Category Archives: Olympics

Axios on facebookAxios on twitterAxios on linkedinAxios on emailJason Brown of Team USA grew up in Highland Park. Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Team USA

The Chicago area will be well represented in Beijing when the 2022 Winter Olympics begin next week.

Women's hockey: The defending gold medal-winners will include six (SIX!) players from the area, including:

The men's hockey team will not include any Blackhawks, per the NHL prohibiting its players from participating due to COVID-19.

Figure skating (singles): Jason Brown (Highland Park) will participate in Men's Single Skating after winning bronze in the 2014 Olympics at 19 years old. He didn't make the team in 2018.

Figure skating (pairs): Alexa Knierim (Addison) will participate in pair skating.

Speed skating: The U.S. Speed Skating team has high expectations in Beijing. They could take home their most medals in two decades.

Ski jumping: The Chicago area produced three Olympic ski jumpers. Kevin Bickner, Patrick Gasienica and Casey Larson are all from the famed Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove.

What's next: The Olympic Games begin next Friday, February 4.

Data: TeamUSA; Map: Axios Visuals

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13 Chicago area athletes competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics - Axios

BEIJING, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Beijing Winter Olympics kick off in a week, putting sports at centre-stage following preparations that have been clouded by diplomatic boycotts and the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced the Games into a tightly sealed bubble.

Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games, and some venues from 2008 will be re-used, including the Bird's Nest stadium, where the opening ceremony will again be overseen by famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

Almost everything else is different.

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Where the 2008 Summer Games dazzled in what was a rising China's arrival on the world stage, the Winter Olympics will be staged by a country that has grown far wealthier, more powerful and, under President Xi Jinping, more authoritarian and increasingly at odds with the West.

In the COVID-19 era, China has isolated itself with a zero-tolerance policy, cancelling nearly all international flights, meaning Olympic athletes and others must fly directly into a Games bubble on charters.

As in 2008, the Olympics have again cast a spotlight on China's human rights record, which critics say has worsened since then, leading Washington to call Beijing's treatment of Uyghur Muslims genocide and prompting a diplomatic boycott from the United States and other countries.

China rejects allegations of abuse and has repeatedly lashed out against the politicisation of the Games.

"The 2008 Olympics were a powerful source of soft power for China as it aspired toward global influence. In the past year, China's reputation has dipped significantly in the western world," said Rana Mitter, a professor of Chinese history and politics at Oxford University.

"The Chinese Communist Party will be hoping that the Winter Olympics 2022 can do something to reverse this position."

However, the Games are set to kick off amid rising geopolitical tension, with troops mounted at the Ukraine border by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to be in Beijing, as is U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

A DIFFERENT TIME

On the streets of Beijing, the summer carnival buzz of 2008 has been replaced by resignation over restrictions imposed to head off the spread of COVID-19 from recent small clusters, including the more transmissable Omicron variant. read more

There is also disappointment among would-be spectators unable to buy tickets because none will be sold to the public. Instead, events will be attended by what are expected to be sparse, curated crowds subject to strict COVID-19 controls.

The Games will take place inside a "closed loop" that is much tighter than at last summer's Tokyo Games and will be tested by Omicron, which is running rampant in many western countries that are winter sports powers.

Some delegations, worried about information security, have warned members to bring burner phones.

Athletes and rights groups have also warned about risks of speaking out on politically sensitive topics while in China.

The scandal involving Chinese tennis star and former Olympian Peng Shuai, who accused a retired senior politician of sexually assaulting her and then disappeared for several weeks, added fuel to criticism of China's hosting of the event.

While Peng later said her social media post was misunderstood, the Women's Tennis Association, concerned for her well-being, suspended tournaments in China.

One U.S. Olympian told Reuters that she would not be speaking out on human rights because she believed doing so would put her safety at risk.

"I think China has shown - with Peng Shuai most recently - that they are willing to go to really extreme measures to silence any sort of rhetoric that they find displeasing," she said, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.

