Ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony tonight, get ready for the Games with our facts and stats.
1 – Beijing becomes the first city to host both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will once again be held at ‘The Bird’s Nest’, where Australia’s Steve Hooker was crowned an Olympic champion in the men’s Pole Vault.

1 - Sophie and Gabi Ash will become the first Australian sisters to compete on the same Australian Winter Olympic Team. Sophie competes in mogul skiing and Gabi in aerial skiing.
2 – This is his second time the Beijing 2022 Opening and Closing Ceremonies director, Zhang Yimou, is looking after the ceremonies at a Games. He delivered the Beijing 2008 ceremonies.

3 – Beijing is three hours behind Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
3 – Australia won three medals at the last Winter Olympics. Matt Graham won silver in the men’s moguls, Jarryd Hughes won silver in the men’s snowboard cross and Scotty James won bronze in the men’s snowboard halfpipe. All three are back for Beijing 2022.
4 – Four venues from Beijing 2008 have been repurposed for Beijing 2022. The Water Cube, where Stephanie Rice won three gold medals in the pool, has become The Ice Cube and hosts Australia’s first ever Olympic curlers.

4 – Scotty James and Britt Cox are competing at their fourth Olympic Games together. Their first Games was at Vancouver 2010.
5 – Australia has won five gold, five silver and five bronze medals in our Winter Olympic history.
6 – The average overnight temperature in Beijing during February is -6 degrees.
7 – Australia has won a Winter Olympics medal at seven-straight Games.
7 – You can watch the Beijing 2022 Olympics live on Channel 7 and 7plus.
7 – There are seven new Olympic events at Beijing 2022; women’s monobob, freestyle skiing big air (men’s and women’s), and mixed team events in short track speed skating team relay, ski jumping, freestyle skiing aerials and snowboard cross.
8 – Jakara Anthony has won eight medals from nine mogul skiing events in the 2021-22 World Cup season. She will be hoping to land on the podium at Beijing after being just short of it PyeongChang 2018 (4th).

9 - In Winter Olympic history Australia has won medals in nine different events. Our most success has come from Freestyle Skiing events (three gold, three silver, two bronze).
10 – Australia will be competing in 10 sports at Beijing 2022. They are Alpine Skiing, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Luge, Short Trak Skating, Skeleton and Snowboard.
12 – There are 12 Aussie athletes competing at their third Winter Olympic Games. Greta Small, Phil Bellingham, Brendan Kerry, Sami Kennedy-Sim, Matt Graham, Brodie Summers, Laura Peel, Dani Scott, Alex Ferlazzo, Belle Brockhoff, Cam Bolton and Jarryd Hughes.
12 - All 12 competition venues are spread across three areas.
Beijing zone:
- Curling - National Aquatics Centre ‘The Ice Cube'
- Speed Skating - National Indoor Stadium
- Ice Hockey - Wukesong Sports Centre
- Short Track Speed Skating, Figure Skating - Capital Indoor Stadium
- Speed Skating - The Speed Skating Oval
- Big Air - The Big Air Shougang
Yanqing zone:
- Alpine Skiing - National Alpine Skiing Centre
- Bobsleigh, Skeleton, Luge - National Sliding Centre
Zhangjiakou Zone:
- Snowboard, Freestyle Skiing - Genting Snow Park
- Cross-Country Skiing, Nordic Combined - National Cross-Country Skiing Centre
- Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined - Zhangjiakou National Ski Jumping Centre
- Biathlon - Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre
13 – Australia has entered 13 athletes into the Freestyle Skiing competition (which includes moguls, aerials, freeski and ski cross) and it’s the most athletes we have in one sport at Beijing 2022.
15 – There are 15 sports on display for Beijing 2022. Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Luge, Nordic Combined, Short Trak Skating, Skeleton, Ski Jump, Snowboard, Speed Skating.
16 – Australia’s youngest athlete at these Games is Valentino Guseli, who is competing in the snowboard halfpipe as a 16-year-old. In March 2021 he broke a halfpipe air world record that stood for 11 years, which was held by snowboard legend Shaun White (USA). Valentino flew a never before seen 7.3 metres in the air.

17 – The evening temperature on the first night of freestyle skiing, held on Thursday 3 February, dropped to -17 degrees.
19 – Competition is set to run for 19-straight days, which started on Wednesday 2 February and concludes on Sunday 20 February.
19 – 19 of Australia’s 43 athletes are from New South Wales. 15 are from Victoria, four are from Western Australia, two are from Queensland, two are from the Australian Capital Territory and one is a Canadian-born Australia.
20 – It’s been 20 years since Steven Bradbury won Australia’s first Winter Olympic gold medal in the Short Track men’s 1000m at Salt Lake 2002.

24 – This will be the 24th edition of the Winter Olympic Games.
25 – The average age of the athletes on the Australian Team is 25.
28 – Australia won its first Winter Olympic medal 28 years ago, a bronze in the Short Track Skating at Lillehammer 1994.

43 – The Australian Team at Beijing 2022 features 43 athletes – 22 women and 21 men, our third largest Winter Olympic Team ever.
86 – It’s been 86 years since Australia first attended the Winter Olympics.
93 – From Albania to the Virgin Islands, athletes from 93 National Olympic Committees are competing at the Games.
98 – The first Winter Olympics was held 98 years ago in Chamonix, France.
100 – All Beijing 2022 venues will be powered by 100% renewable energy.
109 – There has never been more medals to be won at a Winter Olympics, with 109 chances for gold on offer. An increase of seven from PyeongChang 2018.
2,892 – Athletes have been selected for the Games.
