After a very long four years, both in Olympic time, and Covid times, the Winter Olympics are back. This year we head back to Bejing. Bejing is the first city to ever host the Summer and Winter Games. Like the Tokyo games just four months ago, there will be no fans, but the athletes are here to play. The Stars and Stripes as always will have a big presence and will be favorites in many competitions. Here are some people you may know, and others that will become household names for Team USA.
Snowboarding- Chloe Kim and Shaun White
Chloe Kim is a snowboarding superstar. This will be her second Olympic Games and after 2018 she’s the favorite in the halfpipe. Kim’s resume at 21 is ridiculous. 6 X-Games golds, 2 World Championships, an Olympic Gold. Chloe Kim will hit the slopes and prove again why she’s the best woman in the snow. Shaun White is an action sports icon. White’s won everything under the sun in snowboarding. He’s been doing this since he was a kid. The 2022 Games will be his fourth and final Olympics. White had a magical 2018 Olympics and will look to prove at 35 he’s still the guy. This is the final Olympics for White, and we may never see him in a competitive setting again, lets all enjoy the Flying Tomato one last time.
Curling
In 2018 the Men’s US Curling Team was one of the feel-good stories of the Olympics. It was four friends who happened to be very good at curling and then won a Gold Medal. Those friends, John Shuster, Chris Plys, Matt Hamilton, John Landsteiner, and Colin Hufman. Three of the five were on the team that won the Gold, and are eager to repeat. I’ll be honest, curling is hard to find stats and information about. But like ping pong in the Summer Games, curling is very easy to follow, and we watch it. Run it back, US Curling Team.
Hockey
Unfortunately, the NHL isn’t sending its players to Bejing. The men’s team is full of US players who are overseas now, some college guys, and a few more. On the flip side, the Women’s team is in Bejing, and they are loaded. Team USA will have players like, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight, Megan Keller, and many more great names. The matchup we all want to see is the United States vs Canada. We get that February 8th, for sure. Should both teams advance out of Group A, they could meet again should the bracket work that way. The women’s team is so good. Like everyone I’ve mentioned, they’re the defending Gold Medalists, and a repeat is very possible. Even though there are no NHL’ers this go around, we are all more than capable of supporting the women’s team, cause they’re a wagon.
Some other great people to keep an eye on are, Jaime Anderson in snowboard slopestyle and big air. Nathan Chen, in figure skating. Mikaela Shifrin in alpine skiing, and so many more.
These games will be very different from previous Winter Olympics, I do think we will enjoy them just as much. Hope all the athletes stay safe, and most importantly, go Team USA!
