2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

Johaug missed the 2018 Winter Olympics as she was serving an 18-month suspension for a positive drugs test.

The Norwegian blamed her positive result on tainted lip balm.

However, she has returned to compete in Beijing and clinched the first gold up for grabs with a supreme display in the 7.5km+7.5km skiathlon, which was held approximately 120km northwest of China's capital.

Johaug, 33, crossed the line in a time of 44 minutes, 13.7 seconds to win what is often regarded as one of the toughest cross-country events.

She finished ahead of Natalia Nepryaeva of the Russian Olympic Committee and third-placed Austrian Teresa Stadlober.

"It was huge for me today. When I missed the Olympics Games in Pyeongchang it means is eight years since I was in Sochi," said Johaug, who is a three-time world champion in this discipline.

"The last year there have been many days away from home and to be at altitude to train to be ready for Beijing. It is huge to me to cross the finish line and know I reached my goal."

There was another gold for Norway on Saturday, as they came out on top in the mixed relay 4x6km biathlon, with France taking silver and the Russian Olympic Committee bronze.

Norway's curling team beat China and Australia in the mixed doubles round-robin stage to cap a fine day for the Scandinavian nation.

Olympic record tumbles

The Netherlands' Irene Schouten broke the Olympic record as she took gold in the women's 3000m speed skating.

Claudia Pechstein, of Germany, had set the previous record back in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

"When you say 20 years ago, the record stands a really long time. I am happy I have it now," Schouten said.

"My last lap was really good. There is a gold medal at the finish and I have to give it all and it was a good last lap."

Schouten cannot celebrate for too long, however, as she has to switch focus to the 5000m race and the team pursuit.

Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida claimed silver, while Isabelle Weidemann's bronze brought up Canada's 200th medal at the Winter Olympics.

China get up and running

There is always extra pressure on the host nation to perform and China managed to secure their first gold, triumphing in the mixed team relay of the short track speed skating.

The Chinese team just managed to hold off a late charge from Italy, who almost pipped them on the line. Hungary took bronze.

Sweden's Walter Wallberg took gold in the men's moguls final, while Slovenia's Ursa Bogataj won in the women's ski jump.

USA and Canada run riot

There were emphatic victories for the United States and Canada in the women's ice hockey.

Canada got into double figures against Finland, winning 11-1, while the USA defeated the Russian Olympic Committee 5-0 in the other Group A game.

Japan overcame Denmark 6-2 and the Czech Republic got the better of Sweden 3-1.

More drama awaits in the snowboarding as the first mixed team snowboard cross takes place at the Olympics, while Japan's Kobayashi Ryoyu looks to cement his place as the world's premier ski jumper.

One of the more intriguing non-medal events of the day will see the United States and Canada face off in the men's ice hockey, the first time that the two nations have met since Canada beat their rivals 1-0 in the semi-finals at Sochi 2014.

Here, Stats Perform previews each of the day's medal events. 

Biathlon

Norway's Johannes Thingnes Boe already has two medals from these Games, but is aiming to arguably win his most important one on Saturday in the men's 10km sprint, the only one that eluded him at Pyeongchang 2018.

He will likely face fierce competition from France's Quentin Fillon Maillet, who won gold in the individual biathlon on Tuesday, while Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson could also be one to keep an eye on.

Samuelsson currently leads the World Cup standings and finished ahead of both Boe and Fillon Maillet in consecutive sprint events in Ostersund earlier in the season.

Cross-country skiing

The women's 4x5km relay takes place on Saturday, with Norway hoping to successfully defend their title from Pyeongchang.

Norway has won two of the last three golds in this race, with Sweden taking the win at Sochi 2014.

Skeleton

Women's skeleton is celebrating its 20th year on the Olympic programme, and Germany's Tina Hermann will be hoping to replicate the success of compatriot Christopher Grotheer, who won the men's gold on Friday.

Hermann won the test event at this track in October, and sits in third place on a time of two minutes, 4.57 seconds after the first two heats on Friday. 

Australia's Jaclyn Narracott is in first place heading into the final two heats on two minutes, ahead of another German, Hannah Neise.

Ski jumping

The men's large hill event qualifying saw Norway's Marius Lindvik and Halvor Egner Granerud take first and second respectively, and both will be fancied in Saturday's final.

Granerud was the 2020-21 overall World Cup winner, but he and his compatriot will have to look out for Japan's Kobayashi Ryoyu, arguably the favourite for gold. The 25-year-old won the recent Four Hills Tournament as well as the normal hill event in Beijing.

According to the Beijing 2022 website, the large hill at the National Ski Jumping Centre has a height of 446 feet, "with the landing funnelling straight into a large stadium which can be used for football matches in the summer."

Snowboard

History will be made as the first mixed team snowboard cross medals will be handed out at the Olympic Games.

Pairs made up of one male and one female competitor will face off in quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final on Saturday, with current world champions Australia among the favourites along with the United States. 

There will be 15 teams competing from 10 nations, with Australia, Canada, France, Italy and the United States having two teams.

Speed skating

Haavard Lorentzen will look to defend his title from 2018 but faces strong competition in the men's 500m. The 29-year-old set an Olympic record in Pyeongchang and became the first Norwegian to win gold in the event since 1948.

Canada's Laurent Dubreuil recorded the fastest time in the 500m last year and is currently at the top of the World Cup standings, while South Korea's Cha Min-kyu will aim to make amends for missing out four years ago when Lorentzen beat him by 0.01 of a second in the final.

Star US skier Mikaela Shiffrin has endured a dismal fortnight, and the same can be said for the Great Britain team as a whole.

All this could change, as Shiffrin bids to end her Beijing campaign on a high with a first medal at her sixth attempt, while Team GB are guaranteed at least silver in men's and women's curling. They have yet to appear on the medal table, with curling proving the team's salvation.

Sweden will face Slovakia in the men's ice hockey bronze medal game, ahead of Sunday's final between Finland and Russian Olympic Committee.

Here, Stats Perform takes a look at Saturday's gold medal events.

Alpine skiing

Shiffrin remarked that she felt "like a joke" after failing to finish the women's combined – a third DNF of her difficult trip to China. She has also had a ninth place and an 18th, so Shiffrin has a lot on the line in the mixed team parallel slalom.

The event is part of the Olympic programme for just the second time, with Switzerland defending their title and Norway the reigning world champions.

