By Julia Duggan
Staff Writer
Only two days into the Olympics, Team USA has already won a silver medal thanks to Julia Marino, who won in the snowboarding slopestyle event. The first medal Team USA won at the last winter games in 2018 was also in women’s snowboarding — a gold medal secured by Jamie Anderson.
The latest champion for the women’s snowboarding slopestyle event is Zoi Sadowski Synnott from New Zealand. This is New Zealand’s first gold medal in the winter games.
In the excitement watching Synnott earn her gold, at the end of the run, several competitors rushed over to hug her. Marino led the competitors in the joy of watching Synnott’s run. It was a heartwarming moment that contrasted the sparseness of spectators present at the games.
So far, the Olympic games have seen several countries not typically considered favorites to win events taking home the gold. China won its first gold medal of the games in women’s speed skating. Sweden won gold in the men’s moguls, sending the Canadian legend nicknamed “King of the moguls” to claim the silver medal.
But there was some controversy after the opening ceremony officially began. According to Yahoo News, there was a record low attendance of Americans watching the opening ceremony — a 43% drop from the winter games in 2018, which were hosted by South Korea.
This year's opening ceremony did not seem to be as impressive compared to the opening ceremony China held for the games it hosted back in 2008. While the 2022 opening ceremony incorporated a massive screen on the floor that did create some inventive visuals, the ceremony fell flat on feeling grand or openly welcoming to the athletes.
The ceremony started with a countdown from 24 to mark the 24 months that are in the lunar calendar. Then a large group of people with long glowing LED sticks stood in a circle and moved the sticks to mimic the grass blowing in the breeze while scenes of nature were shown on the floor screen.
The scene transitioned to a group of children carrying the Chinese flag across the stage as they handed it off to two long rows of people who were dressed to represent the 56 different ethnicities in China. The rows ended with members of the military who accepted the flag and then raised it. The national anthem played, and a large block of ice appeared in the center of the stage. The Olympic rings were revealed by hockey players hitting virtual pucks to break the ice and expose the rings, which started the parade of athletes entering the stadium.
News organizations were quick to mention that the representation directly contrasts with what the United States has accused China of, as several countries believe that China is discriminating against specific minority groups. To add to the tension the opening ceremony brought, one of the two athletes that lit the Olympic flame is an Uyghur Muslim, which is a minority group that the United States has accused China of sending roughly two million people to concentration camps.
Despite the attempt to appear inclusive, there seems to be a lot of political tension surrounding the winter games.
