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Ice Kingdom: Get the superstars of the Winter Games | Israel today

2022-01-26T11:28:16.699Z


Some 3,000 athletes will compete in 109 sporting events at the Winter Olympics to open next month in Beijing, including several superstars • from the ski jumper who had to shave his iconic mustache because of the corona to the Dutch skater who comes to make history • Oren Aharoni six with the hot names


Esther Ladzka (26), Czech Republic

Alpine skiing and snowboarding

Will you do it again?

The Winter Games four years ago in South Korea will be remembered quite a bit thanks to Esther Ladzka, who in her first Olympic performance came as the leading candidate to win gold in snowboarding in a giant slalom and as world champion, but stunned the world even before the real thing for her.

Esther Ladzka.

Will the Czech continue to amaze the world ?,

Because of the long wait until the competition opened, she was able to convince her coach to also sign up for the Super G (Super Giant Slalom) competition in alpine skiing, an industry in which Ladzka does not compete, but she saw it as a kind of warm-up for the real thing.

What's more - it is reminiscent of snowboarding, because of the high speeds and crowded flags that have to be crossed.

Although ranked only 43rd in the world in skiing and not a podium contender, she hovered on the track as if she had always done so - all the way to her first gold.

Eight days later, she did it again on snowboard as well.

Thus she became the first woman to win Olympic gold in two different disciplines in the same winter games.

And rest assured that Czech Czechs are coming to Beijing to defend their degrees.

Mikaela Shifrin (26), USA | Alpine skiing

unstoppable

Anyone who has been devoutly following the winter sports must have come across the American alpine skier Mikaela Shifrin.

In 2014, she became the youngest skier in the history of the Olympics, winning gold at just 18 (at the end of the slalom).

Four years later - she plucked both the gold and the silver.

Shifrin grew up and was educated in Colorado, and fell in love with sports as early as age 3, when she would sit on a plastic bag in the driveway of her parents' house and "surf" for her enjoyment.

Accompanied by her mother Eileen, who does not miss her daughter's training or competition, she flew to Austria, where she made her debut at the World Cup a few days before her 16th birthday, and already at the age of 17 she became the world champion in slalom.

And yes, you guessed it - the youngest in history.

Mikaela Shifrin.

She already has gold and silver,

Shifrin storms the Beijing Games after not letting Corona stop her either.

Only recently, at the end of 2021, did she contract the virus, but eight days later she has returned to compete in the World Cup.

Mikaela Shifrin.

Unstoppable, Photo: AP

Robert Johansson (31), Norway

Ski jumps

His power in his mustache?

In previous winter games Robert Johnson could not have been missed.

True, he recorded impressive sporting achievements, but what caught the audience's eyes and made him headlines - was actually his glorious redhead mustache.

Robert Johansson.

His mustache goes before him,

The Norwegian's mustache shook as he flew to third place in the regular hill competition, in a freezing cold of minus 12 degrees, and later collected more bronze in the big hill competition and swept gold in the group competition.

This time, Johnson intends to storm for gold in the individual competition, having won two silver medals at the 2021 World Championships.

But in Beijing he will do so without his trademark from recent years.

A few days ago Johnson shaved his mustache, and the main reason for that is, of course - the corona.

After almost two years of having to go around in competitions with masks, the Norwegian testified that "in the four hills tournament I was dizzy. The doctor explained to me that because of the tight mask I inhaled steam from my mustache preparations. It made me decide to shave it, even though I feel naked without it."

Robert Johansson.

The Flying Norwegian,

 Yun Sang-bin (27), South Korea |

Skelton sledges

Crawling at 140 km / h

In a small town in the southern coastal area of ​​South Korea, named after Namaha, Yun Sang-bin grew up without knowing anything about winter sports.

Still, as a kid, Ion always enjoyed running around on the beach, excelling in many sports at school, including football, badminton, running and jumping.

After moving to Seoul to attend middle school, Ion continued to play sports at the school, hoping to enter sports university.

In the 100-meter dash he would seek to start ten yards back from others his age, and would still win the race.

Yun Sang-bin.

Also knows how to drown, Photo: AP

At 1.78 meters tall, he easily managed to drown when he played basketball in high school, and his natural athletic ability was recognized by a physical education teacher, one of the officials in the Sled Association of Korea.

By the time he moved to the National Sports University he had already joined the team, and the results were not long in coming - in 2018 he slid down the track at a dizzying speed of 140 km / h, and won the gold medal - which he hopes to achieve once again.

Hanio Yuzuru (27), Japan |

Figure skating

Introduction to history

At the age of 4, Enio Yuzuru climbed the ice surface for the first time in his life, and since then he has not descended from it.

One of the reasons his parents pushed him to skate was at all medical treatment for the asthma he suffers from, but his progress has been dizzying.

At just 14, he first competed in the Japan Senior Championships, finishing in eighth place.

Two years later, came the significant achievement - the World Youth Champion.

The enio will be returned.

Chasing history,

Now the Enio is chasing history, and will try to secure a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in Beijing, having climbed first to the podium in Sochi 2014 and Pyongyang 2018 and equaled the Swede Gillis Grapstrom, who did so sometime in the 1920s.

Ankle injury cast a heavy cloud on the Enio's Olympic chances.

But he came back in a big way, with an unusual square-jump exercise - one of the toughest there is in the industry - that immediately placed him as one of the top gold candidates in Beijing.

There he will fight head-to-head with American champion Nathan Chen, who wants to get the last medal he is missing in the title cabinet.

The enio will be returned.

Overcame Ankle Injury, Photo: AP

Irene West (35), The Netherlands

Fast skating

Broke the ice

For years the Netherlands have almost completely dominated the speed skating in the Winter Games, with an amazing balance of 121 medals at all times.

In the Pyongyang 2018 Games alone, the Dutch skaters picked up 16 of the 42 medals awarded.

Irene West.

Will the Dutchman break the ice ?, Photo: AP

Irene West is responsible for 11 of these 121 medals, making her the most decorated speed skater in Olympic history.

She is the first to win gold in the individual category in four different winter games, and if she wins gold again in Beijing - she will become the first and only person to win gold in five editions of the games (including the summer games).

In Sochi 2014, West aroused much interest in the global media also due to being a declared bisexual athlete.

She said she received a loving hug from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is known for the iron fist he led in his country against the proud community.

"The bigger the race, the more important it is, so I can get the most out of my body. I like to skate when it really matters. I never feel afraid," said the skater, whose peaks will probably not be broken in the near future

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Source: israelhayom

All sports articles on 2022-01-26

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