It sees skiers race one another, two at a time, on side-by-side and identical slalom courses, with the first to reach the finish line scoring for their team. Each team contains two men and two women, who race against rivals of the same gender, with 16 teams entered and the competition operating in a knockout mode, with quarter-final places on offer to the first-round winners.

Bobsleigh

Germany lead the way in the battle for the top of the podium after two of the four heats staged so far, with the sled piloted by Laura Nolte in gold medal position, ahead of defending champion Mariama Jamanka.

That creates the possibility of a German one-two, although the USA's Elana Meyers Taylor sat third with aspirations of improving on that position going into Saturday, when the competition concludes.

Cross-country skiing

Finland's Iivo Niskanen is the reigning champion in the 50km mass start and has a gold, silver and bronze from Beijing, but he is sitting out Saturday's event.

There are a host of challengers lining up to succeed Niskanen as champion. Among them, Russian Olympic Committee's Alexander Bolshunov will be looking to improve on his silver from 2018 and add to his four medals accrued so far in Beijing.

Norway's Simen Hegstad Krueger and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo could also be in the mix, along with the likes of Bolshunov's team-mate Denis Spitsov.

Curling

Standing between Bruce Mouat's Team GB rink and the gold medal are a strong Sweden team, led by skip and former army tank commander Niklas Edin.

Edin was not mincing his words when he described the showdown as "a clash of the titans in our sport".

Great Britain edged their round-robin tussle 7-6 in Beijing but also have recent experience of losing to Sweden. Competing as Scotland, the GB men were beaten 10-5 by the Swedes in the 2021 World Championship final.

Edin said of Saturday's match: "It might be nerve-wracking, but it's going to be a super well-played game. For the last couple of years they've probably been the most consistent team. And in championships over the past seven, eight years we've been the most consistent team."

Sweden also feature in Saturday's women's bronze medal game, taking on Switzerland, after losing 12-11 to Great Britain in Friday's semi-final.

Figure skating

China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong set the highest score ever achieved by a duo in a short programme to edge ahead in the pairs skating on Friday, with Saturday's free skating to come.

Their score of 84.41 points eclipsed that of Russian Olympic Committee's Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (84.25), with a second Russian pair consisting of world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov in third.

China have won gold in the pairs once before, when Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, a married couple, triumphed on the Vancouver ice in 2010.

Freestyle skiing

New Zealand have taken a gold and silver from Beijing so far, both going to snowboard marvel Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. Now freeski world champion Nico Porteous will look to follow her lead and reach the podium in the men's halfpipe final.

Porteous will compete in a field otherwise made up of competitors from the United States and Canada, and by setting the second-best score in qualifying has already served a reminder of his medal credentials.

US star Aaron Blunck led the way in qualifying, with another American, Birk Irving, in third. But perhaps all eyes should be on David Wise, winner of this event at the last two Games. At the age of 31, Wise is chasing a hat-trick, and posting the fourth-best score in qualifying suggests the man from Reno, Nevada, should not be discounted.

Speed skating

Action on the speed skating rink wraps up on Saturday with the men's and women's mass start events.

Korea's Lee Seung Hoon is the men's defending champion and is joined in the field by the silver medallist from four years ago, Belgium's Bart Swings. The last time Belgium won a Winter Olympics gold was in the pairs figure skating at the 1948 Games in St Moritz. American Joey Mantia is another with serious designs on gold.

In the women's event, the Dutch duo of Irene Schouten and Marijke Groenewoud are likely to be there or thereabouts, along with Canada's Ivanie Blondin and Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida.

A youngster challenged over the experienced head in the men's freeski halfpipe final, while Irene Schouten clinched her third gold of the Beijing Games.

The Dutch speed skater has been a major success story and made it three of the best as she triumphed in the women's mass start, following her earlier wins in the 3000m and 5000m events.

"My dream was after these Games to be called an Olympic champion, and now I am a three-time champion. I am living the dream," said Schouten, who took bronze in the same event in 2018.

"It is a game. Not always the fastest wins, you need some luck. Today I had luck. I was fast, but I got some luck, too."

Schouten is the second woman to win three gold medals in speed skating at a single Olympic Winter Games, joining compatriot Yvonne van Gennip from 1988.

She has also joined Japan's Takagi Miho in winning four speed skating medals in Beijing. They are the fourth and fifth females to win four medals in speed skating at a single Olympic Winter Games.

In the men's equivalent, Bart Swings sealed Belgium's first Olympic Winter gold since 1948. 

Porteous bests reigning champion Wise

World champion Nico Porteous came out victorious on the slopes, claiming freeski halfpipe gold ahead of reigning Olympic champion David Wise, who was aiming for a third straight gold in the event.

Porteous is the first athlete from New Zealand to claim two medals in freestyle skiing. He took bronze in Pyeongchang.

At 20 years, 88 days, Porteous is the youngest gold medallist in men's freeski halfpipe, while Wise, who is 31 years and 234 days old, is the oldest medallist in the discipline.

Germany, ROC celebrate one-two combinations

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) claimed four medals on Saturday.

Silver and bronze came their way in the pairs figure skating, with Chinese duo Sui Wenjing and Han Cong claiming gold.

The ROC's success came in cross-country skiing, with Alexander Bolshunov cruising to gold in the shortened men's mass start. It marked his third top prize of the Games.

Ivan Yakimushkin finished 5.5 seconds behind, with Norway's Simen Hegstad Krueger, who raced for the first time in Beijing having had to isolate due to COVID-19, finishing third.

Germany also had a gold-silver combination to celebrate in women's bobsleigh.

Success for Sweden

There was heartbreak for Great Britain, as their men fell just short in a thrilling curling final against Sweden.

Great Britain had to come from 3-1 down to force an extra end, but Sweden prevailed 5-4, meaning Britain's 98-year wait for men's curling gold rolls on.

"It's still pretty raw," GB captain Bruce Mouat told BBC Sport. "That's going to be the case for quite a while.

"I'm trying to think how great our week was and [feel] proud how we went about it. We topped the table and had a really good semi-final performance so I'm trying to think about the other things apart from that game."

Sweden's women, meanwhile, downed Switzerland 9-7 in their bronze medal game. 

However, Sweden's men could not claim ice hockey bronze, as they were thrashed 4-0 by Slovakia.

White was emotional last Friday as he competed in his final event at the Winter Games, the men's halfpipe, where he agonisingly finished in fourth place.

The American is the first and so far only snowboarder to win three gold medals, and had already announced before the Games in China that it would be his last, bringing a much-decorated 22-year career to an end.

He took to Twitter on Friday to write a farewell message.

