2022 Winter Olympics

The 2022 Winter Olympics were held in Beijing, China, from February 4–20, 2022. Also known as the XXIV Olympic Games, the event marked the second time that Beijing hosted an Olympic event, with the previous having been the 2008 Summer Olympics. Because of China’s history of alleged human rights violations, the 2022 Beijing games were held under a cloud of controversy. Some countries, including the United States, chose to diplomatically boycott the games for that reason. The Beijing games were also held during the continued COVID-19 pandemic, an issue that required Chinese organizers to utilize special protocols—including a strict “closed loop” environment—to minimize the risk of infection. The Olympic competition itself ultimately unfolded with no major complications and was highlighted by remarkable performances from athletes such as figure skater Nathan Chen, skier Eileen Gu, and speed skater Erin Jackson. The games’ most controversial moment came when highly touted Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned substance and later faltered in the free skate competition that she was expected to win.

Background

The road to the 2022 Winter Olympics began in 2014 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) named Beijing to the list of cities designated as finalists to potentially host the games. The other finalist cities included Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Oslo, Norway. All three were put forth as official candidate cities after three other cities dropped out of the running. Before the final vote took place, Oslo also dropped its bid because of the Norwegian government’s decision not to provide financial support for the games. This left Beijing and Almaty as the last remaining candidates. When the final vote was held in 2015, IOC officials narrowly chose Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. In making this decision, the IOC ensured that East Asia would host three straight Olympic games, including the 2022 Beijing games, the 2020 Tokyo games, and the 2018 PyeongChang games.

From a geopolitical perspective, Beijing’s selection as host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics was controversial from the start mainly because of international backlash over China’s treatment of an ethnic minority group known as the Uighurs. Found mostly in the autonomous Xinjiang region of China, the Uighurs are a predominantly Muslim minority. A United Nations (UN) report published in 2018 revealed that the Chinese government detained at least one million Uighurs in “counter-extremism centres.” The report also claimed that an additional two million Uighurs were “forced into so-called re-education camps for political and cultural indoctrination” starting in 2017. The Chinese government denied these allegations and argued that its actions toward the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities were a necessary part of its effort to combat extremism and encourage the upward economic mobility of these groups. When Beijing was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, many critics of China’s treatment of the Uighurs decried the IOC’s decision on humanitarian grounds. In the leadup to the event, several nations—including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia—announced diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing games. This meant the while these countries allowed their athletes to participate, diplomats from their countries did not attend.

China’s allegedly questionable human rights record was not the only concern for the organizers of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Much like the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the Beijing games were impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. Although circumstances did not require the games to be postponed as was the case in Tokyo, special measures had to be taken to ensure the safety of athletes and others in attendance at the event. In addition to stringent testing and the creation of a special mobile app that athletes could use to submit custom declarations and health records among other things, officials instituted a protective bubble-like “closed-loop” environment that allowed athletes to safely travel between the accommodations and the different Olympic venues via official transportation. Because of these efforts, relatively few cases of COVID-19 were reported at the games.

Overview

The 2022 Winter Olympics were successfully staged in Beijing from February 4–20. When the games closed, Norway stood atop the medal count both in terms of total medals and gold medals. In all, Norwegian athletes picked up thirty-seven medals, sixteen of which were gold. The United States won a total of twenty-five medals, including eight gold, ten silver, and seven bronze medals.

Kamila Valieva

Perhaps the most controversial story of the 2022 Winter Olympics was that of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. After fifteen-year-old Valieva won gold as part of the figure-skating team competition, anti-doping officials announced that she had tested positive for a banned heart medication. The revelation reignited the ongoing Russian doping scandal that previously led to an Olympic ban on the country that forced Russian athletes to compete at the games under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) banner. Despite her positive test result, the Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Valieva to compete in the individual discipline because she had protected status as a minor. Originally a heavy favorite to win gold in that competition, Valieva suffered several falls during her routine and finished in fourth place. The emotionally shattered young skater subsequently received a harsh reception from her coaches upon leaving the ice that garnered intense criticism from commentators around the world and also IOC President Thomas Bach himself.

Nathen Chen

Figure skating also provided one of the top feelgood moments of the Beijing games thanks to American champion Nathan Chen. Hoping to redeem himself after a disastrous performance at the 2018 PyeongChang games, Chen took to the ice for the men’s single skating competition and dominated the field. His final routine—set to the tune of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” and “Benny and the Jets”—thrilled the crowd and earned Chen Olympic gold. In part because of Chen, the United States won its most figure-skating medals in two decades.

