With few days of competition remaining in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, Team USA has earned seven gold medals, jumping from 10th overall to fourth as the number of remaining events and opportunities for glory dwindles.
Team USA holds three more gold medals than the second-overall Russian Olympic Committee but has three fewer overall. Norway continues to lead both in gold medals and overall medal wins, with 12 and 26 respectively.
Adding to Team USA’s gold medal count were Nathen Chen in Men’s Singles Figure Skating and repeat-gold medalist and snowboarder Chloe Kim in the Halfpipe event. Team USA also won a first-in-history gold medal in a new category, Mixed Team Aerials freestyle skiing.
Competing for the first time in another new event, Kaillie Humphries took gold in the Women’s Monobob event. Humphries will also compete in the Two-Woman Bobsleigh event. She is teamed with Sylvia Hoffman, one of the few Texans in the Winter Olympics this year.
Hoffman is a newcomer to the sport. She was discovered during filming of the NBC television show The Next Olympic Hopeful. Hoffman is from Arlington and won the World Championship in 2020 with Humphries. Three days of training heats will precede the three-heat final on February 19.
Carrollton-native figure skater Ashley Cain-Gribble and skating partner Timothy LeDuc already share in the U.S. silver medal won for the Team Skating event. The pair will compete on February 18 and 19 in the Pairs Figure Skating event.
Team USA stands a good chance to earn several more gold medals before competition ends on February 20.
Team USA women’s hockey qualified for the finals and will compete against rival Canada on February 18. This will mark the sixth meeting between the two teams in Olympic finals history since the sport was added in 1998. Only one Winter Games since has not featured USA vs. Canada.
The men’s hockey team qualified for quarterfinals play with a victory over Germany by a score of 3-2. Victories over China and Canada meant that the U.S. team did not have to compete in the Qualification Round.
However, Team USA met its match against Slovakia, which entered the quarterfinals after a dominating 4-0 triumph over Germany. The U.S. fell in the fourth shot of a shootout, losing to Slovakia 3-2.
Many popular events have concluded, including what is almost certainly the last Olympic performance for snowboarder Shaun White. White has three gold medals from previous Winter Games and has won the X Games gold 13 times. He finished fourth-overall after narrowly making the finals.
Team USA has six silver medals currently, in: Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Men’s Super-G, Women’s Monobob, Freeskating Team Event, Men’s Freeski Big Air, and Women’s Moguls. Four bronze medals bring the U.S. total to 17 total. Canada is currently tied with Team USA at 17 medals.
The final four Olympic events, followed by the Closing Ceremonies, will take place on February 20. The Men’s Ice Hockey Final, Men’s 4-man Bobsleigh, Women’s Curling, and Women’s Cross-Country Skiing will offer the last chance for medals in the 2022 Winter Games.
