What’s New at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games

By Julie Senger

 

The 2022 Winter Olympic Games are scheduled to take place February 4-20, in three different cities in northern China: Beijing (the official host city), Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou. A total of 109 events are on the docket, one of which is a completely new event — men’s and women’s big-air freestyle skiing — and six of which are added divisions to existing events that include mixed team competitions in freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping, and snowboard cross; mixed relay in short-track speedskating; and women’s monobob.

For those who don’t know much about these events (since we don’t exactly live in a state that is known for winter sports), here’s a brief rundown, so you can be prepared to cheer on Team USA from the comfort of your own home.

 

NEW! Men’s/Women’s Big Air Freestyle Skiing

Though big air snowboarding made its Olympic debut in 2018, the skiing event will be added to the Winter Olympic Games for the first time this year. Like the snowboarding event, skiers fly off a large ramp to perform breathtaking tricks. Unlike freestyle skiing aerials, the participants use ski poles and perform tricks and landings that involve a lot more creativity. Judges score the athletes based on four criteria: difficulty, execution, amplitude, and landing.

 

Added Divisions to Existing Sports

Mixed Team Freestyle Skiing Aerials
In this event, skiers launch themselves in the air to perform an electrifying combination of tricks before landing back on the slope. Though the men’s and women’s versions of this event have been in the Games since 1994, this will be the first time for mixed team aerials, which are made up of three skiers — two men and a woman or two women and a man. Participants are scored on their form, air, landing, and degree of difficulty. Each team member’s individual score is added together to create the final overall score to reveal which country will take home the gold.

According to TeamUSA.org, “The timing is right for Team USA, with U.S. women having won three World Cups so far this season, and the mixed team claiming its first World Cup podium in January.”

Mixed Team Ski Jumping
Mixed ski jumping teams are made up of four-person squads, consisting of two men and two women. Each athlete has two chances to achieve the longest jump by descending a ramp then launching into the air from a takeoff table. Skiers aim to land beyond what is known as the K-line. They receive 60 points for landing on the K-line, but the farther they land beyond it, the more points they receive. Judges also consider the competitor’s style, which means the flight, landing, and outrun. The most style points a skier can receive is 20.

Mixed Team Snowboard Cross
In this new division, each team consists of one male and one female athlete. During each heat of this relay-style event, the male competitors go first, racing each other on a downhill course of varied terrain that includes such obstacles as banked turns, jumps, and rollers. Once the male team member has crossed the finish line, his female teammate is released from the starting gate, creating a staggered start for the women. The first team to finish wins.

Keep an eye out for Team USA’s Mick Dierdorf and Lindsey Jacobellis, who won gold in the first mixed team World Championships in 2019.

Mixed Relay Short Track Speedskating
Short track speedskating keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, as athletes from opposing teams are on the ice at the same time, trying to pass each other for the lead. The mixed relay short track speedskating race is 2,000 meters long, and teams are made up of two women and two men. Each skater races twice, with the order being woman-woman-man-man-woman-woman-man-man.

Women’s Monobob
In women’s monobob, a single competitor does all the pushing, steering, and braking in a solo bobsleigh. The winner is the person who completes the route in the fastest time. Made of concrete and coated with ice, the 1,200- to 1,300-meter-long tracks are required to have at least 15 curves, one straight section, and one labyrinth, which is three successive turns without a straight section. Speeds can exceed 75 mph.

Good news for the USA – according to Olympics.com, “2021 World Champion Kaillie Humphries is one of the favorites in the event, along with fellow Americans Nicole Vogt and Elana Meyers Taylor.”

Sources — Olympics.com and TeamUSA.org