Olympics

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics drew to a close Sunday morning (Sunday evening in China) with the closing ceremony.

Directed by Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, the closing ceremony was both a celebration of this year's Winter Games and a transition to the 2026 games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest.

Keeping with Yimou's envisioned theme of world unity, athletes walked together instead of being grouped by nation as in the opening ceremony. As the athletes entered the ceremony a traditional Chinese knot was displayed to further emphasize global togetherness.

While the athletes walked together, delegates still honored their countries by carrying their national flags. For the United States, bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor was chosen for the honor.

Meyers Taylor was initially scheduled to carry the flag in the opening ceremony but was unable to do so after testing positive for COVID-19.

"I was so honored to be named the opening ceremony flag bearer, but after not being able to carry the flag, it's even more humbling to lead the United States at the closing ceremony," Meyers Taylor said, per Bill Chappell of NPR.

Like in the opening ceremony, the closing performance was a group effort centered around Chinese youth. Performers danced to "Moment of Remembrance, The Message of a Willow Twig" in the center of the arena as part of the ceremony.

However, that was not the only dancing on display. The closing ceremony was a fun-filled affair and very much a celebration.

The Olympic flag was also handed off from China to Italy, marking the transition from the 2022 Olympics to the 2026 Winter Games.

The next Winter Olympics may not showcase the same sense of togetherness we saw in Beijing, as events are planned to be held across 10,000 square miles at separate sites in northern Italy.

"Everyone will be in their own area. It's good to take advantage of the existing structures and not consume and build new venues; from an ecological standpoint it will be much better," Italian Alpine skier Federica Brignone said, per Travis Pittman, Andrew Dampf and Stephen Wade of the Associated Press. "But in terms of Olympic atmosphere, I'm not sure how it will be."

The sense of camaraderie was on full display at the Beijing closing ceremony, though, in what truly was an entertaining and fun-filled event.

Fans who didn't stream the closing ceremony live are in luck, as NBC will re-air the event twice Sunday evening—at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET.

Figure skating announcers Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir and sportscaster Terry Gannon will host an "enhanced" broadcast during the re-air. Based on NBC's re-air of the opening ceremony, fans can likely expect a special focus on American athletes during the broadcast.

The re-air will be available for streaming on Peacock. The closing ceremony can also be found at NBCOlympics.com, along with an extensive list of event replays. Full event replays can be found there, and fans who want to relive some of their favorite Olympic moments before catching the closing ceremony re-air will have no trouble doing so.

The Closing Ceremony for the 2022 Winter Olympics took place Sunday at China's National Stadium in Beijing, bringing an end to the 24th Winter Games.

Although lacking the over-the-top pageantry of the Opening Ceremony, the Olympics' final event still featured displays of Chinese culture along with a Parade of Nations that saw all of the athletes enter the stadium together rather than separately like when the Games began.

The ceremony also featured the traditional passing of the Olympic flag, as China handed over hosting duties to Italy ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach were among those on hand. The United States engaged in a diplomatic boycott of the Games while still allowing its athletes to compete.

The Olympic competitions wrapped up earlier Sunday in Beijing with Finland capturing the final gold medal with its triumph over the Russian Olympic Committee in men's ice hockey.

Norway dominated the medal table at the Games by capturing both the most gold medals and the most total medals over the past 18 days. Here's a look at the leaders in golds:

• 1. Norway: 16
• 2. Germany: 12
• 3. China: 9
• T-4. United States: 8
• T-4. Sweden: 8
• T-4: Netherlands: 8

And the top countries in total medals:

• 1. Norway: 37
• 2. ROC: 32
• 3. Germany: 27
• 4. Canada: 26
• 5. United States: 25

It's the second straight time Norway sat atop the overall medal table after finishing with 39 medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

In all, 109 medal events were held across 15 different disciplines since play began Feb. 2. The Opening Ceremony was officially held Feb. 4.

From an American perspective, the standout performers included figure skater Nathan Chen, who won gold in the men's individual competition, snowboarder Chloe Kim, who dominated the women's halfpipe for the second straight Olympics, and speed skater Erin Jackson, the winner of the women's 500 meters.

