The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will kick off with the opening ceremony on Friday. 4 years in the past in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Workforce USA completed fourth in each complete medals (23) and gold medals (9). They are going to look to enhance on that tally this time round, that includes a mixture of longtime stars closing out their careers and up-and-comers seeking to create names for themselves. The Publish’s Jared Schwartz identifies the highest American athletes to observe on the Beijing Video games:
Chloe Kim
Snowboarding, halfpipe
When Kim landed back-to-back 1,080-degree spins (1080s) 4 years in the past, she not solely took over her sport — she instantly grew to become a nationwide star.
At simply 17, she gained gold within the halfpipe, turning into the youngest American ever to medal and the youngest lady ever to win gold in snowboarding. All through the competitors, she captured followers’ hearts with light-hearted tweets and interviews, usually simply moments earlier than her dominant performances.
Following her gold-medal win in Pyeongchang, Kim was featured on the quilt of Sports activities Illustrated. She made the rounds of the late-night exhibits, obtained her personal Barbie doll and landed on the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes field, which set a brand new file for fastest-selling cereal field in firm historical past. Later that yr, she took residence three ESPYs — Finest Feminine Athlete, Finest Feminine Olympian and Finest Feminine Motion Sports activities Athlete.
In 2019, Kim was featured in Nike’s “Dream Crazier” advert with Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe and different feminine athletes, which appeared through the Academy Awards.
Kim’s speedy ascension in American and worldwide consciousness was not, nevertheless, with out its challenges.
Not too long ago, Kim shared her struggles with despair, the fixed consideration her success has introduced and the expectations that include her sport, even admitting she at one level threw her 2018 gold medal within the rubbish. She’s since grow to be a pacesetter and advocate for psychological well being consciousness.
She's going to enter her second Olympics as one among Workforce USA’s most recognizable stars. On the halfpipe, she’ll be the favourite to win gold, and she or he guarantees to unveil three new tips this time round.
Mikaela Shiffrin
Alpine snowboarding
Essentially the most dominant feminine slalom skier will enter her third Olympics as probably the most dominant feminine slalom skier.
Shiffrin, within the final girls’s World Cup slalom earlier than this yr’s Olympics, claimed her file–breaking forty seventh profession slalom win, making her the primary in World Cup historical past to win that many races in any single self-discipline.
Shiffrin has owned the game for the reason that 2014 Olympics. That yr, at 18, she grew to become the youngest slalom gold medalist in Olympic alpine snowboarding historical past. 4 years later, Shiffrin claimed gold in big slalom and silver in alpine mixed.
The alpine snowboarding — notably slalom — file books are a testomony to Shiffrin’s feats. She was the youngest skier, male or feminine, to achieve 50 World Cup victories and the primary athlete in World Cup historical past to win all six alpine disciplines. She is a six-time World Cup winner in slalom, and in 2019 she grew to become the primary alpine skier to win the world championships in the identical self-discipline 4 consecutive occasions. That very same yr, Shiffrin grew to become the primary athlete to win 17 World Cup races in a season.
Now 26, Shiffrin will likely be a heavy favourite in slalom and big slalom along with the opposite disciplines she competes in. She's going to look to grow to be probably the most embellished alpine skier and cement her place atop the apex of her sport.
Nathan Chen
Determine skating
Chen will likely be searching for redemption in Beijing.
4 years in the past, Chen entered the 2018 Olympics with sky-high expectations. He had gone undefeated in world competitors main as much as the Olympics and was thought-about a favourite in males’s singles.
Chen’s first Olympics, nevertheless, didn’t go as deliberate. He confirmed the primary actual signal of fallibility of his profession, and admitted he was considering an excessive amount of earlier than his strikes and jumps. Chen completed fifth in males’s singles, however did take residence a bronze medal within the staff occasion.
His disappointing first look on the Olympic stage didn't trigger Chen to sulk, although. He adopted the 2018 Olympics by subsequently profitable the following 14 contests he entered, together with three straight world championships. He grew to become the primary skater to land 5 kinds of quadruple jumps in competitors and eight quadruple jumps in a single competitors. He’s additionally the world-record holder for the free skate and mixed rating.
Oh, and Chen has since began faculty at Yale, too.
