BC-Olympic Digest, ADVISORY
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Today is Day 1 of the Beijing Olympics. Here are AP's coverage plans. All times are Eastern. For questions, please email Amanda Barrett at abarrett@ap.org. Find the latest Olympics coverage plans on Coverage Plan. For expanded content, visit AP’s Olympics hub on AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 877-836-9477. For questions about the digital news experience or medals tables, please email Barry Bedlan at bbedlan@ap.org.
HAPPENING IN BEIJING
The Winter Games officially get underway with the opening ceremony in a chilly Beijing evening. Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of the few world leaders on hand for the pageantry.
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TRENDING NEWS
OLY--SBD-SLOPESTYLE’S GREAT WALL — Two-time defending Olympic champion Jamie Anderson and her fellow snowboarders will soon be riding right past a snow replica of the the Great Wall. By Pat Graham. SENT: 420 words, photos.
OLY-INDIA-TIBET-PROTESTS — Hundreds of Tibetan exiles marched outside the Chinese Embassy in the Indian capital of New Delhi on Friday and held a protest rally while denouncing the Beijing Winter Olympics and demanding freedom for their region. By Shonal Ganguly. SENT: 275 words.
OLY--FIG-TEAM COMPETITION — Nathan Chen and the U.S. figure skating team took a surprising lead on the opening day of competition at the Beijing Olympics. By Dave Skretta. SENT: 778 words, photos.
OLY-USA-TEAM-OPENING-CEREMONY — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says 177 of its 223 athletes signed up to go to the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. That put to rest any notion that the athletes would skip the celebration as a sign of protest. By Eddie Pells. SENT: 306 words, photos.
OLY-BEIJING-HOW-TO-WATCH — Olympic fans in the United States will be able to watch the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games on Friday with their morning cup of coffee. SENT: 272 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
BEIJING OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY — Beijing opens the Winter Olympics on Friday night, becoming the first city to host both winter and summer Games as the country where the pandemic first emerged staged a locked-down Games amid a boycott by some Western governments over human rights abuses. By Brian Carovillano and Sarah DiLorenzo. UPCOMING: 500 words by 5 a.m. photos. Will be updated from the ceremony. With: BEIJING OLYMPICS-OPENING CEREMONY-PHOTO GALLERY — Scenes from the ceremony to open the Winter Games. UPCOMING: 100 words by 10 a.m., photos.
OLY—BEIJING-INTRIGUE IN THE SKYBOX — For all the talk of a diplomatic boycott, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has managed to attract a dizzying array of presidents, royals and other dignitaries to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. The fact that most of them represent countries that are unlikely to win any medals, if they’re even competing at all, doesn’t seem to matter. But a guest list that includes Russia’s Vladimir Putin and the rulers of several energy-rich Gulf Arab states does offer plenty of room for backroom deal-making for those making the trip. UPCOMING: 1,100 words by 9 a.m., photos.
OLY-CHINA-RUSSIA — Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Beijing for the Winter Olympics and talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, amid soaring tensions with Ukraine. SENT 598 words, photos.
OLY-CHINA-THE-OLYMPIC-DIASPORA — At the Beijing Olympic Games, it’s a homecoming of sorts for one of the world’s most sprawling diasporas. Often sweet and sometimes more complicated, for Olympians of Chinese descent, it’s always a reflection of who they are, where they come from and the global Olympic spirit itself. By Sally Ho. SENT: 1,087 words, photos.
OLY--FRE-EILEEN'S CHOICE — American-born daredevil Eileen Gu will be trying to win gold medals for China at the Beijing Games. Gu’s mother is from the host country and the 18-year-old freestyle skier made the difficult and much-debated decision to compete for China instead of the United States. By National Writer Eddie Pells. SENT: 1,144 words, photos.
OLY—BEIJING-WORLD LEADERS — The U.S., Britain and a handful of others aren’t sending dignitaries to the Beijing Games as part of a diplomatic boycott, but the Chinese capital is still attracting an array of world leaders for Friday’s opening ceremony. SENT: 526 words, photos.
