Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsleigh team will use the next 18 months to develop a well-oiled four-man team ahead of qualifiers, as they set their sights on the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. 

Piloted Axel Brown, the Soca Sliders, which also comprises Shakeel John, Xaverri Williams and Du Aundre John, is expected to feature more athletes, courtesy of a recent recruitment drive for potential bobsledders. For the first time in the nation’s short Winter Olympic history, Trinidad and Tobago will be chasing a spot in the four-man event.

The twin island republic's previous appearances in 1994 (Lillehammer, Norway), 1998 (Nangano, Japan), 2002 (Utah, USA) and 2022 (Beijing, China), were in the two-man bobsleigh.  The 2026 Olympic qualifiers slide off from November 2025 to January 2026.

But until then, Brown believes the team has a lot of work to do and, as such, pointed out that the focus for this year will be on development and continuity.

“It’s a growing year so we’re not so much looking at results, we’re looking at the future and what we can do now to help the next couple of years. Yes, most of our 2023 results were good but we’re really looking at growing the team, getting better and laying the groundwork for the other teams,” Brown told Trinidad and Tobago Newsday in a recent interview.

While he is grateful that the country's bobsledders more or less come from a track and field background, Brown stressed the need to improve on their push power at the start of the race.

“If they train day-in, day-out they can get a lot stronger and a lot closer to the proverbial perfect bobsledder. Because that’s where they’re lacking right now, they’ve never truly hit the gym really hard in order to gain strength," he said.

“We’re trying to reframe their priorities to show them what it means to be and train like a bobsledder. We had some really good opportunities over the past three weeks to train alongside them. Normally, on the ice, the driver has to operate a little bit separately because of the different responsibilities, so to train alongside them for the last three weeks has been really beneficial," Brown added.

Eve Johnson Houghton is preparing a strong assault on the Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes with her talented youngsters Bobsleigh and Juniper Berries.

Bobsleigh collected the Woodcote at Epsom in the process of winning his first two starts and was not disgraced when beaten three lengths in sixth behind River Tiber in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Juniper Berries also showed a good level of form in her early outings and was another to perform with real credit at the summer showpiece when finishing fourth in the Queen Mary Stakes.

Both were given time off to recover from their Ascot exertions, but now the Oxfordshire-based handler has her eye on Newbury’s valuable five-furlong sprint for her pair of precocious two-year-olds, who could be tasked with trying to pick up the £122,925 cheque on offer to the winner.

“I think they are both going to run in the Super Sprint at Newbury,” said Johnson Houghton.

“I gave them both a bit of a break after Ascot because it’s tough going there and it’s a tough old track. They’ve had a nice break and are back doing really well.”

In continuing to chart a path of inspiration, Jamaican Olympian bobsledder, Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian joined the Sandals Foundation on International Women’s Day to share her powerful story of triumph with young women at Iona High School in Tower Isle, St. Mary.

The three-time Olympian highlighted the positive impact that sports can have on charting paths beyond one’s wildest dreams noting that, “Sports opens pathways to not just create history but showcase that the impossible is very much possible.”

Fenlator-Victorian debuted the first female Jamaican sled at PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, and earlier this year was among the 20-sled field representing Jamaica in the Beijing Games.

Her growth as an individual through participation in sports was insightful to the hall of students who were all in awe of her commanding but warm and inviting presence.

“Sport has so many lessons, more often ones unrelated to actual performance but rather life itself. Guiding you to collaborate, evolve and adapt towards becoming your best self and achieving your wildest dreams.”

With a passion for encouraging young people to tap into their full potential, Fenlator-Victorian also encouraged students to dare to dream big and remain steadfast in pursuit of their goals.

“I urge all of you to dive into the women before you, tap into these roots that were paved and take charge making your own way. You alone are in control of your destiny. Don’t allow other people’s opinions, projections or judgments to deter you from stepping into your best self and shining bright. Be your biggest cheerleader and big up yourself nuff,” said Fenlator-Victorian.

Sandals Resorts announced their sponsorship of the 2022 Jamaica Bobsleigh Team ahead of the team’s visit to the 2022 Winter Olympics last month helping to cover the substantial logistics and travel costs required to send qualifying athletes to Beijing, as well as additional bobsleigh events leading up to the 2023 world championship event.

As part of the partnership, team manager Chris Stokes and the athletes, including Fenlator-Victorian will continue to join forces with the Sandals Foundation on long-term initiatives geared towards grooming the next generation of athletes — including the recent visit to Iona High School.

