The 2022 Winter Olympics kick off Friday in Beijing, welcoming athletes from across the world to compete in the two-week event. Team USA features veteran athletes and a group of newcomers poised to top the podium at the Winter Games.

Here are the 10 Team USA athletes to watch in Beijing:

1. Chloe Kim

Chloe Kim heads into the 2022 Winter Games as one of Team USA’s most prominent stars after a standout performance in PyeongChang. The 21-year-old is in prime position to defend her gold medal in the halfpipe after capturing a series of titles in the lead-up to Beijing, including the 2021 X Games and 2021 World Championships. Kim’s arsenal includes two 1080s — a routine that is likely to clinch the American a spot on the podium.

2. Mariah Bell

For Mariah Bell, age is but a number, with the 25-year-old set to become the oldest U.S. Olympic women’s singles skater since 1928. She set a similar mark in January when she became the oldest woman to win U.S. nationals since 1927. Bell is undergoing something of a career renaissance, which she credits to Adam Rippon, who joined her coaching team in the 2019-22 preseason. Eight years after her senior international debut, Bell will finally get her shot to prove herself on the Olympic stage in Beijing.

3. Jamie Anderson

Jamie Anderson has the potential to make history in Beijing as the first snowboarder, male or female, to win five Olympic medals. The 31-year-old already has two gold medals in slopestyle and a silver in big air, and she will compete in both events in her third Olympic appearance. Anderson swept both events at the 2021 X Games, setting herself up for success in Beijing.

4. Mikaela Shiffrin

Mikaela Shiffrin has been a force to be reckoned with on the slops since she made her Olympic debut as a teenager, racking up two gold medals and one silver across two Winter Games. In Beijing, the Colorado native is the favorite to top the podium in slalom and giant slalom and is a threat in the three other alpine ski races. Already one of the most decorated American skiers of all time, Shiffrin will look to add to her impressive medal haul this month.

5. Maame Biney

Maame Biney will look to follow up on her breakout appearance at the 2018 Olympics, when she became the first Black woman to compete on a U.S. Olympic speed-skating short track team. In Beijing, Biney will aim to improve upon her 2018 14th-place finish in the 500m, the 22-year old’s best event.

6. Hilary Knight

Hilary Knight is one of the most well-known athletes entering the Beijing Games, after leading the U.S. women’s hockey team in three previous Olympic appearances. In her fourth Winter Games, Knight will look to defend Team USA’s gold medal from 2018 and clinch her fourth Olympic medal overall.

7. Elana Meyers Taylor

Elana Meyers Taylor is back for her fourth Olympic Games and poised to stand atop the podium once more. The champion American bobsledder has two silver medals and one bronze across three Winter Olympics. After placing first in the monobob and two-woman standings at the 2021-22 World Cup series, Meyers Taylor is a medal contender heading into the two events in Beijing and will look to claim the gold that has so far eluded her.

8. Kaillie Humphries

Kaillie Humphries is a decorated bobsledder, having won back-to-back gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Games and a bronze in PyeongChang for Team Canada. The 36-year-old opted to represent Team USA after the 2018 Olympics, citing abuse she had endured on the Canadian bobsled team for the switch. For Team USA, Humphries has clinched two straight two-woman bobsled titles in 2020 and 2021 and a monobob championship in 2021, making her a favorite in both events in Beijing.

9. Jessie Diggins

Jessie Diggins skied to one of the most thrilling photo finishes of the 2018 Winter Olympics, capturing Team USA’s first-ever Olympic cross-country gold alongside Kikkan Randall. The 30-year-old Olympic champion returns to the Winter Games in hopes of following up her breakout performance with more hardware in 2022.

10. Erin Jackson

Erin Jackson is on a hot streak heading into Beijing, after setting a new American record of 36.80 seconds in the 500m at Salt Lake City’s World Cup stop in December. The 2022 Winter Games will be Jackson’s second Olympics after she compete in PyeongChang with only four months of speed-skating experience. With a first-place finish in the 500m in Beijing, the 29-year-old would become the first American woman to win gold in the event since Bonnie Blair in 1994.

Ticket prices are skyrocketing across the WNBA, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressing the surge after several New York Liberty fans wore T-shirts in protest of the increase.

Donning orange shirts emblazoned with the phrase "We've been priced out," New York fans came together to express their frustrations at a recent game.

The WNBA fans' custom shirts referred to season ticket price jumps of more than 250%, saying the Liberty is asking upwards of $30,000 for 2026 renewals.

Some New York season ticket holders noted that their 2026 renewal more than triples the cost they paid for the team's 2024 championship-winning campaign.

