2022 Winter Olympics: Nathan Chen, Team USA dazzle on Day 0
The 2022 Winter Olympics are officially underway!
The Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics commenced from the Beijing National Stadium on Friday evening at 8 p.m. Beijing time (7 a.m. ET). Competition began with early rounds of curling on Wednesday (Day -2), followed by early rounds of freestyle skiing and women's hockey on Thursday (Day -1).
After the Opening Ceremony, Day 0 continued Friday with the third day of curling, the first day of team figure skating and the second day of women's hockey prelims. The bulk of the athletic action, as well as the first medal events, start on Saturday, Feb. 5 (Day 1).
Here are some of the top moments and highlights from the Opening Ceremony and Day 0:
Opening Ceremony
It was a star-studded entrance for Team USA as competitors took the stage in Beijing.
2018 Olympic Gold Medalist and five-time Olympic curler John Shuster and Olympic Bronze Medalist and six-time World Champion speed skater Brittany Bowe were this year's flag bearers for the U.S.
The motto of this year's Games is, '起向未来 — Together for a Shared Future.'
Team USA, figure skating
The U.S. led the standings in the figure skating team event after men's short, rhythm dance and pairs' short.
After taking bronze at the past two Olympics, Team USA is sitting in first with five segments left in the competition. All three U.S. entries who took the ice on Friday set personal best scores.
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue topped the ice dance field, while Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier placed third in the pairs short program behind two world champion teams.
And 22-year-old Nathan Chen — a three-time World champion and 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event — won the men's short in a thrilling fashion. Chen landed two quadruple jumps, including one quadruple-Lutz/triple-toe-loop combination, that helped him score 111.71 points, his season’s best.
The U.S. will carry a two-point lead over the Russian Olympic Committee (26 points) when the team event resumes Sunday in Beijing (Saturday night U.S. time ET) with the women’s short program and men’s free skate.
Team USA, women's hockey
The U.S. opened the Winter Games by upsetting Finland, 5-2. Team USA scored two goals early to take a 2-0 advantage, followed by Coyne Schofield scoring back-to-back goals 1:04 apart to take a commanding 4-0 lead in the second.
The U.S. coasted to the win from there, but the defending Olympic gold medalists did take a huge hit in the first period when star forward and assistant captain Brianna Decker suffered a serious leg injury just moments into the first period of the match. This year marked Decker's third Olympic appearance after competing in 2018 and 2014, winning gold and silver respectively.
Team USA will face the Russian Olympic Committee in its next game, another preliminary matchup set to take place on Saturday (Day 1) at 9:10 p.m. local time (8:10 a.m. ET).
Team USA, freestyle skiing
Americans Jaelin Kauf, Olivia Giaccio and Hannah Soar all landed a spot in the final of the women's moguls competition from Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou.
