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(Photo: IOC)
A few events to put on your calendar
❄️ Opening Ceremony (Feb. 6): Will include a number of Italian stars, most notably opera singer Andrea Bocelli, and also Mariah Carey (?) for some reason and the Heated Rivalry stars. And, you get to check out and rate all of the country's uniforms.
❄️ Lindsey Vonn makes her return. Yes, the 41-year-old is officially on the Olympic team in the downhill & Super-G, and a medal favorite after winning two World Cups earlier this season. Can she become the oldest female skier to medal in the Olympics? Downhill finals are Feb. 8.
❄️ For many, figure skating is the premier event of the Games (Feb. 17 & 19). This year, there's only a handful of Russian athletes competing as neutral individuals, and the U.S. is sending at least two medal favorites in Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu. Who will win?
❄️ Eileen Gu won three freestyle skiing medals at the last Winter Olympics — and became an icon in China, the country the American-Chinese Stanford grad represents.
❄️ We can almost predict that the hockey final (Feb. 19) will be between the U.S. & Canada. One of the two countries has won every gold to date. But, with Canada losing all the pre-Olympic friendlies, some changes were in order! Could Finland upset both of them? Will the rink be finished in time?
❄️ For the first time, the women will race all the same distances as the men in cross-country skiing. Can American icon Jessie Diggins win the first-ever gold in the 50km (Feb. 22) in her retirement Games?
❄️ And Ski Mountaineering will make its Olympic debut on Feb. 19. After the wild story of runner-turned-SkiMo-medal-favorite Anna Gibson, we'll be sure to be tuning in!
We'll have a lot more on the controversies, the questions, the fun facts to know over the next few weeks, but in the meantime here's a message from Coach Snoop Dogg.
📺 HOW TO WATCH: In the U.S. you can watch on NBC (see the full schedule here). In Canada it's on CBC & CBC Gem. See the full list of broadcasters globally here.
Tip of the week
Along with being a sports psychologist & therapist in her own right, our Feisty Women's Performance podcast host, Dr. Erin Ayala, also lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota — which has been at the center of the news over the last month since it became the target of the largest immigration enforcement action to date in the U.S. After weeks of detainments and tense stand-offs, federal agents shot and killed a second bystander this past weekend — leading to hundreds of thousands of people protesting in Minneapolis and around the country.
Sports and especially women's sports have, of course, always been political. But now professional athletes and all of us regular recreational athletes are speaking out about creating a safe space for everyone to be able to run, hike, ride, lift, and play.
In this tense environment, how do we show up as athletes, as members of our community, and as our best selves?
💜 Join Dr. Tess Kilwein, Dr. Quincy Guinadi, and Christine Bright for a special Feisty podcast episode as they discuss how these experiences shape mental health and performance, how your brain and body respond to stress and trauma, and what you can do about it both in your own lives and in your community — whether you're going through tough times right now with the news in the U.S. or you're dealing with your own personal challenges. |