Since its establishment in 2009, the Sandals Foundation has invested in youth engagement programs across the Caribbean, utilizing sports as one of its vehicles to help young people develop key life skills and take advantage of opportunities for higher learning and exposure to the global competitive arena.

“Sport is an incredible vehicle through which children learn discipline, teamwork, self-confidence, humility and so much more,” said Heidi Clarke, executive director at Sandals Foundation. “As we join the world in commemorating International Women’s Day and amplify the message and the need to ‘break the bias’, from one athlete to another, we could not think of a better way to share with the next generation of women, what hard work and perseverance can do.”

 “Yesterday’s visit with the Olympian,” Clarke continued, “marks only the beginning of more to come. We are extremely grateful to Jazmine for helping to share incredible advice and powerful words to motivate these young women as they chart their unique courses of desire,” said Clarke.

While Norway and Germany rounded off a golden Winter Olympics in style, Sunday's final day of competition marked the end of a disappointing Games for a traditional power.

Therese Johaug capped off a brilliant individual campaign, and her Olympic career, in Beijing as she claimed a third gold of the Games in cross-country skiing, prevailing in the women's 30km mass start on Sunday.

Already guaranteed top spot in the medal table, that win took Norway's total of golds to 16, four in front of Germany. It is the second successive games in which Norway has finished top of the pile.

A Games that has seen Germany dominate the sliding events was fittingly capped with a German victory in the four-man bobsleigh.

Francesco Friedrich piloted Germany to a 12th and final gold while Johannes Lochner finished second behind his team-mate.

Canada took bronze, with 14 of the country's 26 medals at these Games being of that variety.

A total of four golds is Canada's lowest since the 1994 Games in Lillehammer (three) and, ending the final day in 11th, the 2022 Olympics marked the first in which the North American nation has finished outside the top 10 in the medal table since its home games in Calgary in 1988, when it did not win a single gold.

Great Britain did not win a medal of any colour at that Games, but a late rush in curling ensured the Brits avoided that fate in Beijing. 

A 10-3 victory over Japan in the final on Sunday meant the women won gold a day after the men's team had to settle for silver. Team GB finished 19th in the table.

Medal table:

1. Norway (G16 S8 B13, Total: 37)
2. Germany (G12 S10 B5, Total: 27)
3. China (G9 S4 B2, Total: 15)
4. United States (G8 S10 B7, Total: 25)
5. Sweden (G8 S5 B5, Total: 18)
6. Netherlands (G8 S5 B4, Total: 17)
7. Austria (G7 S7 B4, Total: 18)
8. Switzerland (G7 S2 B5, Total: 14)
9. Russian Olympic Committee (G6 S12 B14, Total: 32)
10. France (G5 S7 B2, Total: 14)

Norway's Therese Johaug capped off a brilliant individual campaign, and her Olympic career, in Beijing as she claimed a third gold of the Games in cross-country skiing.

Johaug, who missed the 2018 Games due to a doping ban, won the very first gold medal in Beijing and rounded off the cross-country skiing events with a victory in the women's 30km mass start on Sunday.

It took Norway's gold medal total to 16, four in front of second-best Germany.

Johaug had already suggested she would be retiring before the next Olympics, in 2026 in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, and the 33-year-old is set to go out on top.

"It is a dream come true that I can stand here for Norway with three gold medals in the same Olympics," she said. "I was so, so happy 14 days ago when I got my first one, and I cannot believe I have more. It's fantastic to end my Olympic career with these three gold medals."

Jessie Diggins took silver, becoming the first American woman to win a distance medal in cross-country skiing, despite having struggled with food poisoning this week.

Diggins said: "That might have been the best race of my entire life, I'm not going to lie. It was also maybe the hardest race of my whole life." 

Kerttu Niskanen took bronze to secure her second medal of the Games. 

Great Britain break their duck

Great Britain finally claimed their first gold of the Games, as Eve Muirhead led her women's curling team to a 10-3 thrashing of Japan.

It followed on from the men's team taking silver on Saturday. The gold was Team GB's first in curling in 20 years.

"It's a dream come true," Muirhead, told BBC Sport. "That was my third semi-final, and the two I lost were hard but I bounced back and here we are. We are Olympic champions. It's such a special moment."

Finland end 70-year wait

Finland won their first Olympic gold in men's ice hockey, as they defeated the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 2-1.

It took Finland 70 years to win gold. They had previously clinched bronze in 1994, 1998, 2010 and 2014, and silver in 1988 and 2006.

The victory earned a presidential seal of approval, too.

