Beijing 2022 Days Six/Seven/Eight

A busy few days offline mean the need for a triple post to avoid falling further behind with 21 medal events across days six, seven and eight. 

Medals

The Men's Alpine Combined GOLD was won by Johannes Strolz (AUT) as he finished ahead of Aleksandr Aamodt Kilde (NOR) who scooped SILVER narrowly ahead of James Crawford (CAN) who collected BRONZE.  

In the Women's Super-G, Lara Gut-Behrami edged the GOLD ahead of Mirijam Puchner (AUT) who took SILVER while Michelle Gisin (SUI) secured the BRONZE.

GOLD for Marte Roeiseland (NOR) in the Women's 7.5km Sprint as she finished clear of Elivira Oeberg (SWE) who sealed SILVER while Dorothea Wierer (ITA) claimed BRONZE.

The Men's 10km Sprint saw GOLD won by Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) with Quentin Fillon-Maillet (FRA) sealing SILVER and Tarjei Boe (NOR) collecting BRONZE. 

In the Women's 10km Classic, Therese Johaug (NOR) won GOLD ahead of Finnish duo Kerttu Niskanen who took SILVER while Krista Parmakoski claimed BRONZE. 

GOLD for Iivo Niskanen (FIN) came in the Men's 15km Classic as Alexander Bolshunov (ROC) took SILVER and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) claimed BRONZE. The GB pair of Andrew Young and Andrew Musgrave finished in 46th and 51st.

The Women's 4x5km Relay saw ROC take GOLD ahead of Germany who took SILVER while Sweden collected BRONZE. 

GOLD for Nathan Chen (USA) in the Men's Single Skating as he outscored the Japanese duo of Yuma Kagiyama who took SILVER while Shoma Uno claimed BRONZE. 

The Mixed Team Aerials saw USA win GOLD as they outscored China who scooped SILVER while Canada collected BRONZE.

A Track Record in the Team Relay saw Germany win GOLD ahead of Austria who took SILVER while Latvia claimed BRONZE. 

The Women's 1000m GOLD was won by Suzanne Schulting (NED) as she finished ahead of Minjeong Choi (KOR) who sealed SILVER while Hanne Desmet (BEL) battled for BRONZE.

The Men's event saw double joy for Germany as Christopher Grotheer won GOLD and Axel Junck took SILVER while Wengang Yan (CHN) claimed BRONZE. The GB duo of Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt finished in 15th and 16th. 

In the Women's Event, Hannah Neise (GER) won GOLD ahead of Jaclyn Narracott (AUS) who took SILVER while Kimberley Bos (NED) collected BRONZE. GB's Laura Deas finished in 19th. 

The Men's Large Hill Individual saw Marius Lindvik (NOR) win GOLD ahead of Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) who took SILVER while Karl Geiger (GER) claimed BRONZE. 

The Women's Halfpipe saw Chloe Kim (USA) storm to GOLD ahead of Queralt Castellet (ESP) who scooped SILVER while Sena Tomita (JPN) claimed BRONZE.

GOLD for Alessandro Haemmerle (AUT) in the Men's Cross as he finished ahead of Eliot Grondin (CAN) who sealed SILVER while Omar Visintin (ITA) claimed BRONZE. 

The Men's Halfpipe saw Ayumu Hirano (JPN) take GOLD ahead of Scotty James (AUS) who scooped SILVER while Jan Scherrer (SUI) collected BRONZE. 

In the Mixed Team Cross, USA (Nick Baumgartner/Lindsey Jacobellis) won GOLD ahead of Italy (Omar Visintin/Michela Moioli) who scooped SILVER while Canada (Eliot Grondin/Mereyta Odine) collected BRONZE. 

An OLYMPIC RECORD time of 6:43.51 saw Irene Schouten (NED) storm to GOLD in the Women's 5000m ahead of Isabelle Weidemann (CAN) who took SILVER and Martina Sablikova (CZE) who collected BRONZE. 

A WORLD RECORD time of 12:30.74 in the Men's 10000m as Nils van der Poel (SWE) eased to GOLD ahead of Patrick Roest (NED) who took SILVER while Davide Ghiotto (ITA) claimed BRONZE. 

