2022 Winter Olympics

[The Chronicler]

The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China has just begun, so I decided to start this topic to share any significant moments.

(I'm sure many of you are already aware of the political controversies around China, so I'd just like to prefer to keep that subject elsewhere, and keep this topic focused only on the accomplishments of the various athletes competing at these games.)

I'll be a little too busy with other things to watch any events, but I will definitely keep an eye out for news articles for anything I find significant enough to be worth mentioning.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

I boycotted the last Olympics because we're still in a global pandemic, and I'll be boycotting this one too.

[pokeplayer984]

I'll just copy and paste what I said on another site.

I have chosen not to watch them this year.  With it taking place in a country that I have put on my blacklist, (For various reasons.) I feel like not watching it this year.

Maybe I'll check out the Olympics when 2024 comes around.

All in all, don't expect much from me this year.  Maybe next time.

[The Chronicler]

It seems I might already have underestimated the amount of controversy we would see in these Olympic games. China has won a few gold medals in speed-skating, but they've come at the expense of other teams being disqualified.

https://sports.yahoo.com/beijing-winter-olympics-2022-chinas-penalty-aided-speed-skating-gold-causes-confusion-more-controversy-163709326.html

If it had happened only once, I'd call it a coincidence, but now that it's happened a second time, I'm not surprised that some people are getting a little suspicious.

[The Chronicler]

Setting aside other news of controversies, here's a few good accomplishments by some of the athletes.

New Zealand got its first ever Winter Olympics gold medal, done in women's snowboard slopestyle.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/06/sport/sadowski-synnott-new-zealand-gold-winter-olympics-spt-intl/index.html

For the Netherlands, Ireen Wust won a gold medal in speed skating, and in doing so, she became the very first Olympic athlete to ever win gold medals at five different Olympic Games (every Winter Games since 2006).
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/07/speedskater-ireen-wust-makes-olympic-history-with-gold-at-fifth-straight-games
https://sports.yahoo.com/ireen-wust-wins-gold-at-fifth-olympics-setting-record-for-longevity-115826870.html?.tsrc=1013

And team USA finally got their first gold medal of these games just yesterday, done in women's snowboard cross.
https://sports.yahoo.com/lindsey-jacobellis-finally-gets-her-olympic-gold-081037144.html?.tsrc=1013

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Another Russian doping scandal, a 15-year old figure skater has been found via drug test to have been taking trimetazidine. Considering Russia is already technically banned from the Olympics (their athletes have been competing under a pseudo neutral flag) there are a lot of ways this can go, none of them great for the Olympics' already-tarnished reputation. 

[The Chronicler]

Another Russian doping scandal, a 15-year old figure skater has been found via drug test to have been taking trimetazidine. Considering Russia is already technically banned from the Olympics (their athletes have been competing under a pseudo neutral flag) there are a lot of ways this can go, none of them great for the Olympics' already-tarnished reputation.

Looks like the officials have spoken, and it is definitely not an acceptable outcome for those athletes who actually obey the rules.
https://news.yahoo.com/slap-face-kamila-valieva-decision-060700578.html

EDIT: Looks like karma struck, because that Russian athlete failed to do good enough to win any medal.
https://sports.yahoo.com/olympic-figure-skater-kamila-valieva-was-failed-by-the-system-adults-170245056.html