Daily Archives: February 7, 2022

BEIJING, China If youre going to freeze to death at a Winter Olympics in China, do it early, is what I always say. And so, as the Games began, I took a train, a bus, a cab, another bus and a gondola to the mens downhill, where temperatures were rumored to be in the negative four-millions. As it turns out, it actually wasnt that cold. But it was apparently too windy to race down a mountain like an insane person, and so the downhill was postponed.

Andrew P. Scott/USA TODAY Sports

We are three days into the Olympics, and despite a few logistical mishaps, a lack of snow not made by humans, a host country with an atrocious human-rights record, and the strong suspicion that everybody here knows when we poop, I am happy to report that countries are bonding over the one thing that unites us all: stupid COVID protocols. There are small panes of useless plexiglass between diners, people perpetually disinfecting random surfaces, and rules that prohibit us from sitting next to each other on the bus unless there are a lot of people on the bus, in which case the official position is whatever. At the alpine venue media center in the Yanqing zone, if you lower your mask in the first-floor workroom, a volunteer will immediately tell you to raise it or go upstairs to the second floor, which is exactly as crowded as the first floor.

There was something mildly reassuring about knowing that a government that wants to control everything still cant control the wind. Unpredictable weather is as much a part of the Winter Olympics as balletic skaters getting robbed by corrupt judges. Wind delays could and do happen anywhere, even at a real ski resort.

It was a reminder that these Olympics, like all others, are going to create spontaneous moments of joy, even if the few people allowed to attend events are not allowed to celebrate them because of more stupid COVID protocols. Fans are allowed to clap but not cheer from behind their masks.

Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

The first moment of surprising American joy came Sunday, when Julia Marino won silver in the snowboard slopestyle. Marinos second run (of three) put her in first place with one competitor left: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, who managed a gold-medal winning run for New Zealands first-ever Winter Games gold medal.

That moment will linger for yearsfor Marino, for Sadowski-Synott and for New Zealandand there will be more like it. Over the next two weeks, the 2022 Beijing Games are going to prove that the Olympics are unbreakable. You could put them anywhereand for the right price, the IOC would.

This week, a handful of American sporting celebrities will take a shot at shaping that overused and misguided word: legacy. Starting with Mondays giant slalom, Mikaela Shiffrin could affirm with the American public what has become obvious in the skiing world: There has never been anyone like her. We will see that Chloe Kim is no longer the giggly teenager who dominated and tweeted her way into our hearts in PyeongChang. Nathan Chen can win gold and become an American rarity: a man who becomes a star in figure skating.

Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

If you are wondering whether these Olympics have been fun so far, the answer is well, not really, and even if they were, I would not risk saying so. Fun is greeted with suspicion. Its going to be a hard couple weeks for the athletes, and circumstances will surely have some effect on the competition. We could see a repeat of what happened to Simone Biles in Tokyo, even if it is on a smaller scale and doesnt make international news. The combination of Olympic pressure and a sterile, soulless environment will wear on people. And, as in Tokyo, there are no friends or family here for support.

But the Olympics go on. They are not just an exercise in identifying the best in the world; they help athletes discover the best within themselves. There is nothing quite like having an Olympic medal on the line and the wind at your back you know, as long as its not too much wind.

More Winter Olympics Coverage:

U.S. Figure Skating Isnt Too Concerned About Falling Short in the Team Event Polish Luger Overcomes Gruesome Injury to Compete at Olympics The Mysterious Case of the Missing Luge Equipment

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Extreme Weather Shows That Even These Olympics Will Have Unpredictable Moments - Sports Illustrated

Let's say you were a gold-medal winning athlete packing for China and the Winter Olympics ... look I ain't one either, but let's just pretend for a second. What would be the most important things you'd want to bring from home?

I asked my buddy, Matthew Hamilton, who is probably the most famous curler in America today.

At the XXIII Winter Olympic Games aka PyeongChang 2018, Hamilton was half of the team who earned the United States its very first gold medal in curling.

After he qualified for the XXIV Olympic Games in Beijing, China, I texted my golfing buddy and fellow sneakerhead asking: "Hey man, what are the most important things you're taking with you this trip? Because China ain't got Wal-Mart or Target if you forget something!"

The following is what he sent me in reply.

Fly footwear

"Some wild and crazy curling shoes! My guys at Project Blitz really hooked it up. They are the Nike SB Dunk Low 'What the P-Rod.' They are the perfect shoe for a guy like me!" -- MH

Matt is a wild sneakerhead. Last Olympics he wore the Nike PG3 Nasa Blue Apollo 15 Mission editions specially modified for curling.

It only took Hamilton's "guy" one day to modify this iteration for curling.