"I heard our president is going to call me and I would like to talk to him," said coach Jukka Jalonen. 

Dominant Germany claim three more medals

It has been a brilliant Games for Germany, who have taken seven bobsleigh medals, adding to six golds and three silvers won in skeleton and luge. They have dominated on the tracks.

Francesco Friedrich steered Germany to a 12th and final gold, in the four-man event on Saturday, while Johannes Lochner finished second behind his team-mate.

Pilot Friedrich has now equalled compatriots Kevin Kuske and Andre Lange as the bobsleigh athletes with the most titles, with four gold medals each.

"We hope it goes on," he said. "Our goal is to make four more years. We want to make the Olympics with all our friends, our sponsors in Cortina. It's near Germany, so maybe we can make one or two buses for all our families and friends and sponsors to finish our careers together."

Germany also had a silver to celebrate in alpine skiing. They finished behind Austria and ahead of Norway in the mixed team parallel big final.

Sunday sees the final day of action at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, and the last five medal events.

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.

Norway did not add to their golden haul on Saturday at the Winter Olympics, but they cannot now be caught at the top of the medal table.

Nearest rivals Germany, four behind Norway's all-time record haul of 15 golds, are involved in only three of the five medal events on Sunday's final day of the Beijing Games.

Germany's 11th gold of the games arrived when Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi completed victory in the two-woman bobsleigh, ahead of compatriots Mariama Jamanka and Alexandra Burghardt.

It was almost a 1-2-3 for Germany, only for Americans Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman to take bronze, with Kim Kalicki and Lisa Buckwitz having to settle for fourth place.

China sit third overall after Sui Wenjing and Han Cong delivered gold in the mixed pairs figure skating, fending off the Russian pair of Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov to earn the hosts a ninth triumph of the Games.

Norway's only medal of the day came in the men's cross-country mass start, which was shortened from 50km to 30km due to extreme weather, as Simen Hegstad Krueger took bronze.

Sweden won an eighth gold, a new Winter Olympics best for the nation, as their men's curling team, led by skip Niklas Edin, earned a 5-4 win over Great Britain in the final.

The silver put Team GB on the medal table for the first time, in a tie for 24th place, with either gold or silver to follow on Sunday in the women's curling.

Medal table:

1. Norway (G15 S8 B12, Total: 35)
2. Germany (G11 S8 B5, Total: 24)
3. China (G9 S4 B2, Total: 15)
4. United States (G8 S9 B7, Total: 24)
5. Sweden (G8 S5 B5, Total: 18)
6. Netherlands (G8 S5 B4, Total: 17)
7. Switzerland (G7 S2 B5, Total: 14)
8. Russian Olympic Committee (G6 S11 B14, Total: 31)
9. Austria (G6 S7 B4, Total: 17)
10. France (G5 S7 B2, Total: 14)

The Winter Olympics is wrapping up, and there were plenty of medals up for grabs on Saturday.

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.

Two of the great under-performers of the 2022 Winter Olympics could strike gold on the final Saturday of the Games.

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.

The United States enjoyed a fine day at the Winter Olympics, as their athletes added four medals to the nation's count.

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)

It was a historic moment for more than one reason on Monday when Kaillie Humphries secured the gold medal in the women's monobob event.

Humphries switched allegiance from Canada to the United States in 2019 amid a divisive separation, but only became a naturalised US citizen and received a passport in December.

The 36-year-old previously won two golds and a bronze for Canada across the past three Games, and became the first female to win a Winter Olympics title for two different nations.

She is the second athlete overall to do so after speed skater Viktor An had done the same for South Korea and Russia.

As well as that achievement, Humphries also became the first ever gold medallist in the women's monobob event, which appeared at the Olympics for the first time, with a dominant victory at the National Sliding Centre in an overall time of four minutes, 19.27 seconds.

That's not all, though. Stats Perform has more numbers behind the success of Humphries and others in Beijing.

4 - Humphries and fellow American and silver medallist Elana Meyers Taylor have equalled Bogdan Musiol, Wolfgang Hoppe and Kevin Kuske (Germany) as the only bobsledders to medal at four different Winter Games. Meyers Taylor becomes the fourth athlete representing the United States to win a medal at four different Winter Games.

3 - Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron took gold for France in the ice dance having won silver at PyeongChang 2018. This is the third time in a row the Olympic title has been won by the pair who took silver in the previous edition, after Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States in 2014, and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada in 2018.

