Fire and ice: the 10 cool customers with a golden sheen
EILEEN GU
China – Freestyle skiing
American-born but competing for China after switching countries in 2019, Gu is poised to be one of the most scrutinised athletes at Beijing – both on and off the snow. Reigning freestyle skiing world champion in halfpipe and slopestyle and has also entered big air.
SHAUN WHITE USA – Snowboarding
The greatest snowboarder the world has seen. Beijing will be White’s fifth – and probably last – Winter Olympics.
KAMILA VALIEVA Russia – Figure skating
Just 15, Valieva is the latest figure skating phenomenon out of Russia. Last year’s world junior champion, she holds the world record for the highest scoring routine and has already won this year’s European senior title.
YUZURU HANYU Japan – Figure skating
The only Asian man to win the men’s singles gold after he won his first Olympic gold as a teenager at Sochi in 2014. He repeated as champion at Pyeongchang four years later and is now bidding for three.
CHLOE KIM
USA – Snowboarding
Korean-american who became a megastar after she won gold at the last Winter Olympics when she was 17 with a routine that included some of the hardest tricks in the sport.
FRANCESCO FRIEDRICH Germany – Bobsleigh
Perhaps the most dominant single competitor at the Winter Olympics, even though he competes in two and fours. The German is already being described as the GOAT of bobsleighing and he isn’t close to finishing yet.
MIKAELA SHIFFRIN USA – Alpine skiing
The biggest star in women’s alpine skiing. Won her first Olympic gold in slalom in 2014 then her second in 2018 in giant slalom, as well as a silver in the combined. Already a legend of the sport.
SUZANNE SCHULTING
Netherlands – Short-track speed skating
Won her country’s first shorttrack Olympic gold in the women’s 100m in 2018 and four years later she’s even more dominant. At last year’s world championships, she cleaned up with five gold medals.
ERIN JACKSON USA – Speed skating
Ranked No.1 in the world for women’s 500m, Jackson was in danger of missing the Beijing Olympics but her teammate Brittany Bowe gave up her spot to Jackson.
JARL MAGNUS RIIBER
Norway – Nordic combined A sport that combines crosscountry skiing and ski jumping. There is no bigger star in the sport right now than Riiber. He won a silver medal on his Olympic debut four years ago but is the favourite to collect two, possibly three golds in China.