The Men's 500m GOLD saw Tingyu Gao (CHN) win GOLD with an OLYMPIC RECORD time of 34.32 as he finished ahead of Min Kyu Cha (KOR) who took SILVER while Wataru Morishige (JPN) claimed BRONZE. 

GB Updates

The Women's Round Robin has seen mixed results for GB so far with an opening 6-5 loss to Switzerland followed by an epic 8-2 victory over defending champions Sweden. An agonising loss to Republic of Korea (9-7) was a blip but joy then came in a 10-5 success against USA. 

The Men's Round Robin also saw a mixed start for GB starting with a 7-5 win over Italy which was followed by a 9-7 defeat to USA before a huge 8-3 win over Norway.

Beijing 2022 Day Five

Day five was a quieter one than previous days with only six medals events with each in a different discipline.

Medals

An historic GOLD in the Women's Slalom for Petra Vlhova (SVK) as she finished ahead of Katharina Liensberger (AUT) who took SILVER while Wendy Holdener (SUI) collected BRONZE. 

The Men's Freeski Big Air saw Birk Ruud (NOR) storm to GOLD by outscoring Colby Stevenson (USA) who scooped SILVER ahead of Henrik Harlaut (SWE) who claimed BRONZE.

Literally double joy for Germany in the Men's Doubles as Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt won GOLD ahead of Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken who took SILVER while Thomas Steu/Lorenz Koller (AUT) crossed for BRONZE. 

The Men's Individual Gundersn Normal Hill/10km Cross Country saw GOLD won by Vinzenz Geiger (GER) as he finished ahead of Joergen Graabak (NOR) who scooped SILVER while Lukas Greiderer (AUT) claimed BRONZE. 

GOLD for Daeheon Hwang (KOR) as narrowly defeated Steven Dubois (CAN) who took SILVER ahead of Semen Elistratov (ROC) who claimed BRONZE while GB's Farrell Treacy finished ninth. 

In the Women's Cross, Lindsey Jacobellis (USA) secured GOLD by finishing ahead of Chloe Trespeuch (FRA) sealed SILVER while Mereyta Odine (CAN) collected BRONZE.

Beijing 2022 Day Four

Day Four became the busiest for medals so far with ten events across eight disciplines.

Medals

The Men's Super-G saw GOLD won by Matthias Mayer (AUT) as he finished ahead of Ryan Siegle-Cochran (USA) who took SILVER while Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) claimed BRONZE.

The Men's 20km Individual GOLD was won by Quentin Fillon-Maillet (FRA) ahead of Anton Smolski (BLR) who crossed for SILVER while Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) took BRONZE. 

The Women's Sprint Free saw a Sweden 1-2 as Jonna Sundling won GOLD ahead of Maja Dahlqvist who scooped SILVER with Jesse Diggins (USA) collecting BRONZE. 

GOLD for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) in the Men's Sprint Free while Federico Pellegrino (ITA) sealed SILVER and Alexander Terentev (ROC) collected BRONZE. 

The Mixed Doubles saw despair for GB as they lost the battle for BRONZE with Sweden triumphing 9-3 and Italy rounded off a perfect campaign by securing GOLD by defeating Norway who took SILVER in the 8-5 loss. 

In the Women's Freeski Big Air, Eileen Gu took the GOLD as she outscored Tess Ledeux (FRA) who sealed SILVER while Mathilde Gremaud (SUI) collected BRONZE. GB's Kirsty Muir finished an incredible fifth on her Olympic debut at just 17 years of age. 

History in the Women's Singles as Natalie Geisenberger (GER) won GOLD by defending her Olympic title for a second time to maintain a hold on the Singles title dating back to 2014. German team-mate Anna Berreiter took the SILVER while Tatyana Ivanova (ROC) collected BRONZE.  

The Women's Parallel Giant Slalom saw GOLD won by Ester Ledecka (CZE) as she defeated Daniela Ulbing (AUT) who took SILVER in the Big Final whole Gloria Kotnik (SLO) cruised to BRONZE against Michelle Dekker (NED) in the Small Final.

In the Men's Parallel Giant Slalom, Benjamin Karl (AUT) secured GOLD ahead of Tim Mastnak (SLO) who took SILVER in the Big Final while Victor Wild (ROC) claimed BRONZE by defeating Roland Fischnaller (ITA) in the Small final.