"I slid down the halfpipe at the Olympics for the final time," he posted. "Typing this now makes me just as emotional as I felt last Friday. It brings me tears of joy.

"It has been a rollercoaster of emotions and I am overwhelmed with appreciation. Closing this chapter of my life has made me reflect on that past 22 years as a professional snowboarder with gratitude."

White went on to thank numerous people who have helped him through his career, insisting that "Still competing at the Olympics at the age of 35. It takes a village, and I am so incredibly lucky to have had such wonderful and talented humans in my corner over the years."

He also thanked his family as well as skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, who he credited as a "positive influence", and also thanked snowboarding's organisers, his fellow competitors and his fans.

White went on the say: "Snowboarding was my first love. Like any new relationship, it was intoxicating. Snowboarding gave me a rush, made me feel invincible, filled my life with adventure. It gave me purpose and I got to be creative.

"I will of course miss snowboarding professionally, but this won't be the last time you see [me] cruising down the mountain.

"I am beyond humbled and grateful for this beautiful journey. It has been an honor and a privilege. This has been the ride of my life!"

As well as his Olympic success, at the X Games, White won 23 medals overall, of which 15 were gold. Thirteen of those gold medals came in snowboarding and two in skateboarding.

Eight of his X Games golds came in the halfpipe event, with the other five achieved in slopestyle.

He was the first snowboarder to score a perfect 100 in the halfpipe in the Winter X Games, achieving that 10 years ago in Aspen, Colorado.

White triumphed first at the Winter Olympics as a 19-year-old in Turin in 2006, defending his title in 2010 in Vancouver, and recovering from missing out on the Sochi podium four years later by landing gold again at Pyeongchang 2018.

His score of 97.75 in his second run at Pyeongchang stands as an Olympic record.

White was emotional last Friday as he competed in his final event at the Winter Games, the men's halfpipe, where he agonisingly finished in fourth place.

The American is the first and so far only snowboarder to win three gold medals, and had already announced before the Games in China that it would be his last, bringing a much-decorated 22-year career to an end.

He took to Twitter on Friday to write a farewell message.

"I slid down the halfpipe at the Olympics for the final time," he posted. "Typing this now makes me just as emotional as I felt last Friday. It brings me tears of joy.

"It has been a rollercoaster of emotions and I am overwhelmed with appreciation. Closing this chapter of my life has made me reflect on that past 22 years as a professional snowboarder with gratitude."

White went on to thank numerous people who have helped him through his career, insisting that "Still competing at the Olympics at the age of 35. It takes a village, and I am so incredibly lucky to have had such wonderful and talented humans in my corner over the years."

He also thanked his family as well as skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, who he credited as a "positive influence", and also thanked snowboarding's organisers, his fellow competitors and his fans.

White went on the say: "Snowboarding was my first love. Like any new relationship, it was intoxicating. Snowboarding gave me a rush, made me feel invincible, filled my life with adventure. It gave me purpose and I got to be creative.

"I will of course miss snowboarding professionally, but this won't be the last time you see [me] cruising down the mountain.

"I am beyond humbled and grateful for this beautiful journey. It has been an honor and a privilege. This has been the ride of my life!"

As well as his Olympic success, at the X Games, White won 23 medals overall, of which 15 were gold. Thirteen of those gold medals came in snowboarding and two in skateboarding.

Eight of his X Games golds came in the halfpipe event, with the other five achieved in slopestyle.

He was the first snowboarder to score a perfect 100 in the halfpipe in the Winter X Games, achieving that 10 years ago in Aspen, Colorado.

White triumphed first at the Winter Olympics as a 19-year-old in Turin in 2006, defending his title in 2010 in Vancouver, and recovering from missing out on the Sochi podium four years later by landing gold again at Pyeongchang 2018.

His score of 97.75 in his second run at Pyeongchang stands as an Olympic record.

Hubert Strolz took gold in the same event at Calgary 1988 and his son made it something of a family tradition at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.

Strolz was half a second quicker than anyone else in the slalom and combined with his fourth-best time in the downhill run, it meant he edged out Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway by just over half a second.

It completes a fairytale for the unheralded Austrian, who seemed destined to miss out on the team heading to Beijing after he had his funding cut last year.

Strolz juggled training while working as a police officer to help keep up his income, yet the 29-year-old is now an Olympic champion.

He had a helping hand from compatriot Matthias Mayer, who is a three-time Olympic gold medallist having won the super-G earlier this week, as he lent Strolz some downhill skis to add further charm to a remarkable tale.

"I think I'm a good example of never giving up," said Strolz, who finished only three of 10 World Cup events last season. 

"If you believe in yourself, you have to take your chance and keep going."

Johaug, Schouten double up

Therese Johaug claimed the first gold of the Beijing Games and the Norwegian doubled her personal tally by coming out on top in the women's 10km classic at the National Cross-Country Skiing Centre.

Johaug – who missed the 2018 Games due to a doping ban – beat Finland's Kerttu Niskanen by just 0.4 seconds in an incredibly tight finish. Krista Paramoski, also of Finland, took bronze. 

"It was a close race with the Finnish girls but I was feeling really well at the end of the race. It's so much more fun to stand at the top of the podium when you know that you have won a big fight out there," Johaug said.

"It's a crazy feeling when you’re standing there and you realise it goes your way – 0.4, it's so close."

Irene Schouten, meanwhile, completed a clean sweep of the women's speed skating distance events, setting another Olympic record in the process.

The Dutchwoman triumphed in the 5,000m race, having previously won the 3,000m on Saturday, in which she set a record.

Her time of 6:43.51 on Thursday smashed the Olympic record previously set by Claudia Pechstein (6:46.91) in 2002.

"Schouten is incredible," said silver medallist Isabelle Weidemann. "Just watching her skate, she takes the level up so much. I hope in the future I can push her time and push the event even more. The faster more women can go, the better."

A golden day for Team USA

Nathan Chen capped off a fine day for the United States as he took gold in the men's single free skating.

"I never really felt I'd be able to make it this far in my career," Chen said.

"I'd always of course dream about making the Olympics and winning the Olympics, but I [thought], 'That's hard, I don't know if I can make that happen."

Chen endured a dreadful Olympic debut in 2018 but stormed to the gold medal this time around with a score of 332.60, winning by over 22 points ahead of Japanese duo Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno. 

Team USA's brilliant day began when Chloe Kim made history by becoming the first woman to win two Winter Olympics gold medals in the snowboard halfpipe event, while they also took gold in the freestyle skiing mixed team aerials final.