Hometown coffee

Hamilton is taking specialty coffee to China. The coffee pictured is from a local, gourmet coffee house in Duluth, Minnesota, where the skip of Hamilton's curling team, John Schuster, lives.

"Coffee is a must for me. I gotta have my coffee and travel coffee maker! I love coffee, plus it's a reminder of home." -- MH

'Stache care is a must

The epic, push broom mustache has become Hamilton's trademark look. At the 2018 Games, he drew comparisons to a mustachioed plumber by the name of Mario. So the 'stache has to look right.

"Some gear to keep my mustache fresh and a shirt to promote the charity I'm working with! Stachestrong ... 100% of donations go to grants and research funds." -- MH

Bringing the flat brims

"My hats that I'll be competing in! I like a clean straight brim and these are as clean as they get." -- MH

Hot sauce in his bag

"HOT SAUCE!!!! I really love a little heat in my food and this is something I wish I had packed last Olympics."

Follow up question (as a hot sauce lover), give me a go-to food for each sauce while you're in China?

"Well the Sriracha goes on any Asian dish. The Frank's goes on any classic American food. Burger, mac-n-cheese, etc." -- MH

Headphones

"My headphones! I need my music. It helps me get into the zone before a game. And it's something to do while I kick it between games." -- MH

Time keeper

"My Oak & Oscar watch. Multiple straps so I can switch up the look and keep it fresh." -- MH

Fresh fits

"My uniforms! Columbia really went all out this year making sure we look super fly on the ice." -- MH

There's magic in that hat

"My lucky hat! In the words of Michael Scott, 'I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little 'stitious.' This goes to every event I play and goes in the back pocket." -- MH

Mystery care packages

Home is a long way from Beijing. So, take a little home with you.

"Care package from my wife!!! She makes sure I have something to look forward to each day. I'm a very lucky guy."

I had to ask, the care packages from the wifey...are they a surprise or do you know what she put in them?

"Not a clue." -- MH

Bonus extra credit question

Is there anything you're taking to China you wish you didn't have to?

(There was about a 10 minute lull before I got this reply).

"Yeah. A 'burner' phone. We were warned about malware and getting hacked, so my personal phone won't be used while I'm there."

"That makes sense and sucks at the same time. Better safe than hacked," I texted back.

"For sure." -- MH

And that was his last text to me before beginning the journey to try and win another gold medal.

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2022 Winter Olympics -- What does an Olympian pack? We asked curler Matthew Hamilton ahead of Beijing - ESPN

Five Beijing Olympic storylines to know including stars to watch

The Beijing Olympics are the second Games to take place in the pandemic era. Here is what you need to know.

Michelle Hanks, USA TODAY

I'm USA TODAYeditor-in-chief Nicole Carroll, and this is The Backstory, insights into our biggest stories of the week. If you'd like to get The Backstoryin your inbox every week,sign up here.

Lori Nickel thought she was stuck.

The columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, iscovering her first Olympics and missed the window for morning COVID-19 testing. The list of sports Nickel will be covering includes cross country skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding, as well as speed skating, and is going to require a fair amount of coordination.

But the first order of business is to leave the hotel. And you cannot leave the hotel without taking your dailycoronavirus test.

"I thought, 'Oh boy, here we go,'" she said. "'I'm quarantined the first day.'"

She asked nearby volunteers for help. They saidthey'd try.

Five minutes later, ayoung Chinese volunteer, in full hazmat suit,was at her doorto give her a COVID-19 test. Nickel was free to go.

She thanked him with Milwaukee Bucks gear.

"I gave him a T-shirt, thehat, everything I had," she said. "And I had a note that I had translated andsimplified in Chinese just saying, 'Thank you so much for helping me.'"

He was thrilled.

"We don't speak the same languages," she said, "but we arestill communicating."

Sometimes the problems are things we can never anticipate.One of our photo editors traveling to the Games was a few seats behind someone on the planewho tested positive atarrival. He's now a "close contact" and must test twice a day, ride in a separate taxi and eat by himself for seven days.

Overall, our journalists' movements aretightly controlled.

In addition to daily testing, media must wear masks at all timesin public spacesand stay a safe distance from others. There is a "mixed zone" after competitions, where athletes will come and talk to reporterssix feet away.AllU.S. athletes and other members of thedelegation must be vaccinated to attend.

Competitions are held across three clusters: Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.The Yanqing Zone is approximately 47 milesnorthwest of Beijings city center and the Zhangjiakou Zone is about 112 miles northwest of the capital.

The USA TODAY Network has23 staffers there, distributed across the three zones. It's about a four-hour bus ride toZhangjiakou,the farthest location from Beijing.

