The 2022 Beijing Games are set to make history with a record number of events, including a handful of new Winter Olympic events in disciplines that aim to increase athletic opportunities for women on the world stage.
From February 4 through February 20, Beijing will gather close to 3,000 competitors from around the globe 14 years after the Chinese capital city hosted the 2008 Summer Games, marking the first time in history that a location has hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reports. The competition venues are located in Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou, and seven venues from the 2008 Games will be reused for the 2022 Games.
Among the 15 sports that will be featured in Beijing, there will be a record 109 medal events, seven of which are making their Olympic debut. During the last Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018, there were 102 medal events—up from 98 in the 2014 Sochi Games.
The new additions to the Olympic program include several mixed-gender relays, an entirely new extreme sport for men and women, and a highly anticipated women’s-only championship, among other exciting events. With more female athletes (45% of the total competitors) and more women’s events than previous games, the Beijing program boasts the most gender-balanced Winter Olympics in history, according to the IOC.
Before we get into the new Winter Olympic events for 2022, you might be wondering how a sport or event even gets added to the program. It’s actually quite a process: According to the IOC, the event program is defined by the IOC Executive Board based on recommendations of the Olympic Program Commission with input from international federations (encouraged by their athletes) and the organizing committee of the Winter Olympic Games. Sports are determined based on a list of criteria, including how much value the sport would add to the Olympics legacy; how long the sport has existed; how popular the sport is in the host country; how much it would cost to broadcast the events; and numerous other factors, NPR reports.
Here is everything you need to know about the seven new 2022 Winter Olympic events hosted by Beijing.
Freestyle big air skiing (men and women)
For the first time ever, freeskiers will enjoy their own category for big air—a skiing event where you complete twists and tricks off a steep ramp—on the Olympic stage. The snowboard big air competition was introduced at the 2018 PyeongChang Games and featured a stunning performance by gold medalist Anna Gasser of Austria. Now men and women freeskiers will follow suit, and get a chance to take on the massive jump and throw down their best tricks at the Olympics.
In Beijing, freeskiers will take off from a start that stands 50 meters high and launches them into the air, where they will be judged based on the difficulty, execution, amplitude, landing, and progression of their jump. During the final, competitors will have three attempts to execute their biggest and best tricks, NBC reports, and their best two attempts will make up their overall score.
Who to watch: Swiss freestyler Mathilde Gremaud, who took silver in slopestyle skiing in the 2018 Games, is looking to build on her big air X Games win from last year. On Team USA’s side, Maggie Voisin, a seven-time X Games medalist and three-time Olympian who previously competed in slopestyle, aims to earn her first podium finish in Beijing.
When to watch: The qualification period will be broadcast live on NBC on February 6 at 8:30 p.m. EST. The women’s finals will be shown on February 7 at 9 p.m. EST.
Monobob (women)
The bobsled program has added another exciting discipline for women: monobob, a single-person bobsled race in which the athlete navigates the narrow, icy, curved track solo. This differs from the other bobsledding events, which include two-man, two-woman, and four-man sleds. While the men have been competing in bobsled at the Olympics since 1924, the two-woman sled wasn’t added to the program until 2002. The Beijing Games will mark the first Olympic competition where women will have two bobsled events at the Games.
As NBC reports, monobob also differs from the other events because competitors race in identical sleds, which removes any sled design and aerodynamic advantages that can factor into the competition of the remaining bobsled disciplines.
Who to watch: Three-time Olympic medalist and SELF February cover star Elana Meyers Taylor won four monobob events during the last World Cup series and looks to add another podium spot to her collection in Beijing. Her fellow February cover star Kaillie Humphries won two Olympic gold medals for Canada and recently became an American citizen just in time to make Team USA in January.
When to watch: The monobob training heats will be aired on February 11 at 9 p.m. EST. The first and second runs of the monobob event will air live on February 12 at 8 p.m. EST.
Snowboard cross (mixed team)
Sixteen mixed-gender teams—each made up of one male athlete and one female athlete—will be competing against each other in the debut of snowboard cross in Beijing. In this timed event, where athletes traverse turns, drops, and jumps, the men race first. When the rider crosses the finish line at the bottom of the slope, the starting gate for their teammate will open at the top of the course, and the women will race each other on the final leg to determine the team results. The first woman to cross the line wins for her team.
The event gained momentum three years ago with its debut at the world championships. In 2019, Americans Lindsey Jacobellis and Mick Dierdorff claimed the first-ever world title in the event.
Who to watch: The Americans missed the podium at the 2021 world championships, where Australian duo Jarryd Hughes and Belle Brockhoff won gold—and are going into Beijing as gold-medal favorites. But Jacobellis looks to be a contender once again after qualifying for her fifth Winter Olympics, tying the U.S. female record.
When to watch: The snowboard cross quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal round are scheduled to air on February 11 at 9 p.m. EST.
Aerial freestyle skiing (mixed team)
For the first time ever, freestyle skiing—historically an individual sport—will include a team event. In aerial skiing, athletes take off from a jump that launches them into the air, where they execute a dizzying routine of twists and flips before landing at the bottom of the slope. Now teams of aerial skiers will work together to reach the podium on the Olympic stage.
The teams include three athletes—one must be a man and one must be a woman—whose combined scores make up the team finish.
Who to watch: First-time Olympian Winter Vinecki looks ready to contribute to Team USA’s podium chances after helping the Americans earn a silver medal in the aerials team event at the Finland world cup events in December 2021.
When to watch: Catch the finals of the mixed team aerials event airing on February 10 at 6 a.m. EST.
Short track relay (mixed team)
A third relay has been added to the short track skating program for the first time in Beijing. In addition to the men’s 5,000-meter and women’s 3,000-meter relays, athletes will compete on mixed-gender teams for a distance of 2,000 meters.
The squads consist of four skaters (two men and two women) competing over 18 laps of the track. The relay begins with the two women racing for two and a half laps each. The men follow for the same distance, before the two women race again for two laps each. The men close out the race by completing two laps each to reach the finish line.
Who to watch: Expect South Korea to bring the heat in the mixed relay. After all, the country has earned 48 total medals (including 24 golds), solidifying its place as the top nation in Olympic short track speed skating, the IOC reports.
The women of Team USA are looking to earn their first medal since 2010, when the relay earned bronze at the Vancouver Games. With five women—including 2018 Olympian Maame Biney—named to the U.S. team and two men aiming to rebuild the U.S. men’s short track squad, the mixed-gender relay will provide another chance for the Americans to chase a medal opportunity on the Olympic stage.
When to watch: The mixed team relay quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will be shown live on February 5 at 6 a.m. EST.
Ski jumping (mixed team)
While men have been competing in ski jumping at the Olympics since 1988, a women’s competition was just recently added to the program in 2018. Now both genders have another opportunity to earn medals at the Games.
The mixed-gender team competition takes place on the normal hill (the smaller of the two Olympic ski jump hills with a 98-meter takeoff) and includes four athletes who jump in the order of woman, man, woman, man. The skiers’ individual scores—which include components like distance and style—are tallied together to make up the team score.
Who to watch: After winning the last four world championships, Germany is the favorite to earn gold in Beijing. The team of Markus Eisenbichler, Katharina Althaus, Karl Geiger, and Anna Rupprecht repeated in 2021, representing a country that has dominated the event with podium finishes in the last five world championships, the IOC reports.
When to watch: Catch the mixed team competition airing on February 7 at 5:25 a.m. EST.
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