The Beijing Winter Olympics begin this evening, coinciding with Chinese New Year and the beginning of spring in China.
Beijing is the first city in the world to host both the summer (2008) and winter Olympics.
The event’s theme, ‘Together for a Shared Future’, shows that the fight against the pandemic and the recovery of the global economy depended on the countries of the world working together, rather than trying to cope alone, the Chinese Global Times reported.
The Winter Olympics include 109 events covering 15 disciplines across seven sports; the Paralympic Winter Games, in March, feature 78 events comprising six sports.
“We wish Australian athletes good performances and more medals!” a Chinese Embassy spokesperson said.
A list of key Aussie medal hopes at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics:
LAURA PEEL (aerial ski): The reigning world champion, Canberra’s Peel crushed the competition at a recent World Cup to earn a score so high she would have medalled in the men’s event.
JAKARA ANTHONY (moguls): Anthony comes to Beijing in red-hot form as a regular on the World Cup podium. The 23-year-old finished fourth in 2018 but doesn’t want to leave China empty-handed this time.
SCOTTY JAMES (snowboard halfpipe): Four-time Olympian James has shown he’s still at the peak of his powers with a win in last month’s X Games. He is looking to improve on his bronze medal at the PyeongChang Olympics.
BREE WALKER (monobob): The fearless Walker will be Australia’s first-ever representative in the new Olympic event. She’s climbed 12 world series podiums over the last two seasons, including six gold.
MATT GRAHAM (moguls): A silver medallist in 2018, Graham is still recovering from surgery on a broken collarbone which meant he spent six weeks in the sun in the lead-up to Beijing but can’t be counted out.
BELLE BROCKHOFF: The reigning mixed pairs world champion with PyeongChang snowboard cross men’s silver medallist Jarryd Hughes, three-time Olympian Brockhoff says she is excited to be chasing two medals in Beijing.
For more information, visit Beijing 2022.
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