Recapping the 2022 Winter Olympics
Photo by Olympics.com
So, it's time for the Winter Olympics once again, and if you’re like (arguably) most students on this campus in the rush of test prep and last-minute assignments you completely forgot. Never fear, the recap is here!
The 24th Winter Olympic Games began in Beijing, China on the 4th of February with an opening that totaled out at four hours and eighteen minutes (also known as an incredibly long time). The first night began with round one of Alpine Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating (the best part of the Winter Olympics), Ice Hockey, Luge, and Ski Jumping.
The events scheduled for Friday, February 10th—hopefully, the same day you’re reading this article—include another round of Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsledding, Cross Country Skiing, Curling, Ice Hockey, Short Track Speed Skating, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, and finishing out the day’s events with Speed Skating. As of the 9th of February, Norway is leading in terms of medals won at a total of twelve (five of which being gold). Currently, Poland is last with only one bronze medal, and in the spirit of patriotism, I will mention that the US is in 5th place with 9 medals.
A highlight of this year’s games is American skater Nathan Chen winning gold this week, skating to a medley of the songs “Rocketman,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and “Bennie and the Jets” all by Sir Elton John. Chen is the 7th American man to achieve gold in the Men’s Single Free Skate. Chloe Kim, also of the US team, won gold for Snowboarding in the Women’s Halfpipe section. This is not Kim’s first gold medal, her first medal having been won in the 2018 Winter Olympics in the same category at the young age of 17.
Unfortunately, all was not sunshine and lollipops, as COVID—surprising no one at this point—continues to complicate things. Another American male skater, Vincent Zhou, tested positive despite all precautions and was therefore unable to compete. As of February 8th, roughly thirty-two athletes are reported to have tested positive and be in isolation, but the games will continue as planned as far as many are concerned.
But now that you’ve been (vaguely) caught up, you’re probably wondering where you can watch the actual games and maybe how to catch up on missed events. Well, individual events for the most part can be found on YouTube, but ongoing events can be watched through NBC. But what if you don’t want to just watch individual events? For those with a subscription to the Peacock streaming service, you can find events live and on playback sorted by category, as well as news coverage from a multitude of stations, so you can stay up to date on the goings on surrounding the games as well as the actual score.
Well, hopefully, this article was able to shed some light on what you might’ve missed. We know it’s not nearly as exciting as the sports on campus, but hey, the Winter Olympics only happen every four years. You might as well sit back, grab a bowl of popcorn, and make massively underqualified commentary on the prowess of these athletes in the comfort of your own home.