A Chinese official said recently that behaviour by athletes that violates the Olympic spirit or Chinese rules could be subject to punishment, although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made it clear that athletes are free to express their opinions in press conferences and interviews within the bubble, but not in competition or medal ceremonies.

SAFE CHOICE

Beijing was awarded the right in 2015 to host the 2022 Winter Games after several bid candidates dropped out, including favourite Oslo, leaving just the Chinese capital and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Despite little winter sports tradition and even less snow, the IOC selected Beijing as the safe choice.

China rewarded that confidence with efficient preparation despite concerns about the environmental impact of massive snowmaking. read more It has delivered on cleaning Beijing's notoriously smog-prone skies and planted vast numbers of trees.

Unlike Tokyo's Summer Games, delayed a year by COVID-19, there has never been much doubt that the Beijing Games would take place - no matter what.

"I feel like the 2008 Olympic Games was very grand, it was a spectacular show to the world," said Ye Wenxiaoyu, a 20-year-old Games volunteer. "This year's Winter Olympics will be very simple and very low-carbon - but of course, this will not affect how wonderful it will be."

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Reporting by Tony MunroeAdditional reporting by Michael Martina in Washington and Gabriel Crossley and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Editing by Michael Perry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China - Reuters

What does it mean to be a good person?

It's not a question you'd expect someone to be asking themselves when they're deciding whether or not to watch the Olympic Games.

But this year, that question's feeling more relevant than ever.

The Opening Ceremony for the Beijing Winter Olympics is just over a week away.

Traditionally, these events bring a lot of political good will. But not this time around.

The U.S. and several other countries have announced their diplomats won't be attending the games over China's record of human rights abuses. But athletes and coaches are still encouraged to attend, and the games will still air on television.

That leaves many wondering, should I watch this year? Or should I be boycotting the games too?

Soundside spoke to four people that are determining that for themselves.

In fact, that's how Phil Shyrock got involved.

"Curling has really gone from this esoteric thing I wanted to try once upon a time to something that kind of dominates my life from a social perspective."

The sport brought Shylock new friends, including current club president, Lori Markham. It also brought a deeper connection to the Olympics - the US national curling coach goes to Granite Curling, and both Markham and Shylock are friends with other Olympic curlers as well.

So, when they consider whether or not to watch the games, it comes down to supporting their curling family.

"It feels a lot like nobody cares about what the athletes have done to get to that point," says Markham. "That makes me angry. Does it prevent me from watching? No. But when in the quiet moments when I'm by myself, and I'm thinking about it, those are the things that I think about."

To Markham and Shyrock, choosing between their friends or their political beliefs feels unfair. How do you decide what's right? Or what to stand behind?

For both curlers, it's about the personal connection they've made through the sport, and seeing a sport they love on the big screen.

For Alex Tang, being a good person means paying attention.

Tang is a teacher at Seattle Central College. He attended the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, and organized supporting demonstrations here in Seattle.

He says you can't separate the games and the politics. Even if you're an athlete.

"They're being complicit in regards to what is happening with human rights injustices and violations, and China and what the Communist Chinese party is doing." Says Tang. "And it's just really upsetting for me. Because while I understand their position, like they've been training all their life, you need to look at the optics and the political welfare between the US and China. And I see where these athletes are coming from. But there's a bright line, there's a line that should not be caught crossed."

Tang watched the Olympics last time they were in Beijing, back in 2008.

But he says this year, he'll be keeping his distance.

Ludlow is a 2006 Olympic alpine skier. Nowadays she's a leadership consultant and childrens book author.

And she says many of these athletes have been working towards these games for years. You want to take the chance to be in the Olympics when you have it - because it might not happen again.

"Particularly as a winter athlete, you only have a small window of time when your body is at its peak form. For many of these athletes, these Beijing Olympics are going to be their shot, whether it's the only Olympics they go to, or the only Olympics that they'll go to when they're kind of in peak physical form."

