Well, hello, Sasha Zhoya!

Grigor Dimitrov hangs out in the BVI.

Nina Derwael is dressed to dance.

Melanie De Jesus peeks from the shadows.

Agatha contemplates the horizon.

Petra Vlhova is poised to translate youth success into a first-ever Slovakian alpine skiing Olympic medal...

...but, meanwhile top rival Mikaela Shiffrin inches closer to owning a record on her own.

​More alpine: Star skier Beat Feuz voices rising concern on Beijing 2022's skiing atmosphere to expect.

And more: Matthias Mayer scores a sixth straight World Cup downhill podium this weekend.

View the Vibe: Sprinter Andre de Grasse is poised to be the next world's fastest man.

Count retired long sprinter Lee McConnell as a supporter of Team Great Britain's new athlete pregnancy guidelines.

And, ex-rower Kate Haber has thoughts, too, on pregnancy impacts on her sport's athletes.

How did Hassan Yazdani conquer his main rival at the recent World Wrestling Championships?

Is Team Ireland on the verge of a breakthrough in judo?

Qatari Olympic medalist beach volleyballers Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan - and their coach -  receive Sports Excellence Awards.

Multiple show jumping Olympic medalist Peder Fredericson is 'Best Athlete' at the FEI Awards for 2021.

Freestyle ski aerialist Pirmin Werner participates in a quick Q&A: "I love to flip and twist."

Field hockey Olympic medalist PR Sreejesh looks to motivate a younger generation: "If we can, you can."

Men's skeleton sees an ultra-rare three-way tie for 1st in a World Cup race with multiple  1:46.04 finishes.

Kendall Coyne Schofield relishes the opportunity to inspire girls in her Team USA ice hockey jersey.

Meanwhile, IHF's women's hockey athlete ambassadors reflect on the odd 2020/21 season.

Tennis agitator Nick Kyrgios overshares what may be behind his mental un-focus at times.

R.I.P.: Slovenian snowboarder Marko Grilc is a victim to an accident last week.

​Need a Team USA-inspired bobsled 2022 beefcake calendar?

Garbine Muguruza hits the beach.

Sky Brown 'hangs ten'.

Huang Xuechen provides snippets of her life.

Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk brings the heat again.

Quentin Fillon takes an autumn stroll.

Rio 2016 Olympic gymnast Arthur Nory comes out as LGBT via a social post.

Fencer Ysaora Thibus voices her concern alongside swimmer Ganesh Pedruand regarding the riots in Guadalupe over vaccination measures. (in French)

Moscow 1980 swimming medalist Sharon Davies eager to hear more of the International Swimming Federation's work to "right some serious wrongs" regarding East Germans results.

Swimmer Penny Oleksiak: Find out the "recipe behind her success" as Canada's most decorated Olympian.

Table tennis star Hugo Calderano likes 'mental arithmetics' to 'push his brain' as part of training.

Canadian diver Jennifer Abel makes an open-letter retirement announcement.

Hayley's Ribbon: Team Australia's soccer star Hayley Raso is now a children's book author.

Six ice dancing teams training together in Montreal are the subjects on a new "On Edge" video series from Olympics.com.

On the heels of a breakout NHL season, can Leon Draisaitl add an Olympic podium to his resume?

Details of an April police incident with Peter Sagan emerge, as the star road cyclist makes a statement.

Can Daniel Ortiz help lead Costa Rica to a historic Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 appearance?

Tennis: Is Rune vs Alcaraz the next great rivalry after Federer vs Nadal?

Wrestler Aisuluu Tynybekova: "Her inspiring journey to Kyrgyz sports history".

Ehtiopia's brewing civil war embroils Olympic heroes Haile Gebreselassie and Feyisa Lilesa.

World Athletics checks in with distance runner Geoffrey Kamrowor, looking to improve his marathon success in earnest.

Australian middle-distance runner Stewart McSweyn sees room for improvement after a busy ans rewarding 2021 season.

Sport climbing documentary The Wall - Climb for Gold, highlighting four Tokyo 2020 Olympians, hits the premiere circuit.

UCI Track Champions League leaders Harri Lavreysen and Emma Hinze look to the next round to continue their winning ways.

Olympic triathlon champion Kristian Blummenfelt reiterates his case for the best at it.

More triathlon: Sika Henry pushes to still compete to represent her community even after injury.

Team USA skeleton racing veteran John Daly hits a Covid-related snag on his return to competition.

Meanwhile, Tina Hermann continues to navigate a unique estrangement from her national teammates on her own skeleton road to Beijing 2022.

Bing Dwen Dwen was unveiled as Beijing 2022's mascot in 2019, and its lead designer Cao Xue recently shared some background on his creation, chosen amongst a competition featuring 5,816 global submissions.

According to an interview with CGTN's Sports Scene, Cao asked his then 9-year-old son for input on the final three choices for a mascot, as he knew the final character would need to be "cuddly and attractive to kids". Not mentioned is what the other finalist options were, but choosing an iconically Chinese - and cute - animal like a panda bear was surely a safe bet.

More inspiration came from the clear coating of a traditional Chinese snack, tanghulu, which resulted in Bing Dwen Dwen's own outer shell.

​Who is Bing Dwen Dwen?

Bing Dwen Dwen's introduction video showcases the origin story of this cosmically-enhanced panda.

Bing Dwen Dwen (in Mandarin, "ice/purity children/lively") is meant to to embody "the strength and willpower of athletes" as it serves as an "ambassador for winter sports".

The mascot carries a "suit of ice, a heart of gold, and a love for all things winter sports".

The outer shell represents technology and future possibilities with a resemblance to an astronaut's suit. Bing Dwen Dwen also uses the suit to help play in sport. The 'Ice Ribbon' speed skating venue inspired the colored halo around the suit's face.

The heart on the left palm conveys a warm welcome to visitors.

Other Winter Olympic Mascots

There have been 13 other official Winter Olympic mascots​​​, including Grenoble 1968's originally-unofficial 'Schuss' figure.

Take a look at the previous Winter Olympic mascot characters in the slideshow below, and click on any image to read more background on Olympics.com.

Which one is your favorite?