"Games organizers in Beijing are taking coronavirus precautionary measures tonew heights," reported USA TODAY foreign correspondentKim Hjelmgaard. "For a start, athletes, coaches, observers and media are separated from 'mainland China' by a closed-loop Olympic bubble thatcordons themoff from the outside world. Most participants arrivein China on special charter flights and enterthe loop as soon as they land.

"Their experiences of China will probably be limited to the airport, a hotel room and Olympic venues, which are connected by a closed transportation system that includes buses, taxis and high-speed trains."

Everyone in the Olympic bubble encounters robots designed to spray disinfectant in thehotels or make cocktails (really). They alsoprepare and deliver food in the press center dining hall. Sports editor Roxanna Scott said with the tight controls, the dining hall is journalists' only entertainment.

Beijing is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Time. We'll be reporting results as they happen. Scott's day starts early and ends past midnight, when she hands off to sports editors back in the U.S.

There are no international spectators, and it's unknown how many locals, if any, will be allowed to attend the Games.Tickets are distributed by organizations affiliated with China's Communist Party. Hjelmgaard reported Chinese authorities requested spectators and teammates clap rather than shout when they want to cheer on athletes, hoping that will cut down on thespread of the virus. Reporters aren't allowed to interview any spectators in the stands.

Visual journalistHarrison Hill is covering his first Olympics. Hillwas supposed to go to the Tokyo Games last summer but caught COVID-19 right beforehand. This time around, his Los Angeles roommates made sure to be "extra safe" around him.

"I felt really good when I didn't get a call in my hotel room," Hill said after his first COVID-19 test in Beijing. "Because if you don't get a call that signals you're good to go."

Hillwill be covering bobsled, skeleton and luge and also the opening ceremony.

"I'm going in withfresh eyes," he said.

Her husband, Nic, and toddler son Nico also tested positive and are quarantined apart.

Taylor is a gold-medal hopeful in two events, monobob and two-man. She said she hadn't been home since Nov. 10 trying to avoid COVID-19, only to get it in Beijing. The three-time Olympic medalist needs to produce consecutive negative tests within a 24-hour span in order to be released from isolation and compete.

Columnist Nancy Armour and visualseditor Sandy Hooper reached out to Taylor to ask if she'd record a video diary for us, to show us what life was like in Olympic quarantine. She did just that, pointing her cellphone around the crowded isolation hotel room. Taylor started the video saying, "Hi, everyone, this is Cribs: Olympic edition, quarantine edition."

Olympian Elana Meyers Taylor shows daily life in COVID isolation

Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor tested positive for COVID on Jan. 29 inside the Beijing Olympic bubble. Her husband Nic and son Nico also tested positive and are quarantined apart.

Sandy Hooper, USA TODAY

Hooper has been reaching out to athletes and governing bodies for weeks to get video for our coverage. "It's just trying to be creative with the limited access that we have," shesaid.

Armour has covered every Olympics since 1996 and will cover Alpine skiing, womens bobsled and other sports in Beijing. Back in 2008, she wrote, the International Olympic Committeethought giving the Summer Olympics to China would help the country improve its record on human rights, which didn't happen. Armoursays the IOC has sold itself out in giving the Olympics to Beijing a second time.

"Having dazzled the world with the Summer Olympics in 2008, and knowing the Chinese government would spare nothing and no one to do it again, the IOC saw Beijing as the safe and easy choice (for 2022)," Armour wrote this week.

"All it had to do was turn a blind eye when China suppressed dissent among its people. Stripped Hong Kong of its autonomy and cracked down on religious freedom in Tibet. Imprisoned more than a million of the minority Muslim Uyghur population and subjected them to slave labor, forced sterilization and abortion."

Armour said she thinks China isusing this closed COVID-19 loop as an excuse to not allow us to see those types of things: "Normally our news reporter here would be out speaking with regular people in China, he'd be going to Tiananmen Square and talking to people. We don't have the opportunity to do that this time, and I think that's done withpurpose."

Still, points out columnist Christine Brennan, there are reasons to cheer, to hope these Games are successful.

"Why? Not for Chinas leaders no, never for them but for the athletes," she wrote this week. "For most of them, this will be theirone and only chance to compete at an Olympic Games. Its not their fault that the Olympics are here. They had absolutely nothing to do with that decision.

"This is the stage the IOC has given them for the grandest moment of their careers, and in most cases, their young lives."

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Nicole Carroll is the editor-in-chief of USA TODAY. Reach her at EIC@usatoday.com orfollow her onTwitterhere. Thank you forsupporting our journalism.You can subscribe here for $1 a week for 52 weeks.

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Behind the scenes at the Winter Olympics: Journalists in a bubble, robots making cocktails - USA TODAY

Five Beijing Olympic storylines to know including stars to watch

The Beijing Olympics are the second Games to take place in the pandemic era. Here is what you need to know.

Michelle Hanks, USA TODAY

BEIJING Yes, were doing this again.