OLY-COOLING-ICE-RINKS — The ice rinks that play host to figure skating and speed skating competitions at the Beijing Olympics will also be putting a major environmental problem on the world stage – the potent greenhouse gases often lurking refrigerators, air conditioners and other cooling systems. By Candice Choi. SENT: 670 words, photos.
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EXPLAINERS
OLY-INDIA-DIPLOMATIC-B0YCOTT-EXPLAINER — India won’t be sending its top diplomat in Beijing to the Winter Olympics after the honor of carrying the Olympic torch went to a Chinese soldier wounded in a deadly border clash between the countries two years ago. What is this border dispute, and why has it riled up the Indian government? By Sheikh Saaliq. SENT: 572 words, photos.
OLY-BIA-HOW-BIATHLON-WORKS-EXPLAINER — One analogy often used to describe how it feels to compete in a biathlon race goes like this: “Run up 20 flights of stairs as fast as you can and then try to thread a needle.” Here’s a glimpse into what it is, what makes it tick and how it unfolds. By Martha Bellisle. SENT: 1.066 words, photos.
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THE GAMES WE PLAY
OLY--SKI-LEFT BEHIND — Breezy Johnson knew she was having the best ski racing season of her career as the Beijing Games neared. And then everything changed for the 26-year-old from Wyoming, who would have been a favorite in the women’s downhill in China and instead is home in need of knee surgery. By Howard Fendrich and Pat Graham. SENT: 800 words, photos.
OLY--LUG-SOCHOWICZ'S RECOVERY — Polish luge athlete Mateusz Sochowicz went back to the Peking University hospital this week, entering the facility for the second time this season. The first trip was so doctors could tend to his badly injured legs. The second trip was to thank them for saving his Olympic hopes. By Tim Reynolds. SENT: 600 words, photos.
OLY-HKW-RUSSIAN-RECOVERY — The Russian women’s hockey team has gone from quarantine to an Olympic win in two days. The Russian team was in isolation in the Olympic Village from Monday to Wednesday and couldn’t train after one of the largest coronavirus outbreaks so far at the Beijing Games. The Russians still beat Switzerland 5-2. By James Ellingworth. SENT: 528 words, photos.
OLY--FRE-MOGULS-QUALIFYING — Before the Beijing Olympics officially open, there will be a men’s and women’s moguls qualifying round on Thursday night. Don’t worry, though, no one goes home early. The top 10 skiers in the field advance to the final, while the rest of the field gets a second qualification run with another 10 spots into the final up for grabs. By Pat Graham. UPCOMING: 450 words, photo. Women’s qualifying starts at 5 a.m.
OLY--SKI-MEN'S DOWNHILL TRAINING — Strong winds and extremely cold conditions are forecast for the second men’s downhill training session at the Beijing Olympics. UPCOMING: 300 words by 6 a.m., photos.
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UP TO THE MINUTE
— OLYMPICS ROUNDUP — Highlights of the day from the 2022 Winter Games. Starts Saturday.
— BEIJING OLYMPICS-THE LATEST — Real-time updates and photos from every venue around the Winter Games.
— BEIJING OLYMPICS-WHAT TO WATCH — A guide to key storylines each day. Moves after 1 a.m.
— MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day’s gold medals. Starts Saturday.
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FEATURED IMAGES
OLYTH122 — Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway makes a jump during men’s downhill training.
OLYCO122 — A biathlete practices at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
OLYRR222 — Madison Hubbell, right, and Zachary Donohue, of the United States, compete during the ice dance team program in the figure skating competition.
OLYKS122 — A snowboarder trains on the slopestyle course.
OLYCO135 — A biathlete is silhouetted as he practices.
OLYVT364 — Icicles hanging on the eye lashes of a camera operator as she watches the men’s moguls qualifying at Genting Snow Park.
OLYNP123 — Members of the Canadian short track speedskating team train.
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GRAPHICS
Beijing Winter Games Schedule: The full discipline schedule of competition events, including medal and ceremony days for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Print graphic. Now available.