With the 2022 Winter Olympics set to take place between February 4 and February 20, many will be unable to contain their excitement about what the Games may bring them when they take place in China.
Indeed, there will already be many in Canada sports betting on their team as they will be amongst the favorites to come away with a number of medals across a variety of different disciplines that will take place in Beijing within the new year.
Speaking about the events set to take place, a total of 109 are scheduled to be competed in, with seven of those being brand new to the Olympic program. Indeed, many of the recently added events appear to follow a new trend that has been adopted by the IOC as they continue to implement mixed team events, whilst there are new events that men and women can compete in, as well.
Let’s take a look at the seven brand new events set to appear in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics:
Freeski Big Air
Snowboard big air was first introduced in the 2018 Winter Olympics that were held in PyeongChang, however the ski version will be provided with its inaugural showing at the upcoming Games. Medal events will be held for both men and women, as well.
Freeski big air has been a popular event for those who take part at the Winter X Games and other events for a while, thus making it an event that many have waited for the Olympics to bring to its schedule.
The course used will consist of one large jump where each skier will be required to execute their biggest and best tricks possible across three attempts. The two best attempts will be scored, but each attempt needs to have a different trick to be performed in order to be eligible for scoring.
Women’s Monobob
The bobsledding event is always an appealing event that appears on the schedule, so it comes as no surprise that an additional event has been added to this discipline. A total of four different competitions will now be contested, with women’s monobob joining the two-man, two-woman and four-man events.
This event will see one female athlete be required to push their sled and guide it through the course, with each competitor being provided with an identical sled, thus eliminating any potential advantages that may be acquired, especially those that are felt when competing in the two-person and four-person events.
Mixed Team Snowboard Cross
One man and one woman from the same nation will be paired together to compete in the mixed team snowboard cross event that has been added to the Winter Olympic Games schedule for the very first time. This activity will see men race first and as they cross the line, the female athlete will then have their starting gate opened, therefore allowing them to race down the track.
Mixed Team Aerials
A team event for aerials has been added to the calendar for the very first time, as the discipline has traditionally been an individual-based event up to now.
Each team that competes will feature three athletes, with at least one man and one woman being on the team. Scores from all three athletes will then be added together to provide the overall score for the team, whilst the event will take place over a number of different phases and rounds.
Mixed Team Short Track Relay
The short track relay event has always been highly popular at the Winter Games, although there is a new addition to the program for this edition of the sporting event.
A new mixed team short track relay team will join the existing men’s 5000m and women’s 3000m relays, with four skaters (two men and two women) from the same country forming a team together to participate in the race.
The two women will go first completing 2.5 laps each first before the men do their 2.5 laps. After this, the women will then complete an additional 2 laps, before the men do their final 2 laps each, thus making the race be completed over a distance of 2000m. If an athlete falls, a teammate of the same gender can replace them and finish the lap(s).
Mixed Team Ski Jumping
Whilst men’s team ski jumping has been a prominent fixture on the schedule since 1988, a mixed team ski jumping event will make its first bow in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Each team will consist of four athletes with the following order being required to be followed: woman, man, woman, man. The event takes place on a normal hill and each of the individual scores will be added together to provide the overall team score.
