Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

15 2022 Olympic Disciplines....Burning Questions For Each

1/26/2022

 

Sport by Sport, What's on My Mind with One Week to Go Until Beijing 2022

Competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics starts one week from today, and will span seven sports encompassing 15 disciplines across 19 days. Here are the leading questions - Covid-19 concerns aside - that I look forward to seeing answered in each as the Games proceed.

What are you hoping to see?

Alpine Skiing
How will 'newly focused' Mikaela Shiffrin perform across her anticipated multiple events? She's back competing after a Covid-19 delay.
Picture
Mikaela Shiffrin (Pier Marco Tacca, AP / nytimes.com)
On the men's side, only one of the four individual Pyeongchang 2018 champions return to the Olympics - Matthias Mayer, who also won a gold at Sochi 2014. Can he make it three straight? He's in the top four in both downhill and super-G World Cup standings so far.

Biathlon
Sturla Holm Laegrid's 2020/21 season marked him an early star to watch at Beijing 2022, but Tarjei Boe Johannes Boe, and Vetle Sjstaad Christiansen are the top Norwegians in the World Cup standings. Can Laegrid have a comeback?

According to biathlonworld.com, Elvira Oeberg is the "most exciting athlete of trimester 1 (of the World Cup)". Will she keep her winning momentum into Beijing?
​Bobsled
Who will be the debut Olympic champion in women's monobob, the first event on the schedule? Three Canadians, two U.S. athletes, two Germans, and one Australian, one Swiss, and one Russian make up the World Cup's top ten. Both Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor - the two USA drivers - have a medal from each of the last three Winter Olympics. Can either make it four?

On the men's side, Francesco Friedrich dominated this season's World Cup, with 14 of 16 possible wins. Were the two blips in his record this season an aberration or a sign of what's possible at the Games?
Picture
Francesco Friedrich (Getty Images)
Cross-Country Skiing
Will Finland's Kerttu and Iivo Niskanen duplicate unique World Cup success and become sibling Olympic medalists at the same Games?

"Here comes DIggins!" gave cross-country a rare must-see highlight for U.S. viewers during Pyeongchang 2018 (despite lots of worthy relay moments for the sport). The star of that sprint race - Jessie Diggins has proven to be no one-hit wonder...she's in the top three of the World Cup overall standings. What could she have in store this year?

Curling
After Pyeongchang 2018's surprise USA champions led by John Shuster and South Korean silver medalists "garlic girls" led by Kim Eun-Jung, who will be this year's fan favorite team?

Also...surprisingly, Denmark has only one total Winter Olympics medal ever, a silver from curling at Nagano 1998. They're in both the men's and women's tournaments at Beijing 2022...can another medal be in store?

Figure Skating
Can Nathan Chen live up to his promise with a gold in the men's event, despite defending champion Yuzuru Hanyu returning to form?
Picture
Nathan Chen (Getty Images / teamusa.org)
​On the women's side, will there be a (Russian) sweep? (Russians) swept the World Figure Skating Championships podium in 2021 and the Europeans this month.  New national champion Kamila Valieva leads a very potent squad.

Freestyle Skiing
After becoming the first rookie to win three X Games medals, and the first double cork 1440, can Stanford University-bound Eileen Gu create more history?

Is Japan a new powerhouse in moguls? ​Daichi Hara's bronze in Pyeongchang 2018 may have been just the start...

Ice Hockey
Is Team (Russia) really destined to win again, with National Hockey League players now out of the men's tournament? And, how will Team China perform on the men's side? Maybe now better than expected...

Can anyone other than Team Canada and Team USA make the top two in the women's tournament? Only once in six Olympic tournaments has that happened.
Picture
Canada and USA have met in 6 of the 7 women's Olympic ice hockey finals (olympics.com)
Luge
Latvian brothers Andris and Juris Sics have a silver and two bronze medals from previous Games since Vancouver 2010. Can they win gold finally? They're near the top of the World Cup standings in doubles so far.

Meanwhile, Natalie Geisenberger has the opportunity to tie a record of three straight Olympic singles luge titles. Will she, now that she has confirmed competing?

Nordic Combined
Germany won five of seven possible medals at Pyeongchang 2018, including all three golds. Will another team step up? Austria's Johannes Lamparter and Norway's Jarl Magnus Riiber lead the overall World Cup standings, but there are four Germans in the top 10.

That said, what can be done at Beijing 2022 to close the gender gap and ensure women's Nordic combined takes place at the next Games??