Ludlow says she will be watching this year's Olympic Games. Because, she says, the world deserves a moment of unity. Even if it comes with political tensions.

"I feel like the world actually deserves to have this one positive occasion that we can all actually look to for inspiration. After all the Olympic values are excellence, respect and friendship. I mean, if we can look to that demonstration of courage and effort and skill, and passion and remarkable athleticism in their purest form, we have an opportunity to draw inspiration from that. I think that our world could really benefit from that right now."

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When the Winter Olympics become a moral quandary - KUOW News and Information

You can put this on the record. Those guys are such great humans, such great people. Weve developed a great bond over the last few years and I was really looking forward to that journey with them.

John Morris is speaking passionately about the Australian mixed doubles team.

The two-time Olympic champion has one regret about the upcoming Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Okaytwo regrets. The first is that he wont get to coach Australias youthful Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt in Beijing, as hes been doing all season. The second is that his upcoming battle against them, which is scheduled near the end of the mixed doubles round robin on Feb. 6, will take a toll on him.

This journey isnt over, even though I cant coach them there, but that will no doubt be my most difficult game to play at the Olympics, said Morris. I have trouble playing against great friends who I have a lot of respect for, and its hard for me to get that killer instinct with really good friends and I consider those two really good friends of mine.

So that will be my toughest game to play, mentally. But at the end of the day, Im wearing the red and white and Im playing for my country, and that trumps all.

Morris is following in his fathers footsteps. The famous curling coach nicknamed Earle the Pearlwho has coached both his son and Homans womens team in the pastalso coached the Australian mens team back in the mid-2000s, a squad that included Hewitts father.

In fact, that teamskipped by Hugh Milliken with Ian Palangio throwing last stonesmissed a shot to beat Randy Ferbey and knock him (and Pfeifer) out of the 2005 world playoffs in Victoria, B.C. The Canadians finished in a wild six-way tie at 8-3 and eventually won the championship.

That game in Beijing will be a great game to watch, no doubt, adds Morris. Theyve really developed a lot this year as curlers. Besides that game against them, Ill be cheering wholeheartedly for them.

Morris was with Gill and Hewitt at the Olympic Qualification Event in Leeuwarden, Netherlands in early December when the Aussies rolled to seven straight victories, including a sudden-death Olympic qualifier ov er Korea.

As Gillswinning stone settled and the Aussies began to celebrate, Morris grabbed fellow Australia coach Pete Manasantivongs in a reverse bear hug before dashing down to ice level.

Steve Seixeiro-WCF

Moments before, Gill and Hewitt had called a time out before their final throw. Morris suggested Gill throw a different turn on her winning stone, based on familiarity of the running path and speed. She took the advice and the shot wasexecutedperfectly.

We asked (Morris) to coach us because we wanted to be coached by the best, said Hewitt, 27. Were grateful he played a big part in helping us qualify for the Olympics. His experience and knowledge has been crucial for us growing as athletes.

Its so great to have a coach who you can go on adventures with off-ice too, and hes treated us like family.

Gill and Hewitt bade farewell to their friends and family members back in September of 2021, and have been based near Morris in Canmore, Alta. ever since. Even the appointment of Morris and mixed doubles teammate Rachel Homan to the Canadian Olympic Team hasnt changed the preparation routine very much.

If he stares, he cares Steve Seixeiro-WCF

Theyre still training with me, and we pretty much leave (for Beijing) on the same day, said Morris. Its perfect, weve even got some good hard games against them. Its almost like were training partners, which I think is ideal.

Morris has been sharing a cabin with Homan and Pfeifer in an isolated area of Canmore. Over the past two weeks the squads new Twitter feed has proudly displayed a variety of alternative Olympic training techniquesice fishing and snowshoeing among them.

Such is the high-performance life in a pandemic.