Their men's ice hockey team, meanwhile, hammered hosts China 8-0.

Great Britain's women will attempt to go one better than their male counterparts in the curling, the four-man bobsleigh concludes, while Norway will seek to add to their impressive medal haul in the final cross-country skiing event.

The rescheduled mixed-team parallel slalom should finally get under way, and the men's ice hockey final promises to be an intriguing one.

Here, Stats Perform takes a look at Sunday's events, before the evening's closing ceremony.

Alpine skiing

The mixed team parallel slalom is due to take place after being rescheduled from Saturday due to windy conditions.

The event is part of the Olympic programme for just the second time, with Switzerland defending their title and Norway the reigning world champions.

It sees skiers race one another, two at a time, on side-by-side and identical slalom courses, with the first to reach the finish line scoring for their team. Each team contains two men and two women, who race against rivals of the same gender, with 16 teams entered and the competition operating in a knockout mode, with quarter-final places on offer to the first-round winners.

Switzerland won the first iteration in Pyeongchang, while Austria took silver and Norway claimed bronze.

Bobsleigh

The final bobsleigh event sees the four-man sleds compete, with the first two heats having taken place on Saturday.

The leaderboard at the halfway stage looks as many expected it would, with the team led by German pilot Francesco Friedrich leading the way, just ahead of the team of compatriot Johannes Lochner.

Canada's foursome led by Justin Kripps sat third, but the threat of a Germany sweep - as happened in the two-man event - remained, with Christoph Hafer's team in fourth.

German sleds have won five of the last seven four-man events at the Winter Games dating back to 1994 in Lillehammer.

Cross-country skiing

The cross-country skiing events have been largely dominated by Norway and Russian Olympic Committee, with the two teams accounting for eight of 11 gold medals so far (four each).

The final event on Sunday will be the women's 30km mass start, with Norway's Therese Johaug one of the favourites after taking gold in the 10km classic and skiathlon.

Finland's Krista Parmakoski (silver) is the only medallist from 2018 to compete here, and she will be looking to add to the bronze she won in the 10km classic.

Curling

Though Great Britain won their first medal of Beijing 2022 on Saturday, their men's curling team will have been disappointed to only take silver after losing to Sweden in the gold medal match.

Eve Muirhead leads her team into the women's final on Sunday against Japan, and will be confident of doing so having beaten them 10-4 in the round-robin stages.

Ice hockey

The men's final sees reigning Olympic champions Russian Olympic Committee take on two-time silver medallists Finland.

This will be Finland's first gold medal match since Turin 2006, which was the last Olympic final not to feature either the United States or Canada. Both the US and Canada were heavily impacted by the NHL refusing to release players for Beijing 2022, but this final still promises to be a strong one.

The names of those infected have not been released, nor has it been specified whether those affected are athletes or support staff, or a combination of those.

The Beijing 2022 opening ceremony takes place on Friday, February 4, although curling begins two days earlier and freestyle skiing and ice hockey start on the eve of the Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee said in a statement: "Currently five out of the 246 members of the Team Canada delegation in Beijing are in COVID-19 protocols.

"We are following the Beijing 2022 playbook rules. Part of our strategy was to arrive early to allow time for confirmation testing and, if necessary, the medical expert panel process to unfold.

"Because there will likely be persistent shedders among the delegation, we will not be sharing names at this time. Members of Team Canada's delegation include athletes, coaches and mission team."

Persistent shedders are those who have recovered from having the coronavirus and may no longer be contagious, but who still have remnants of the virus in their system.

The Beijing Games playbook for athletes is their guide to the Games, and it outlines COVID-19 rules, with those that test positive to be taken to a designated hospital if symptomatic, or to an isolation facility if showing no outward signs of the virus.

Canada has a rich tradition of success at the Winter Olympics, finishing third on the medal table at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The news comes a day after Norway's reigning Winter Olympics skiathlon champion Simen Hegstad Kruger was revealed to have tested positive.

Norway are fortunate to have her, with the 31-year-old on Sunday landing her third gold medal of the Beijing 2022 Games when she triumphed in biathlon's women's 10km pursuit. She also has a bronze from this fruitful trip to China.

Roeiseland became the second biathlete to win the women's sprint and pursuit at a single Olympics, following Laura Dahlemeier four years ago in Pyeongchang.

Just how great her achievement is can be quantified by the fact only one biathlete before Roeiseland has won four medals in a Winter Olympics, and that was her legendary compatriot Ole Einar Bjorndalen, who landed four golds at Salt Lake City in 2002, on the way to his career haul of eight gold, four silver and a bronze.

Norway now have eight medals in biathlon at Beijing 2022, and with five events remaining, Germany's record haul of 11 medals, set in 2006, is in their sights.

Roeiseland still has the 4x6km relay on Wednesday to come before the 12.5km mass start event on Saturday, so her personal collection of medals may not be complete yet.

There were plenty of other stars breaking records and posting remarkable achievements, and Stats Perform looks here at the numbers behind their stories.

5 -Marco Odermatt of Switzerland won gold in the men's giant slalom skiing event, backing up his World Cup form after four wins from five races this season. His feat gave the Swiss their fifth giant slalom gold in the history of the Games, matching Austria's record.

7 - Russian Olympic Committee's 4x10km cross-country skiing relay triumph saw history made by Alexander Bolshunov, a key cog in the ROC team. The 25-year-old became the first male athlete representing either the Soviet Union, Unified Team, Russian Federation, Olympic Athletes from Russia or ROC to win seven medals at the Winter Olympics. Farmer's son Bolshunov won three silver and a bronze in Pyeongchang, and he has two gold and a silver from Beijing.

98 - Biathlete Quentin Fillon Maillet became the first French athlete to win four medals in a single Winter Olympics when he triumphed in the 12.5km pursuit, and the first from his country to take four at any Olympics - winter or summer - since fencer Roger Ducret did so 98 years ago when Paris put on the 1924 Games. He has two gold and two silver medals.

17 - Slovakian ice hockey perhaps has a major new star in 17-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky, who leads the men's tournament scoring charts with four goals already (the same number as Sweden's Lucas Wallmark). Youngster Slafkovsky was expected to be a fringe member of the squad but has shone on the big stage, netting on Sunday in a 5-2 victory over Latvia - Slovakia's first win of the competition. They await a qualification play-off on Tuesday, and may again look to Slafkovsky for inspiration. The boy wonder said: "If someone would have told me before coming here that I would score one goal, I would laugh, but actually it is happening. I am pretty surprised. I was coming here for some other role and I am just so happy it is working so well."

