The 24th Winter Olympics begins on 4 February in Beijing, where 2,828 athletes from 91 nations will compete for gold. This year’s games will include a record of 109 events in 15 disciplines across seven sports.
Team GB will be hoping to top the total of five medals (one gold and four bronze) managed at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang, with Lizzy Yarnold bringing home the solitary gold for Britain in the women’s skeleton. In 2022, 50 athletes (27 men and 23 women) will compete for Team GB.
What are all the Sports in the Winter Olympics?
A total of 15 disciplines from seven sports make up the Winter Olympics programme, with Team GB athletes competing in 11.
Alpine Skiing
Part of the Winter Olympics since 1936, alpine skiing (or downhill skiing) will see four Team GB competitors compete across five events. Billy Major and Dave Ryding will be taking part in the men’s slalom, Charlie Guest and Alexandra Tilley in the women’s slalom and Tilley again in the women’s giant slalom. All four will compete as a team in the mixed event.
Biathlon
With a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, the biathlon does not have any British interest in 2022 across any of the 11 events.
Bobsleigh
Six athletes will be representing Team GB in the bobsleigh across four events. Brad Hall and Nick Gleeson will compete together in the two-man and will then be joined by Greg Cackett and Taylor Lawrence in the four-man. Mica McNeill will take part in the monobob and then the two-woman alongside Montell Douglas. Former Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford had attempted to represent Great Britain in the bobsleigh at this year’s Winter Olympics but missed out on selection.
Cross-Country Skiing
Men’s cross-country skiing has been part of the Winter Olympics since the first games in 1924, with women’s cross-country skiing not being added until 1952. Three Brits will all be competing across five events – 15km classical, 30km skiathlon, 50km freestyle, sprint and team sprint. They are James Clugnet, Andrew Musgrave and Andrew Young.
Curling
Curling is one of the most popular sports played at the Winter Olympics and it is where Team GB has enjoyed some success since its reintroduction to the Games in 1998 (it was played once previously in 1924). Team GB won silver (men) and bronze (women) in 2014, as well as gold (women) in 2002.
In 2022, the men’s team is made up of Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan Jr and Ross Whyte, with Eve Muirhead, Vicky Wright, Jennifer Dodds, Hailey Duff and Mili Smith making up the women’s team. For the first time, Team GB will be competing in the mixed doubles at the Winter Olympics, with Mouat and Dodds making up the British pairing.
Figure Skating
Figure skating at the Winter Olympics will always spark memories of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean winning gold in 1984 with 12 perfect scores for their Bolero performance. In 2022, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson will take to the ice together in the ice dance, while Natasha McKay will fly the flag for Britain in the women’s singles.
Freestyle Skiing
No fewer than 11 British athletes (the most of any discipline) will be competing in freestyle skiing 10 across 10 events. Lloyd Wallace, James Woods, Gus Kenworthy, Will Feneley, Oliver Davies, Isabel Atkin, Kirsty Muir, Katie Summerhayes, Zoe Atkin, Leonie Gerken-Schofield and Makayla Gerken-Schofield make up the British freestyle skiing team. They will be competing in the aerials, big air, halfpipe, slopestyle, moguls and ski cross.
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey is one of the most recognisable sports at the Winter Olympics and, unsurprisingly, USA and Canada are two of the most successful nations alongside Russia. Great Britain was the first country to stop Canada from winning ice hockey gold in 1936, the same year the team made history by also winning the world and European titles. However, there is no British representation in this year’s ice hockey events.
Luge
Rupert Staudinger is Team GB’s sole athlete competing in the luge (men’s singles) and will be hoping to build on his 33rd place finish at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He will have to compete with luge legend Felix Loch, the two-time Olympic and 13-time world champion, who narrowly missed out on a third consecutive gold medal in 2018.
Nordic Combined
Nordic combined sees athletes compete in cross-country skiing and ski jumping and has been included in the Winter Olympics since the first Games in 1924. Team GB will not be competing in this discipline.
Short Track Speed Skating
Three Team GB athletes will be competing across five of the nine short track speed skating events in Beijing. Niall Treacy will compete in the men’s 1,000m along with his older brother, Farrell Treacy, who will also be competing in the men’s 1,500m. Kathryn Thomson will be competing in three events, the women’s 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m.
Skeleton
This is the sport in which Great Britain’s most successful Winter Olympian, Lizzy Yarnold, won back-to-back gold medals in 2014 and 2018. Skeleton has proven to be a fruitful hunting ground for Team GB, with Dominic Parsons and Laura Deas both picking up bronze medals in 2018 and, while neither Yarnold nor Parsons will be in Beijing, Deas will be back hoping to come away with another medal. Brogan Crowley, Marcus Wyatt and Matt Weston make up Team GB’s four competing athletes in the skeleton.
Ski Jumping
Ski jumping is another of the sports that have been featured in the Winter Olympics since the first Games in 1924, but it wouldn’t be until 2014 when the women’s event would be included. This year’s Winter Olympics will see the inclusion of a mixed team event for the first time. Team GB has no athletes competing in this discipline.
Snowboarding
British fans will be watching the snowboard cross with great interest as this is where one of Team GB’s best hopes of winning gold can be found. Charlotte Bankes switched her allegiance to Great Britain from France in 2018 and is the current snowboard cross world champion, winning gold in Idre in 2021. Bankes is competing in the women’s and team snowboard cross, where she will be partnered by Huw Nightingale, who is also contending the men’s snowboard cross.
Speed Skating
There will be British interest in speed skating at the Winter Olympics for the first time since 1992, with Cornelius Kersten lining up in the men’s 1,000m and 1,500m. Additionally, Ellia Smeding with be Team GB’s first competing female speed skater at the Games since 1980 and will be hoping for good showings in the women’s 1,000 and 1,500m events.
Here at Fen Regis Trophies, we would like to wish Team GB the very best of luck in Beijing at the Winter Olympics and hope to see plenty of medals coming back home. If you require any trophies, awards and medals for your presentation, please view our website or get in contact with a member of our team today.