Key athletes of the first few days of the 2022 Winter Olympics
It may be cold, but these athletes are on fire
As of February 5, Canada is ranked number four in the Olympics behind Denmark (1st), Slovenia (2nd), and Italy (3rd). Mikael Kingsbury earned Canada a silver medal in Men’s Moguls Freestyle Skiing, and Isabelle Weidemann received bronze in Women’s 3000m speedskating. The Olympics have only been going for a few days, but already a few athletes have shown great success for Canada. This article will feature a few of the key Olympians in the first days of the Olympics.
Weidemann was the first to win a medal for Canada in the 2022 games. The start of the speedskating race was a little rough for Weidemann, but she was able to catch up near the end of the race as she noticed her competitors falling behind. Weidermann explained to TSN that she gets into a steady speed, and once she gets into that zone, it is hard to stop. The zone she experienced in the last lap brought her to third place, awarding her a bronze medal. According to Weidemann’s bio, her biggest inspiration for the Olympics came from four-time medalist Kristin Grove, who shares the same hometown as her. Weidemann’s love for skating started at age six, and she began speedskating at the age of 12.
Doug Harrison from CBC News reports that Kingsbury received 82.18 points in freestyle skiing, only 2 points behind Walter Wallberg, who represented Sweden. Kingsbury has received three medals in three Olympics games, which is a first for the male freestyle skier. His goal was to win gold back-to-back (for the 2018 and 2022 games), but in this race he received silver. Devin Heroux from CBC News explained that family is a big part of Kingsbury’s craft, and on the day of the race he wrote the names of his family members and put them in his helmet. Kingsbury’s family cheered him on from home. According to his bio, Kingsbury has superstitions and rituals he uses for the sport. He began skiing at age of four, and had the dream to go to the Olympics by the age of 10.
In figure skating, Madeline Schizas was awarded 69.60, which moved Canada into 4th place and qualified the women’s team for the finals. This is Schizas’ first time in the Olympics, and she performed with the music “My Sweet and Tender Beast Waltz” by Eugen Doga. As well as being a figure skater, her bio reads that she has interest in music, and she is studying urban planning at the University of Waterloo. She began skating at the age of three, and her competition career started at the young age of six.
The 2022 Olympics have had an exciting start, and all of the Olympians representing Canada have been making the country proud. Very few medals have been awarded overall due to the Games only beginning, but as finals are determined and more events are performed, the rankings will become more solidified, and the real competitions will begin. Canada will keep their eyes on the games in the meantime. Happy watching!
