FIGURE SKATERS MAY CHOOSE MUSIC WITH LYRICS THIS YEAR
Who is the mascot?
Soohorang, a white tiger. You will probably also see Bandabi, a black bear. He is the mascot of the Paralympics, which begin after the Winter Games.
When did the Winter Games begin?
Figure skating and ice hockey were included in some early Summer Olympics, but the first full-fledged Winter Games took place in 1924 in Chamonix, France.
Will there be enough snow?
There was concern before the 2014 Games in Sochi and the 2010 Games in Vancouver that there would not be enough snow, though in the end both games went off successfully. But that should not be a problem this year; Pyeongchang gets heavy snowfalls. The average high temperature in February is about 34 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) , and it drops to 17 degrees at night.
Is the city ready?
At some recent Olympics, preparations went down to the very last minute. But the venues and hotels of Pyeongchang seem to be ready to go. One area of concern is ticket sales, which have been slow.
Is Russia coming?
Yes and no. After evidence emerged of systematic state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, there were calls to ban Russia from Pyeongchang. In the end, there was a compromise ruling. Russian athletes who have a doping-free background can participate. But they will not formally represent their country; they will be listed as “Olympic Athletes From Russia.” The Russian anthem will not be played, the Russian flag will not be displayed and Russian government officials will be barred from attending.
Is North Korea coming?
North Korea has agreed to send a delegation of athletes, as well as a cheering squad and a performance-art troupe. It will be the first time North Korea has participated in the Winter Games in eight years. There had initially been talk of North Korea hosting some events, but that did not pan out. North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea.
Where are the NHL players?
After five consecutive Olympics with National Hockey League players, the NHL decided not to participate this year. The league has long chafed at having to shut down its own season for three weeks for the games, and it has disagreed with the International Olympic Committee over who would pay for what.
Players from the strong, mostly Russian, Kontinental Hockey League will be available, however, and most people think the “Olympic Athletes From Russia” are the big favorites as a result.
Do the athletes get any money?
There is no prize money from the International Olympic Committee for winners. But many national federations give payments to athletes for winning medals. The United States Olympic Committee will award athletes $37,500 for winning a gold medal, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. Those prizes are up 50 percent since the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games two years ago.
What do the Olympic rings mean?
The five rings, of blue, yellow, black, green and red, date to 1912 and were designed by the founder of the modern Games, Pierre de Coubertin. The colors were chosen so that every flag in the world would have at least one matching color. The reason for the choice of five rings is murky: They may represent the five populated continents, or the five Olympic Games that had been staged at the time they were designed.
Are the medals really gold? And why do the athletes sometimes bite them?
Gold medals are made of silver and then gold-plated. The medals this time around are designed to look like the texture of tree trunks.
The silver medals are almost entirely silver, and the bronze medals almost entirely bronze.
Athletes often pose biting their medals, mostly because photographers urge them to. The gesture mimics people biting gold many years ago to determine if it was real: Real gold should be soft enough for teeth to mark.
What are the new events this year?
Mixed doubles in curling, a 16-lap mass-start race in speed skating, a team Alpine skiing event and “big air.”
What is big air?
It’s a snowboarding event in which athletes launch off a jump, gaining enormous altitude, and perform tricks, which are judged.
What is mass-start?
A longish speedskating event in which the whole field of about 25 races together, rather than two at a time.
How does the team skiing work?
Each nation sends two female and two male skiers down a short slalom course, racing head-tohead against an opponent. The team that wins more races, or has the lowest combined time, advances to the next round.
What events are missing?
The parallel slalom snowboarding events, in which two snowboarders raced head-tohead, were dropped.
Who decides what to add or drop?
The International Olympic Committee chooses which sports to include in the games. The committee looks for sports with worldwide popularity and tries to give different regions a few sports that they can succeed in.
How fast do the athletes go?
Approximate top speeds: Downhill skiing: 90 mph. Bobsled: 90 mph. Luge: 85 mph. Skeleton: 80 mph. Ski jumping: 60 mph. Speedskating: 35 mph. Ski cross: 35 mph. Snowboard cross: 30 mph. The fastest winter sport, speed skiing, at up to 150 mph, is not in the Winter Olympics.
What’s the difference between pairs skating and ice dancing?
In both events, one man and one woman compete as a team. Ice dancing is more restrictive, barring many of the more athletic aspects of pairs skating, including jumping for more than one revolution and spinning for more than three revolutions.
Are those lyrics I’m hearing?
Yes, for the first time singles and pairs skaters at the Olympic Games may compete to music with lyrics, not just instrumentals.
But not all of them will do so. Some of the top skaters will be sticking with tried-and-true classical music and film scores.
How does curling work?
In curling, teams slide stones down the ice toward a target. Players with brooms sweep the ice to try to slow or speed the stone so it lands where they want ittogo.
After each team has bowled eight stones, the team with the stone closest to the center scores a point for every stone closer than the opponents’ closest (If you’re familiar with bocce or lawn bowling, it’s similar).
What is “the hammer?”
It is to a team’s advantage to bowl the last stone. The team having this edge is said to have “the hammer.” Whichever team does not score in the previous round gets the hammer in the next round.
How does the biathlon work?
It’s a cross-country skiing race, with some rifle shooting thrown in. Skiers periodically stop to shoot at a target. If they miss, they get a penalty, generally having to ski a short penalty loop.
Names to know Who are the top figure skaters?
The men’s world champion is Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, who won in Sochi and is still going strong. His younger teammate Shoma Uno is threatening the throne; he likes to land the big quads.
The Sochi silver medalist, Patrick Chan of Canada, and the fourth place finisher, Javier Fernandez of Spain, are also still competing.
Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia has moved to the top of the women’s world rankings over the last couple years. At 18, she is already a two-time world champion. Her specialty is the triple-triple-triple.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada (gold 2010 and silver 2014) are back in ice dancing. The U.S. team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White has retired.
Are Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White and Bode Miller involved this year?
Yes, yes and no.
Vonn, 33, one of the best Alpine skiers ever, returns to the games after missing 2014 with an injury. Despite her sterling career, she has just one Olympic gold medal, from 2010.
White, 31, a gold medalist in halfpipe snowboarding in 2006 and 2010, will try to improve on a disappointing fourth place finish in 2014.
Miller, 40, a five-time Olympian with one gold medal, has retired and will be working for NBC.
Who is Chloe Kim?
Potentially a breakout star of the games. At 17, she has been competing at the top level of snowboarding for four years. She was the first woman to ever land back-to-back 1080s (three revolutions) in halfpipe competition. A Korean-american from California, she could become a household name with some good performances.