Alpine and Freestyle Skiing

Skiing was one of the most watched sports at the 2022 Winter Olympics. On the alpine slopes, Switzerland dominated the competition, winning half of all the individual gold medals awarded. Heading into the games, American skier Mikaela Shiffrin was expected to be one of the top competitors, but she crashed in both the giant slalom and the slalom, came up short in the super-G and downhill competitions, and had a Did Not Finish (DNF) in the slalom portion of the combined event. Despite her disappointing performances, Shiffrin made history by becoming only the second woman ever to compete in all six alpine skiing events at the Winter Olympics.

In freestyle skiing, the star of the show was American-born Chinese phenom Eileen Gu. Over the course of the games, Gu won three medals, including two golds and a silver. While some critics questioned her choice to compete for China instead of her native United States, Wu emerged as one of the standout athletes and most colorful figures of the Beijing games.

Speed Skating

The 2022 Winter Olympics saw historic triumphs in speed skating. First and foremost, the Netherlands had another strong performance that further cemented their stranglehold on Olympic speed skating. The Dutch team won twelve medals, with half of them being gold. American skater Erin Jackson also became the first Black woman to win speed-skating gold at the Olympics. Swedish skater Nils van der Poel also made history by breaking the world record in the men’s 10,000-meter race by more than two seconds.

Sledding Events

Sledding events also attracted a considerable amount of attention at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Germany proved to be the dominant team in bobsled, luge, and skeleton, winning nine of ten possible gold medals. In bobsled, German pilot Friedrich Francesco won two golds, while Laura Nolte picked up one. The Beijing games also saw the debut of a new women’s bobsledding event: the monobob. Germany also had a strong showing in luge, sweeping all four distinct disciplines for the second time since the team relay event was held for the first time at the 2014 Sochi games. That German dominance extended into sledding as well, with the nation’s sledders winning gold in both the men’s and women’s competitions.

Ski Jumping

Slovenian athletes pulled out an upset victory in ski jumping at the 2022 Winter Olympics. They unexpectedly prevailed over both the Norwegians and Germans to win gold in the women’s normal hill, the mixed team final, and the men’s team final. In doing so, the Slovenians won the highest number of medals in the entire 2022 ski-jumping competition. Women’s ski jumping was also at the center of one of the more controversial moments of the Beijing games. During the competition, five athletes from Norway, Germany, Austria, and Japan were disqualified because their outfits were deemed to be “too baggy.” Because of the aerodynamics involved in the sport, ski jumping attire is carefully regulated to ensure that no participants have a competitive advantage. The disqualification was loudly questioned because all five of the women it targeted had competed in the suits they were wearing before without a problem.

Snowboarding

The snowboarding competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics marked the final Olympic appearance of legendary American champion Shaun White. Although he did not win any further medals, White capped off his incredible career with a strong showing at his last Olympic games. In the women’s competition, Americans Chloe Kim and Lindsey Jacobellis both performed well, with the latter winning two gold medals. At the end of the day, the American team tied the Austrian team in the snowboarding medal counts with three golds and one silver each.

Cross-Country Skiing

In women’s cross-country skiing, Jessie Diggins became the first American woman in history to win an individual cross-country medal, and Norwegian Therese Johaug won three golds in her final Olympic appearance. On the men’s side, Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won two medals at the Beijing games, and ROC competitor Alexander Bolshunov became the first athlete to win five cross-country medals at a single Olympics.

Curling

Quickly becoming one of the most popular winter Olympics sports, curling attracted a great deal of attention at the Beijing games. In the men’s competition, Sweden defeated Great Britain to claim gold. On the women’s side, Great Britain won gold over Japan. In mixed doubles, Italy topped Norway to bring home the gold. Sweden captured bronze in both the mixed doubles and women’s competitions, while Canada secured a bronze in the men’s tournament.

Ice Hockey

Always an Olympic favorite, ice hockey was a hotly anticipated event at the Beijing games. Interest was especially high for the women’s tournament, which culminated in a predicted rematch between Canada and the United States. The Canadian team, led by star players like Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse, was a dominant force throughout the tournament, outscoring their opponents 57–10. The similarly strong American team, led by top scorer Hilary Knight, finished the tournament having outshot their opponents by a remarkable 374–116 margin. In the final game, Canada claimed gold with a 3–2 victory over the United States.

Expectations for the men’s ice hockey tournament were quite different because the National Hockey League (NHL) opted not to send their players to Beijing. As a result, the normally favored Canadian and American teams had a much-reduced presence at the games. Instead, it was Finland that met and defeated the ROC squad in the gold medal game.

Bibliography

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