| | | The 2022 Winter Olympics have officially been underway in Beijing since last Friday, just six months after the conclusion of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. While Beijing is the first city in the world to host the Olympics in both summer and winter, the opening ceremonies at “The Bird’s Nest” couldn’t have been more different. Fans across the world have tuned in to watch their respective nations’ athletes compete in what has been called a welcome distraction amidst the Omicron surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s Daily Dose provides a history of the Winter Olympics along with the sports – and people – to keep an eye on during the 2022 games. | | |
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| History - Winter Wonderland | | | 1 - First Winter In the early 1900s, growing popularity of winter sports led them to make occasional guest appearances during the summer olympics – first with figure skating in the 1908 London Olympics, then with figure skating and ice hockey during the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. After years of deliberation within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and objection from the IOC president himself, the committee decided to give it a go. In 1924, the first Winter Olympics was held as a special “international winter sports week” accompanying the Paris Olympics that year. The 9 sports showcased took place at Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and were a resounding success, leading the IOC to retroactively recognize the first Winter Olympic Games. |
| 2 - Destination Olympics While Beijing is the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympics, other venues have hosted the Olympics multiple times. In the early days, there were only a handful of countries representing a modest number of athletes – investment in infrastructure was not feasible in the face of global financial crisis and logistical challenges. The self proclaimed “birthplace of modern winter sports,” St Moritz, Switzerland hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948; Lake Placid, NY hosted the games in 1932 and again in 1980; and Innsbruck, Austria hosted in 1964, then again in 1976 after Denver withdrew as host city. |
| 3 - Global Disruption and Boycotts The Olympics are generally recognized as a time when countries around the world are able to set aside personal differences in the name of friendly competition. But the games have historically had their fair share of political turmoil in the past – such as China’s 1956-1980 boycott over the IOC’s recognition of Taiwan – and this year is no exception. While athletes from representative nations continue to participate, several countries, including the United States, the UK, and Canada, have opted to diplomatically boycott the games by sending no government delegation. |
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| | | Fringe Sports | | | 1 - Throwing Stones If you’ve tuned in to the Olympics and found yourself watching a lead throwing a stone down the sheet, you’ve found yourself dialed in to curling. Curling, approachably defined, is a mix of shuffleboard and bocce. The game is comprised of two teams competing over up to ten ends (like frames in bowling), to land more of their stones closer to the center of the house (the target) than the opponent’s next closest stone. |
| 2 - Striking Bones Skeleton was a feature event of the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, but largely discontinued until its reintroduction during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Like the luge and bobsled, it is a sliding sport, named for the original metal sleds which were said to resemble a skeleton. Skeleton racers hit speeds of up to 93mph. Skeleton differs from luge in the position that the rider takes on the sled. |
| 3 - Slides and shots How does shooting fit into the winter olympics? The biathlon is an Olympic sport combining cross-country skiing and shooting. It made its debut in the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, California and has been a Winter Olympics event ever since. There are eleven events across men’s, women’s, and mixed series, each spanning different lengths of cross country skiing and rifle shooting, with missed shots resulting in added time or distance being added to the athlete’s total. |
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| The Comeback Kids | | | 1 - Nathan Chen The figure skater made his triumphant return to the winter olympics this year after an upsetting loss during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. During his Tuesday performance in the men’s short program event, the 22-year-old landed two quadrupel jumps and a triple axel, scoring a record-breaking 113.97-points to earn the gold medal for Team USA. |
| 2 - Donovan Carillo One of only four athletes from Mexico competing during this year’s Olympics, Carillo is the first Olympic skater from his country in three decades. His career-high performance on Tuesday keeps him in the running for this Thursday’s free skate competition, which is in itself a first for Mexico and earned him the distinction of most successful Mexican figure skater in history. |
| 3 - Chloe Kim The Californian snowboarder made her way back to the Olympics this year after a two-year hiatus from the sport after sustaining a broken ankle during the 2019 US Open. Kim was recognized as having the best run of the day during Tuesday’s qualifiers, scoring an 87.75 and anchoring her as the favorite for the Wednesday final. |
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| | | COMMUNITY CORNER Thanks for responding to our Saturday Poll, Who Wants to Live to 150. Please see the collective responses below: - While most readers (35.7%) were unsure if they wanted to live to 150, many cited concerns of ensuring continued good health, fear of stress on the environment and natural resources and over- population.
- Approximately similar percentages expressed desire to live to 150 (31.7%) vs not extending their lifespan (29.4%)
- When asked what they would do differently, we received lots of interesting responses, see below:
What would you do differently if you were able to live to 150? (sample responses) -Nothing -Be a better financial manager for my extra 65 years - Go back to college, try different careers, and help younger people. - Enjoy EVERY day - Have more wives! -Require a permit for access to life extension. It seems to me the individual responsible for breaking the social compact should not be rewarded by access to more bad behavior. |
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| ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. Welcome to the New + the Next! |
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