2022 Beijing Olympics – Page 4

Q&A: Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir talk figure skating, fashion and the 17 suitcases they have for Beijing Olympics

“If we match the skaters and we’re bringing out the sparkle, then we’re doing our job.”

It’s less than four days out from the Opening Ceremony, the official start to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, when Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir sit down to have a virtual chat with For The Win. It’s what they described as the first day of their Olympics, sitting on a gray couch at NBC headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, where they’ll cover the Games instead of in person rinkside.

Of course, they look fabulous, as they sidle up next to each other. Weir apologizes for slouching: “My hair won’t fit in the frame if I sit up straight.”

They’re prepping to cover their fifth Olympics together — third as figure skating analysts at the Winter Games — along with Terry Gannon as lead play-by-play commentator for Olympic figure skating.

Lipinski and Weir as a duo have become broadcasting staples when it comes to figure skating with an ability to simplify the sport for the less familiar. Figure skating is what they do, with Lipinski as the 1998 singles Olympic gold medalist at the Nagano Winter Games and Weir being a three-time U.S. champion and two-time Olympian (2006, 2010).

The pair are also fashion icons who have become famous for their dazzling on-air looks, complemented by sparkles and flair. But looking fabulous every day takes work, time and coordination, and they shared backstage details about how it all happens — including adjoining rooms and packing 17 total suitcases.

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This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

A camera tumbled so far down a mountain at the Winter Olympics and fans felt awful about it

What a nightmare start for one photographer in Beijing.

The Winter Olympics are underway in Beijing, even though the Opening Ceremonies haven’t been held yet, and we’ve already seen something that we’ve never seen before at the Games – a camera tumbling really far down a mountain during a skiing event.

I know, I know. I didn’t expect to be writing about this, either, but here we are. Life is strange like that.

So here’s what I can report on what happened: Somebody dropped a very nice camera (looks like a pricey Sony model) and this thing would not be stopped.

Just look at how far this darned thing traveled through the snow.

noooooooooooooooooooooooooo pic.twitter.com/MjaFbauD1r

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 3, 2022

Ugh. That poor photographer.

Twitter had reactions.

The super-cool, remote-control beds for athletes at the Winter Olympics aren’t made of cardboard

These beds are AWESOME!

You may be wondering why we’re out here writing about beds at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, which are set to begin later this week with the Opening Ceremony.

Let’s go back to the previous Games in Tokyo in 2021 to explain: It was then that we found out that the frames for the beds the athletes would sleep on were made of very sturdy cardboard — the myth was that they were to prevent, er, athlete intimacy, but that was debunked.

So would that be true in Beijing (the cardboard part, not the debunked myth)?

We have an answer, courtesy of Team USA luge athlete Summer Britcher:

9 Team USA Olympic champions looking to defend gold at the Beijing Winter Games

Go for gold! (Again!)

The United States won nine gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, fourth-most behind Norway (14), Germany (14) and Canada (11).

Team USA is in position to defend every one of those medals as the 2022 Olympics begin in Beijing, with the Opening Ceremony set for Friday, Feb. 4.

Five individual gold medalists return and four teams — all with returning members — are back to try to win it all once again. But it’s a lot to keep track of so we’re here to help.

Here’s a look at nine Team USA Olympic gold medalists looking to defend their titles four years later at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

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When do the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics begin with Opening Ceremony?

Here’s what you need to know about when the Beijing Winter Olympics start.

The Beijing Winter Olympics are just around the corner, meaning the world’s finest athletes will be competing for gold in a ton of athletic events that might not be in the mainstream during other times of the year.

The Opening Ceremony for the Beijing Olympics starts on Friday, February 4.

And, if you’re looking ahead, the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing Olympics will take place on Sunday, February 20.

The 2022 Winter Olympics are the 24th installment of the Winter Olympics and the first Winter Games held in China. Beijing was elected as the host city for this year’s Winter Olympics by the International Olympic Committee in 2015.

Keep your schedule free for those 16 days and stay tuned to For The Win for all your Winter Olympics coverage.

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5 international athletes to watch at the 2022 Winter Olympics

Who are the athletes to watch from around the globe in Beijing?

The Winter Olympics serve a very important purpose for many sports fans.

Beyond proving who the best athletes in the world truly are, the Games shine a light on sports that get limited run most of the time. In three Februarys out of four, ski jumping and nordic combined and curling are typically relegated to fringe channels lumped into a cable package no one truly wants.

But every four years, the tangled masses get to watch the excruciating effort of cross country skiing or the unassuming precision of curling on a national spotlight.

That’s the backdrop that makes people like Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall guests on the TODAY show and allows a quintet of dad-bodded goofballs to throw out the first pitch at a Major League Baseball game.

There’s so much more to watch than just Team USA in this year’s event in Beijing. Here are the names you should be familiar with from teams outside the 50 states at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Get to know Timothy LeDuc: 5 facts about the figure skater and first openly nonbinary Winter Olympian

Get to know the pairs figure skater before the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

For the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we’re highlighting 15 Team USA athletes we think you should get to know. Up next is figure skater Timothy LeDuc.

LeDuc may be making history as the first openly nonbinary Winter Olympian, but they want to make sure that’s not the only focus, as they and figure skating pairs partner Ashley Cain-Gribble — the reigning U.S. champions — get set to compete in Beijing.

“My hope is that when people see my story, it isn’t focused on me and saying, ‘Oh, Timothy is the first out non-binary person to achieve this level of success in sport,'” they said, via NBC Sports earlier this month. “My hope is that the narrative shifts more to, ‘Queer people can be open and successful in sports.’ We’ve always been here, we’ve always been a part of sports. We just haven’t always been able to be open.”

Here are some things to know about LeDuc ahead of the 2022 Games.

Beijing Olympics: Meet some of Team USA’s best athletes ahead of the 2022 Winter Games

For The Win is helping you get to know some Team USA athletes competing at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

It’s rare to get two Olympic Games about six months apart, but here we are. Although to some, it may seem like the Tokyo Summer Olympics just ended, the Beijing Winter Olympics are nearly here with the Opening Ceremony set for Feb. 4.

In the weeks leading up to the Winter Games, we here at For The Win are rolling out a ton of Olympics content to help get you ready, including spotlighting some Team USA’s top athletes.

And we’ve got them all right here in one handy place.

Get to know Alysa Liu: 5 facts about the teenage star and ‘Simone Biles of figure skating’

The 16-year-old figure skating star is getting her first shot at the Olympics.

Very rarely do you come across a talent like Alysa Liu in any sport. Sometimes people use the word prodigy a little too freely when it comes to certain athletes, but it absolutely applies to her.

It was very clear at an early age that she had a chance to be a pretty special competitor in the figure skating world. Now, the Richmond, California native have her first chance to do that on an Olympic stage in Beijing’s 2022 Winter Games.

Here are five things you should know about her.

Get to know Kai Owens: 5 facts about Team USA’s rising star in Olympic moguls skiing

Meet the teenage phenom headed to the Beijing Olympics for Team USA.

A trip to the Olympics is special for every athlete who is able to make it to the Games, but it’s likely even more special for Kai Owens, a 17-year-old freestyle skier who will compete in moguls for Team USA.

Owens’ personal story is pretty incredible. She was born in China and was left in a town square by her birth parents before being adopted from an orphanage when she was just 16 months old. Her parents, Amy and John Owens, raised her in Vail, Colorado, and now Owens is headed back to China for a moment that she has called “just incredible.”

Let’s get to know more about Owens, who is competing in her first Games.