The Russian teenager was controversially cleared to continue competing this week despite testing positive for performance-enhancing drug trimetazidine in December.

Valieva won a team figure skating gold last week before her positive test was revealed and is on course to win the singles title after leading the way in the short program routine on Tuesday.

Another teen sensation, China's Eileen Gu – who has already won freeski big air gold and slopestyle silver - begins her quest for a third medal in Beijing as the women's freeski halfpipe qualification gets underway.

Stats Perform takes a look at Thursday's upcoming medal events:

Alpine skiing

The women's alpine program ends with the combined event, with 2018 Olympic champion Michelle Gisin from Switzerland hoping to become the third woman to successfully defend the title after Janica Kostelic of Croatia (2002-2006) and Maria Hofl-Riesch of Germany (2010-2014).

We could see Mikaela Shiffrin's redemption story after the American, who has had a Games to forget so far, crashed out of the giant slalom and slalom, before finishing ninth in the super G and 18th in the downhill.

A silver medallist at PyeongChang 2018, Shiffrin is also the reigning world champion, and achieved the best time in training on Wednesday.

Figure skating

Valieva leads the way in the women's single skating event after receiving 82.16 points in the short program on Tuesday.

The 15-year-old is ahead of another Russian, Anna Shcherbakova (80.20) and Japan's Kaori Sakamoto (79.84) heading into Thursday's free skate.

Freestyle skiing

In the women's ski cross event, all eyes will be on Sweden's Sandra Naeslund. She has won eight out of nine races of this season's World Cup, including the final event before the Olympics last month.

Marielle Thompson of Canada, the 2014 Olympic champion, is the only other woman to have won a World Cup event this season, and she will be hoping to complete an inspirational return after rupturing her ACL in her right knee last March.

The qualification for the men's and women's freeski halfpipe begin, with Gu aiming to win another medal in front of her adoring fans in Beijing, with the women's final set to take place on Friday.

Ice hockey

The anticipated women's gold medal game between Canada and the United States takes place on Thursday.

Both teams comfortably made it to the final on Monday after Canada beat Switzerland 10-3 and USA overcame Finland 4-1 in the semis.

The rivals have already played each other in Beijing, with the Canadians winning 4-2 in the group stage.

Nordic combined

The final event of the Nordic combined, the team Gundersen large hill 4x5km relay, will see Norway's team of Joergen Graabak, Jens Luraas Oftebro, Espen Bjoernstad and Espen Andersen looking to increase their nation's dominance.

Norway (three) is the only country to have won more than one Nordic combined medal so far, but they will likely face competition from the other nations to medal: Germany, Austria and Japan.

Speed skating

In the women's 1000m, we will certainly have a new champion after Jorien ter Mors of the Netherlands, who won gold in 2018, recently retired.

Fellow Dutch skater Jutta Leerdam, the 2019 world champion, is her nation's best hope, while United States duo Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson, who won gold in the 500m, are also among the favourites.

Japan's Miho Takagi could become the third reigning world sprint champion to win Olympic 1000m gold after Karin Kania-Enke of Germany and American Bonnie Blair.

Beijing’s National Stadium - aka, the Bird's Nest - will host the opening ceremony at 20:00 local time (12:00 GMT) 14 years after it did so for the 2008 Summer Games.

President Xi Jinping will be in attendance to officially open the Games, and the ceremony will be directed by celebrated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who has promised a simpler show than the one he directed in 2008, with an apparently unprecedented method of lighting the Olympic flame.

Away from the pyrotechnics, the flag bearing and the flame lighting, Stats Perform gives you a rundown of what other events take place in Beijing on Friday.

Alpine skiing

The second men's downhill training run takes place on Friday at Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.

The field includes highly-fancied Swiss star Marco Odermatt as well as one of his closest contenders, Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.

Curling

This will actually be the third day of the mixed doubles competition, with Italy (2-0) the only team to have not yet lost, though they have only played twice while eight of the other nine teams have played three matches. The Italians play Norway (1-2) in the morning session and Czech Republic (2-1) in the afternoon.

Hosts China (2-1) face Canada (1-1) in the afternoon session, after the Canadians take on Switzerland (2-1).

Australia (0-3) are the only team yet to record a win but will have two opportunities to do so on Friday. They play Sweden (2-1) in the morning followed by Great Britain (2-1) in the afternoon, when Sweden also face the United States (1-2).

Figure skating

The team event begins on Friday, with the men's single short programme followed by the ice dance rhythm dance and the pairs short programme.

The United States, Russian Olympic Committee and Japan are expected to perform well, though Japanese superstar Hanyu Yuzuru is saving himself for the men's singles competition, with Uno Shoma listed instead for the short programme.

Ice hockey

Two more games in the women's preliminary round take place as hosts China face Denmark while Russian Olympic Committee take on Switzerland.

Both China and Switzerland will be hoping to fare better than they did on Thursday, with the former losing 3-1 to Czech Republic while the latter were thrashed 12-1 by Canada.

Luge

It is also the third day of the luge, with the fifth and sixth men's training runs scheduled for Friday.

The German and Austrian athletes have so far dominated in Group A while the slightly more open Group B has seen Italy's representatives mostly impress, though Latvia's Kristers Aparjods has also been among the frontrunners.

Ski jumping

Day two of the men's and women's normal hill training takes place at the Zhangjiakou National Ski Jumping Centre.

Thursday saw Japan's Sara Takanashi rank first in two of the three women's rounds, while in the men's event there was little consistency to be found anywhere, though Norway's Daniel Huber registered the longest jump of 106 metres across the three rounds.

There is gold, silver and bronze glory up for grabs across a range of skiing and skating events.

Here, Stats Perform provides a rundown of the medal events taking place in Beijing on Saturday.

Biathlon

The mixed relay is the first medal event at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre, with the 4 x 6km getting under way late in the day.

Norway, Belarus, France, Sweden and Russian Olympic Committee are among the titans in this discipline, so one of those would appear likely to strike gold, with 20 teams entered for the event that mixes cross-country skiing with rifle shooting.

Cross-country skiing

The women's skiathlon at Zhangjiakou sees competitors complete 7.5 kilometres in the classic cross-country format before switching to skate skis for the final 7.5km stretch.

Russian Olympic Committee's Natalia Nepryaeva and Sweden's Frida Karlsson are likely gold medal contenders here, with Norway's Therese Johaug and another Swede, Ebba Andersson, also in the mix.