Less than six months after the Summer Games in Tokyo ended, the Winter Games in Beijing open Friday. The city was a controversial choice to host theGames from the onset, given its lack of actual snow, and recent events made the decision more problematic.

Chinas record on human rights is appalling, particularly its treatment of the Muslim-majority Uyghur population characterizedas genocideby the United States, which is staging a diplomatic boycott in protest, along with several other Western nations. The COVID-19 pandemic that forced a years postponement of the Tokyo Olympics is even worse because of the omicron variant, giving the term positive test a whole new meaning for athletes.

EXCLUSIVE WINTER OLYMPICS UPDATES:Sign up fortextsto get the latest news and behind-the-scenes coverage from Beijing.

OLYMPIC NEWSLETTER:The best Olympic stories straight to your inbox

Despite all that, Beijing organizers and the International Olympic Committee are plowing ahead with the Olympics, which run through Feb. 20, and the Paralympics, which are March 4-13. Given that inevitability, heres a look at 10 questions surrounding the Beijing Games:

Question: Why are the Beijing Games happening?

Answer: Tokyo proved that an Olympics could be held in the midst of a pandemic, so there was no way the IOC or Beijing organizers were going to cancel or even postpone theWinter Games. There is simply too much money at stake for the IOC in the form of broadcast rights and sponsorship deals, and pulling the Olympics off after Japan did it is a matter of national pride for China.

Besides, athletes really do want the chance to compete. For many, the Olympics are the pinnacle of their career, their one chance to be noticed and celebrated by people who are not already diehard fans of their sports. The window of opportunity for Olympic athletes is small, so any delay would effectively close it for many.

The COVID-19 protocols will be even stricter than they were in Tokyo, resulting in some athletes being sidelined. The venues will again be largely empty of fans, making for sterile and surreal atmospheres.

But the Beijing Games will produce their share of magical moments, as all Games do, and some athletes will find their lives changed forever. Its why the Olympics are so captivating, and these will be no different.

Q: Why are they happening in Beijing?

A: Because no one in Europe wanted them.

Cities in Germany, Poland, Sweden and Ukraine kicked the tires on a bid before deciding it wasnt worth it literally and figuratively, in most cases. The IOC had its hopes pinned on Oslo, Norway, but citizens were so turned off by the organizations arrogance and greedthat public support for the bid crumbled, and the city dropped out less than a year before the vote on a 2022 host.

That left the IOC to choose between Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, neither of which was a great option. Almaty had never hosted an event of this scale, which made the IOC wary. China has little history as a winter sports nation, to say nothing of the aforementioned lack of natural snow and broken promises of reform the last time Beijing hosted an Olympics.

But the IOC at least knew what it was getting with China. The Summer Games in 2008 were a dazzling spectacle, and Olympic officials were confident the country would spare nothing to ensure theWinter Games were equally successful. Given the vote for a 2022 host city occurred in 2015, when the IOC was knee-deep in the disorganized nightmare of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, its easy to see why stability had such appeal.

Q: What impact will COVID-19have?

A: Thoughthe IOC and Beijing organizers didnt insist that athletes be vaccinated, they did everything but, imposing a 21-day quarantine upon arrival for anyone who is not. (The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said last fall that its Olympians and Olympic hopefuls would have to be fully vaccinated.)

Just as in Tokyo, athletes needed to have two negative coronavirustests before arriving in Beijing, including one within 72 hours of departure. They are tested every day, and a closed loop system that prohibits contact with any non-Games personnel is designed to stem outbreaks.

The higher transmissibility of omicron makes it inevitable that some athletes will have their Olympic dreams cut short. Austrias Marita Kramer, the gold medal favorite in womens ski jumping, is out after testing positive for the coronavirus last weekend. U.S. bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, a three-time Olympic medalist who is a medal contender in both monobob and two-man, is in quarantine after testing positive two days after her arrival.

Still others, including Mikaela Shiffrin, Shaun White and Meyers Taylors teammate Kaillie Humphries, had their training disruptedafter getting COVID-19.

Its one of those things, Meyers Taylor told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. We were trying to do everything right, (but) its still hitting everybody.

Q: COVID-19 disruptions aside, who will be the stars of these Games?

A: Just as they did four years ago, White, Shiffrin, Chloe Kim and Nathan Chen top the list.

This is the final Olympic appearance for White, a three-time gold medalist who has done as much as anyone to transform snowboarding from its outcast origins into a mainstream sport with mass appeal. He wont be a favorite for gold, and maybe not even a medal of any color at these Olympics. At 35, White is outdone on the most gravity-defying tricks by Japans Ayumu Hirano and Australias Scotty James, among others. Hampered by an ankle injury and that bout with COVID-19, Whitestruggled in the run-up to Beijing and needed a last-minute competition in Switzerland to secure his spot on the U.S. team.