The Games also brought an end to the decorated career of snowboarder Shaun White, who won the men's halfpipe three times at the Olympics, most recently in 2018. He finished fourth in the event this year before an emotional send-off.

Next up on the Olympic schedule are the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which will come just three years after the most recent Summer Games since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After Paris, the focus will shift toward the 2026 Winter Games in Italy as Europe hosts the next two Olympics after three straight in Asia.

The dust has yet to settle on the 2022 Winter Olympics, but it's never too early to start looking ahead to what awaits in four years. 

The International Olympic Committee announced in June 2019 that Milano Cortina, Italy will host the 2026 Games. 

IOC president Thomas Bach issued a statement in the official announcement: 

Congratulations to Milano Cortina. We can look forward to outstanding and sustainable Olympic Winter Games in a traditional winter sports country. The passion and knowledge of Italian fans, together with experienced venue operators, will create the perfect atmosphere for the best athletes in the world. The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will feature iconic venues and beautiful settings, combining the attractions of a modern European metropolis with a classic Alpine environment.

Dates, Locations for 2026 Olympics 

The Milano Cortina Games will take place from Feb. 2-22, 2026. San Siro Stadium in Milan will host the Opening Ceremony, with Verona Arena in Verona being the site of the Closing Ceremony. 

Several venues throughout the Milano Cortina area will host the 114 different events across eight sports that will make up the 2026 Games. 

New Events

During an IOC session last July, the organization unanimously approved the addition of ski mountaineering to the Winter Olympics program. 

Per USASkimo.org, ski mountaineering is a "human-powered endurance competition that involves climbing mountains on skis and/or by foot and in many race disciplines, passing through a series of transitions before descending on skis."

A total of five medal events in skimo will take place at the 2026 Olympics: Men's and women's individual and sprint and a mixed relay competition. 

The site notes that the team event usually features teams comprised of two or three athletes with "at least 3 ascents and descents," but long-distance races could feature more. 

Sprint races are "heat-based mini individual races" that combine essential features and "techniques with an ascent on skins, part of the ascent on foot with skis on the rucksack and then a single descent from the top."

The relay competition features each member of the team competing in one individual event that often "lasts about 15 minutes and includes two ascents and descents."

Ski mountaineering will have an athlete quote of 48, divided evenly with 24 men and 24 women. 

The IOC noted the full ski mountaineering program will be determined at the executive board meeting in June. 

At this point, ski mountaineering is the only event that has been added to the 2026 schedule. 

It's unclear at this point if NHL players will play in the hockey event four years from now. There was an agreement in place for them to take part in the Beijing Games, but the NHL announced in December players wouldn't travel after the league had to pause the season for five days due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. 

Luc Tardif, International Ice Hockey Federation president, told reporters this week he is "optimistic" about a deal between the NHL, NHL Players' Association and IOC that would allow players to participate in the Olympics. 

The last time NHL players took part in the Winter Games was 2014. They didn't take part in the 2018 Olympics due to a dispute between the league and IOC over which would cover the cost of travel, insurance and accommodations. 

Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics closed with an all-star exhibition on Sunday as all 18 medalists in the men's, women's, pairs and ice-dancing competitions took to the ice and said farewell to Beijing. Some highlights and notes can be found below.

For the United States' Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, it was goodbye forever to the Olympics as the ice-dancing pair took centerstage there for the final time.

Hubbell and Donohue, who have won three World Championships medals and two Olympics medals during their careers, will retire after the 2021-22 season.

Russia's Alexandra Trusova, who won silver in the women's competition, skated to Hans Zimmer's Wonder Woman theme.

Defector's Diana Moskovitz loved her performance:

Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, who won gold in men's figure skating in 2014 and 2018 and finished fourth in these Games, took the ice for another epic performance despite skating on an injured ankle:

The exhibition also gave the United States' Vincent Zhou another chance to take the ice. Zhou, who won silver with Team USA in the team event, had to withdraw from the men's figure skating competition after testing positive for COVID-19.

Last but not least, men's gold medalist Nathan Chen of the United States showcased a backflip in his repertoire:

The Winter Olympics are now drawing to its end, with the Closing Ceremonies scheduled for Sunday.