Freestyle skiing

Canada's Mikael Kingsbury is favourite to top the podium in the men's moguls, one of the most eye-catching sports at the Games. The defending champion began his Beijing 2022 campaign with a flawless run in qualifying for Saturday's final, and is the one to beat.

Kingsbury broke two vertebrae in his back in 2020, but he rebounded to win double gold at the 2021 World Championships, his speed over the bumps and mastery of the aerials an effective combination.

Short track speed skating

The mixed team relay could be where China secure a first gold medal of the Beijing Games. Netherlands and Russian Olympic Committee will likely be in with a shout too, but China led the recent World Cup standings with two wins from four races, plus podium finishes when they missed out on first place.

There are quarter-finals and semi-finals to negotiate, however, as the event makes its debut on the Olympic programme.

Ski jumping

Austria's Marita Kramer was expected to be a leading contender for gold in Saturday's women's normal hill event, but testing positive for COVID-19 has kept her out of the Games.

Calling a likely champion in her absence is a tough call, but Japan's Sara Takanashi, who has won 61 World Cup events, has to be in the conversation. This is her third Olympics, with Takanashi looking to improve on her bronze from Pyeongchang. Slovenian Ursa Bogataj and Germany's Katharina Althaus are in form, and both will fancy their chances.

Speed skating

The women's 3,000 metres features five-time gold medallist Claudia Pechstein, the 49-year-old German who has nine Olympic medals in all. Don't expect her to land a podium finish this time, given that last happened in 2006.

Czech world record holder and three-time Olympic champion Martina Sablikova is in the field, while Netherlands' Irene Schouten has strong credentials, along with her countrywoman Antoinette de Jong and Canada's Isabelle Weidemann.

The men's ice hockey gets under way, while there are big medal events in the luge, Nordic combined and short track speed skating, among others.

The men will try to follow Tuesday's exhilarating effort from the women in the freeski big air final, while the women's slalom and snowboard cross promise more excitement.

Stats Perform has you covered ahead of Wednesday's action.

Alpine skiing

The women's slalom provides an opportunity for both success and redemption on the 'Ice River' course at the Yanqing National Ski Centre.

Sweden's Sara Hector will be hoping to follow up Monday's gold medal in the giant slalom, while Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States will want to make up for crashing out of the same competition just five turns into her opening run.

Petra Vlhova of Slovakia and Katharina Liensberger of Austria, the reigning world champion, are two who could also challenge.

Curling

After Italy's dominance ended in an inevitable gold in the mixed doubles on Tuesday, the men's competition gets under way.

The opening series of matches will see Denmark face Canada, the United States go up against Russian Olympic Committee, Norway will play Switzerland and hosts China face Sweden.

Three of the US's gold medal team from Pyeongchang return to defend their title, including skip John Shuster.

Freestyle skiing

Following a sensational victory for China's 'Snow Princess' Eileen Gu on Tuesday, the pressure is on the men to follow suit.

The big story had been the return to competition of reigning slopestyle world champion Andri Ragettli, but the Swiss star failed to qualify for the final having only finished 14th on Monday.

American trio Alex Hall, Colby Stevenson and Mac Forehand could challenge for the medals, while Sweden's Oliwer Magnusson and Norway's Birk Ruud are also among the favourites, with the latter topping qualifying.

Ice hockey

With no involvement from NHL players, the men's tournament gets going in Beijing, feeling like it could almost be anyone's game.

Defending Olympic champions Russian Olympic Committee face Switzerland on Wednesday, while Czech Republic play Denmark.

Luge

The doubles event is expected to be dominated by Germany, with the 2014 and 2018 Olympic champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt returning, while bronze medallists from 2018 and current World Cup leaders Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken will likely provide stern competition.

Eggert and Benecken are also the track record holders after their November 2021 run of 58.793 seconds.

Nordic combined

One of the primary stories in the Nordic combined is whether Olympic champion Eric Frenzel of Germany and world champion Jarl Magnus Riiber of Norway will be able to compete after both contracted COVID-19.

Should they not make the start line, Austria's Johannes Lamparter is likely to be the favourite after his numerous Nordic Combined World Cup wins, including three in January.

Short track speed skating

The men's 1,500m final takes place on Wednesday, with China's Ren Ziwei looking to add to the two gold medals he already has from the 1,000m and mixed team relay.

Hungary's Liu Shaolin Sandor was disqualified for causing a collision with Ren in the 1,000m and will want to make up for that in the longer form final.

Snowboard

The women's snowboard cross probably sees Great Britain's best chance at a medal in Beijing with Charlotte Bankes among the favourites.

The 26-year-old leads this season’s World Cup standings with five podiums from six events, while Australia's Belle Brockhoff and Italy's Michela Moioli are likely to provide her strongest competition.

The men's and women's halfpipe qualifying also begin, which will see superstar Shaun White - who has confirmed these will be his last Games - and fellow United States star Chloe Kim compete.

While the USA defeated Finland 4-1, Canada made light work of their semi-final opponents Switzerland, cruising to a 10-3 rout on Monday.

The respective victories tee up a repeat of the 2018 Olympic final, which the USA won via a shoot-out.

Canada have been the form team in this tournament, however, and beat the USA 4-2 in the group stage.

In fact, the Canadians – who have won a medal in every Olympic Games since women's ice hockey was introduced in 1998 and claimed gold in four straight editions between 2002 and 2014 – have scored 54 times, only conceding eight goals in return.

"It is our dream to be there, that is huge for us," explained captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who is in the hunt for her third Olympic gold. "It will be fun. The team is ready.

"We really appreciate it. The smiles at the end of the game, when our young players came off the ice, was pretty awesome. You can see how exciting it is. It is not routine."

Canada will be hoping for another big display from their leader in the final. In 2010, she scored both goals in a 2-0 victory in the showpiece, while she also scored the golden goal winner in Sochi four years later.

History for Humphries

One athlete who will perhaps be torn by the United States-Canada rivalry is Kaillie Humphries. 

She won two golds and a bronze for Canada across the past three games but, in 2018, she switched allegiance to the USA, only receiving clearance to compete in Beijing two months ago.

On Monday, the 36-year-old made history, becoming first female to win a Winter Olympics title for two different nations, and the second athlete overall after speed skater Viktor An for South Korea and Russia, after she won the first ever gold medal in the women's monobob, a newly introduced event.

