If you haven’t heard, the 2022 Winter Olympics were held in Beijing from February 4 through February 20. At the end of the games, the countries with the most medals were Norway (37), Germany (27), and China (15). There were many groundbreaking performances this year from athletes all around the world. The games were undoubtedly a rollercoaster ride from start to finish — with both ups and downs — but a success overall.
History was being made from the second day at the games. Zoi Sadowski-Synott, a slopestyle snowboarder from New Zealand, won the Olympic gold medal, beating Julia Marino from the USA. Sadowski-Synott was also the 2022 X-Games champion; however, winning the first-ever Winter Olympics gold medal for her country was undoubtedly more exhilarating.
Day three of the Olympics proved to be much darker than the first two. Early in the day, US Alpine skier, Mikaela Shiffrin, failed to complete her event. After an unforeseen error, Shiffrin slid out onto her hip and past one of the gates that she had to make to complete the run. Supporters watched in astonishment as the two-time gold medalist, and one of the US’s top hopes for gold, skied off the course.
Drama also unfolded in the ice rink when 15-year-old Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete despite being amid a doping scandal. After her first performances, Valieva seemed unstoppable. Heavily favored to win, the young Russian athlete was both graceful, technically perfect, and beautiful on the ice. However, things didn’t run smoothly for the ROC team, as Valieva dropped from first to fourth place after her final performance.
The Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee are now under fire, as the public accused them of putting the young athlete under so much pressure at such a young age, and potentially destroying any hope for further competition on Valieva’s part. However, it was not all bad for the ROC team on the ice rink, as 17-year-old Alexandra Trusova became the first woman to ever land five quadruple jumps in a routine at the Olympics.
In the Short Program, USA’s Nathan Chen broke a world record with a score of 113.97, simultaneously taking the gold. Kjeld Nuis and Ireen Wüst of The Netherlands won the men’s and women’s 1500-meter races, respectively, and secured two gold medals for the Dutch. Meanwhile, Jonna Sundling secured the gold at her first-ever Olympic games when she finished first in Cross Country Skiing.
One of the more surprising outcomes for the games was in the Curling Mixed Doubles event, when Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Italy upset Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten of Norway 8-5, leading them to a golden victory.
In the hockey rink, things got heated when the women’s ice hockey teams from the USA and Canada faced off. Out of the seven gold medals ever handed out for Women’s Ice Hockey, all of the medals have either gone to Canada or the USA. Tensions were high when the two finally faced off in the final game. Barely pulling ahead, the Canadians took their fifth Women’s Ice Hockey gold medal home after beating the USA 3-2.
On the men’s side, Olympic history was made once again when Finland brought about a narrow win over ROC with a score of 2-1, to win the country’s first-ever Men’s Ice Hockey gold medal.
Out on the halfpipe, Ailing Gu won her second gold medal in the Women’s Halfpipe. This victory has landed Gu her third gold medal in Freestyle Skiing, making her the first female athlete ever to win three different medals in three different Freestyle Skiing events (Women’s Big Air, Women’s Halfpipe, Women’s Slopestyle). Chloe Kim took home her second gold medal in the Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe, after becoming the youngest gold medalist for Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe four years ago at 17 years old.
Finally, tears were shed as the snowboarding legend from team USA, Shaun White, announced his retirement. White has been to five Olympic games, bringing home gold from three of them. He also holds the most X-Games and Olympic gold medals by a snowboarder. Finishing fourth overall, White did not medal in his final Olympic Games and did not complete his final run. However, Shaun’s legacy in the sport will last forever, and I am unsure that we will ever see a Halfpipe snowboarder as successful and as long-lasting as Shaun White.
The 2022 Winter Olympics were everything we could have hoped for. With plenty of Olympic and world records being set and legacies beginning, continuing, and ending, these Olympic Games served as an amazing reminder of the unity that sport brings around the world. Now that the festivities in Beijing have come to an end, it’s time to get excited for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which are to be held in Paris from July 26 through August 11. Sadly, the next time we’ll see our favorites on the slopes or in the ice rink again won’t be until 2026, when we’ll see them in Milano Cortina.