2022 Winter Olympics The "Four Seasons" Athletes in Beijing

Attending an Olympics is the dream of any athlete. And competing in both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics is unprecedented.

2022 Winter Olympics The “Four Seasons” Athletes in Beijing

Beijing is the only city in history to host both the Summer Olympics (2008) and the Winter Olympics (2022). And this year, there are many “four seasons” athletes like that. Who are they?

Montel Douglas will never forget the historic moment when she entered the Bird’s Nest stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. First Olympics 14 years ago,” she wrote on her Twitter page.

After deciding to compete in the women’s doubles bobsleigh at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Douglas – 36 – became the first female athlete to represent Great Britain at both the Summer and Olympic Games. winter festival. “There are so many male Summer and Winter Olympic athletes, so I’m excited to be leaving such a legacy for the future,” Douglas told the press.

Douglas is a former British record holder with a 100m time of 11 minutes 05 seconds, and once represented Great Britain in the 100m and 4x100m events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. competed in 2 world championships, the Commonwealth Games, as well as the indoor and outdoor European Championships.

The former sprinter has had a relatively successful transition between these two very different sports. She started competing in downhill in 2016, and entered the Top 10 for the first time at the 2017 World Cup. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang (Korea), she only played a substitute role, but now has is the official position.

“Never too old, never too late. Always know how to dream, and dream big”, that is the life concept of Montell Douglas.

Alexandra Burghardt is a similar case to Douglas. Last year, the 27-year-old female athlete reached the semifinals of the 100m event at the Summer Olympics. Now, she again competes in the sledding event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Burghardt loved athletics from a young age, and once participated in the 100m hurdles at the U18 World Championships. She won gold in the 100m and 200m at the German track and field championship 2021. Compared to Douglas, Burghardt competed in the downhill slide much later. She only started this journey after participating in 2 track and field events at last summer’s Olympics.

“Sometimes I feel like a double agent,” Burghardt humorously compares, “The high level of competition in both these disciplines in the span of just over four months as I am experiencing now is quite a feat. stress”. Before debuting at this year’s Winter Olympics, Burghardt and teammate Mariama Jamanka had won two silver medals at the World Cups at Winterberg and Altenberg.

Jaqueline competed in the mountain bike event at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. 14 years later, at the age of 46, she continued to Beijing to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics after qualifying in the event. cross-country skiing. She became the first Brazilian athlete to compete in the Olympics eight times.

“I’m making history by becoming the Brazilian with the most Olympics,” the versatile female athlete boasted, “It is a great honor for me to be given the task of holding the flag at the opening ceremony.” She is also the first Brazilian female athlete to participate in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. A professional cyclist, she made her Olympic debut in mountain biking in Athens 2004.

Born in a country with a hot climate, Mourao started skiing in 2005 after a snowstorm prevented her from completing a workout in Canada. Mourao competed in the Winter Olympic cross-country skiing in Turin 2006, and then added a biathlon (Biathlon) in Sochi 2014. Although he has yet to win an Olympic medal, Mourao recently won silver in the Olympic Games. 5km cross-country skiing event in Zlabtibor, Serbia.

“In 2008, I was not very mature psychologically”, Mourao admitted, “And now, perhaps because I have been a mother of two children and have many other experiences, I have been more focused, and know way to develop their potential more”.

Nathan Crumpton made an impressive debut at the Beijing 2022 Olympics when… shirtless in Aboriginal clothes and holding a flag in the cold at the opening ceremony last Friday night.

Crumpton is the only athlete of American Samoa at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Before that, the last time this country sent athletes to the Winter Olympics was in 1994. Crumpton is also the first American Samoa athlete to participate in the Winter Olympics.

Last summer, he competed in the men’s 100m at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics. “It is an honor to be called up to the Olympic team, and it is an honor to compete in China. This will be my second Olympics in less than a year,” he shared.

Crumpton initially competed in college athletics, but later pursued his passion in skateboarding and brought Samoa his first gold in a winter sport at the North American Cup. 2019. Crumpton, a photographer and… model, went through a long journey to participate in the Winter Olympics after many financial difficulties and injuries.

“At the end of my crazy 11-year journey to pursue figure skating and track and field, I want to thank everyone for their help,” Crumpton said.

After making her Olympic debut in the skateboarding event at her home Tokyo last summer, Ayumu Hirano continues to challenge herself by practicing snowboarding again to “not waste a day”, like his autobiography.

In November 2018, Hirano announced that he would qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Half a year later, he won the Japanese championship in the skateboard event, and then won 2 silver medals at the Summer Olympics. . But it is worth noting that this guy born in 1998 won silver in snowboarding at Sochi 2014 and became the youngest athlete in TVH history to win a medal in this content.

In Beijing this time, Hirano continued his goal of winning the first gold medal in the snowboarding event. He will compete against American rival Shaun White. At PyeongChang four years ago, White won his third Olympic gold medal after defeating Hirano himself, who finished second. Another major rival of Hirano is countryman Yuto Totsuka.

This season, Hirano has maintained an impressive form when winning the Laax Open last month. In December 2021, he was the first athlete in snowboarding history to perform the famous triple cork (3 rounds).