Elana Meyers Taylor completed a one-two for the USA, while Canada clinched bronze thanks to Christine de Bruin.

French pair triumph on the ice

Four-time world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France won figure skating gold.

They took silver in 2018, meaning that for a third successive Olympics, the ice dance title has been won by a duo that finished second in the previous Games.

Papadakis and Cizeron finished second behind Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov at the European Championships in 2020, but the Russian pair had to settle for silver this time around, with Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue ensuring the USA finished on the podium for the fifth consecutive Games.

"It's sinking in, but before it sinks in, I'll have to lie on the floor and cry," a laughing Papadakis said after claiming France's first gold in the event since 2002. "I am trying to take it all in, very, very, very slowly."

China, Austria add to their tallies

There was more success for hosts China, as ski jumper Xu Mengtao claimed the nation's first gold of the women's aerial events at Beijing.

China had previously won nine medals (seven silver and two bronze), but had never clinched gold – they were already the most decorated nation in the event.

Xu triumphed with a score of 108.61, ahead of Hanna Huskova of Belarus (107.95), with Megan Nick of the United States in third, way behind on 93.76.

Austria also collected a ski jumping gold, with their men's team succeeding. Slovenia came second and Germany took bronze. It is Austria's first gold in the event since 2010.

There was no change at the top as Norway stayed in the lead thanks to their nine golds, while Germany claimed a bronze medal in the men's team ski jumping final and remain second.

However, the USA nosed ahead of the Netherlands with their seventh gold of the Games, which came courtesy of Kaillie Humphries' historic monobob victory.

Not only is Humphries – who has previously represented Canada – the first woman to win the gold for two different nations at the Winter Olympics, but she is also the first champion in the newly introduced event.

Team-mate Elana Meyers Taylor completed a one-two for the USA, while Canada clinched bronze thanks to Christine de Bruin.

Canada now have 10 third-place finishes to their name in Beijing, becoming the first nation to reach double figures in one particular medal.

The USA's other two medals were both bronze, as they took their grand total to 16 thanks to freestyle skier Megan Nick and ice dance duo Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue.

They are also guaranteed another medal, after their women progressed to the ice hockey final, where they will face Canada.

Austria, meanwhile, moved from sixth to fifth as their men's team took a ski jumping gold.

It marks Austria's first Olympic team gold since 2010 in Vancouver.

"Incredible what happened today, incredible what happened the last two weeks for myself," explained Manuel Fettner, who also won silver in the normal hill individual event in Beijing.

"If somebody would have told me this two weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed him."

Slovenia collected their third silver of the Games, taking them onto seven medals in total. They sit 13th in the overall standings.

It was another good day for China, with ski jumper Xu Mengtao claiming the nation's first gold in the women's aerials.

The hosts are now up to seventh, above the Russian Olympic Committee, who claimed a silver medal in the ice dance, which was won by Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron – that success has moved France up to ninth.

Hanna Huskova was edged out by Xu and had to settle for silver. It is Belarus's second such medal in Beijing.

Medal table:

1. Norway (G9 S5 B7, Total: 21)
2. Germany (G8 S5 B2, Total: 15)
3. United States (G7 S6 B3, Total: 16)
4. Netherlands (G6 S4 B2, Total: 12)
5. Austria (G5 S6 B4, Total: 15)
6. Sweden (G5 S3 B3, Total: 11)
7. China (G5 S3 B2, Total: 10)
8. Russian Olympic Committee (G4 S6 B8, Total: 18)
9. France (G3 S6 B2, Total: 11)
10. Switzerland (G3 S0 B5, Total: 8)

Valieva had been on course to win the figure skating singles title after Tuesday's short programme, having controversially being cleared to compete despite failing a drugs test.

However, the immense pressure the 15-year-old has been under in Beijing appeared to have taken its toll as she fell on multiple occasions in an error-strewn performance on Thursday.

Valieva, who tested positive for trimetazidine after a test taken in December, could only finish fourth after a score of 141.83 for her final routine have her 224.09 overall at the Capital Indoor Stadium.

Anna Shcherbakova [255.95] took gold and Alexandra Trusova made it a Russian Olympic Committee one-two, with Kaori Sakamoto of Japan taking bronze.

Shcherbakova said: "The importance of this is so huge that I cannot fully understand it yet. At the moment I have only felt the happiness from the fact that I was able to do everything I am capable of in my programme.

"I still haven't realised that the competition has finished and this is the result. I haven't understood what has happened."

Valieva was reduced to tears after she was unable to claim a second medal. She won team gold last week before her failed drugs test came to light and prompted calls for the youngster to be thrown out of the Games.

Drink wine, ski fast - Gisin reveals winning formula

Michelle Gisin led a Switzerland women's Alpine combined one-two ahead of Wendy Holdener, with Federica Brignone taking bronze for Italy.

Gisin was 12th after the downhill but surged to the top of the podium following a rapid slalom run of 52.25 seconds, and revealed a drop of wine helped her claim gold on the back of a super-G bronze.

She said: "I had a glass of wine before the super-G with Loic (Meillard) and Luca Aerni and after the super-G they wrote on my door: 'Drink wine: ski fast'.

"So I drank a glass of wine with them again yesterday, of course."

Mikaela Shiffrin was left feeling "like a joke" after the American recorded her third DNF of the Games.

Canada dethrone USA to claim 'insane' ice hockey gold

It was Canada's day as they beat fierce rivals the United States in the women's ice hockey final, gaining sweet revenge for their loss in the gold-medal match four years ago.

The Canadians came out on top 3-2 at the Wukesong Sports Centre to win gold for a fifth time, and for a fourth time they did it at the expense of their old foes.

Sarah Nurse scored her fifth goal of the tournament and also broke the record for most points (18) and most assists (13) in a women's Olympic ice hockey competition.

Canada forward Sarah Fillier said: "It is insane. I can't stop shaking. It's a dream come true. I don't think I can find the words. I'm still shaking."

Persistence pays off for Takagi

Miho Takagi finally added an individual gold medal to her collection in the women's 1,000 metres, some 12 years after making her Olympic debut, adding to the three silvers she has won in these Games.

The Japanese speed skater clocked an Olympic record time of one minute, 13.19 seconds to strike gold.

A smiling Takagi said: ""I remembered what my older sister 'Nana' said to me this morning, 'It’s amazing if you win four silvers'.

"But I wasn’t able to accept any kind of pressure from outside. All I was thinking about was to finish the race, and start really well. I thought I would just go for it."

And he has the support of Liverpool and England footballer Jordan Henderson.

