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Just about six months after the Tokyo Olympics in Japan, the winter edition of the Games begin in China on Friday.
Beijing is set to become the first city to ever host both the summer and winter Olympics after hosting the 2008 edition of the Games.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics start on Friday and will run until February 20, coinciding with the Chinese New Year, which started on February 1. The Paralympic Winter Games will run from March 4 to 13.
This year’s edition of the Winter Olympics are split into three zones: central Beijing, Zhangjiakou and Yanqing.
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Central Beijing will host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as four snow events – the freestyle skiing big air and the snowboard big air (both men’s and women’s), as well as all the ice events (hockey, curling and skating).
The Beijing suburb of Yanqing will host all Alpine events including bobsleigh, skeleton and the luge.
Finally, the popular skiing district of Zhangjiakou will be the centre of all other snow events including snowboarding, freestyle skiing, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined and biathlon.
All in all, a record 109 events will be featured across 15 disciplines in seven winter sports including biathlon; bobsledding (bobsleigh and skeleton); curling; ice hockey; luge; skating (figure skating, short track speed skating and speed skating); and skiing (alpine, cross-country, freestyle, Nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboarding)
These Olympics will feature seven new events, among them the women’s monobob, freestyle skiing big air (men’s and women’s), and mixed team in short-track speed skating team relay, ski jumping, freestyle skiing aerials and snowboard cross.
AFRICA’S HOPEFULS
There will be plenty of African interest at these Games, with athletes from five African countries represented in Beijing.
- Mialitiana Clerc (20) is Madagascar’s first female Olympic skier and will be the only woman representing the continent at the Winter Olympics. Clerc began skiing at the age of three despite her dislike of the cold. These will be her second Olympics, having participated at the 2018 edition. At her tender age, she has already amassed a series of impressive results on the South American Cup circuit.
- Mathieu Neumuller (18), also from Madagascar, will be the country’s official flag bearer and the third Malagasy to represent the island nation at the Winter Olympics. Neumuller also began skiing at the age of three with the help of his father, who is a ski instructor. He honed his skills at the Club des Alpes in Monaco and has competed in several competitions and world cup events throughout France. He will be competing in the Alpine skiing as well as the slalom and giant slalom events.
- Samuel Ikpefan (29) nearly quit skiing after his dreams of competing for France were dashed in 2011. However, when an opportunity to compete for his father’s country presented itself, it encouraged him to strap on the skis again. The former French youth champion was given permission to represent Nigeria in 2018 and has taken the opportunity with both hands. He will be competing in the cross-country ski competition.
- Yassine Aouich (31) will be the eighth Moroccan to compete at the Beijing Olympics. Aouich grew up in Ifrane, a city in a region that holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Africa. He will achieve his dream of representing Morocco in the giant slalom event.
- Carlos Maeder (43) will become the third Ghanaian and second Olympic skier to represent his country following in the footsteps of Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, who competed at the Vancouver Games in 2010. It has been a long journey for the 43-year-old, and his hope is that he inspires others to keep following their dreams. He will compete in the giant slalom
- Akwasi Frimpong (35) became Ghana’s first skeleton athlete in 2018. He is Ghana’s second Olympian and the first black male skeleton athlete in Olympic history. Two years ago in Park City, Utah, US, Frimpong became the first African athlete to win an elite skeleton race.
- Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda (25) was the first Eritrean Winter Olympian. His parents fled the war in Eritrea in the 1980s and relocated to Canada, where he began skiing at the age of three. In 2011, he decided to ski for Eritrea and qualified for the Pyeongchang Games in 2018. He retired from alpine skiing after the games, but after considering switching to bobsleighing decided to resume skiing in 2021, making the Olympic team three months later.
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