OlymPicks: China Adds Skiing and Bobsleigh to 2022 Olympics
OlymPicks is an ongoing blog series whereby we highlight news, gossip, and developments regarding the buildup to Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics.
Even though the 2022 Winter Olympic Games haven't begun, China is already setting records. This one has nothing to do with medals won or athletic feats, but impressive all the same: Chinese Olympic officials have increased the number of sporting events for the upcoming Beijing Games to 109, a new record.
Skiing fans will be pleased: freestyle men and women's skiing are among the new entries. Other newbies include mixed team events in short track speed skating, ski jumping, ski aerials, and snowboardcross along with women’s monobob, a relatively new women-only sport that is essentially bobsledding but with one single athlete instead of a team.
USA Today reported on this event uptick (via Pan Daily on Jan 25) which is part of a gradual trend. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, for instance, had a total of 98 events comprised of seven sports with 15 disciplines. Four years later, Pyeongchang's 2018 Winter Olympics had the same number of sports and disciplines but increased its total events to 102.
Curling is in an upswing ahead of 2022
At Beijing, however, the increase in the event's program will be offset by a reduction in total competing athletes. Beijing 2022 will have 41 fewer competitors than the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, the losses coming from various skating, biathlon and skiing disciplines, according to The Hindu (thehindu.com).
Winter sports are continuing to see a lot of growth in China, a fact reflected in the number of athletes set to compete in 2022. Women's curling, for example, will have a bigger squad in 2022 than in the preceding Pyeongchang Games. That total curling roster will have three men's and women's teams and 10 mixed doubles pairings, all drawn from an unprecedented pool of 100 prospective curlers.
Ice hockey is also gaining popularity, with an impressive 2,500 children now reportedly playing junior hockey in Beijing, according to Inside the Games (insidethegames.biz). While the boost in popularity won't have direct affect to China's gold medal prospects in 2022 as these children will still be too young to compete, it does bode well for the future of competitive winter sports in the Middle Kingdom.
Photos: heraldsun.com.au, insidethegames.biz, giphy.com
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