Winter Olympics 2022 - Spectacular ceremony opens Games, first medals to come on Day 1 - Best of Beijing

ByBen Snowball

Updated 29/03/2022 at 12:48 GMT

Welcome to our daily wrap, where we digest the best moments of the day and cast our eyes towards tomorrow’s biggest events. Beijing 2022 opened with a vibrant ceremony which featured light shows, fireworks and cutting edge technology, while Team GB’s curlers won again. But the real action gets underway on Saturday, with a host of top-quality sport on the menu.

'Look at that!' - Olympic rings revealed in spectacular fashion in opening ceremony

BEST MOMENTS OF THE DAY

Lift off!

The XXIV Olympic Winter Games are officially… open!

Beijing 2022

IOC 'strongly condemns' Russia for breaking Olympic Truce

24/02/2022 at 14:58

Beijing 2022 launched with a spectacular new-age ceremony, which harnessed an 11,600 square metre LCD screen to bring the Bird’s Nest stadium to life. Fireworks, mesmerising green rods and an unavoidably cute choir, what’s not to like?

Flag bearers Eve Muirhead and Dave Ryding, curling and slalom hopefuls respectively, diligently led Team GB into the arena, while China’s arrival delighted the fans allowed into the arena amid Covid restrictions.

The Olympic cauldron (aka just a small flame) was intended to convey China’s commitment to tackling climate change – and all in all it was a terrific spectacle. Roll on the Games.

'The Games can begin' - Watch moment Olympic flame is placed in giant snowflake

GB’s sweepers scrape past Aussies

Australia have never won a curling match at the Olympics. Despite a land mass of 1.901 billion acres, there is not a single dedicated curling rink in the country.

So when Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill fell 6-1 behind to Team GB double-act Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds after just four ends, it seemed it was game over already. But they fought back magnificently, earning an extra end shootout after recovering to 8-8.

Sure, they eventually lost but it was terrific effort. Mouat and Dodds are 3-1 in the group stage, sitting second in the group with four semi-final spots up grabs, while Australia are 0-5. Four more chances for that elusive win…

'Great shot' - Mouat wins match for Team GB against Australia in mixed doubles curling

Skating delight

We’re calling it now: the biggest duel of the Games won’t be Mikaela Shiffrin v Petra Vlhova in the women’s slalom (although that will be excellent) but Yuzuru Hanyu v Nathan Chen in the men’s figure skating singles.

Hanyu is bidding to become the first athlete ever to land a clean quadruple axel in competition, but it was the latter who threw down the gauntlet in China after delivering a stunning short programme to help US top the team standings after day one. Hanyu, who was absent, also saw his world record come under threat – with Chen’s 111.71 points only 0.11 points short of his best.

The individual programme lands next week so lock Feb 8 and Feb 10 in your calendars.

'Incredible!' - Chen wows with 111.71 points in team figure skating routine

IN OTHER NEWS

The term 'Ghost Goal' might conjure up memories of a fuming Jose Mourinho at Anfield, but Beijing had its own to claim, with some VAR farce thrown into proceedings, in a moment you might have missed on Thursday.

Here's our story on what the commentators described as an "incredible sequence"...

'They're going to look at this!' - USA v Finland resumes following video review into 'ghost goal'

THREE TO WATCH TOMORROW

Of course, you should be glued to the coverage all day. But suppose you only have time for a few events? Look no further.

Cross-country skiing: Women’s 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon – 07:45 GMT

Sacrifice your lie-in and get ready for the first gold of the Games!

Confused by the wordy 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon? You’re not alone. The event basically requires athletes to master two techniques of cross-country skiing. The first part demands the classic technique, where skis don’t leave the snow, before skiers switch to freestyle in the second half.

It’s set to be a Scandinavian showdown with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson and Norway’s Therese Johaug expected to tussle it out for gold.

Ski jumping: Women’s individual normal hill final – 11:35 GMT

Quite why anyone wants to hurl themselves down a ramp, jump into the unknown and land over 100 metres away is beyond us. But it’s definitely to watch someone else do it.

The women’s individual normal hill takes centre-stage, with qualification and the final loaded into Day 1.

Short track speed skating: Mixed team relay – 12:23 GMT

Arguably the most chaotic of all winter sports, organisers have naturally decided to add a mixed team relay into the short track speed skating line up.

Teams of four athletes (two men, two women) will battle it out in a fast and furious event over 2000m. To make it extra spicy, each skater will race twice in the order woman-woman-man-man-woman-woman-man-man.

The quarter-finals, semi-final and final are squeezed into one session, starting at 12:23 GMT and finishing with the final at 13:26 GMT. Expect carnage!

Watch breathtaking start to Beijing 2022 opening ceremony with light show

GB INTEREST

We’re all living for curling already, right? Good news: Mouat and Dodds are back in action for Team GB and play twice on Day 1. They face Czech Republic at 06:05 GMT before their first-meets-second clash with Italy at 12:05 GMT.

After injury heartbreak ruled her out of PyeongChang 2018, Katie Ormerod is finally an Olympian. The 24-year-old snowboarder goes in slopestyle qualification from 02:45 GMT.

Kathryn Thomson and brothers Farrell and Niall Treacy are swerving the madness of the short track speed skating mixed team relay, but the former will go in the women’s 500m heats (11:00 GMT) and the brothers in the men’s 1000m (11:38 GMT).

William Feneley botched his first chance to qualify for the men’s moguls final on Thursday but he has another shot on Saturday (10:00 GMT). If it all goes extraordinary well, he could be in the medal hunt when the final begins at 11:30 GMT.

In the men’s luge, Rupert Staudinger will launch himself feet first down an icy track – twice. The first two runs (out of four) start at 11:10 GMT.

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Watch every moment of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on discovery+

Beijing 2022