We knew it would be a high possibility we could be competing against John at the Olympics and we were prepared for it, said the 22-year-old Gill. We are so excited to compete against John and Rachel, I think it will be a really fun game. Theyre a great team and we always want to play against the best to get better ourselves.

Were having a really good time, keeping it light, said Morris back in December.

I think Canadians and Australians are kindred spirits that way. We enjoy a lot of the same things and are pretty laid back.

Its been a really good relationship and Im really proud of them.

Twitter

Morris is grateful to the Canmore Golf and Curling Club for providing the Canadians and Australians with private ice in isolation.

Its tough to find a great facility and great conditions, but here it is,Morris said.These friendly matches are helping get us both battle-ready in lieu of no trials or events leading up to the Olympics.

Departure is just a day or so away. How about some medal predictions, John?

No way, its such a deep field this year, Morris said. Its going to be such a great Games to watch. Every games going to be an absolute battle.

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My Toughest Game At The Olympics - Sports Illustrated

COVIDThe budget for Olympic-specific operations to host the Games is expected to be about $4 billion. Ng Han Guan / Associated Press

By GRAHAM DUNBAR, Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) The finance model for the Winter Olympics calls for the host country to spend several billion dollars, the IOC to earn a couple billion, and sports bodies to share around hundreds of millions.

Fortunately for China, turning a profit from the 2022 Beijing Games was not a priority even before the coronavirus pandemic wiped out some expected sources of income.

Chinese President Xi Jinping set a goal in 2015 to create a new tourism industry in the country.

It will inspire over 300 million Chinese to participate in winter sports if we win, which will contribute greatly to the development of the international Olympic cause, Xi said back then, according to Chinas official Xinhua news agency.

The buildup to the Olympics, which open on Feb. 4 and close 16 days later, has brought high-speed train lines that will carry athletes to new ski resorts outside Beijing. For the next few decades, those same train lines will be shuttling Chinese tourists to the mountains.

Russia reportedly spent $51 billion on the 2014 Sochi Games, a price tag that is expected to stand as an Olympic record for many years. That huge amount made European voters nervous about hosting in the future and led the IOC to review how Games are awarded and organized.

But Chinas motivation, like Russia in 2014, is a state-backed plan to create domestic leisure and tourism sectors with the big-ticket item again being a city-to-mountains transport system.

China allocated more than $9 billion for a high-speed rail linking Beijing to nearby ski resorts in Zhangjiakou and Yangqing, where ski slopes have been carved out of mountains that get little natural snow.

The budget for Olympic-specific operations to host the Games is expected to be about $4 billion. Venues built in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics have been repurposed. The Water Cube for swimming is now the Ice Cube for curling.

Still, the overall investment on winter sports has been significant since Beijing won its Olympic bid seven years ago.

China now has more than 650 ice rinks and 800 ski resorts, China Daily reported this month, citing the National Winter Sports Administrative Center. Those numbers mark rises of 317% and 41%, respectively, since 2015.

China would have expected modest revenue from relatively few international visitors for the Winter Games even before the pandemic made their trips impossible.

Tickets also arent being sold to residents of China, taking another of the hosts income streams. The IOCs own figures show the highest Winter Games ticketing revenue was $250 million at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which sold 1.5 million tickets.

Host city organizing committees keep income from domestic sponsor deals they negotiate. Sochi set the Winter Games record with almost $1.2 billion from 46 sponsors.

The Beijing organizing committees website currently lists 44 commercial partners, nearly all Chinese, in four tiers that include suppliers of goods and services. The 11 top-tier partners include Air China and Bank of China.

Sales of merchandizing such as gloves and mascots, worth $79 million to Pyeongchang in 2018, also top up local organizers income.

Still, the most important number has at least officially already been reached. The National Bureau of Statistics said this month the target of engaging 300 million people in winter sports had been hit.

The IOC gets billions of dollars from broadcasters around the world and from sponsors who get exclusive global rights.

