Only three decisions in Beijing

It will be a quiet day on Monday in Beijing. Even if winter sports fans can’t get enough of the Olympics, they can take a breather on Valentine’s Day. Actually, there should be five decisions, but because the weather on Sunday was not suitable for some competitions, the qualifications in Ski Freestyle in the disciplines Aerials and Slopestyle had to be postponed to Monday. The finals will then follow one day later.

The 3 Olympic Decisions on 14.02.2022

This means that only three sets of medals will be awarded. Therefore, not too much will happen in the medal table. Two decisions will already be made in the middle of the night. In the women’s monobob the German team can hope for a medal from Lara Nolte. Gold seems to be out of reach, but it does not always have to be the top step on the podium.

In figure skating, the medals are awarded in the ice dance. Athletes from our home area, however, are no longer in the mix. The highlight of the day is undoubtedly the men’s team event on the large hill. At least Germany and Austria do not have a bad chance of taking a place on the podium at the end of the day.

The men’s ice hockey team will take a break on Monday. But in the women’s event, the medals are already up for grabs. The two semifinals, including Switzerland against Canada, are on the programme. In addition, there are some games in curling, where the two Swiss teams can make it to the semi-finals to play for the medals in the coming days.

The most important decisions of the day

Women’s Bobsleigh – Monobob

From 2:30am CET – Yanqing Sliding Centre

The women’s monobob decision will be contested for the first time at the Winter Olympics to bring about gender equality. However, it has been shown that many ladies are not competitive at all in this competition. The differences of the 20 participating female skiers are extremely large.

There will still be a worthy Olympic champion and if we believe the odds at the betting providers tested, then it will be the US American Kaillie Humphries, who was convincing in the first two runs and is clearly in the lead. The hottest contenders for the other medals are Christine de Bruin from Canada, the American legend Elana Meyers Taylor and Laura Nolte from Germany.

However, the next gold medal will probably not be won by the German team at the Yanqing Sliding Centre. However, everything is possible for Laura Nolte, from second to fourth place. Mariama Jamanka, on the other hand, did not get along at all with the ice channel. After two runs she was only 17th. The only thing left to do is to bring the last two runs down properly.

Figure Skating – Pairs Ice Dance

from 2:15am CET – Capital Hallenstadion

There have been quite a few headlines around figure skating. The doping story around the young Russian skater Kamila Valieva overshadows the competitions. On Monday, however, the second decision in this sport is on the Olympic programme and this time there should be little discussion in the aftermath. The medals in the pairs ice dance will be awarded.

The favoured duo comes from France. Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron have completed the best compulsory programme. The odds on a victory for the French pair are very low, so it seems that the gold medal is already taken. In principle, it looks very similar for second and third place.

If there are no big surprises, silver should go to the Russian pair Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsapalov. The first contender for bronze is Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue from the United States. The German duo Katharina Müller and Tim Dieck missed the final of the best 20 couples in 21st place in rhythm dance.

Men’s Ski Jumping – Team Jumping

from 12:00 CET – Zhangjiakou Ski Jumping Centre

Ski jumping in Zhangjiakou has provided plenty of highlights at these Winter Olympics, but also drama. On Monday, there will be the last decision in the special jumping competition and this one should be a real challenge. In the team competition, there are up to seven teams with hopes of winning medals and maybe even the Olympic title.

It is very positive that the German team can be counted among this circle again after their performance on the large hill. The same goes for the Austrians, who have a similarly balanced quartet. Both teams are among the medal candidates. But the teams from Poland and the Russians, who are making a strong showing, are also among them.

Norway and Japan have already won gold in the individual events in the person of Marius Lindvik and Ryoyu Kobayashi, but they do not have enough athletes in good shape at the moment. That looks quite different for the Slovenians.

Important Olympic hockey matches tonight

Women – Canada vs. Switzerland

5:10 a.m. CET – Semifinals – Wukesong Arena

The women’s ice hockey tournament is turning into the home stretch. On Monday, the two semi-finals are already on the agenda. The expected favourites are still in the game. Canada has celebrated five victories in five games at this Olympic tournament, scoring a total of 44 goals. Three encounters even ended with a double-digit victory.

One of those came in the opening game against the Swiss women, when the Maple Leafs prevailed 12-1. Now these two teams face each other in the semifinals. You don’t have to be a great prophet to predict the winner in this match. For the Nati, it will only be a matter of limiting the damage and focusing on the bronze medal match.

Women – USA vs. Finland

14:10 CET – Semifinals – Wukesong Arena

The United States are hot for revenge. The Olympic champions were defeated 4-2 by Canada in the preliminary round in the North American derby. But it was already pretty clear before the tournament that these two teams would meet again, namely in the final for the gold medal. On the way there, the US girls only have to get Finland out of the way on Monday.

For the Scandinavians, too, this tournament has taken the expected course. From the beginning, it was basically only about the bronze medal. The Finns even have a theoretical chance of reaching the final. In the preliminary round, Finland lost to the USA 2:5. We think it is very unlikely that the underdogs will be able to take revenge in this semifinal.

Team Germany to watch in Beijing

With only three decisions on the schedule for Monday, there won’t be too many German athletes competing either. However, at least one German woman will have a say in the first medal ceremony of the day. Laura Nolte has the chance to win a medal in the monobob, while Mariama Jamanka has no chance to take the lead anymore.

With the postponed qualifications in ski freestyle, the German women have to try to get a place in the finals on Monday instead of Sunday. There are also qualifying rounds with the snowboard. If there are no decisions, then at least there will be some preliminary competitions in which German athletes will be competing.

The highlight of the day, not only from a German point of view, is the team event from the large hill. With Karl Geiger, Constantin Schmid, Markus Eisenbichler and probably Stephan Leyhe, the DSV eagles are hoping for a medal. In addition, the German bobsleigh athletes will hold their first two runs in the two-man bobsleigh at the Yanqing Sliding Centre. Francesco Friedrich and Johannes Lochner can flirt with a medal.

Team Austria to watch in Beijing 2022

On Monday, Team Austria once again has significantly fewer athletes at the start than the German team. There is nothing more in the monobob at night. Afterwards there are numerous qualifications. Austrian athletes are fighting on several levels to get into the final. But whether that will be enough to keep them up all night will be a question for Austrian sports fans.

Things will get more interesting for the Austrians at lunchtime. The ÖSV eagles have won two out of three World Cup jumps this season. They are aiming for a medal in the team competition on the large hill. In the two-man bobsleigh, the two duos from the Alpine Republic will try to place in the front of the field in the first two runs in order to attack the medals on Tuesday.

Team Switzerland to watch at Olympia 2022

There will be no medal for Team Switzerland on Monday. Melanie Hasler has already been eliminated in the women’s monobob. In ice dancing, there is no Swiss duo at the start and in the men’s team event from the large hill, the Swiss are only big outsiders. But perhaps we will see Simon Ammann’s last Olympic jumps.

It will be more exciting for the Swiss teams on Valentine’s Day. Of course, the women’s ice hockey team will have little chance of advancing to the final against Canada. The focus will probably be more on the bronze medal match. In curling, things are looking really good. Both the men’s and women’s teams can make it through to the semi-finals.