Winter Olympics 2022: The international stars and every Aussie medal hopeful
If Australia wants to bring home a big medal haul from Beijing, it’s not going to be easy. Here are the international stars gunning for our Aussie heroes.
Winter Olympics
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Australia will never have better chances to end its Winter Olympic medal drought in Beijing, but there are a raft of high-profile stars who stand in their way.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST STARS IN BEIJING
Julian Linden looks at the best of the best from the international contingent in China.
Eileen Gu (China) freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing
American-born but competing for China after controversially switching nationalities in 2019, Gu is poised to be one of the most scrutinised athletes at Beijing – both on and off the snow. Already in high demand as a fashion model, the teenager is carrying the hopes of the host-nation China and has gold in her sights. She is already the reigning freestyle skiing world champion in half-pipe and slopestyle and has also entered big air.
Shaun White (USA)
Snowboarding
The greatest snowboarder the world has seen. Beijing will be White’s fifth – and probably last – appearance at the Winter Olympics. Once known as the ‘flying tomato’ because of his long, flowing red hair, he’s got a more corporate look these days but hasn’t lost any of the skill that’s seen him already win three Olympic gold medals in half-pipe.
Kamila Valieva (Russia)
Figure skating
Just 15, Valieva is the latest figure skating phenomenon out of Russia. Last year’s world junior champion, she holds the world record for the highest scoring routine and has already won this year’s European senior title. One of the few women in the world who can land quadruple and triple jumps in the same program. Look for a Russian sweep of the medals in Beijing.
Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)
Figure skating
The only Asian man to win the men’s singles gold after he won his first Olympic gold as a teenager at Sochi in 2014. He repeated as champion at PyeongChang four years later and is now bidding to join legendary Swede Gillis Grafstrom (1920, 1924, 1928) as the only men to complete the three-peat.
Chloe Kim (USA)
Snowboarding
Korean-American who became an instant megastar after she won gold at the last Winter Olympics when she was just 17 with a dazzling routine that included some of the hardest tricks in snowboarding. Hasn’t missed a beat since, winning back to back world titles in half-pipe and strongly expected to win again in Beijing.
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Francesco Friedrich (Germany)
Bobsleigh
Perhaps the most dominant single competitor at the Winter Olympics even though he competes in two and fours. The German is already being described as the GOAT of bobsleighing and he isn’t close to finishing yet. He has been unstoppable since 2017 – winning 10 world championships and two Olympic gold medals in both the two-man and four-man events.
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
Alpine skiing
The biggest star in women’s alpine skiing. Won her first Olympic gold in slalom in 2014 then her second in 2018 in giant slalom, as well as a silver in the combined. Already a legend of the sport, the 26-year-old could be elevated to a whole new stratosphere after entering all five individual events in Beijing – slalom, giant slalom, downhill, super-G and combined.
Jarl Magnus Riiber (Norway)
Nordic combined
A sport that most Aussies are probably not too familiar with – combining cross-country skiing and ski jumping – but it is huge in Scandinavia. And there is no bigger star in the sport right now than Riiber. He won a silver medal on his Olympic debut four years ago but is the favourite to collect two possibly three golds in China
Suzanne Schulting (Netherlands)
Short track speed skating
The Dutch have dominated traditional speed skating for years but it wasn’t until Schulting came along that they made much of an impression in short track. She won her country’s first Olympic gold in the women’s 100m in 2018 and four years later she’s even more dominant. At last year’s world championships, she cleaned up with five gold medals and is expected to pocket another big haul in China.
Erin Jackson (USA)
Speed skating
Ranked No. 1 in the world for women’s 500m, Jackson was in danger of missing the Beijing Olympics when she slipped while competing at the US trials and finished third, missing automatic qualification. She was thrown an extraordinary lifeline when her teammate Brittany Bowe gave up her spot to Jackson.
Winter Olympics: 10 Aussie stars who can achieve glory
Can Australia break its gold medal drought at the Winter Olympics?
The Aussies haven’t struck gold at the winter games since 2010, despite claiming six medals in that time.
Australia does boast a No. 1 ranked athlete this time around, and a host of other talented athletes who are in the running for medals.
Find out all our medal hopes at the Winter Olympics.
