Ben Prescott, sports editor
The Winter Olympics are back and set to begin on Feb. 4 and end on Feb. 20 in Beijing, China. This is in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Olympic Committee has created necessary protocols to reduce any spread of the virus. With the Games coming up, there is also some excitement around what Team USA will accomplish this season.
The first Olympic games took place in Chamonix, France in 1924. According to the History Channel, the games were originally named the “Winter Sports Week.” There were 16 total events during the week, but women could only compete in figure skating. Since then, the Winter Olympics have taken place every four years, with the exception of 1940 and 1944 because of World War II. Of course, this is the first Winter Olympics held during the COVID-19 pandemic and that comes with its own set of challenges.
Dr. Brian McCloskey, chair of the medical expert panel for these Winter Olympic Games, gave the details of the COVID-19 protocols in an interview with NBC New York. If a participant of the Olympics tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in the last 30 days, that person must submit five negative PCR tests before they can enter China, according to McCloskey. If someone tests positive while they are in Beijing, they must quarantine until they produce two negative tests.
If an athlete tests positive for COVID- 19 before or during the Olympics, they are required to test again to confirm the positive result. If they test positive again, the athlete is no longer allowed to compete in the Games.
Only select spectators are allowed to attend the games in person. This goes as far as not allowing international spectators into the country for the Olympics or giving out tickets for the general public.
Team USA has finished at fourth in the last two Winter Games. According to Top End Sports, the United States has won a total of 305 medals in previous Olympic Games. This is good enough for second place in the world, with Norway leading the world at 368 total medals.
The United States has traditionally been good in several events, including figure skating, snowboarding and skeleton. The nation leads the world in total medals for these events, with 51, 31 and eight medals being awarded, respectively. These are the sports to keep an eye on throughout the 16-day span.
There are several Team USA athletes to keep up with as well. These athletes have made already made their mark in previous games and only seem to be trending upwards.
In alpine skiing, Mikaela Shiffrin will be competing in her third Winter Olympics at just 26 years old. She is the favorite to win gold in the slalom and giant slalom. This sport involves skiing between sets of poles at a high speed. The difference between slalom and giant slalom is the latter sport has wider poles placed farther apart. The length of the course is also longer than a regular slalom one. If Shiffrin wins gold in both events, she will become the most decorated American alpine skier in history.
One of the more popular athletes of the Winter Games is Shaun White, who competes in the snowboard halfpipe event. This will be White’s fifth appearance in the Olympics at the age of 35. He has been competing in his sport for three decades now, which includes a three year hiatus. After the break, White competed in the US Grand Prix and finished in fourth place. White has a chance to make history in this cycle of the Winter Games by becoming the first snowboarder to win four gold medals.
Chloe Kim was a popular name in the 2018 Winter Games, who competed in the snowboard halfpipe at just 17 years of age. Kim went viral for tweeting about being “hangry” before her gold medal winning performance in PyeongChang, South Korea. Not long after the performance, Kim felt the mental pressures of competing at such a high level and decided to take a break from the sport. During this time, she enrolled at Princeton University and rehabbed the broken ankle that led her to taking a hiatus. Kim is favored to win another gold in this year’s Winter Games in the snowboard halfpipe event.
Jessie Diggins is one of the leading cross country skiers for Team USA and has the resume to back it up. In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Diggins brought home the country’s first cross country gold medal with now-retired Kikkan Randall. Last season, Diggins became the first American to win the Tour de Ski. Prior to this, Diggins has won five races on the World Cup Circuit.
The upcoming Winter Olympics look to be interesting with a mixture of young and veteran talent for Team USA. The COVID- 19 pandemic adds another element to the games. Olympic television coverage will be excusively through NBC and Peacock.