The 2022 Winter Olympics are coming up in Beijing this February. Although many countries including Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. have announced that they will be engaging in a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics due to alleged human rights violations from the Chinese government, that doesn’t mean the athletes aren’t going to be bringing their A game to the event.
Cheer On These Athletes at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
If you’re looking for the top athletes to watch this year, or you’re just hoping to find someone you can cheer on while watching from home, here are five names to keep an eye out for at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics:
1. Sara Takanashi
At the young age of 24, Sara Takanashi, a ski jumper from Japan, has already seen massive success in her athletic career. She currently holds four World Cup titles, seven World Championship medals and one winter Olympic medal, making her one of the most successful and decorated athletes in the history of the sport.
2. Katie Ormerod
Olympic Snowboarder Katie Ormerod is killing it in her sport, also at only 24 years old. She holds the impressive titles of overall World Cup Slopestyle Champ, 11-time World Cup medalist and X Games medalist. She also became the first woman snowboarder to land a double cork 1080 at the age of 16. The British athlete will be representing her country on the hill at the Beijing Winter Olympics, so she’s definitely one to watch in 2022.
3. Francesco Friedrich
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Widely viewed as one of the best bobsledders in history and pegged as “unbeatable”, Francesco Friedrich of Germany is heading to Beijing after winning two gold medals for his country at the 2018 Olympics in South Korea. He also holds 13 world championship gold medals and 46 World Cup titles, making him one of the shining stars at this year’s Winter Olympics.
4. Mikaël Kingsbury
At the age of 29, Canadian freestyle skier Mikaël Kingsbury is the most successful mogul skier in history. Not only has he won the highest number of medals at the Freestyle World Championships out of all male competitors, but he’s also the reigning World and Olympic champion in the moguls, so he’s sure to impress at the Games.
5. Mikaela Shiffrin
Last but certainly not least, American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin made sports history recently, winning her 47th World Cup slalom win. She’s also a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and this latest victory makes her the skier with the highest number of wins in a World Cup discipline.
For more stories about inspirational people, here are the best moments from the 2021 Olympics and 2021 Paralympics.