1 - Xu Mengtao of China won the gold medal in women's aerials on Monday to add to her silver in mixed team aerials. She becomes the first freestyle skier to win two medals at a single Olympic Winter Games.

50 - Xu's was the 50th gold medal awarded in freestyle skiing in Winter Olympics history. It was just the third won by China, with Canada claiming the most (12) followed by the United States (11).

3 - Austria's gold in the men's team ski jumping was their third in the event at the Olympics, after Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010. This equals Germany, who also have three titles, and won bronze in Beijing on Monday. Both Austria and Germany now have seven overall medals in the team event.

The "Snow Princess" Eileen Gu will look to add to her women's freeski big air gold medal when she competes in the slopestyle event at Beijing 2022 on Tuesday.

Gu – representing host nation China at the Winter Olympics – only finished third in qualifying, but could once again be saving her best for the final in front of her many fans.

Elsewhere, Ester Ledecka became the first female athlete to claim gold in two separate sports at the same Winter Games back in 2018, and the Czech is out to repeat that achievement this time around.

Ledecka already has a parallel giant slalom snowboard title at these games but came up short in the super-G when she made the switch to skis, though she hopes to be ready for the downhill after having had some days of rest.

"I'm really looking forward to it because I didn't have much sleep these two days and I will prepare myself, as good as I can," Ledecka said after her super-G disappointment.

Here, Stats Perform previews these and the rest of Tuesday's medal events.

Alpine skiing

The flagship event of alpine skiing takes place on Tuesday with the women's downhill, and while all eyes will be on whether Ledecka can double up on her gold medals again, she is not really among the favourites heading into it.

Switzerland duo Priska Nufer and Joana Haehlen were fastest in the two training runs possible so far (the third was cancelled for bad weather on Sunday). It is another Swiss competitor, Lara Gut-Behrami, who will likely be the one to beat after her gold in the super-G and bronze in the giant slalom already in Beijing.

Defending champion Sofia Goggia of Italy will try to become only the second athlete after Katja Seizinger of Germany to retain an Olympic title in the downhill event.

Biathlon

Norway will be looking to continue their dominance when the men's 4x7.5km relay takes place, having won four of the seven gold medals on offer so far in biathlon, and nine medals in all.

They also won the final IBU World Cup 4x7.5km relay in Italy before the Olympics, beating Russia and Germany into second and third.

Bobsleigh

Germany are in pole position to be among the medals in the two-man event after the first two heats, with Francesco Friedrich leading the way with a combined time of one minute, 58.38 seconds, ahead of compatriot Johannes Lochner (+0.15 seconds) and the Russian Olympic Committee's Rostislav Gaitiukevich (+0.94 seconds).

It already seems unlikely that anyone other than the highly decorated Friedrich or Lochner will take the gold when the final two heats happen on Tuesday, but another German, Christoph Hafer, as well as Michael Vogt (Switzerland) and Benjamin Maier (Austria) remain in with a chance of troubling the race for bronze.

Freestyle skiing

While Gu will be the headline act as the 2021 slopestyle world champion, her second run score of 79.38 was good enough only for third in qualifying, with Estonia's Kelly Sildaru finishing first with an 86.15, and Norway's Johanne Killi second on 86.00.

France's Tess Ledeux will be hoping to make up for missing out on a win in the big air, while defending champion Sarah Hoefflin of Switzerland surprisingly failed to qualify, finishing in 20th place.

Nordic combined

The individual Gundersen large hill 10km takes place on Tuesday, an event in which all three medals were won by Germany at PyeongChang 2018.

Though German Vinzenz Geiger won gold in the normal hill event on Wednesday, strong competition is expected again from Norway's Joergen Graabak and Austria's Lukas Greiderer, who took silver and bronze in the normal hill event.

Question marks remain over the involvement of pre-Olympics favourites Jarl Magnus Riiber (Norway) and Kristjan Ilves (Estonia) after both tested positive for COVID-19, but the latter was recently able to leave isolation and took part in official training.

Snowboard

Big things are again expected of New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in the women's big air final, having already won gold in the slopestyle event.

"I've got a new trick I've been working on," she promised after being the only qualifier to score over 90 on Monday. "I've had to reset since slopestyle, put that gold to the back of my mind. It hasn't sunk in yet. But I'm pretty stoked to put those jumps down."

In the men's event, Canada's Mark McMorris will try to become the first snowboarder to win four Olympic medals, while compatriot Max Parrot is looking to follow up on his gold in the slopestyle, which would make him the first snowboarder to win two gold medals at the same Olympic Games.

