Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics FEBRUARY 4-20 ------------------------------------------------ Beijing makes Olympic history, becoming the first city to host both the summer and winter Games, when it opens the XXIV Winter Olympics. The Chinese capital was the focus of world attention in 2008 with its spectacular opening ceremony at the “Bird’s Nest” stadium. Now, 16 adrenaline-filled days will see some of the world’s finest athletes compete in 109 events across 15 winter sports disciplines Bing Dwen Dwen Olympic mascot 2022 Stylised Giant Panda wearing shell of ice that is intended to mimic a space suite – recognising winter sports, embracing new technologies and China’s advances in space exploration Freestyle skiing Eileen Gu San Francisco-born Chinese podium contender – celebrated double gold at both Winter X Games and FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in 2021 Temperature typically drops average 1 ̊C for every 100m increase in altitude. Factors such as latitude and proximity to sea also have significant effect Japanese venue Sapporo could be only climate-reliable location by 2100 – with winter favourites St. Moritz and Lillehammer unsustainable due to unreliable conditions Study analysed February daytime temp. Average temperature: 0.4C Average: 3.1C Average: 6.3C Chamonix (1924) St. Moritz (1928) Lake Placid (1932) Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1936) St. Moritz (1948) Oslo (1952) Cortina d’Ampezzo (1956) Squaw Valley (1960) Innsbruck (1964) Grenoble (1968) Sapporo (1972) Innsbruck (1976) Lake Placid (1980) Sarajevo (1984) Calgary (1988) Albertville (1992) Lillehammer (1994) Nagano (1998) Salt Lake City (2002) Turin (2006) Vancouver (2010) Sochi (2014) Pyeongchang (2018) Beijing (2022) --------------------------------------------- High speed train station (journey time from Beijing) Event venue Venues Olympic venues spread over three cities – Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou – forming 13 competition venues, five repurposed from 2008 Summer Olympics Genting Snow Park Freestyle skiing Snowboard National Cross-Country Centre Cross-Country Nordic Combined National Ski Jumping Centre Nordic Combined Ski Jumping National Sliding Centre Bobsleigh Skeleton Luge National Biathlon Centre Biathlon National Alpine Ski Centre Alpine Skiing National Speed Skating Oval Speed Skating Big Air Shougang Freestyle Skiing Snowboard National Stadium* (aka Bird’s Nest) Opening and closing ceremonies Wukesong Sports Centre* Ice Hockey Capital Indoor Stadium* Short Track Speed Skating Figure Skating National Aquatics Centre* Curling ZHANGJIAKOU Taizicheng Station (50 mins) HEBEI PROVINCE Qinghe Station YANQING Yanqing Station (26mins) Guanting Reservoir Qinghe Station BEIJING 10km 6 miles Repurposed Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic venue -------------------------------------------------- ALL-TIME WINTER OLYMPIC MEDAL TABLE Norway leads all-time ranking with haul of over 350 medals, winning 132 golds. Topped medal table for record eighth time in 2018, ahead of Germany and Canada --------------------------------------------------- Table sorted by number of gold medals 132 125 111 Norway Total medals: 368 105 112 88 United States 305 100 94 65 Germany (1928-52, 1992-) 259 78 57 59 Soviet Union (1956-92) 194 73 64 62 Canada 199 64 81 87 Austria 232 57 46 55 Sweden 158 56 45 52 Switzerland 153 46 39 35 Russia 120 Total medal events: 109 Medals awarded: 327 (minimum amount) Medal events by day 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 10 9 6 10 8 11 7 12 6 13 7 14 5 15 9 16 7 17 6 18 4 19 9 20 4 --------------------------------------------- Athletes to watch Nordic combined Jarl Magnus Riiber NOR Three-time World Champion dominating slopes Alpine skiing Mikaela Shiffrin USA Four-time slalom World Champion chasing third Olympic gold Freestyle skiing Mikael Kingsbury CAN Most decorated mogul skier of all time Snowboarding Chloe Kim USA Halfpipe queen Luge Natalie Geisenberger GER Most successful female luger in Olympic and world championship history Figure skating Yuzuru Hanyu JPN Seeking third successive Olympic gold – feat not achieved since 1928 ------------------------------------------------ Source: IOC Pictures: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS