Storylines to follow entering the 2022 Winter Olympics

With the world still amid this lingering coronavirus pandemic, the state of the Olympics finds itself in a unique position. After the Summer Games in Tokyo were moved from 2020 to 2021, the fans of international competition don't need to wait long to wet their Olympic whistle. Beijing is playing host to its first Winter Games, though the Chinese city was the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics, best known for its stunning Opening Ceremony and dominating performances by Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. However, there are plenty opposed to Beijing's presence on the world's grandest sports stage to make their collective voices heard.

Those voices are being heard in the form of a diplomatic boycott from various nations. After the United States initially announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games in early December, meaning it will not send a non-athlete official delegation, the likes of Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and, most recently, Japan, did the same. A good chunk of the reasoning for these moves stems around China, obviously not pleased with the mounting boycotts, cracking down on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and the alleged abuse of detained Muslim Uyghurs, for starters.  

Oh yeah, let's not forget about COVID-19. And China is well aware that infections and cases likely will be on the rise during and in the wake of these Winter Games. According to International Olympic Committee, there were 788 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, among athletes, staff, and volunteers, at the Tokyo Games. In Beijing, all participating athletes must be vaccinated or forced to quarantine for three weeks. Athletes will also be tested daily and movement, including travel for competition, will be restricted.

Back in North America, the omicron variant of the coronavirus had risen in prominence and increasing caseloads forced the NHL to halt its season before and after the Christmas break. That extended disruption proved to be the official reason that NHL players will not be taking part in the Beijing Games. Thus, the intended Olympic break will now be used to makeup, at least, some of those games recently postponed by the COVID-19 surge. 

The Tokyo Games this past summer did not allow spectators. However, fans will be able to attend the Beijing Olympics -- but only those who hail from mainland China. And even those who qualify still must meet various, and likely rigorous, admittance requirements that are expected to be released in the coming weeks. It's an interesting decision considering a good number of events will be held outdoors, but China, a rather well-vaccinated nation, still has a strict border and travel restrictions in place.

Seven new sports have been added to the Winter Olympics program for 2022. The focus of these new events seems to be on bringing men and women together in the same competition, with mixed-team events in freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping, snowboard cross, and a mixed relay in short track speed skating. However, perhaps the biggest splash among those new events will be made by the men's and women's big air freestyle competition and the highly anticipated one-person bobsled run, known as monobob. 

At age 35, it appears Shaun White has one more whirl into the halfpipe left in him. The three-time Olympic halfpipe gold-medalist, White is slated to be in Beijing for what's likely to be his final Winter Games. He took more than three years off after competing at PyeongChang in 2018, but the fire has returned to one of the great Olympic athletes of all time. And, the man who made snowboarding one of the most popular events in the history of the Games -- winter or summer. 

Shaun White isn't the only American snowboarder coming off an extended layoff from the sport, and who is looking for more Olympic glory. At 17, Chloe Kim won Olympic gold in the women's halfpipe in 2018, then a year later she put her board away to study at Princeton. She even questioned whether or not she was ready to return to the halfpipe for a repeat gold effort in 2022. Thankfully for fans of American snowboarding, Kim didn't call it quits, and now, she seems to be re-focused and ready for more Olympic greatness.

There might not be a more versatile and complete athlete competing in Beijing this winter than American skier Mikaela Shiffrin. She won gold in the slalom at the 2014 Sochi Games and was first in the giant slalom at Pyeongchang, where she also took silver in the combined competition. Shiffrin's dominance since then has continued, with a third straight world championship in 2019, and four golds in the 2021 competition. All that leads many Olympic pundits to believe that Shiffrin, who also continues to grieve the 2020 death of her father, could win as many as five gold medals at Beijing, should she compete in that type of volume.

Remember Lolo Jones? Olympic fans certainly should. Favored to win the 100-meter hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, Jones clipped the penultimate hurdle in the final and placed a devastating seventh. Always the competitor, she shifted her focus to the Winter Games and the bobsled. At the 2014 Olympics, she was part of the U.S. bobsled team, and in early 2021 she teamed the Kaillie Humphries to win gold at the world championships in the two-women event. Now, at age 39, Jones, one of 10 American athletes to compete in both the Summer and Winter Games, might finally capture that elusive Olympic medal.

Speaking of Kaillie Humphries. As noted, she joined up with Lolo Jones to win a 2021 two-women bobsled world championship -- for the United States. What's the big deal? Humphries won her previous two-women Olympic golds (2010, '14) and a silver (2018) for Canada. But, in 2019, she broke away from her home country's sports federation, citing issues of verbal abuse, mental abuse, and harassment. That offered her the chance to compete for the U.S., and in early December, Humphries earned her American citizenship. It's a new era for Humphries, who obviously makes the American squad much more competitive -- as we've already seen.

While the stars of the NHL won't be hitting the ice in Beijing, the women's hockey tournament could very well take center stage. Not that it hasn't already. That means another installment of the truly special rivalry between the United States and Canada. The U.S. won the first women's hockey Olympic gold medal in 1998, then Canada claimed the next four. The Americans ended the Canadians' winning streak with a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory over their rivals in the finals of the 2018 Games at Pyeongchang. We can only hope things are as exciting in 2022.

Since officially being part of the Olympic program in 1998, curling might be the one sport at the Winter Games that is most relatable to all fans. Maybe because anybody can give it a try, in between swigs of beer and a bite of your chicken wings. No doubt, curling will be a popular watch at the Beijing Games. The American men are looking to defend their first Olympic gold from 2018 -- just the second curling medal ever won by the United States.

Reportedly, COVID-19 concerns were the primary reason North Korea made the "unilateral decision" to not send a delegation of athletes to the Tokyo Games. And, though the North Koreans were given an opportunity to state their case for not attending, it didn't. Thus, drawing a suspension from the IOC through the end of 2022. That means North Korea will be barred from competing in Beijing. The nation has some of the most stringent COVID-related mitigations and restrictions. Not to mention North Korea's closed borders, and trade issues with China, and the city of Beijing, specifically, only add to the tension between the two countries.

Call it a case of interesting timing, but for the first time the same network, in this case, NBC, will air both the Olympics and Super Bowl at the same time of year. Once NBC's coverage of Super Bowl LVI, played at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area, concludes on Sunday, Feb. 13, the network will immediately go to live Olympic coverage. It will be interesting to see just how many viewers will be up for some Olympic action right after devoting their time, energy, and appetite to the biggest football game of the year.