But White has become synonymous with his sport. Knowing this is his last major competition is enough to make it a must-watch.

Shiffrin has a pair of gold medals and a silver from her first two Olympic appearances and could add a bunch more in Beijing. She is arguably the best slalom skier in the sports history, setting the record for most World Cup victories in a single discipline last month with her 47th win in slalom, and she'll be a favorite for gold in slalom and giant slalom.

Shiffrin is not simply a technical specialist. If weather and her training permits, she wants to do all five Alpine racesand would be a medal contender in all of them.

A spot on the podium in any race would tie Shiffrin with Julia Mancuso for most Olympic medals by an American woman. Two more golds would match the Olympic record for Alpine skiing held by Norways Kjetil Andre Aamodt and Croatias JanicaKostelic.

At 17, Kim was the darling of the Pyeongchang Games in 2018 in South Korea. She became the youngest person to win gold in Olympic snowboarding, in the halfpipe, and her unassuming candidness she tweeted about being hangry in the middle of the competition endeared her to folks who thought corks were made for wine bottles and backside was a body part.

Kim took time off from snowboarding after Pyeongchang, spending a year at Princeton. That absence did nothing to diminish her skills, and she is once again the one everyone will be chasing.

Fingers crossed that we get the showdown between Chen and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu that was so hotly anticipated four years ago.

Chens bomb in the short program in Pyeongchang ended any chance he had for a medal, let alone challenging Hanyu for gold. Since then,Chen has claimed three world titles and comes to Beijing with a much different outlook than he had four years ago.

"I was a kid, not really knowing exactly what the Olympics was, Chen said this week. I didnt have fun with it."

Others to keep an eye on? Meyers Taylor and Humphries, who will be medal contenders in both of the womens bobsled events; the U.S. womens hockey team; and Jessie Diggins, who could give the USA its first individual gold medal in cross-country skiing.

2022 Beijing Olympics: What you need to know about venues, new sports, weather, budget

The 2022 Winter Olympics are near: Here are23 Team USA athletes you need to know before you watch

Q: Wait, what happened to the NHL players?

A: Blame COVID-19. After 100-plus games were canceled in November, December and January, the league decided it needed to play through the planned three-week Olympic break or risk disrupting the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.

There will still be some notable players in Beijing.

The biggest name is Canadas Owen Power, the overall No. 1 pick in last years NHL draft. Many expectPower to be in the NHL before the season ends, and the Beijing Games will give Buffalo Sabres fans a glimpse of what they have to look forward to. Captaining Team Canada is Eric Staal, a Stanley Cup winner with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and part of the team that won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010.

Although the name Jieke Kailiaosi might not be familiar, the Anglicized version will be. Jake Chelios, son of NHL Hall of Famer and four-time Olympian Chris Chelios, is one of 19 foreign-born players on Chinas roster. The younger Chelios has spent the past three seasons in Beijing playing for Kunlun Red Star, Chinas only professional hockey team.

Q: What should we expect from Beijing?

A: Beijing is the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games, and some of the venues will look familiar to those who watched the 2008 Olympics.

The Birds Nest will once again host the opening and closing ceremonies. The Water Cube has been repurposed as the Ice Cube, the venue for curling. Hockey will be played at the Beijing National Indoor Stadium, where gymnastics and trampoline were in 2008. Figure skating and short-track speedskating will take place at the Capital Indoor Stadium, used for volleyball in 2008.

Most of the outdoor events will take place outside Beijing, in Yanqing (Alpine skiing, bobsled) and Zhangjiakou (snowboarding, freestyle, cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping and Nordic combined). There is little natural snowfall in either area, meaning Beijing organizers have made tons literally of artificial snow.

Q: Are there new sports or events?

A: Yes! Seven of them.

Monobob has been added for womens bobsled, and there ismens and womens Big Air in freestyle skiing. There are four new mixed-team events, in snowboard cross, aerials, short-track speedskating and ski jumping.

Q: Whats up with Russia these days?

A: The charade is the same as it was in TokyoandPyeongchang.

Technically, Russia is banned from Beijing as punishment for tampering with drug-testing data. Russia was supposed to prove it had reformed its ways from the state-sponsored doping program it devised to rig the medal count in Sochi in 2014, the scheme that earned Russia a ban from Pyeongchang.

But the IOCs definition of a ban is, shall we say, generous. Russia will still have a team in Beijing. Rather than the generic Olympic label, the athletes will be identified as representing the Russian Olympic Committee. Their uniforms will feature Russias red, white and blue colors.

So, no, not an actual ban. Again.

Q: Will athletes protest Chinas human rights abuses?

A: This will be something to watch.

