The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are set to kick off with an opening ceremony scheduled for Feb. 4. The world’s top athletes will descend upon the Olympic Village for the two-week competition, all in pursuit of a spot on the podium.

The Games’ skiing and snowboarding events in particular will feature some of the most exciting rivalries, compelling figures and heated contests.

Here are 10 snowboarders and skiers to keep an eye on during the Beijing Winter Olympics:

1. Chloe Kim

Chloe Kim is one of Team USA’s biggest stars as the heavy favorite to take home gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe. Beijing will mark Kim’s second consecutive Olympics after she clinched gold in 2018 at the PyeongChang Games at just 17 years old. Now 21, Kim is dominating the competition heading into February’s Winter Olympics, winning every event she has entered since 2021. In Beijing, look out for Kim to throw down a run featuring two 1080s with her signature big air.

2. Mikaela Shiffrin

Returning for her third Olympics, Mikaela Shiffrin is looking to become the most decorated American alpine skier in Olympic history. The Colorado native currently holds three medals to her name, taking home gold in the slalom in Sochi 2014 and gold in the giant slalom and silver in the alpine combined in PyeongChang. Shiffrin has been racking up World Cup titles in the run-up to Beijing, solidifying herself as a favorite in the slalom and giant slalom and a challenger in every other downhill event. At just 26 years old, Shiffrin is expected to dominate the Winter Olympics’ podium once again as she competes in five events.

3. Petra Vlhová

Slovakia’s Petra Vlhová is one of Shiffrin’s greatest rivals in the slalom and giant slalom, locking up the World Cup season title heading into the Winter Games. Already considered the greatest skier out of Slovakia, Vlhová hopes to add an Olympic medal to her growing resume. If anyone is going to spoil Shiffrin’s gold-medal run in Beijing, it may just be the 26-year-old Vlhová.

4. Eileen Gu

Team China’s Eileen Gu is flying high as one of the host country’s star athletes. The California-born free skier has competed for China since 2019, winning gold in the halfpipe and slopestyle events at the 2021 World Championships. At 18 years old, Gu will make her Olympic debut in Beijing, competing in halfpipe, big air and slopestyle. A force on the slopes and an iconic cultural figure in China, Gu is set to make a splash at the Winter Games and potentially emerge as an international superstar.

5. Sara Takanashi

Sara Takanashi is back for her third Winter Games, looking for gold after capturing bronze at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. The Japanese ski jumper has shattered almost every record in her sport, collecting 61 World Cup victories, the most ever by a skier. The 25-year-old has also earned a spot on the podium in a staggering 110 of her 167 World Cup appearances. Now all that’s left for Takanashi to accomplish is an Olympic gold, which has eluded the star up to this point.

6. Charlotte Bankes

Charlotte Bankes is an Olympic veteran, competing in Sochi and PyeongChang, but Beijing will mark the snowboarder’s first Games representing Great Britain. The 26-year-old competed for France after moving to the country as a toddler before switching her affiliation to Great Britain in 2018. As the 2021 World Snowboard Cross Champion, Bankes is expected to make a run for gold in the event at Beijing.

7. Lara Gut-Behrami

Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami is in top form ahead of Beijing, challenging Shiffrin, and the rest of the field, throughout the World Cup season. The 30-year-old is no stranger to Olympic competition, capturing gold in downhill during the 2014 Games. Winning gold in the super-g and giant slalom at the 2021 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, Gut-Behrami is one to watch, specifically in her most successful discipline, the super-G.

8. Ester Ledecká

Ester Ledecká enters Beijing hoping to top a remarkable and historic PyeongChang Olympic Games. In 2018, the Czech athlete shocked the world when she captured gold in snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom and alpine skiing’s super-G, becoming the first woman Winter Olympian to win in two different sports in the same Games. The 26-year-old will compete in both disciplines in Beijing as a heavy favorite in snowboarding and a fierce challenger in alpine skiing.

9. Sofia Goggia

Sofia Goggia arrives in Beijing as the reigning Olympic downhill champion, ready to defend her title. The Italian skier won seven World Cup downhill races before crashing during a Jan. 15 competition, the longest streak in women’s skiing in 40 years. In Beijing, Goggia is expected to be a force in downhill and the super-G as well as the other alpine disciplines.

10. Lindsey Jacobellis

After a series of narrow defeats in her previous four Olympic Games, Lindsey Jacobellis will be looking for redemption in Beijing. The American snowboardcross athlete nearly clinched gold at the 2006 Torino Olympics, throwing a celebratory method grab just before the race’s finish line, which caused her to fall and allowed her competitor to win the event. Jacobellis left Torino with silver, her best Olympic result, falling off the podium in the following three Games. In Beijing, Jacobellis will hope to secure the elusive gold medal in her fifth Olympic appearance.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.