There are two finals in the men's freestyle skiing, too, while Finland and Switzerland's women go for bronze in the ice hockey.

Medals are up for grabs in the biathlon, cross-country skiing and short track speed skating. Here, Stats Perform looks at the main events to come on Wednesday.

Alpine ski

It has been a frustrating Games so far for Team GB, with no medals recorded as of yet. However, one of their big hopes will go for glory in the men's slalom.

Ryding, 35, made history by winning the first World Cup title for Great Britain just prior to the Games. However, he is one of six different winners in the six World Cup slalom events held so far this season, meaning the Olympic field is wide open.

But, he has the full backing of not only Team GB, but his beloved Liverpool, whose captain Henderson sent a message of support to Ryding.

"I just wanted to send you a quick message to say big congratulations on the win and all the very best in Beijing," Henderson said in the video message.

"I hope it goes well. It's nice to hear you are a big Liverpool fan. I hope to see you at Anfield when you get back. Take care mate, good luck.”

Sebastian Foss-Solevag, the 2021 world champion, must be considered among the favourites. 

Biathlon

Belarus will be looking to defend their title from 2018 in the women's 4x6km relay, though Sweden and France – silver and bronze medallists respectively in Pyeongchang – are also contenders.

Sweden are the current World Cup leaders, with Norway second and France third, with Belarus down in fifth place.

Cross-country skiing

There are two medal events in cross-country skiing on Wednesday, in the men's and women's team sprints.

The United States are the reigning women's champions, while Norway hold the title in the men's. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is part of the team, and he is hunting a fourth medal in Beijing.

Freestyle skiing

Likewise, six more athletes will win medals in freestyle skiing. The men's freeski slopestyle final is perfectly poised. Switzerland's Andri Ragettli topped the qualifying standings, but only just ahead of big air gold medallist Birk Ruud, while reigning Olympic champion Nicholas Goepper came third, with fellow Americans Alex Hall and Colby Stevenson finishing in the top six too.

Another American, Chris Lillis, is going for gold in the men's aerials. He helped the United States to victory in mixed team aerials last week.

Ukrainian Oleksandr Abramenko will be out to defend his title, though World Cup leader Maxim Burov is the favourite.

Short track speed skating

Canada, Italy, China, South Korea and the Russian Olympic Committee will battle it out for a podium place in the men's 5000m relay, with 2018 champions Hungary having failed to make the cut.

In the women's 1500m, South Korea are again well represented, with reigning champion and world record holder Choi Min-jeong involved, along with current World Cup leader Lee Yu-bin.

However, Suzanne Schulting is the 2021 World Short Track Speed Skating champion at all distances and has enjoyed a wonderful Games so far, setting two Olympic records, one world record and winning four medals (two gold, two silver).

Around 90 National Olympic Committees will participate, with approximately 2,900 athletes taking part in the 109 events at 13 different venues.

Some of the world's finest athletes will take to the snow or ice, though you may not necessarily know who in particular to look out for if you aren't a regular follower of winter sports.

Stats Perform has you covered, profiling seven of the most notable figures to keep an eye out for in Beijing…

Eileen Gu – Freestyle skiing

Nicknamed the "Snow Princess" in China, Gu will be one of the most intriguing athletes competing in these Games. The freestyle skier won two gold medals at both the Winter X Games 2021 and the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.

Aside from being very good at her sport, Gu is also signed to a modelling agency and has appeared in local editions of Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.

The 18-year-old is very much a medal hopeful, which is why it delighted China when the Californian decided to represent the country of her mother's birth instead of the United States.

Francesco Friedrich – Bobsleigh

Germans are good at bobsledding, winning gold in every bobsleigh event at PyeongChang 2018, and driver Friedrich might just be the best of the bunch.

The 31-year-old won a shared gold medal in the two-man bobsled in PyeongChang (with Canada), and an outright gold in the four-man event.

Friedrich also led the squad that comfortably won gold at the 2021 IBSF World Championships in a time almost a full second faster than runners-up Latvia, and recently won the World Cup title despite the German four-man bobsleigh suffering its first defeat of the Olympic season in the final race before Beijing 2022, coming second to Latvia.

Mikaela Shiffrin – Alpine skiing

A two-time Olympic gold medallist, Shiffrin also won four medals at the 2021 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, including gold in the Alpine combined.

Other notable achievements include being the youngest slalom champion in Olympic Alpine skiing history, she has won the most world cup slalom races in history (45) and became the first Alpine skier to win the world championship in the same discipline (slalom) at four championships in a row.

Suzanne Schulting – Short track speed skating

The dominant Dutch athlete won gold in every event at the Speed Skating World Championships in March last year, becoming only the second female to do so.

Schulting won gold in 2018 in the 1000-metre race and will be hoping to win multiple short track events in Beijing.

In November, the 24-year-old gave an interview to the official Olympics website, saying: "I'm super motivated to train again and to do my best and become even better than last year. I want to go for gold at Beijing and of course to work for the upcoming World Cups."

Mikael Kingsbury – Freestyle skiing

Kingsbury might be the main one to watch early on in Beijing as he has already qualified for the freestyle skiing final, which takes place on Saturday.

The Canadian has won the most medals at the Freestyle World Championships of any male skier in history and is the reigning Olympic and world champion in the moguls.

Kingsbury started his Olympics on Thursday with a flawless run in qualifying to book an automatic spot in the final, finishing with a score of 81.15 at the Genting Snow Park.

Chloe Kim – Snowboarding

Snowboarding has become one of the most popular events at the Winter Olympics since it was first introduced in 1998.

One of the main snowboarders to keep an eye on in Beijing is Kim, who made history at PyeongChang 2018 when she won gold in the women's snowboard halfpipe at the age of just 17, becoming the youngest female competitor to win an Olympic snowboarding gold.

The American is also the current world, Olympic and X Games champion in the halfpipe and was the first to win all three titles.

Yuzuru Hanyu – Figure skating

The Japanese sensation has broken figure skating world records a staggering 19 times and has seven world championship medals and four Grand Prix titles to his name.

Hanyu is also a two-time Olympic champion and there is a tradition after each skate where his fans throw Winnie the Pooh cuddly toys onto the ice. But given the 2018 film was banned in China following social media comparisons between the cartoon bear and Chinese president Xi Jinping, it is perhaps for the best that only local spectators will be in attendance in Beijing.

The 27-year-old is aiming for a third consecutive title in the men's singles competition, which has not been achieved since 1928.