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 NWSL is changing up its athlete acquisition process, with the league announcing on Wednesday that it will replace the CBA-eliminated draft with a pair of player combines starting this December.

Dividing prospects into two groups — adults and college-aged (U18-23) and youth (U13-17) — the three-day programs will showcase player talent and allow clubs to sign standouts as free agents.  

To maintain competitive balance across the NWSL and set incoming 2026 expansion teams Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC up for success, the league already revised several roster-building mechanisms, including adopting a new allocation money structure as well as intra-league loans.

Like the abolishment of the draft and the new mechanism requiring athletes to acquiesce to their own trades, the new NWSL combines will give players more freedom over their careers while also better aligning the growing US league with global soccer standards.

"As the women's soccer landscape continues to rapidly evolve, a Combine is a strategic platform that will allow us to support NWSL clubs in early talent evaluation and provide players with exposure to a professional environment," said league director of youth development Karla Thompson in Wednesday's statement.

"This initiative is about widening the lens...and ensuring that talent, wherever it resides, has a continued pathway to our league."

Despite falling from the playoffs on Wednesday night, Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase is still ending her season on a win, with the WNBA naming the first-year expansion team sideline boss the 2025 Coach of the Year this week.

Nakase picked up 53 out of the sports media panel's 72 votes to take the title, with fellow sideline rookie Karl Smesko (Atlanta Dream) trailing with 15 votes while veteran leaders Becky Hammon (Las Vegas Aces) and Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx) tied for third place with two votes apiece.

"What this does, is it reflects on [our] whole organization," said Nakase, sharing credit with her team and staff. "Without [the players], we wouldn't have had a winning season and we wouldn't be where I am today now."

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Golden State made WNBA expansion history under Nakase

In leading Golden State to a 23-21 regular season — a league record for wins by an expansion team in their first campaign — Nakase also minted the Valkyries as the first-ever expansion franchise to make the WNBA Playoffs in their debut season.

That success came from the team's strong defense, as the Valkyries held opponents to a league-wide low in both points per game (76.3) and field goal percentage (40.5%) on the year.

Before joining the Valkyries, Nakase served as an assistant coach in Las Vegas, helping guide the Aces to back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023.

"Natalie has been a fierce leader from the very moment she was announced as head coach," said Golden State GM Ohemaa Nyanin. "Her core philosophy of connectivity and emphasis on high character has created an environment where everyone can thrive. Her unique approach to leadership and ability to hold players accountable with care while staying true to her values has been remarkable."

"I love playing for a fiery coach who always wants to win and believes in her players so much," said Valkyries — and former Aces — guard Kate Martin.

The new WNBA home-away-home first-round format has upped the dramatics in the 2025 Playoffs, as multiple home-court upsets have forced Game 3 deciders this week.

The No. 6 Indiana Fever's Game 2 win over No. 3 Atlanta set up Thursday's elimination game, with the injury-riddled Fever taking down the Dream 77-60 on Tuesday to keep their playoff dreams alive.

The No. 7 Seattle Storm also earned themselves a Game 3, facing No. 2 Las Vegas in Thursday's nightcap after snapping the Aces' 17-game winning streak in Tuesday's 86-83 Game 2 shocker.

Indiana and Seattle remain the series' underdogs, ceding home-court advantage as Atlanta aims to build on their first playoff win since 2016 while Las Vegas shoots for a third title in four years.

"Our backs were definitely against the wall in this, and we know that we've just been through so much this season," Fever center Aliyah Boston said postgame. "Coming out with this win and then giving ourselves another chance in Game 3, emotions are high."

How to watch Game 3 action in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs

The first round's Game 3 finales begin with two winner-take-all matchups on Thursday night, beginning when the No. 6 Indiana Fever tackles the No. 3 Atlanta Dream at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2.

Shortly afterward, the No. 6 Seattle Storm will take on the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces, also airing live on ESPN2.

The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx became the first WNBA team to punch their ticket to the 2025 semifinals with a dramatic come-from-behind win on Wednesday night, fighting back from a 17-point deficit to sneak past the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries 75-74 and sweep their first-round playoffs series.

Bolstered by a strong crowd traveling down to San Jose for the relocated home matchup, the Valkyries broke out into an early lead, but the 2025 expansion side couldn't hang on in the final seconds as the top-seeded Lynx rallied.

"I am just so proud of our effort," Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier said postgame. "I think it shows the grit and the resilience that this team has and what we've been talking about for two years."

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The Lynx secured the only sweep in this year's best-of-three opening postseason round, with every other series moving to a Game 3 decider.

"The games that we've watched demonstrate that level of desperation for teams in elimination games," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve reflected.

How to watch the Minnesota Lynx in the 2025 WNBA semifinals

The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx will next face the lowest seed to advance past this week's first round, with Thursday and Friday Game 3 action determining their opponent.

The 2025 WNBA semifinals will then tip off on Sunday, with live coverage airing on ESPN platforms.