The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will begin on Friday, February 4, and end on Sunday, February 20. This year there will be a record 109 events, including freestyle skiing big air and women’s monobob for the first time. Olympic trials have been happening for the last few weeks, with about 200 athletes having qualified so far.

Alpine skiers are chosen based on their performances in the 2021-2022 World Cup season. The USA has announced 11 athletes so far, including Mikaela Shiffrin, who won gold at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.   

Both the men’s and women’s curling teams have qualified for Beijing. The USA will also be competing in the Mixed Doubles after Vicky Persinge, and Chris Plys went undefeated at the Olympic qualifying tournament. John Shuster will be competing at the Olympics for the fifth time.  

Figure skaters were chosen after the 2022 U.S. Championship. The U.S. earned three spots in each men’s, women’s, and ice dance. Additionally they secured two spots in pairs. The youngest U.S. athlete traveling to the Beijing Olympics is 16-year-old figure skater Alysa Liu. 

Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams will be competing in Beijing due to their world rankings. No NHL players will be attending the Olympics after a surge in COVID cases affected the league’s schedule. The women’s team includes Abby Roque who is considered one of the best hockey players in the U.S. after winning gold in PyeongChang. 

The U.S. earned three spots in Skeleton, one in the men’s competition and two in the women’s competition. All three spots were chosen based on an athlete’s ranking in the IBSF from the 2021-22 World Cup season. Katie Uhlaender will be attending her fifth Olympics. 

The U.S. has designated 12 athletes to compete in different disciplines within snowboarding. These athletes include Shaun White, Chloe Kim, Lindsey Jacobelli, and Nick Baumgartner. White could make history by winning his fourth Olympic gold medal. In 2018 Kim made history by being the youngest competitor to win gold on the halfpipe at 17-years-old. Competing at her fifth Olympics is Jacobelli and at 40-years-old Baumgartner is the oldest athlete to qualify for the U.S. 

Speed skating qualifiers were held in Milwaukee on January 5-9, 2022. Brittany Bowe originally qualified for the 500m but relinquished her spot to longtime friend Erin Jackson. Jackson did not qualify after she slipped and therefore finished outside the top two. 

During the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics the USA took home a total of 23 medals, fourth most at the 2018 Olympics. Norway won the most with 39, followed by Germany with 31, and then Canada with 29.  Once again, Norway is expected to win the most medals but the U.S. will not be far behind. The U.S. has a plethora of talented athletes traveling to Beijing and are expected to bring home more gold medals. 

The 2022 Beijing Olympics will be available to watch via NBC and Peacock Stream TV.