Speed skating

The women's team pursuit sees Japan defend their title from 2018, while the Netherlands will be hoping to add to their four gold medals (eight overall) in speed skating, while also getting revenge for losing their 2014 title in the final in PyeongChang.

The men's event has been an open contest since its introduction in 2006, with no country having won gold more than once. All the former champions – Italy, Canada, Netherlands and Norway – have qualified for the event, but Netherlands will likely be favourites having won 12 of 13 world championships in this event.

Kaillie Humphries made Winter Olympics history on multiple fronts on Monday by surging to victory for the United States in the debut of the women's monobob event.

The 36-year-old only received clearance to represent USA in Beijing two months ago, having previously won two golds and a bronze for Canada across the past three Games.

Humphries switched allegiance in 2019 amid a divisive separation, but it was not until December that she became a naturalised United States citizen and received a passport.

She is the 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.

Not only that, Humphries can now forever hold claim to winning gold in the debut women's monobob event after securing a dominant victory at the National Sliding Centre.

Humphries beat team-mate Elana Meyers Taylor by 1.54 seconds as USA went 1-2, ending Germany's dominance in the process, with Christine de Bruin of Canada in third.

The US pair are the first women competitors to win a bobsled medal at four straight Games, but this latest triumph was particularly special for Humphries.

"This one does feel more emotional for me," she said. "Although each Olympic journey has been different, I've had to choose to walk away from my original birth nation. 

"I've had to fight. There have been a lot of people that have tried to stand in my way. And there have been a lot of obstacles to get to this point.

"And so, to know that everybody that supported me and that all the work that I put in has amounted to being the best year, it's very heart-warming to say the least. 

"It hits the heartstrings a little bit more to know that I chose a nation and it chose me back and that we could do this together as a team."

The women's monobob was added to the programme for the first time this year, meaning women now have the same amount of bobsleigh medals to compete for as the men.

It is hoped it will encourage further female participation in the sport, and Humphries is more than happy to fly the flag.

"This is huge," she said. "I still remember back in 2002, the first women who won: Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers. 

"I hope in the future young girls are going to go, 'I remember Kaillie', and then they get involved. 

"They now have two opportunities and hopefully even more opportunities to win more medals in the sport. That's super cool and I will continue to fight for that. 

"The women before me have allowed this to happen and I want to make sure that continues for all future generations. This is a huge step forward. 

"By no means do I think we're done. I really want to see women do four-woman and I would love to see men do monobob as well. Three events for all genders."

Kaillie Humphries will be hoping to become the first ever women's monobob Olympic champion in Beijing on Monday, while whoever wins the women's aerials will have to go through qualification and the final in the same day.

There are just four medal events to start the week, but there are also some intriguing non-medal events.

The women's ice hockey reaches the semi-final stage as Canada face Switzerland, while the United States take on Finland.

The postponed women's downhill from Sunday will hopefully take place, the men and women's curling round robins continue, and the two-man bobsleigh event begins.

The men's and women's big air events in the snowboard get under way as well, with the gold medallists from Pyeongchang, Sebastien Toutant of Canada and Anna Gasser of Austria, both back to defend their titles.

Here, Stats Perform previews Monday's medal events.

Bobsleigh

One of the new events at the Olympics is the women's monobob, which will see its first Olympic champion crowned on Monday.

In Sunday's first two heats it was Humphries of the United States who led the way ahead of Christine de Bruin of Canada and Germany's Laura Nolte.

Another American athlete, Elana Meyers Taylor, was one of the favourites but sat down in fourth place ahead of Monday's crucial final two heats.

Figure skating

The ice dance pairs will see new faces win gold medals as 2018 champions Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany are not competing in Beijing.

The rhythm dance took place on Saturday and saw French pair Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron take first place ahead of Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of the Russian Olympic Committee and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States.

Freestyle skiing

The women's aerials event will take place on Monday, though qualifying was postponed on Sunday due to poor weather and will now take place on Monday afternoon Beijing time. It has been confirmed that the final is still scheduled for later in the day.

When the event finally does get going, Australia's Laura Peel and Chinese duo Xu Mengtao and Kong Fanyu are among those expected to do well.

Ski jumping

The men's team trial round, team first round and final are all scheduled for Monday, with Norway aiming to defend their title from 2018, though Germany and Japan are also likely to be in contention.

It will be the final ski jumping event of Beijing 2022.

The appeal by Jamaica’s Winter Olympic athlete Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian concerning the reallocation of quota places in bobsleigh/skeleton for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 has been rejected by the Ad hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).