Now that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are finished, the gold-medal moments and its mascot Bing-Dwen-Dwen will live in history. With there being 91 countries, and over 2,000 athletes, there were a lot of highlights and memorable moments. From Nathan Chen’s number one spot to Mikaela Shriffin’s rebound while skiing, and many more. The 2022 Winter Olympics have also had a memorable time with Covid-19 and its restrictions. 

Obviously, this year, Covid-19 has been a big factor in our lives. It produced a lot of rules and regulations throughout the Olympic Village for both staff and athletes. According to BBC, once the athletes arrive, they get tested and if positive, they can only compete after they get two negative tests, back to back, that are 24 hours apart. Along with that, the asymptomatic people will stay in an isolation facility, and the people who show symptoms will go to a hospital.  However, if they want to and feel well enough to train, there is equipment that can be sent to their rooms, if available. Along with testing, China has also set up bubbles for the athletes, media, spectators, and other necessary workers to stay in. According to the BBC, you must be fully vaccinated or have quarantined for 21 days before entering the bubbles. China has even gone as far as telling the traffic authorities to avoid contact with the athletes if injured in a road accident. Even though the athletes and spectators have a lot of rules, the competitions seem to be easier, as far as restrictions go. 

Out of 91 countries and over 2,000 athletes, there have been some amazing moments and comebacks. For example, alpine skier for the United States, Mikaela Shiffrin, had a breath-taking rebound during her run down the slopes. Similar to many other people on this particularly steep slalom ski slope, Shiffrin, while turning, took a fall but pushed herself back up to continue the course. Additionally, in the men’s halfpipe, skier Jon Sallinen from Finland lost control while doing a jump, causing him to run into a cameraman. On the more gentle side, an American biathlete, Lief Nordgren, teared up during the warm-up when finding out his wife gave birth to his daughter back in Vermont, United States. Don’t think that’s all, however, as there were literal record-breaking events in the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Like the 2020 Summer Olympics, there have been records that have been broken and new accomplishments. According to NBC Olympics, Erin Jackson, a speed skater for Team USA, was the first black woman to win a speed skating medal after nearly missing the qualifications for the Olympic team. A previous record that was broken was the altitude on a jump in the snowboarding half-pipe. The record breaker was Kaishu Hirano, a snowboarder for the Japanese team, who flew 24 feet in the air during a jump in the men’s snowboarding halfpipe event. In total, he went 46 feet off of the ground. However, there are still a great many more great accomplishments and broken records from the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Similar to the other Olympic Games, the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be a significant memory for the athletes, spectators, and viewers. Hopefully, future generations will work for their dreams in the Olympics.