Beijing is the first of American broadcaster NBCs $7.75 billion, six-Olympics deal through 2032. It was said when signed eight years ago to be worth a combined $2.5 billion for the 2022 Beijing Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Summer Olympics bring in about twice as much as the Winter Games.

The IOC now has 13 top-tier sponsors, including Chinese companies Alibaba and Mengniu, which is in the soft drinks category along with Coca-Cola. It was 11 for Sochi and Rio de Janeiro when their combined value was $1 billion in cash and services in 2014 and 2016.

The so-called TOP program is set to be worth about $3 billion for 2021-24, IOC president Thomas Bach told members last March. It was unclear if that reflected Tokyo being pushed back as host into 2021.

The IOC is giving $880 million toward Beijing organizers costs. Thats only a few million less than Pyeongchang organizers got four years ago.

The IOC also shared $215 million from its 2018 Olympic revenue among the seven governing bodies of Winter Games sports skiing, skating, hockey, biathlon, bobsled, curling and luge.

In their 2020 accounts, the International Ski Federation listed $13 million as its Olympic payment and the International Skating Union noted more than $11 million.

Another $215 million was distributed among national Olympic committees. Of the 206 NOCs, 92 competed in Pyeongchang.

The 2,900 athletes at the Beijing Olympics do not get prize money from the IOC for competing or winning medals. Some of what the IOC pays sports bodies can trickle down to athletes, however.

The IOC will put $590 million into the Olympic Solidarity fund for the 2021-24 period. That will give grants to train athletes, coaches and administrators. Less wealthy countries are prioritized.

The IOC said 420 athletes from 78 teams were awarded scholarships to help qualify and prepare for this years Olympics. The program had a $10 million budget for the 2018 edition.

In some countries, Olympic medalists get cash or gifts from sports bodies and governments.

The U.S. Olympic teams Operation Gold program has paid $37,500 for a gold medal, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze.

Russia has a tradition of wealthy supporters rewarding Olympic success. Gold medalists at the Sochi Olympics were given $120,000 and an SUV.

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China spends billions on Olympics with longer-term goal - Boston.com

A supervisor in Germanys Olympic delegation has tested positive for the coronavirus within the closed loop in Beijing, the German Olympic Sports Confederation said on Thursday, confirming one of the first cases connected to an athletic team within the bubblelike environment meant to shield participants from the rest of the world.

The positive case was identified on Sunday after a P.C.R. test administered in Zhangjiakou, where many of the snow events will take place about 100 miles northwest of Beijing, the confederation said. The supervisor is asymptomatic and is currently in a quarantine hotel, it said.

Beijing officials said on Thursday that eight new cases had been detected in the bubble as of the previous day. Fifteen others were found among airport arrivals of Games-related personnel. None were linked to an athlete or a team official.

Since Jan. 4, 50 cases have been identified in the closed loop, according to official data. Officials have linked one of them to an athlete or team official. Among airport arrivals, 79 cases have been detected, data show. One was an athlete or team official, and the rest were other stakeholders, officials said.

Some athletes, including those from the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Norway, have received positive tests before departing for the Olympics, resulting in delayed travel and throwing into question their chance of competing in the Games.

Josh Williamson, an athlete of the Team USA bobsled team, said on Instagram on Wednesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday and would not board the rest of the delegations flight to Beijing on Thursday.

One athlete, the Russian figure skater Mikhail Kolyada, was withdrawn from his team after testing positive, the Olympics committee said on Tuesday.

The Games are scheduled to start on Feb. 4.

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Covid Case in Beijing Olympic Bubble Is Linked to a German Team - The New York Times

Hey, did you know its time for the Olympics again? Thats right, just seven months after the 2021 (ne 2020) Summer Olympics, the 2022 Winter Games will be held in Beijing starting on February 2.

Attendance will be sparse, as fans have largely been barred from attending, and diplomats from some countries, including the US, are boycotting the event over concerns about human rights violations in Chinas Xinjiang region. (US athletes are still competing in the events.) Crowds or not, theres still an eye-popping number of events.