Now 22 years outdated and in his second Olympics, Chen will look to make use of the expertise and maturity he gained 4 years in the past to seize in Beijing what he couldn’t in Pyeongchang. He'll one once more be a heavy favourite.
John Shuster
Roller
The face of American curling — and one of many sport’s biggest to ever decide up the stones and broom — will likely be competing in his fifth Olympics.
Shuster helped Workforce USA earn a bronze medal in 2006, the first-ever Olympic medal in curling for the U.S., however opted to kind his personal staff after the Video games.
After his staff’s disappointing ends in 2010 (tenth) and 2014 (ninth), Shuster led the Individuals to the gold medal in 2018, the first-ever curling gold for the U.S. Now 39 years outdated, Shuster has competed in 9 world championships all through his profession, which netted him two bronze medals. He has been named USA Curling Male Athlete of the 12 months 4 occasions.
Shuster will likely be returning to the Olympic stage with nearly all of his 2018 staff intact. No person has ever gained a number of Olympic gold medals in males’s curling, however Shuster stated his staff is “stuffed with fighters.”
Erin Jackson
Pace skating
Jackson will enter her second Olympics as not simply the world’s prime feminine velocity skater, however as maybe the game’s largest trailblazer.
The 29-year-old lately gained the velocity skating World Cup, making her the primary black lady to take action. In 2018, Jackson grew to become the primary black lady to qualify for the U.S. Olympic staff in lengthy monitor velocity skating.
After ending twenty fourth in her Olympic debut in 2018, Jackson will try and stake her declare within the competitors’s lore amid a speedy ascension to the game’s peak. She gained 4 of the primary 5 500-meter World Cup races this season, and set an American file (36.80 seconds) within the course of. Beforehand, her greatest World Cup end was ninth.
Jackson will likely be a gold medal favourite within the 500m. No American lady has earned Olympic gold within the 500m since 1994, nor has one captured any speedskating medals since 2002.
Shaun White
Snowboarding
All good issues should come to an finish.
Shaun White, now 35 years outdated, will enter his fifth, and closing, Olympics to cap off a profession that has spanned components of three many years. For his final act, he’ll look to grow to be the primary snowboarder to win 4 Olympic gold medals.
White is probably the most embellished male Olympic snowboarder of all time with three gold medals within the halfpipe — in 2006, 2010 and 2018.
After the 2018 Olympics, White took a three-year hiatus from the game, however returned to the halfpipe final March to complete fourth at a U.S Grand Prix occasion. His return to the game will convey loads of eyes to the competitors in Beijing.
White entered the game as a teenage wunderkind when he made his X Video games debut at age 13, earlier than turning into a global star for his flowing purple hair, attention-grabbing tips and important amplitude on jumps. White’s 15 X Video games gold medals are a file, and within the 2012 X Video games, he grew to become the one athlete to ever rating an ideal 100 in superpipe.
This would be the final dance, or final midair flip, for the bona fide face of snowboarding, and maybe of the Winter Olympics basically.
Hilary Knight
Ladies’s hockey
Do it once more: That’s the one aim for Hilary Knight and the remainder of the ladies’s hockey staff.
Knight, now 32 years outdated, has been Workforce USA’s spine for over a decade. She's going to enter her fourth Olympics seeking to replicate the success of her third Olympics.
In 2018, Knight helped the Individuals declare their first Olympic gold medal since 1998 and ended Canada’s streak of 4 straight gold medals. She scored Workforce USA’s first aim within the championship in opposition to Canada, and tallied two objectives and an help all through the competitors.
Knight collected silver medals in 2010 and 2014. She grew to become the youngest participant ever to compete on the ladies’s hockey staff at 17 years outdated, and now's the oldest member of the squad.
A star at Wisconsin, Knight ranked second on the staff in objectives as a freshman and helped the Badgers attain the NCAA title recreation. In her second season, Knight led the nation in objectives and factors, each of which set faculty information, and led the Badgers to a nationwide championship. Two years later, she led Wisconsin to a different nationwide championship and left the varsity because the all-time chief in profession objectives, game-winning objectives and factors earlier than having fun with a profession within the CWHL, NWHL and PWHPA.
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