Who will be the stars at the 2026 Olympics? Here's a peek into the future from reporters who covered the Beijing Games. (via nytimes)
The first medal event for snowboarding at the Beijing Games was women’s slopestyle. Maybe it was too soon for 17-year-old Kokomo Murase of Japan.Murase is part of a Japanese wave that is crashing into snowboarding. She has been a dominant force in the sport for the past two years, but could not convert that to a big Olympic showing — at least in slopestyle, where she finished 10th.
The Japanese swell is bigger among the men, where Ayumu Hirano won gold in the halfpipe. Japan had four finalists, although hopes for a podium sweep did not coalesce. Add Hiroaki Kunitake’s fourth-place finish in big air, and Takeru Otsuka’s top-10 performances in slopestyle and big air, and there is the making of a Japanese medal haul in 2026.— JOHN BRANCHNina O’Brien of the United States makes a turn during the first run of the women’s giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb.
So what are we to make of Elvira Oeberg? In Beijing, she won a silver in the sprint and pursuit behind the incomparable Roeiseland and teamed to win a relay gold with Sweden. A few shooting misses helped cost her a chance at yet another medal in the individual event. Italy is not exactly known as a curling powerhouse, but Stefania Constantini is helping her country move in that direction.