After a long awaited four years, the Olympic Winter Games are back for the twenty-fifth edition, hosted in Milan and Cortina. They are set to kick off this year on February 4 and continue until February 22. There will be eight sports played with 16 disciplines, specific categories of the sport, including skiing, skating, ice hockey, and more. Milan welcomes over 3,000 athletes competing for the chance to win one of 195 medals.
The first official Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in 1924, hosting only 260 athletes. Norway took home the honor of winning the most medals in these games with four gold, seven silver, and six bronze. A question asked by many is about the origins of the Olympic games. According to the Olympics website, the answer dates back to, “…around 3,000 years, to the Peloponnese in Ancient Greece. Sports contests organised at Olympia took place every four years and acquired the name Olympic Games” (olympics.com).
A popular symbol for the Olympics are the infamous rings. According to the Olympics website, these five colored rings represent the five continents where athletes come together to compete from (olympics.com).
The Olympics allow extraordinary athletes to continue their athletic careers and compete in the sport they love while honoring their countries. “The Olympics serve as the ultimate show of national pride and identity” (cnr.ncsu.edu). This enables the athletes representing the same country to come together, whether they share the same sport or not. It also does the same for those at home watching the athletes play.
Selecting the location of the games is a long and complex process performed by the International Olympic Committee [IOC]. According to KNWA Fox 24, “The Olympics hosting process typically starts around 11 years before the Games.” This long period of time is for narrowing down the possible host cities, where they produce cost estimates, make marketing campaigns promoting their city to be chosen, and more (nwahomepage.com).
Similar to the first Winter Olympics, Norway may take home the gold this year as they have many times in the past. “Norway again topped the list of most medals won by a single country at the Olympic Winter Games through 2022, with 408 medals, 148 of them gold,” according to one website about this year’s Olympics (olympedia.org). However, the leading teams both in Women’s Ice Hockey and in Men’s, Team USA and Canada are the top competitors who are favored to be the ones battling it out for the gold.
As an ice hockey player himself, Junior Liam Olsen said, “As a hockey player and fan, I’m excited to watch the Winter Olympics USA vs Canada because every shift is intense, the rivalry is legendary, and you know the best players in the world are leaving their everything on the ice.”
Some top USA athletes headed to Milan, according to the Britannica website, include Mikaela Shiffrin (Alpine Skiing), Lindsey Vonn (Alpine Skiing), Kaillie Humphries (Bobsledding), Ilia Malinin (Figure Skating), and Chloe Kim (Snowboarding) (britannica.com).
Sophomore Melia Galvan is especially excited to watch Snowboarder Chloe Kim. “I’m excited to watch the Winter Olympics because I do snowboard, not often, but it’s cool to watch the best of the best, like Chloe, compete,” she said. Fellow snow shredder Senior Gaby Conway is also looking forward to the Olympics saying, “It’s so fun and inspiring to watch the athletes compete at that level. It always makes me want to get back on the slopes,” said Galvan.
The Olympics bring athletes from all over the world to show off their skills, earn a position on the podium, and bring home some hardware. It is an exciting time for those at home watching and cheering on their home countries. This year’s Winter Olympics are coming soon so get out that face paint and wave those flags.