Laura Peel
Freestyle Aerial Skiing
One of Australia’s best medal hopes. Ranked number one in the world, Peel has won the crystal globe as the World Cup winner for each of the past two seasons and is getting better than ever. She just became the third woman to land the notoriously difficult quadruple twisting triple backflip. Her score for the jump would have got her on the podium in the men’s event held at the same time. From Canberra, Beijing will be her third Olympics.
Jakara Anthony
Freestyle Mogul Skiing
Just missed out on an Olympic medal in PyeongChang when she placed fourth in the final but has grown wings since then. Born in Tropical North Queensland but now based closer to the slopes, she won a silver medal at the 2019 world championships and has finished on the podium in eight of her nine World Cup events this season.
Tess Coady
Snowboard Slopestyle & Big Air
One of the sport’s rising talents, Coady was selected as a teenager to compete at the last Olympics but injured her knee in training and was unable to compete. She missed the entire next season but the Victorian is back to full fitness and making her presence felt at the sport’s top end. Just 20, she won a bronze medal in slopestyle at this year’s world championships in Colorado and won a World Cup event in Switzerland this month.
Belle Brockhoff
Snowboard Cross
Teamed up with Jarryd Hughes to win the 2020 world championship title in the team snowboard cross, an event which has been added to the Olympic program for the first time in Beijing. Already a two-time Olympian, the Melbourne-born Brockhoff was ranked second in the world in the season before the pandemic struck.
Scotty James
Snowboard Half-pipe
Australia’s flag-bearer for the opening ceremony in 2018, James is snowboarding royalty and a megastar on the international circuit. The Victorian has won multiple world titles and X Games gold medals – including the latest this month – as well as a bronze medal in PyeongChang. Only 27, this will be fourth Olympics after he debuted at Vancouver in 2010 as a 15-year-old.
Danielle Scott
Freestyle Aerial Skiing
A former gymnast who turned her attention to aerial skiing when she was in her early teens and has been one of Australia’s most consistent performers ever since, winning bronze and silver medals at world championships and a World Cup event as recently as December.
Jarryd Hughes
Snowboard Cross
Was chosen to carry the flag at the closing ceremony at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea after winning a silver medal. A star performer from the moment he went on the international circuit, the Sydneysider also won a X Games gold medal and a mixed team world crown with Brockoff.
Bree Walker
Bobsleigh / Monobob
A former hurdler from Melbourne who has made a seamless transition to winter sports, competing in both two-woman bobsleigh and monobob, which is being held at the Olympics for the first time. With her natural, explosive speed Walker has become an instant hit in the solo event, finishing on the medal podium in seven of her last nine World Series events, including two wins.
Matt Graham
Freestyle Mogul Skiing
The silver medallist in moguls at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Graham won the World Cup season title in 2021 to become the first Australian man to win the crystal globe for moguls since in 2007. Had an injury late last year but has recovered and is set to compete at his third Olympics.
Jackie Narracott
Skeleton
Looming as the bolter of the team. Had never won a World Cup event in her career until this month when she won the prestigious St Moritz race, the most prestigious on the whole circuit. Not only that, she broke the track record so goes into Beijing on a roll and brimming with confidence.
Fast facts: How well do you know the Beijing Winter Olympics?
The Winter Olympics were first held in 1924. This edition is the 24th.
Beijing is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics after the Summer Games were staged in the Chinese capital in 2008.
Beijing was awarded the Winter Olympics in 2015 at the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur. The only other candidate was Almaty, Kazakhstan. China narrowly won the vote 44-40.
The Games will open on February 4 and close on February 20, although some qualifying events will be conducted on February 2 and 3.
Organisers are expecting around 2,800 athletes from about 90 different countries to compete at the Games. Russia is still banned because of its doping offences but its athletes will be allowed to compete under the acronym ROC as long there’s no mention of Russia or use of the national flag and anthem. North Korea is also currently suspended for refusing to attend the Tokyo Summer Games.
Australia is sending a team of 43 athletes, its third biggest ever.
There will be a record 109 gold medals up for grabs in Beijing after the addition of seven new events from the last Winter Olympics: women’s monobob, men’s and women’s big air and mixed team events in speed skating, ski jumping, aerials and snowboard cross.
