The 2022 Winter Olympics are kicking off on February 4th. Beijing will be hosting the games just fourteen years after the city held the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Olympic Events
Australia, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, and Norway are the first countries to compete. These teams will be going head to head in Curling at 8:35 am China Standard Time.
Following the bonspiel, the Olympic games will include an assortment of sports including Figure Skating, Freestyle and the skeleton.
The winter games will feature seven new sports in addition to the old lineup. These events include Women’s Monobob, Men’s and Women’s Big Air (Freestyle Skiing), Mixed Teams Snowboard Cross, Mixed Teams Aerials, Mixed Teams Short Track Relay, and Mixed Teams Ski Jumping.
Winter Olympics and Leesville
The United States is sending 222 athletes from 15 sports to the Olympic Games.
This USA lineup includes four athletes competing in their fifth Olympic Games. These athletes are Curler John Shuster, Snowboarders Lindsey Jacobellis and Shaun White, and Skeleton Slider Katie Uhlaender.
Leesville students are excited to see these top athletes showcase their sports on an international level.
“I’m excited [for the games] because curling is one of the first scheduled in the Olympics [this year],” said Ben Taylor, a Freshman at LRHS.
Taylor is a curler and has plans to play competitively in the future. The Olympic games and the prospect of US Curling winning the gold another year in a row has him thrilled to watch the sport.
They have even made him consider his own goals for his future career in Curling.
“Olympic curling has made me consider trying to go to U18s and maybe– crossing my fingers– even the Olympics,” said Taylor.
For other Winter sport athletes it is exciting to know people all over the world are watching the same athletes and sports.
“I find it interesting to think about the fact that someone across the world is watching the same game as I would be watching,” said Rhonin Place, a sophomore at LRHS via text.
Place also enjoys the fun in cheering for top level teams.
“If I’m not really thinking about it I just enjoy watching the game and being able to root for certain teams,” he said.
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