Beijing is once again the host of another Olympic Games, but things will not be the same this time around. The Winter Olympics kicks off on Feb. 4, 2022. Beijing is looking to become the first to hold both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games following their most recent hosting, the 2008 Summer Games. Their previous experience as host may seem beneficial, but this year will be very different compared to their previous event on home soil.
On July 23, 2021, the Summer Olympics kicked off 1,300 miles from Beijing in Tokyo, Japan. Starting almost a whole year late, the Tokyo Olympic committee team was faced with challenges regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, and now, Beijing will have to deal with the same obstacles. “In a COVID world, you have to be flexible, and you have to be able to adapt rapidly to changing conditions. We have that in Beijing,” said Juan Antonio Samaranch, a top Olympic official.
The Beijing Olympic committee is taking extra precautions against the problems arising from COVID-19 to keep all participants safe. Athletes will be kept in a “closed-loop system” to ensure their safety. This system creates a bubble that blocks off all outside spectators from entering.
It also prevents participants, coaches, journalists and staff from leaving the bubble. All individuals must be vaccinated in order to enter the bubble and will be COVID tested every day. Senior Ryan Dolphin is a huge fan of the Olympics and the way they have handled the situation at hand. “It’s truly amazing to see the Olympic staff work so hard to pull off the event even though they are facing a lot of roadblocks right now.”
Adversity surrounds this year’s 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, but that will not stop the attraction they draw across the world. The hype is still real for the Winter Games despite the toll COVID-19 has placed on the event. “It’s great that the Olympics are still happening and I’m extremely excited to watch all of the cool events, especially bobsledding,” said senior Max Vanderschaaf.
American athletes do not want to miss this opportunity to showcase their hard work. Roy Chan, who is Chole Kim’s trainer, stated, “She pretty much doesn’t take any days off.” Kim is a 21 year old professional snowboarder who recently won a gold medal at the last Winter Olympics. Coming off a dominant performance at the 2018 Winter Games, Kim looks to maintain her position at the top and bring home another gold medal to the United States.