If you want to catch many of them, youll need to find a way to pay tithe to the Olympian gods at NBC Universal. That means a TV subscription with NBC in it, or you can watch it on the NBC Olympics website or Sports app. The official Olympics channel will also be streaming live, provided you have an account with one of its many streaming partners like Xfinity, Dish, Spectrum, Verizon, and YouTubeTV, to name just a few.

You can also watch the games on NBCs Peacock streaming platform. Its $10 a month, or $5 a month if youre willing to deal with ads. (If youve forgotten what its like to watch TV with ads, believe me, they are infuriating.) If you want to watch each and every event (all 2,800 hours of them), check the official official schedule or NBCs schedule for times in your time zone. ESPNs also got a handy schedule, if you prefer that.

Collected below are a smattering of the big events, mainly the final matches that determine who gets medals. Depending on where you are, some of the times will be at odd hours, but rest assured that NBC will replay the highlights ad nauseum.

(Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all the times are Eastern Standard Time.)

Opening/Closing Ceremonies

Opening ceremony is February 4, starting at 6:30 am ET.

Closing ceremony is Feb. 20 at 7 am.

Bobsled

Finals for womens monoboba new event this yearare Feb. 13 at 9 pm. Two-person finals are Feb. 19 at 7:30 am.

Mens two-person finals are Feb. 15 at 7:50 am. Mens four-person run is Feb. 19 at 9:20 pm.

Biathlon

Relay for the mixed 6 kilometer medals is Feb. 5 at 3 am.

Womens 15 km individual finals are Feb. 7 at 3 am. Womens 7.5 km sprint is Feb. 11 at 3 am. Womens 10 km pursuit finals are Feb. 13 at 3 am. Womens 6 km relay finals are Feb. 16 at 1:45 am. Womens mass start 12.5 km finals are Feb. 19. at 3 am.

Mens 20 km individual finals are Feb. 8 at 2:30 am. Mens 10 km sprint finals are Feb. 12 at 3 am. Mens 12.5 km pursuit finals are Feb. 13 at 4:45 am. Mens 7.5 km relay finals are Feb. 15 at 3 am. Mens 15 km finals are Feb. 18 at 3 am.

Curling

Curling starts on Feb. 2 at 7 am and goes through the 19th.

Mens curling bronze medal finals are Feb. 18 at 1 am. Gold finals are Feb. 19 at 1 am.

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How to Watch the 2022 Winter Olympics - WIRED

The games just got real for several Bay Area star athletes as Team USA left Los Angeles Thursday and are now on their way to this years winter Olympics.

Nearly 100 athletes took off Thursday morning after an official sendoff. It was a sendoff like no other, which included a red carpet at LAX.

The athletes said its like one big family trip theyve been looking forward to.

Im so grateful to represent California, said Jamie Anderson, who will compete in the snowboarding competitions.

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing features several elite athletes from the golden state, including three figure skaters from the Bay Area and a few snowboarders from Northern and Southern California.

All of them are ready to get out of the bubble theyve been living in just to get a shot at the gold.

Life has just been so strict lately, definitely makes going to the Olympics not as enjoyable, Anderson said.

These athletes face several challenges as they head to the games, including human rights conflicts in china, cybersecurity threats and COVID-19.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, family and friends had to stay behind this year, so players turned to alternative ways of finding support and comfort.

My parents actually made me a video and it was a tearjerker for me, said snowboarder Hailey Langland.

Competition begins in just a week and you catch watch coverage across our NBC platforms.

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Team USA Athletes Head to Winter Olympics - NBC Bay Area

All three athletes competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China call Carlsbad home.

CARLSBAD, Calif. Although San Diego is much more know for sending athletes to the Summer Olympics, the 2022 Winter Olympics will have some athletes from Americas Finest City. From bobsledding to snowboarding, you will absolutely be able to see some of your favorite San Diegans competing including the legendary Shaun White.

