New Zealand at the 2022 Winter Olympics
New Zealand is sending a small and talented team to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and they’re hopeful of achieving glory.
Below, we’ll look at the Winter Games in more detail before exploring the sports in which New Zealand could bag some medals.
About Beijing 2022
The 2022 Winter Olympics are taking place in Beijing, China this year. They run from 4 February to 20 February, although preliminary games began on 2 February.
This year’s Winter Games are the first to take place in China, which held the Summer Olympics back in 2008. It makes Beijing the first city to host both types of Olympics.
109 events will take place over 18 days, with 2,871 athletes from 91 nations competing in seven different sports.
If you like to bet on sports, there’s plenty for you to get involved with. From snowboarding to speed skating, New Zealand is competing in a range of events at this year’s Winter Olympics. And you can back them to succeed. Why not check out this betting code for 2022 if you’re thinking about playing?
What events are New Zealand competing in?
This is New Zealand’s 19th appearance at the Winter Games. It has 15 athletes competing. Six are women and nine are men, and they’ll be battling it out across five different sports. Let’s take a look at the hopefuls in more detail.
Freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing is one of the most impressive sports at the games, comprising all types of skiing, such as slopestyle and aerials.
New Zealand has a strong lineup of freestyle skiers, sending six in all – nearly half the roster.
For the women, both Chloe McMillan and Anja Barugh will be looking to do well in the halfpipe. Margaux Hackett is competing in both the slopestyle and big air, and is hopeful of coming away with a medal.
For the men, flagbearer for the games Finn Bilous is competing in the slopestyle and big air along with Ben Barclay, while four others are competing in the halfpipe – brothers Nico and Miguel Porteous, Gustav Legnavsky and Ben Harrington.
Snowboarding
Snowboard is one of the more popular sports at the Winter Games. Leading the charge for team New Zealand are Zoi Sadowski-Synnot, Cool Wakushima and Tiarn Collins.
Sadowski-Synnot is pipped to succeed and with a bit of luck may even come away with a medal.
Wakushima and Collins are both talented athletes and will hopefully progress in the slopestyle and big air competitions they’re both competing in.
Speed skating
Speed skating is an exhilarating sport to watch. Not only does it take great strength and endurance, but impeccable balance too.
New Zealand has just one hopeful competitor this year – Peter Michael. He’s competing in the 1,500m event. The 32-year-old is a multiple world champion and in the last Winter Olympics finished fourth in the 5,000m and team pursuit events.
With a focus on just the 1,500m event this year, Michael can, hopefully, skate his way to glory.
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