Beijing 2022 and a result you don’t want to miss
A few Beijing 22 highlights from our very own Elodie Wallace
The Olympics are underway! Team GB has gotten off to a roaring start in Beijing. Youngest member of the Team GB contingent, 17 year old Kirtsty Muir, has shown her might in placing 5th in the first freeski big air competition, and there is plenty more to come.
Ones to watch
NUCO lives for all things snowsports and we are loving following and supporting all the talented athletes competing for Team GB in Beijing this year.
Honorary member of the NUCO family and actual member of my family- my brother Lloyd Wallace will be competing in the aerial skiing event on 15th and 16th Feb for Team GB. This event is one of China’s best medal chances, so it’s going to be an epic battle. Aerial skiing is one of the older freestyle ski disciplines. This involves skiing straight off a jump and performing up to 3 somersaults with up to 5 twists. No small undertaking! The judges are looking for a strong and straight body line and a smooth landing. However crashes are not uncommon on competition day, with everyone pulling out their best tricks, so it can be anyone’s day. Lloyd will be competing a new trick with a billion people watching, eek. We’ll be waving our union flags from the office!
Things to celebrate
If you’re looking for an event to catch up on, along with Kirsty Muir’s Freeski Big Air finals, I suggest checking out the mogul skiing event. Team GB had 3 unstoppable athletes competing and making history for Britain… I won’t spoil the rest for you.
Outside of skiing, Ellia Smeding is the first female to compete in long track speed skating at the Olympics for Team GB in 42 years. What a legend. As the final athlete to qualify for the games, she had to pack fast and she is skating even faster. Keep an eye out for her next event, the 1000m.
It’s not all glory
The Olympic games is the pinnacle of many sporting careers, making it a near-impossible event to qualify for. Thomas Gerken-Schofield won Britain’s FIRST moguls World Cup medal in 2020. However this was still not enough to reach the games following time out recovering from concussion.. GB freestyle skier Tyler Harding also had a rollercoaster of a season. After an uphill battle recovering from an unfortunate ankle injury, he was finally back on track to the games. Then covid struck just before the final Olympic qualification event. Harding missed the event due to isolation and so missed his final chance to qualify. The boys, along with many others, will be back on top of their sports and showing the world what they’ve got in no time.
It’s well worth checking out some of the athletes on instagram to see what they get up to in the village when they’re not competing. From hair cuts to virtual reality headsets, there seems to be limitless entertainment for the athletes too.