According to the roster of Americans heading to Beijing, the three representing the San Diego area hail from Carlsbad.

Snowboarding

Shaun White is known as perhaps the greatest snowboarder to ever live and he grew up right here in Carlsbad. The three-time gold medalist and four-time Olympian went to high school at Carlsbad High School.

Some of his career accomplishments include winning X Games gold 11 times.

White isnt just an accomplished snowboarder. He has earned five medals in skateboarding and was the first athlete ever to compete and medal in both the Summer and Winter X Games.

Maud is an 18-year-old snowboarder from right here in Carlsbad.

2022 will be her first Olympic Games, but she is no stranger to international competition. Maud finished in second place in the 2018 and 2019 Junior World Championships, she finished in third place in the 2021 Europa Cup and she has five podium finishes in the 2018 and 2019 NorAm Cup.

Maud will be competing against some of the best snowboarders in the world, including Chloe Kim who also resides in California.

She was named to the U.S. Snowboard team as a 14-year-old.

Bobsled

Kaillie Humphries is an Olympic champion who was born, raised and competed for Canada. Humphries switched to represent the United States in 2019 after allegedly experiencing both abuse and harassment while competing with the Canadian team.

Since joining the American team, Humphries has done nothing but win. Some of her wins include the two-woman bobsled titles in both 2020 and 2021. She also took home the gold in the first ever womens monobob event in 2021.

According to Team USA, they werent sure Humphries would be eligible for the 2022 games as she was waiting on her United States citizenship. After receiving it, she had her celebration in San Diego.

Did we miss any Olympians with ties to San Diego? Let us know by sending an email to social@kfmb.com.

WATCH RELATED: Olympic gold medal winner breaks down the stress athletes feel

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Your guide to San Diego athletes competing in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics - CBS News 8

The International Olympic Committee plans to meet with Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai during the upcoming Olympics in Beijing in what the IOC says is an attempt to allay concerns about her well-being.

Human rights activists and international observers have expressed concern about Peng's whereabouts since Nov. 2, when she alleged in a Weibo social media post that a retired high-ranking Chinese government official had sexually assaulted her. Following that post, which Chinese officials scrubbed from the country's highly-censored internet in less than a half hour, she disappeared from public view for two weeks, and her later appearance was a well-choreographed operation. She later said she had made no accusations and that her post had been misinterpreted.

IOC president Thomas Bach met with Peng by video later in November, and the IOC said in a statement that their meeting was the start of a communication that has continued. Experts on Chinese policy, however, said that the initial call was part of an orchestrated propaganda campaign.

"Since the first call that the IOC held with Peng Shuai on 21 November 2021, the IOC team has kept in touch with her and had a number of conversations with her the last one just the past week," an IOC spokesperson said. "In this way, we got to know each other better."

The Women's Tennis Association has taken a less conciliatory tone than the IOC, seeking further proof of Peng's safety while also suspending tournaments in China in response to her absence.

The IOC statement indicated that Peng will meet with Bach and Emma Terho, chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission. The meeting will take place within the bubble China has established to keep visiting athletes, journalists and officials from interacting with the Chinese population. The Olympics are slated to begin Feb. 4.

"In arranging the different conversations," the IOC said in the statement, "the Chinese Olympic Committee has always been very supportive and will also ensure that the meeting can happen even under very strict COVID-19 countermeasures and in the closed loop that is in place during the Games."

Story continues

Peng's situation briefly claimed headlines at the Australian Open when several demonstrators wore "Where's Peng Shuai?" t-shirts at the event. Tournament organizers initially banned the demonstrations before relenting.

Australian protestors demonstrate on behalf of Peng Shuai. (Paul Crock / Getty Images)

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybusbee or contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.

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Olympics: IOC plans to meet with Peng Shuai in Beijing - Yahoo Sports