If nothing unexpected happens, the skier from far away from Norway, Johannes Hospelt Klubo, will be the great hero of the Winter Games in Beijing.
This is a super athlete who comes to the games in top form, and is determined to prove that the three gold medals at the previous Olympics in Pyongyang in 2018 were only the first set.
His dominance at the time was so impressive that journalists called the hill where he had bypassed all opponents "Clavo Hill".
How successful will the second act be for him?
About a week ago, Clabo convincingly won the Tour de Ski, a series of ski competitions consisting of sections with different characteristics.
In the past, his critics have argued that it is not diverse enough, and that it is only suitable for sprint assignments.
Clavo listened to the reviews and stepped up training for longer assignments, under the guidance of his coaching grandfather.
The results will be seen in Beijing, and they will be spectacular.
Alpine skier Mikaela Shifrin also has reason to dream of winning three gold medals at the upcoming Olympics.
An American of Jewish descent has a high chance of winning in three disciplines in which she will compete in China: slalom, giant slalom and combined end.
On a good day, even a medal in another profession, Super G, seems quite possible.
In case Clabo skis for long distances, the Norwegians have option B in biathlon.
At the last World Cup held in 2021, Storla Holm LaGrade won four gold medals, but the Norwegian team in a biathlon is steeped in first-class stars, so the big competition for LaGrade will come from his friends, the brothers Treu Bo and Johannes Ting Bo.
Each of the three may emerge as a new Olympic hero.
Women also have things closed in advance, Photo: IP
girl power
In the women's competitions in ice skating will attract most of the attention of the Dutch Iran West. In case you were wondering who is the most decorated Dutch athlete, this is West, and not Johan Cruyff, for example. At the age of 19, she competed in the skating rink at the 2006 Torino Olympics, without any significant achievement, picking up gold in the 3,000m event, which still remains her favorite alongside the 1,500m event, where she won the 2010 Vancouver Games and the recent Pyongyang Olympics. If West tops the podium in Beijing as well, she will become the first athlete to win gold medals at five different Olympics.
And there's also snowboarder Chloe Kim. The American's first moments of glory were recorded at the age of 17, at the Pyongyang Games. She then won gold in the "half-pipe" profession, one of the most spectacular of the snowboarding professions. In this profession, competitors are required to perform tricks while gliding between two sides of a ramp with high, rounded walls, and especially while they are in the air above the sides of the pipe. The miniature Kim (1.60 m) dominates the industry. She was the first woman in the history of the Winter Games to make two full triple jumps (1,080 degrees) in a row, and boasts the titles of World Champion and X-Games Champion. Kim is so popular in the US that Mattel has created a Barbie doll in her image, and after her picture appeared on Kellogg's cornflakes boxes, there was the sharpest jump in product sales in the company's history.
Also for Anastasia Tatlina, who competes in freestyle skiing, this will be a second Olympics.
In Pyongyang, she did reach the finals in the slopestyle, but was only ranked 12th, far from the podium.
Since the Olympics, a new profession has been added, "big air" his name, an even more extreme version of Slopstyle, and Tatlina will come to this profession as a favorite.
She is the reigning world champion in "Big Air", and contrary to the other claims to the crown she will perform in Raanana China, after consciously giving up the World Cup competitions in late 2021.
The Russian hockey team.
Celebrate without a problem ?, Photo: EP
No complaints to the Russians
The decision by the heads of the NHL, the North American Ice Hockey League, not to allow its players to reach the Olympics due to the danger of the corona, almost automatically makes Russia the main candidate to win gold.
In the absence of really big stars, the level of competition will be hurt, but the Russians of course will not complain about it.
If you do not underestimate other teams, the "red machine", as the team has been known since the days of the USSR, will be crowned Olympic champion for the tenth time. By the way, most of its previous victories were also achieved in the absence of NHL players.
In women's hockey, the bet on the result is even more certain, at least until the final game.
The U.S. and Canadian teams surpass the others by several notches, and they will fight for the gold in the finals, as has happened in all previous Olympics, since the women’s ice hockey industry was added to the Olympics.
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