There are 15 disciplines in all: Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, nordic combined, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding, speed skating. Australia qualified athletes in 10 different sports.
There are three different cluster sites for the Games, one in Beijing city and the other two in nearby mountains.
Beijing will host the ceremonies and most of the ice events, including figure skating, speed skating, curling and ice hockey, plus some snow events. They will use some of the same venues that were used for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, including the ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium where Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won his first gold medals as well as the “Water Cube’ where American swimmer Michael Phelps captured an unprecedented eight golds.
Yanqing is a northern suburban district about 80km from the city centre that can be reached in about 20 minutes by high-speed railway. It will host alpine skiing plus the sliding events (bobsleigh, skeleton and luge.)
The Zhangjiakou zone in neighbouring Hebei province is about 220km from central Beijing, and 50 minutes by the railway line specifically built for the Games. This cluster will host snowboard, freestyle skiing, cross country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined and biathlon events.
A limited number of local spectators will be allowed to attend the games but foreign visitors are banned because of the pandemic.
Everyone attending the Games, including athletes, will be subjected to strict rules around Covid.
THE MUST SEE MOMENTS OF THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES
Wednesday 2 February and Thursday 3 February: It’s a historic start to Seven’s coverage with Australia’s first ever curling team in action. Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt play five mixed doubles matches before the Opening Ceremony even begins.
Thursday 3 February: Eight Australians feature in the moguls. Coverage on Seven from 8.30pm AEDT.
Friday 4 February: Opening Ceremony from 11.00pm.
Saturday 5 Feb: Men’s Moguls Final – featuring Aussie Olympic 2018 Silver Medallist Matt Graham. Can he win Australia’s first medal of the games?
Sunday 6 Feb: Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final – Young Gun Tess Coady
Women’s Moguls Final – Rising superstar Jakara Anthony and four-time Olympian Britt Cox will be aiming for the podium. Also catch the speedsters in the Men’s Downhill & Men’s Luge.
Monday 7 Feb: Short Track – Men’s 1000m Final. It’s the 20th anniversary of Steven Bradbury’s famous gold in this event.
Women’s Giant Slalom – USA sensation Mikaela Shiffrin.
Tuesday 8 Feb: Figure Skating – Men’s Short Program. Aussie Brendan Kerry. Freeski Big Air – Women’s Final.
Wednesday 9 Feb: Men’s & Women’s Half-pipe begins. Scotty James v Shaun White
Women’s Snowboard Cross Final – Australian’s Belle Brockhoff and Josie Baff in action.
Thursday 10 Feb: Men’s Snowboard Cross Final – with Aussie Olympic 2018 Silver Medallist Jarryd Hughes.
Women’s Half-pipe – USA star Chloe Kim.
Figure Skating – Men’s Gold medal is decided.
Friday 11 Feb: Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final – the showdown of the games with Aussie Scotty James and three-time gold medallist Shaun White.
Saturday 12 Feb: Mixed Team Snowboard Cross – Australia is the current world champion in this event.
Women’s Skeleton – Jac Narracott flying head first down the track.
Sunday 13 Feb: Monobob – Aussie World cup medallist Bree Walker solo down the bobsleigh track. Women’s Aerials gets underway, featuring Australia’s world champion Laura Peel.
Monday 14 Feb: Figure Skating – Ice Dance Gold, Monobob – gold is decided, Women’s Aerials Final, Laura Peel and Danielle Scott.
Tuesday 15 Feb: Figure Skating – Women’s Short Program, Snowboard Big Air Finals, Alpine Skiing – Women’s Downhill.
Wednesday 16 Feb: Alpine Skiing – Men’s Slalom, Men’s Aerials Final.
Thursday 17 Feb: Ice Hockey – Women’s Final, Figure Skating – Women’s Gold, Women’s Ski Cross (Sami Kennedy-Sim).
Friday 18 Feb: Men’s Ski Cross, Women’s Freeski Halfpipe.
Saturday 19 Feb: Figure Skating – Pairs Gold, Curling – Men’s Gold.
Sunday 20 Feb: Bobsleigh – Four-Man Gold, Ice Hockey – Men’s Final, Curling – Women’s Gold.
See it all on 7, 7mate and 7plus.
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