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.

The road to the College Cup begins this weekend, as the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament kicks off with a stacked first-round field on Friday.

The strength of the ACC again leads the charge with three of the 64-team bracket's four top seeds hailing from the conference.

Snagging the overall No. 1 seed is Stanford, with the Cardinal outlasting fellow NCAA top-seed Notre Dame in a penalty shootout to claim their first-ever ACC tournament title last weekend.

Joining the Cardinal and Fighting Irish in the remaining No. 1 spots are the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers and the SEC-leading Vanderbilt Commodores.

Meanwhile, the 2025 tournament's No. 2 seeds — Michigan State, TCU, Duke, and Georgetown — are gearing up to play spoiler, with other underdogs also lurking throughout the bracket.

Already eyeing future upsets are four-time national champions and No. 3-seed Florida State, No. 4-seed and Big Ten champion Washington, and undefeated mid-major dark horse Memphis, who enters the 2025 field as a No. 7 seed.

The ACC's on-pitch dominance also sees defending champion North Carolina in an unfamiliar position, entering the 2025 NCAA tournament unseeded after the 22-time title-winners finished seventh in the conference behind a 12-6 overall and 6-4 ACC season record.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament

The 2025 NCAA women's soccer tournament kicks off with 32 first-round matches across Friday and Saturday, all on ESPN+.

The action begins with unseeded Ohio State taking on No. 8-seed Georgia at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN+.

Two USWNT legends are seeing their legacies cemented, as the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that retired forwards Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are first-ballot inductees as members of the Class of 2026.

Both Heath and O'Reilly retired as World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, winning their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds as well as their 2015 World Cup title as teammates.

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The USWNT icons led all voting on the Hall of Fame's Player Ballot of 20 finalists, which only allots two to three athletes per annual class for induction.

O'Reilly snagged 47 of the 48-person selection committee's votes, with Heath earning 45 nods for inclusion.

Fellow former USWNT star Sam Mewis finished fifth on the ballot with 32 votes in her first year of eligibility, while longtime NWSL and USWNT player Amy Rodriguez came in seventh with 28 votes.

Longtime Seattle Reign defender Stephanie Cox — a 2008 Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT — also snagged votes, ranking 15th on the Class of 2026 Player Ballot.

Though they fell short of making the cut, a trio of former USWNT stars also earned votes on the 10-finalist Veteran Ballot, with longtime midfielder-turned-broadcaster Aly Wagner as well as legendary '99ers Tiffany Roberts and Lorrie Fair all snagging tallies.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct Heath and O'Reilly as part of its six-person Class of 2026 in a ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on May 1st.

Orlando Pride captain and Brazil legend Marta is back in the spotlight, topping the 2025 shortlist for the second-annual FIFA Marta Award — the women's goal-of-the-year prize established in her honor in 2024.

The 39-year-old attacking midfielder took home the inaugural trophy at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony last December, earning the title for a stellar long-range shot that helped lift Brazil over Jamaica 4-0 in a June 2024 friendly.

Marta's 2025 nomination, however, comes from an iconic goal in club play, with the FIFA Award spotlighting the Orlando game-winner against Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals — a goal that saw the Pride star force four Current players to the ground with her footwork.

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Marta has steep competition for this year's trophy, however, with 10 other goal nominees including a viral scorpion kick by former Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle, Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg's long-range missile against the North Carolina Courage, forward Ally Sentnor's first-ever USWNT goal at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, and more.

How to vote for the 2025 FIFA Marta Award

Holding 50% of the vote, fans can view and rank their top three goals of 2025 until voting closes on December 3rd.

Voting for the second-ever Marta Award winner is now open at FIFA.com.

South Carolina and USC are bringing fireworks to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball court this weekend, as the No. 2 Gamecocks take on the No. 8 Trojans in "The Real SC" showdown on Saturday.

Both standout programs enter the matchup undefeated in early-season play, with the Trojans touting a Top-10 win after narrowly edging out No. 10 NC State 69-68 last weekend.

"You don't know exactly what you have until you're put in these situations, which is why we schedule them," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about the upcoming clash. "And I think it's a chance for us to redefine our identity a little bit."

South Carolina's depth will likely test the new-look Trojans, as USC aims to solidify their identity with star JuJu Watkins sidelined with injury for the season.

That said, freshman Jazzy Davidson is giving the Trojans new life, with the No. 1 high school recruit co-leading the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

South Carolina, however, has seen early dividends from familiar faces, as sophomore Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring at 18.3 points per game, with high-profile transfer Ta'Niya Latson close behind with a 16.3 point average.

How to watch USC vs. South Carolina in the "The Real SC" NCAA game

No. 8 USC will welcome No. 2 South Carolina to LA's Crypto.com Arena for the inaugural "Real SC" game on Saturday.

The clash will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.