Short Track Speed Skating
Despite being a top-tier short track nation, Canada has never topped the medal table in the sport at any previous Games. Can they do it in Beijing? This might be as good a year as any for the squad.

And...Maame Biney may have been Pyeongchang 2018's smiliest Olympian for Team USA. How will the fan favorite fare this time around after 14th and 31st places last time?
Picture
Maame Biney (redbull.com)
Skeleton
Will Martins Dukurs win Olympic gold? He has two silvers from Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014, and a fourth from Pyeongchang 2018. He's won the World Cup standings. Even more intriguing...older brother Tomass had a rare win over him earlier in the season. Might it happen again?

Ski Jumping
Can Ryoyu Kobayashi put Japan back on the men's medal table after a rare shut-out four years ago? He's got a good season going.

How will the mixed team event go over? Although women have been ski jumping at the Games since Sochi 2014, this will be the first mixed team competition - a rarely contested event on the circuit. My guess is Japan, Slovenia, Austria in some order...or Germany, or Norway...?

Snowboarding
Veteran Lucas Eguibar won his first world snowboard cross championship in 2021. Can he carry that momentum into Beijing after disappoint two previous Games? "There isn't a day in which I don't think about an Olympic medal."

Spain has a veteran contender on the women's side, too. Can Queralt Castellet finally secure a medal for herself? Will Spain win two snowboard medals?

Speed Skating
Netherlands' speed skaters won 23 medals at Sochi 2014 and 16 at Pyeongchang 2018...how will they perform in Beijing? Their squad is star-studded again.

Will Joey Mantia complete his transition from inline skating with an Olympic medal? He's a favorite in the mass start and the 1,500 meters.
Picture
Joey Mantia (Getty Images / olympics.com)

Comments are closed.

    About This Blog

    An Olympics fan blog celebrating all things Olympic sport athletes

    Picture
    Read about me.

    Navigate It

    Random highlights of Olympic sport athletes - news, social links, and more, seen through the cheeky lens of this one particular, passionate fan.

    ​Check out:
     A Little Roundup
    Sharing links to Olympic sports headlines and news that catch my eye, focused on celebrating athlete stories

    Let's Get Social
    What are some of your favorite Olympic sport athletes up to on social media away from the competition?

    They are the Champions
    Congratulations to the world champions of Olympic sports!

    Athletes Worth Watching
    Who are some emerging Olympic sport athletes worth keeping an eye on for the future?

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own comment and opinions sometimes!

    A Quick Review
    Quick thoughts on Olympic sports-related films, art, books, TV, etc. that I've come across .
    p.s. see my Bookshop!

    Picture
    Me at Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park
    ​Above header: Kallimarmaro stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896


    Follow Me

    Twitter
    Instagram
    ​
    Spotify
    Medium
    ​
    Bookshop
    Post.
    Mastodon
    Tumblr

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Museum
    Olympic World Library
    ​Intl Olympic Academy
    ​Team USA
    World Athletics
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    WADA
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    The Sports Examiner
    ​AP Olympics
    ​AP Winter Olympics
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​
    Global Athlete
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​
    Olympian Database
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Coubertin Speaks
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    Off The Podium
    The Games Odyssey
    ​Totallympics
    ​Qualifying to the Games
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    All Sports Books Reviews
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    Amsterdam 1928
    Ancient Olympics
    Aquatics
    Archery
    Artistic Swimming
    Athens 1896
    Athens 2004
    Athlete Spotlight
    Athlete Worth Watching
    Atlanta 1996
    Badminton
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Basketball 3x3
    Beach Volleyball
    Beijing 2008
    Beijing 2022
    Berlin 1936
    Biathlon
    Bobsled
    Boxing
    Breaking
    Canoe/Kayak
    Cross Country Skiing
    Curling
    Cycling
    Cycling BMX
    Cycling Mountain Bike
    Cycling Road
    Cycling Track
    Demonstration Sports
    Diving
    Equestrian
    Fencing
    Field Hockey
    Figure Skating
    Freestyle Skiing
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Handball
    Helsinki 1952
    Ice Hockey
    Innsbruck 1976
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1932
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Milano Cortina 2026
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Moscow 1980
    Munich 1972
    Non-Olympic Sports
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    Olympic Sports Media
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Pyeongchang 2018
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Salt Lake City 2002
    Sarajevo 1984
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Ski Mountaineering
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Stockholm 1912
    Summer Olympics
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    They Are The Champions
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014


    To opt-out of cookies, and to read this site's privacy policy, read the Policy page.

    The following link is listed for Mastodon site verification purposes only:
    Mastodon

    RSS Feed


Proudly powered by Weebly