Some athletes have condemned China for repressing its people and slammed the IOC for putting the Olympics here again. Under the IOCs Rule 50, they would be free to make similar statements during the Games at news conferences or in the interview area, though protests or demonstrations on the medals podium andduring competition are prohibited.

China is sensitive to any criticism, and a member of the Beijing organizing committee gave an ominous warning last month to athletes who might considerspeaking out.

Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit, Im sure, will be protected," Yang Shu, deputy director general of international relations for the Beijing Organizing Committee, said, according to The Washington Post. Any behavior or speech that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against the Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment.

The IOC should make it clear to China that the committee has the backs of the athletes and will not tolerate any heavy-handedness. But the next time the IOC stands up to China will be the first.

Q: Speaking of that, where is Peng Shuai?

A: An excellent question.

The IOC has been widely criticized for helping China silence the tennis player and three-time Olympian, who has not spoken freely since she said in November that she had been sexually assaulted by a former top-ranking government official. Despite his claims that the IOC is not political, President Thomas Bach staged what was essentially a photo op with Peng as China faced international condemnation over her whereabouts.

Peng has since made several carefully orchestrated appearances. You can bet Bach will be game for one more before the Games are done.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.

Excerpt from:

Winter Olympics 2022: Why Beijing? Who will be the stars? 10 questions you want answers to - USA TODAY

Squid Game? No! Olympic Games! Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

When you think of the Olympics, what scene comes to mind? A quiet and sparsely populated arena? Medical staff in hazmat suits? Little to no cheering? Well, that is precisely what the 2022 Winter Olympics will look and sound like. Fun!

Like the 2020 Summer Olympics, this years Winter Games will have a very limited number of spectators given *gestures wildly* all of this. Additionally, officials are encouraging those spectators who are allowed in to abstain from cheering. Nary a hoot nor a holler! On Thursday, the New York Times described the crowd at a preliminary hockey game between Canada and Switzerland as subdued. Not usually what youd expect from a worldwide sports event, especially when that sport is hockey. In addition to the quiet crowd, a group of medical staff in hazmat suits was in attendance, as per the Beijing Olympics COVID-19 guidelines.

As silly as it seems, the no yelling rule is not a completely absurd precaution. Evidence does suggest that yelling and singing can increase the spread of COVID-19. Still, Id imagine a crowd of shouting fans is far less intimidating than a room of people sitting quietly, saying nothing, as you do your little ice jumps and sports goals.

With these dystopian guidelines in place, I would like to propose a few alternative cheering options for any and all 2022 Olympics spectators to consider:

- Snapping la a poetry reading- A few loud stomps- Initiating a low clap- Air horns- Making fart noises with your hands- Jumping up and down quietly- Doing a little dance- Giving a thumbs-up- Making a swoosh-ing sound with your hazmat suit like you would wind pants- Lip-syncing the words to Fight Song- Whispering good job into your mask

If you would like to quietly whisper along, the Olympics kick off tomorrow with an Opening Ceremony Im sure will be just as eerie as last years.

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Wow, the 2022 Winter Olympics Sound Dystopian - The Cut

Vincent Zhou, who competed on Sunday, may not be able to take the ice in time for his second competition on Tuesday. Harry How/Getty Images hide caption

Vincent Zhou, who competed on Sunday, may not be able to take the ice in time for his second competition on Tuesday.

BEIJING U.S. men's figure skater Vincent Zhou has tested positive for COVID-19 putting his chance for another Olympic medal at risk.

"As part of yesterday's regular COVID-19 screening, Vincent Zhou tested positive," a U.S. figure skating representative said in a statement. "Under the guidance of the [U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee] medical staff, Zhou is undergoing additional testing to confirm his status."

The announcement comes on the day the U.S. figure skating won silver in the team competition. Zhou competed on Sunday in the team event as a substitute for three-time world champion Nathan Chen.

Zhou is supposed to compete again on Tuesday in the men's short program. If he tests negative in subsequent COVID-19 tests, Zhou would still be able to compete.

If not, he will be placed in isolation, like other athletes who tested positive in Beijing, until he tests negative on two consecutive PCR tests.

This is the 21-year-old's second appearance at the Winter Olympic Games. He competed in Pyeongchang in 2018 but did not medal.

See the article here:

U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou tests positive for COVID-19 at the Winter Olympics - NPR

Irene Schouten of Team Netherlands crosses the line ahead of Francesca Lollobrigida of Team Italy during the women's 3000-meter on the first of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Speed Skating Oval. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images hide caption

Irene Schouten of Team Netherlands crosses the line ahead of Francesca Lollobrigida of Team Italy during the women's 3000-meter on the first of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Speed Skating Oval.