The exponential increase isn't just occurring in the New York market, however — it points to an overall rise in ticket prices across the WNBA.

The WNBA's recent ticket surge has seen seats across the league jumping by an average cost increase of 43% in the last year alone.

"In order to fund all these investments that owners are making, and obviously paying the players more which we will do in this next CBA cycle…that's the reality," Engelbert said on Thursday's episode of In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams. "That's our responsibility as a league and team owners."

Calling the price hikes a result of "simple economics" and "high demand," Engelbert acknowledged the effect on fans, though did not address potential solutions.

"I realize there's some concern out there, certainly that we don't price out our kind of core fan base," she noted.

Chelsea FC is playing it close to the chest, with big-name new signing Alyssa Thompson and previously injured superstar Sam Kerr waiting in the wings as manager Sonia Bompastor teases a 2025/26 WSL season debut for the pair.

Kerr joined the 18-player game-day roster for Chelsea FC's opening-day victory over Manchester City last Friday, but saw her season debut delayed as the Australian remained an unused sub while Thompson greeted fans from the stands.

This Sunday's matchup against Aston Villa provides another chance for the standouts to take the pitch, as the six-time reigning WSL champs hunt another result.

"With Alyssa, we are looking for her to be able to play. We don't have the confirmation yet, but we are hoping for her to be able to play in this game," Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said earlier today. "I think she has already shown some good things this week in training, and we can see what she can bring to the team."

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Bompastor went on to call last week's decision to keep Kerr on the bench "my choice," saying "She's doing everything she can to be available for the squad and available to start…. The next step for her is to be involved in a short game in the league, and maybe we'll see that on Sunday."

USWNT fans will not get a glimpse of defender Naomi Girma, however, as the January 2025 Chelsea addition sat out last Friday's clash with a calf injury and remains unavailable.

How to watch Aston Villa vs. Chelsea FC this weekend

With the possibility of Thompson and Kerr taking the WSL pitch, Chelsea will visit Aston Villa at 7 AM ET on Sunday, with live coverage of the match streaming on ESPN+.

Splashy new Gotham FC addition Jaedyn Shaw is returning West, as the No. 6 NY/NJ club preps for a Friday night clash against the No. 3 San Diego Wave — Shaw's original NWSL team — days after signing the USWNT prospect from the No. 11 North Carolina Courage.

"I'm so excited to be a part of this incredible club and community," the 20-year-old said after her NWSL-record $1.25 million transfer to Gotham. "I'm looking forward to playing alongside world class players and giving my all to help the team win another championship."

After finding immediate success with the Wave in 2023, Shaw requested a trade to the Courage in January 2025, initiating what turned out to be a short stint in Cary, NC.

"I've grown so much just over the past few months, being at the Courage," Shaw told ESPN on Thursday. "I feel like I've matured a lot. I've had to experience things that I haven't necessarily experienced in my career and having to deal with those things."

Gotham and Shaw are currently "working toward an updated and extended contract," per a team release on Thursday, with the young attacker looking to boost Gotham's offense while adding to her 16-goal and five-assist NWSL career tally.

How to watch the San Diego Wave vs. Gotham on Friday

Shaw could take the pitch for No. 6 Gotham in her new club's Friday night visit to the No. 3 San Diego Wave.

The match kicks off at 10 PM ET, with live coverage airing on Prime.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current are closing in on the 2025 NWSL Shield, gearing up for a Saturday night showdown against the No. 2 Washington Spirit that could inject insurmountable distance between the Current and the rest of the league.

With a 14-point lead at the top of the NWSL standings, Kansas City has already clinched a postseason berth, and the Current only need only a few more results to secure a franchise-first league trophy.

Even more, KC enters Saturday's match on an 11-game unbeaten streak, with the Current hosting the Spirit at their home CPKC Stadium — a pitch where Kansas City has yet to drop a match this year.

Despite that dominance, it may not be smooth sailing for the Current, as Washington's future is beginning to take shape behind recently returned star Trinity Rodman, whose brace lifted the Spirit over the No. 7 Seattle Reign last Sunday.

"She's not back, because she's a different player," Washington head coach Adrián González told reporters about Rodman's level of play. "After her injury, she's more prepared mentally. She's having enough time to get the minutes, the training, and the exposures that she needs with no pressure."

How to watch the Kansas City Current vs. Washington Spirit

The No. 1 Kansas City Current will host the No. 2 Washington Spirit on Saturday, with the top-tier match kicking off live at 7:30 PM ET on ION.