strong medal contenders in both the mens and ice dance events,” Hackler said.
Hackler also added on the importance of the Olympics within the figure skating community and how the wide scale broadcasting can lead to the growth of the sport worldwide. “After Yuna Kim (2010 Olympic gold and 2014 Olympic silver medalist) had so much success many of the young kids in South Korea were drawn to skating after watching her,” Hackler said.
Both Hackler and Walcutt are excited to witness the upcoming games and see the boundaries of what their sport has to offer be further pushed by the best in the world.
On the other side of the rink, the grace and beauty commonly associated with figure skating is contrasted by the brute nature of ice hockey. Within the last 20 years of Olympic games the United States has fallen at the brink of gold twice, earning the silver medal in 2002 and again in 2010.
Similar to figure skaters, many hockey players are also enthusiastic about the United States this year.
“I haven’t had the chance to witness a super successful run by the United States ever but I’m very hopeful that this could be our year,” senior ice hockey player Caleb Staten said.
The competition is sure to be intense with a number of countries bringing talented teams that have proven difficult for American teams in the past.
“Canadian and Russian teams have always been a problem for the United States. They never have an off year and other countries like Germany are also troublesome,” Staten said.
Overall the American team has always performed at a high level and consistently distinguished themselves from other countries athletes, this year has followed the same trend as the United States looks to winning in overall medals.