BEIJING As the first full day of events kicked off at the 2022 Winter Olympics, speedskaters took to the ice of the newly-built National Speed Skating Oval.

Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games and retooled many of its old venues to be used for winter sports. The Oval is the city's only new ice-sport venue for the competition.

Underneath each of the flying skaters is smooth ice made through a new, environmentally friendly method.

"It's a game changer in a lot of ways," Mark Messer, the Beijing 2022 ice technician at the National Speed Skating Oval, said.

As athletes prepare to compete in a series of speedskating events, they have to worry about familiarizing themselves with the Oval's new conditions.

"It was something new. I was asking other skaters how it feels," Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida said. "Some people were saying it was softer. But it was different day by day."

She was one of the 20 women to skate first at the venue during Saturday's 3,000-meter event at the Oval.

Lollobrigida competed against Canada's Isabelle Weidemann and the Netherland's Irene Schouten.

Weidemann tried to prepare herself as much as possible in the lead-up to the race.

"The ice is a little bit different than what we are used to in Calgary," she said. Coming into it, she "knew the ice wasn't going to be forgiving."

Ahead of the first competition, Messer, who spent nearly 40 years curating the ice at the Calgary Olympic Stadium (one of the two fastest speedskating venues in the world) was expecting to win skaters over.

"I wouldn't say I know everything, but I know enough," he said of his ice-making abilities.

Beijing organizers switched from using ammonia to carbon dioxide refrigerants for the new venue's surface. The change is the same as planting upwards of 1.2 million trees, according to organizers.

"We have to go back to the natural refrigerants that are not going to destroy this planet," Messer said. "We have to get away from all the others that have been used (until now), so it's a great step in that direction."

The new cooling technique was completely new to China.

Messer said the technology is similar to how carbon dioxide is used in a household fire extinguisher.

Track staff place lane markers on the ice before the first speedskating event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Sarah Stier/Getty Images hide caption

Track staff place lane markers on the ice before the first speedskating event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

"The CO2 gas is compressed and held at high pressure, and when you release that pressure, the nozzle of the fire extinguisher gets cold," he explained. "That's basically what we are doing here."

Technicians compress the carbon dioxide, store it, then push the gas through pipes in the floor. The gas expands and takes the heat out of the Oval's floor, making it cold enough to form ice. But key to getting the perfect ice is controlling the speed this gas flows out of the pipes, Messer said.

"When you change temperatures, (the gas) comes in a hurry so we also have to look at how far it might overshoot, and if it gets colder than we need it to," he said.

On Saturday, it seemed the ice worked out for the three medalists.

Ultimately, Lollobrigida won silver in her race and Weidemann bronze. Schouten took gold and set a new Olympic record of 3:56:93.

"Today was perfect, the timing was perfect," Lollobrigida said. The ice allowed for major speed, she added. She's looking forward to her next turn around the Oval.

Read the original:

Speedskaters at the Winter Olympics are adapting to a new venue and its special ice - NPR

Chances are youve been wondering why athletes are given cuddly pandas on the podium instead of medals at Beijing 2022.

At the Tokyo Summer Olympics we became accustomed to the medals being dished out inside the stadium albeit with athletes having to put medals around their own necks due to Covid risks but that isnt happening in Beijing.

Instead, medallists have received a fluffy mascot on the podium, as modelled by New Zealands snowboard sensation Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in the above video.

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So whats going on?

You cant say Winter Olympic medallists dont get their time in the limelight. They typically enjoy not one but two ceremonies: a victory ceremony and a medal ceremony.

The victory ceremony follows shortly after the event on a podium, with athletes in Beijing receiving a cuddly panda and hand-knitted bouquets which imitate six real flowers: roses, Chinese roses, lilies of the valley, hydrangeas, laurel, and olive branches.

The medal ceremony takes place later at a special plaza where, as the name suggests, athletes will receive their gold, silver and bronze medals. Like Tokyo, athletes will have to put on their own medals due to coronavirus risks.

While China has strict Covid restrictions, including widespread use of masks when not mixing within your own team bubble, the victory ceremony, and a later medal ceremony, has long been a staple of the Winter Olympics.

The smiley and chubby panda is wrapped in a sheet of ice to shield them from the elements. Theyve also been immortalised in key chains, pillows and other merchandise.

China have had to panic order truckloads more of the mascot after stocks plunged in a country gripped by Olympic fever.

"I almost cried seeing the mascot," Czech ice dancer Natalie Taschlerova told the Global Times before the Games. Steady on, Natalie, thats going overboard

- - -

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Read more from the original source:

Winter Olympics 2022 Why are athletes given pandas not medals on the podium? Is it because of Covid? - Eurosport COM

Meet the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating team and who we expect to medal

American Nathan Chen is a gold medal favorite. Here is how the rest of the U.S. Figure Skating team stacks up.