The Finnish men's ice hockey team won its first-ever gold medal at the Olympics with a 2-1 victory over the Russian Olympic Committee on Saturday (Sunday in Beijing) at National Indoor Stadium.

Finland entered the gold-medal game as the only undefeated country in the men's hockey event, but the win is still stunning, as the ROC was widely expected to win gold at this year's Winter Games with NHL players not participating in the tournament.

Before the 2022 Games, Finland's best result at the Olympics was a silver medal, which it won in 1988 and 2006. With the win, the Finns prevented the ROC from capturing its second straight gold medal. The Olympic Athletes from Russia won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Here's how the game played out.

Finland began Saturday's game in a hole early when Hannes Bjorninen was called for a high-sticking penalty. The ROC capitalized on the opportunity as Mikhail Grigorenko found the back of the net at the 7:17 mark of the first period for his first goal of the Olympics. 

It took Finland until the 3:28 mark of the second period to respond on the scoresheet. Ville Pokka took a shot from along the boards that somehow made its way past ROC goaltender Ivan Fedotov to tie the game 1-1. It was Pokka's first goal and third point of the Winter Games. 

The Finns carried that momentum into the third period, and it was Bjorninen who made up for his first-period penalty with a tally just 31 seconds into the final frame to give his country a 2-1 lead. He deflected a Marko Anttila shot past Fedotov for his first goal and second point of the Olympics.

Finland dominated play both on and off the puck on Saturday night. In addition to outshooting ROC 31-17, the Finns prevented the opposing team from getting much off the rush. 

Finland's best players throughout the Olympics were Harri Pesonen, Teemu Hartikainen, Mikko Lehtonen, Sakari Manninen and Miro Aaltonen. Hartikainen (two goals, five assists) and Manninen (four goals, three assists) both had seven points in this year's Winter Games, which put them in a four-way tie for first. 

It was an awe-inspiring run for the Finns, and it's something the country should be proud of, even with the lack of NHL players at the tournament. The country went 3-0 in preliminary-round play with wins over Slovakia, Latvia and Sweden before clinching a berth in the semifinals with a 5-1 quarterfinal win over Switzerland.

The Finns clinched a berth in the gold-medal game with a 2-0 win over Slovakia in the semifinals.

They'll now look to repeat at the 2026 Games, hopefully with a roster full of NHL players. 

American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin will leave the 2022 Beijing Olympics without a medal.

As D'Arcy Maine of ESPN noted, she was part of the United States team that finished in fourth place in Sunday's mixed team parallel skiing event. Her teammates were Paula Moltzan, River Radamus and Tommy Ford, and they lost to Norway in a tiebreak for the bronze medal.

"I am not disappointed," Shiffrin said. "I have had a lot of disappointing moments at these Games, today is not one of them. Today is my favorite memory. This was the best possible way that I could imagine ending the Games, skiing with such strong teammates."

Austria won the gold medal, while Germany took home silver.

The team event features skiers going head-to-head in slalom races, and Shiffrin won her opening-round race against Slovakia before losing to Italy in the quarterfinals, Germany in the semifinals and Norway in the bronze-medal showdown.

However, she completed all the races after notching Did Not Finish results in the grand slalom, slalom and combined races.

She also finished ninth in the super-G and 18th in the downhill.

It appeared as if she was going to take home a medal in the final individual alpine skiing event of the Games in the women's alpine combined. She impressed in the downhill run and put herself in position to capture the gold with her specialty in the slalom.

Instead, she skied out of the race that Switzerland's Michelle Gisin ended up winning.

Shiffrin notably sat slumped over on the side of the course after the individual slalom competition in disbelief when she also skied out of that one. While it was an emotional scene, she also received plenty of support during the Games.

She opened up about what that meant, notably saying she was thankful for "the kindest words I can ever imagine."

Despite a disappointing showing in Beijing, she is still one of skiing's all-time greats with three Olympic medals, 11 world championship medals, three World Cup titles and 73 World Cup race victories. Maine noted she needs just one more Olympic medal to tie Julia Mancuso for the most medals by an American woman in alpine skiing.

Alas, that medal will have to wait for the 2026 Olympics.