Only one more night of sleep and then it’s time: The Beijing 2022 WinterOlympics officially start on February 4. Spain is sending 14 athletes to China this year in an effort to top the – albeit meager – medal tally of the past 86 years.
The Winter Olympics will take place from 4 to 20 February. And around 3,000 athletes from almost every country in the world will compete for the 109 medals. Moreover, these are the Spanish athletes who have recently travelled to Beijing. Furthermore, they will try to surpass Spain’s successful 2018 Pyeongchang Games:
- Ander Mirambel (skeleton) will be in action on February 10 and 11
- Olivia Smart and Adrián Díaz (figure skating/dance) will be in action together on February 12 and 14
- Laura Barquero and Marco Zandrón (figure skating) will compete together on February 18 and 19
- Queralt Castell (snowboarding/halfpipe) will compete in the preliminary round on February 9th. Then, if he makes it, the finals will take place on February 10th
- Lucas Eguibar (snowboardcross) will compete on February 10
- Thibaut Magnin and Javier Lliso (freeskiing) will compete on February 7 and (if they reach the final) on February 9 in the Big Air section. Then again on February 14 and (if they reach the final) on February 15 in the Slopestyle section
- Núria Pau (alpine skiing) will be in action on February 7 and Quim Salarich (alpine skiing) on February 16
- Adur Etxezarreta (alpine skiing) will compete in the Downhill race on February 6 and will compete in the Super G event on February 8
- Imanol Rojo (cross-country skiing) comes into action at different times: Firstly, on February 6, he takes part in the Skiathlon 15x15km; on February 8 at the Sprint; on February 11 at 15 km of classic cross-country skiing; and on February 16 at the Team Sprint and on February 19 at the 50 km free cross-country skiing.
- Jaume Pueyo (cross-country skiing) will be in action on February 8 during the Sprint section.
Spain won four medals in 86 years
For the past 86 years, Spain has managed to qualify for the Winter Olympics every time. However, in those nearly nine decades, Spain has won only four medals.
In 1972, Spaniard Francisco Fernández Ochoa took the only gold medal ever for Spain in the alpine skiing (slalom) event. Blanca Fernández Ochoa (the sister of) won bronze in 1992 in the same event as her brother. She passed away tragically in 2019. In September of that year, the skier went missing and was found dead in the mountains weeks later.
2018 was a successful year for Spain. Javier Fernández won a bronze medal in figure skating. Regino Hernández won the same medal but in the snowboard cross section.