Michelle Hanks, USA TODAY

BEIJING Madison Chock and Evan Bates lingered in the mixed zone after speaking with reporters Monday, watching on a nearby TV screen as Karen Chen took the ice.

"Yes!" Chock whispered as Chen landed one jump. Bates wrapped her in a hug after another. As Chen froze at the end of her long program, overwhelmed by emotion, the two veteran ice dancers clapped from the mixed zone.

The silver medal was officially theirs.

On a rollercoaster final day of the team figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, it was Chock, Bates and later Chen who sealed the deal on the Americans' silver medal the best performance in the short history of the team event. The U.S. previously won bronze in both 2014 and 2018.

"We've been lucky enough to sit in the box at every one of those events. And this year, knowing that we'd get the chance to participate, was a big deal to us," Bates said.

"(We knew) that we have an opportunity to inspire the next generation of American skaters, with what we do here. Because let's be honest (there are) so many new eyes, so many new viewers to our sport at this event. That's what makes it so unique."

MORE: U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou tests positive for COVID

BEIJING TEXT UPDATES: Get behind-the-scenes access to the Winter Olympics!

NEVER MISS A MOMENT: Subscribe to our Olympics newsletter to follow the gold chase

The Russian Olympic Committee, which entered as the favorite, won gold in the team event in dominant fashion, while Japan took the bronze.

For the Americans, a team silver medal is about as strong a result as could have reasonably expected even if they might have had an outside chance at goldjust a few days earlier.Fueled in part by Nathan Chen's brilliant short program, they led the team standings after Day 1 of competition.

By Day 3, however, the Russians had pulled away and the U.S. found itself deadlocked with Japan in second, with just two more events to go: The free dance and women's long program.

As the captains of the U.S. team, Chock and Bates admitted they knew the stakes when they took the ice in the penultimate event of the competition.

"We were very aware of what was going on. We were in the team box watching all of the events," Chock said. "But that doesnt change what we do when we get on the ice."

Chock and Bates' long program has an outer space theme, with Chock portraying an alien and Bates an astronaut, set to music from Daft Punk. And, at a time when they needed it most, they delivered a season-best performance, winning the event and re-constructing their lead on Japan.

The ice dance victory also easedthe pressure a bit for Chen, who redeemed herself after falling in the short program the previous day.

"Weirdly, I felt quite calm," Chen said."Its definitely hard to just come back after a hard skate, but for some reason I just felt very determined and very focused on what my job is. And I delivered just that."

All told, nine of the 16 American skaters competing individually at the Beijing Games also contributed in the team event, and will receive silver medals.

All but one of them were able to celebrate the achievement on the ice Monday; Vincent Zhou was notably absent after testing positive for COVID-19. It is unclear if he will be able to compete in the men's short program, which will take place Tuesday.

"Team USA has always been strong, but certainly this group of athletes weve grown up together," ice dancer Madison Hubbell said. "So to come together in a different way, a more supportive way and especially with our training mates Madison and Evan, to be able to accomplish this together has been really touching. And I know that its something that will be one of our highlights in our career."

A reporter asked Bates if, given the Americans' hot start, the silver medal felt bittersweet somehow like a missed opportunity to possibly upset the Russians. He said no.

"We're celebrating silver," Bates said. "Winning a silver medal at the Olympic Games is an incredible achievement, and the fact that we all get a silver medal, the whole team -- I'm so happy. I'm so happy."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

See original here:

US figure skating team wins silver medal after clutch performance by Madison Chock and Evan Bates - USA TODAY

No B-roll jokes, pleasehave some respect. Captured in NBC footage Vultures photo team called never-ending and so sad, a camera took a tumble down a snowy slope at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 3. Small parts of the camera can be seen flying off from the sheer force of her flips and spins down the icy hill. After several rows of people failed to notice the frankly impressive display of athleticism behind them, a photographer at the bottom of the slope eventually reached out to collect the cameras motionless body. We dont know for sure yet whether she survived (Sony does have a camera center at the Olympics for repairs), but Vulture has asked a spokesperson for NBC Olympics to look into this sad incident.

Photography site PetaPixel identified the fallen camera as a Sony kit worth up to $8,700. Beyond that, its still unclear who exactly she was and why she fell. Was she dreaming of becoming an Olympic gymnast? Upset that she didnt book Rihannas maternity shoot? Tired of always focusing but never being the focus? All we know is that she didnt deserve this. If this feels oddly familiar, she wasnt the first to fall at an event like this: Vinko Bogataj became famous when he suffered the agony of defeat during a failed ski jump in 1970. It didnt end his career, and were hoping the same applies this time, too.

The rest is here:

Who Was That Camera Falling Down a Ski Slope at the Winter Olympics? - Vulture