Double joy for Netherlands in the Men's 1500m as an OLYMPIC RECORD time of 1:43.21 saw Kjeld Nuis storm to GOLD ahead of Thomas Krol who took SILVER while Minseok Kim (KOR) claimed BRONZE. GB's Cornelius Kersten finished in 19th. 

Beijing 2022 Day Three

Day Three saw nine medal events with new additions to the medal in the sports of Alpine Skiing and Figure Skating. 

Medals

The Men's Downhill saw GOLD won by Beat Feuz (SUI) as he finished ahead of Johan Clarey (FRA) who took SILVER while Matthias Mayer (AUT) battled for BRONZE. 

GOLD for Sara Hector (SWE) in the Women's Giant Slalom as she finished ahead of Federica Brignone (ITA) who sealed SILVER with Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) collecting BRONZE. GB's Alex Tilley finished in 22nd spot. 

The Women's 15km Individual GOLD was won by Denise Herrmann (GER) as she finished ahead of Anais Chevalier-Bouchet (FRA) who scooped SILVER and Marte-Olsbu Roeiseland (NOR) took BRONZE.

The Team Event saw GOLD won by ROC as they outscored USA who took SILVER while Japan claimed BRONZE.

The Women's 500m GOLD was won by Arianna Fontana (ITA) after she outpaced Suzanne Schulting (NED) who sealed SILVER while Kim Boutin (CAN) claimed BRONZE. 

The Men's 1000m saw double success for China as Ziwei Ren won GOLD ahead of Wenlong Li who sealed SILVER while Shaoang Liu (HUN) crossed for BRONZE. 

In the Mixed Team Event, Slovenia stormed to GOLD ahead of ROC who took SILVER while Canada collected BRONZE.

Double joy for Canada in the Men's Slopestyle with Max Parrot winning GOLD and Mark McMorris claiming BRONZE while Yiming Su (CHN) sealed SILVER. 

An OLYMPIC RECORD time of 1:53.28 in the Women's 1500m as defending champion Irene Wust (NED) stormed to victory ahead of Miho Takagi (JPN) who took SILVER while Antoinette de Jong (NED) claimed BRONZE.

GB Updates

The Mixed Double Curling duo of Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds had another mixed day with an 8-4 win over USA in their final group game before an agonising 6-5 loss to Norway in the semi-final meaning they will battle Sweden for Bronze on day four. 

Teen Skier Kirsty Muir qualified for the Big Air Ski final in seventh spot while fellow GB duo Katie Summerhayes and James Woods missed out on the slopes. 

Beijing 2022 Day Two

Day Two saw six medal events each in a different discipline with Luge and Snowboarding joining the list today. 

Medals

In the Men's 30km Skiathon, there was a ROC 1-2 as Alexander Bolshunov won GOLD ahead of Denis Spitsov who took SILVER while Iivo Niskanen (FIN) collected BRONZE and GB'S Andrew Musgrave finished in 17th. 

An historic GOLD for Jakara Anthony (AUS) in the Women's Moguls as she outscored Jaelin Kauf (USA) who took SILVER while Anastasiia Smirnova (ROC) collected BRONZE. GB's Makayla Gerken Schofield finished in eighth. 

The Men's Singles saw GOLD won by Johannes Ludwig (GER) who narrowly finished ahead of Wolfgang Kindl (AUT) who scooped SILVER while Dominik Fischnaller (ITA) claimed BRONZE. GB's Rupert Staudinger finished in 23rd. 

GOLD for Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) came in the Men's Normal Hill Individual as he outjumped Manuel Fettner (AUT) who sealed SILVER while Dawid Kubacki (POL) collected BRONZE. 

The Women's Slopestyle saw GOLD won by Zoi Sadowski Synnott (NZL) with an epic final run which meant Julia Marino (USA) sealed SILVER while Tess Coady (AUS) claimed BRONZE.

An OLYMPIC RECORD time of 6:08.84 in the Men's 5000m saw Nils van der Poel (SWE) win GOLD ahead of Patrick Roest (NED) who sealed SILVER with Hallgeir Engebraaten (NOR) claiming BRONZE. 

GB Updates

The Mixed Doubles Curling duo of Bruce Mouat & Jenny Dodds began the day with a 6-5 win over China before losing out 6-2 to Norway but due to other results, secured qualification for the semi-finals.

Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony/Day One

The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 created history before it began with the city becoming the first ever to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics. The Ceremony started with the entry of dignitaries including Thomas Bach (IOC President) and Xi Jinping (Chinese President) and a floor show celebrating Chinese New Year.

A countdown featuring a montage of the weather and the four seasons which culminated in a light show of green glowsticks which created beautiful imagery with the theme being of One World, One Family. Next up was a huge firework display including the formation of the word 'Spring'.

The arena floor then focused on the history of the Winter games from its inception in 1924 with each of the 23 cities displayed before the formation of the Olympic Rings in ice. This then lead to the parade of Athletes which began with Greece as it the tradition, Great Britain were led out by Dave Ryding (Skiing) and Eve Muirhead (Curling) both competing in their fourth Winter Games. 

Athletes paraded in with the backdrop of Classical music and the parade closed with the entry of the host nation China. The ceremony moved on to the official opening by Xi Jinping after the flag raisings and this led to a huge firework display before the entry of the Olympic flame into the arena. 

After the procession between a number of representatives, the flame was taken to the huge snowflake cauldron in the centre of the arena which was made up of mini flakes each containing the names of each country competing. The finale saw fireworks in the shape of snowflakes and the Olympic Rings. 

Day One

Although competition began a few days previous, the medalling and official opening day began on the 5th and as with previous editions, each day will have Medals and GB Updates with the opening day seeing six medal events. 

Medals

The first medals of the games came in the Women's 15km Skiathlon as Therese Johaug (NOR) won GOLD as she finished with a time of 44:13.7 ahead of Natalia Nepryaeva (ROC) who took SILVER while Teresa Stadlober (AUT) collected BRONZE. 

In the Mixed Relay 4x6km, Norway (Marte Roeiseland, Tiril Eckhoff, Tarjei Boe, Johannes Thingnes Boe) won GOLD ahead of France (Anais Chevalier-Bouchet, Julia Simon, Emilien Jacquelin, Quentin Fillon Maillet) who scooped SILVER with ROC (Kristina Reztsova, Alexander Loginov, Eduard Latypov, Uliana Nigmatullina) battling for BRONZE. 

GOLD for Walter Wallberg (SWE) in the Men's Moguls as he finished ahead of defending champion Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) who took SILVER while Ikuma Horishima (JPN) collected BRONZE.

In the Mixed Team Relay, China (Chunyu Qu, Kexin Fan, Dajing Wu, Ziwei Ren) won GOLD ahead of Italy (Arianna Fontana, Martina Valcepina, Pietro Sighel, Andrea Cassinelli) who scooped SILVER while Hungary (Petra Jaszpati, Zsofia Konya, Shaoang Liu, Shaolin Sandor Liu) who claimed BRONZE.  

Double success for Slovakia in the Women's Normal Hill Individual as Ursa Bogataj took GOLD and Nika Kriznar claimed BRONZE while Katharina Althaus (GER) sealed SILVER. 

An OLYMPIC RECORD in the Women's 3000m as Irene Schouten (NED) stormed to GOLD in a time of 3:56.93 ahead of Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA) who narrowly took SILVER ahead of Isabelle Weidemann (CAN) who collected BRONZE.

GB Updates

After a good start to their group campaign, the Mixed Doubles Curling pair of Bruce Mouat & Jennifer Dodds won 8-2 against Czech Republic before losing 7-5 to unbeaten Italy.

Katie Ormerod missed out on the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle final as she finished 19th in qualifying. 

Disappointment for the duo of Farrell & Niall Treacy in the Men's Short Track Speed Skating 1000m as they both lost out the heats while Kathryn Thomson missed out in the Women's 500m.

Will Feneley finished 27th in qualifying for the Men's Moguls Freestyle Skiing.

Tokyo 2020 Becomes Beijing 2022

After the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games showed that triumph and unity still powered on through the pandemic, the traditional blog transition takes place for a fifth time. The blog began back in July 2012 for the London games so this latest change sees a decade almost completed with Beijing 2022.

A third Winter games on this blog after Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 where coverage fitted nicely around offline life. Having suffered a backlog issue with a new job at the time of Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 will be covered with no significant delays and will fit around offline life mostly. Here's to a good Olympic and Paralympic games....