Sports fans from all over the world watch and enjoy the thrills of winter sports. These games also present fans with an opportunity to wager on their favorite sports or athletes and win good money. Punters who wish to err on the side of caution can visit prediction sites like mightytips for expert tips, predictions, and analysis before placing their bets. They can also follow Kate Richardson, a tipster with an excellent track record of providing accurate new online betting sites tips for bettors on all sports. People can also stream the Olympics games from any part of the world as they happen in real-time. But it was not always like this when the competition began decades ago.
History of the Winter Olympics
The first occurrence of the Winter Olympics was in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The competition was inspired by the ancient Olympics games held between 800BC - 400AD. When the modern Olympics were commissioned, there were only five games. The games were:
●Bobsleigh
●Curling
●Ice Hockey
●Nordic Skiing (Military patrol, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping and;
●Skating (Figure skating and speed skating)
The Olympics continued every four years, except in 1940 and 1944 because of the second world war. After the world war, the Olympic Games resumed in 1948 and continued for several decades.
All this while, the Summer and Winter Olympics Games were held in the same year. However, in 1986, the International Olympic Committee decided to host the tournaments in two different years. So the Summer Olympics were held in 1992 while the Winter Olympics were moved to 1994. Both tournaments have continued to occur with a four interval between two summer or winter tournaments and a two-year gap between a summer and winter tournament.
The Winter Olympics has shown significant development in the past decades. Olympic hockey has remained untouched while the other four events played in 1924 have been modified at one time or the other. More sports and categories have also been added to the order of the event. The military patrol event was discontinued, but the new biathlon takes the style of the military patrol. New sports like alpine skiing, freestyle skating, and so on were also added to make the Winter Olympics more fun.
With the rise in technology and availability of streaming services, the International Olympics Committee has generated massive income by selling tickets to people who want to watch an event live. They also sold broadcasting and advertising rights to interested companies. It was a win-win situation for everyone involved in the Olympics - organizers, participants, sponsors, spectators, and many more.
The Winter Olympics have been held in twelve countries across three different continents. Countries that have hosted the Olympics include but are not limited to the United States of America, Austria, Canada, Norway, to mention a few. The 2022 Winter Olympics was held in Beijing, and the next one is scheduled to take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy.
The 2022 Winter Olympics
Officially the 24th Winter Olympics, the event was held in Beijing, China, between the 4th and 20th of February 2022. It is the second time China will be hosting the games.
Two new events, Big Air Freestyle Skiing and Women's Monobob, made their debut as medal events at the 2022 Olympics Games. A total of 109 events were played by 2,871 athletes representing 91 teams across 15 disciplines. Of all these events, the 2022 Olympics hockey was a sight to behold.
A Recap on the Olympics 2022 Hockey
Hockey was played at the 2022 Winter Olympics at two different locations in Beijing - The Beijing National Indoor Stadium and the Olympic Green. Ten teams participated in the women's tournament this year (only two teams participated in 2018), and the men's tournament saw a total of twelve teams competing against each other. All of the twenty-two teams participating in the 2022 Olympics Hockey men's and women's tournaments collectively came from twelve countries.
The twelve teams were divided into three groups for the men's tournament, each containing four teams. Each team in each group played against each other to qualify for the quarterfinals. The best team in each group and the best performing across all groups qualified for the quarterfinals, while the remaining eight teams had to play knockout games with four extra teams to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Winners of the quarterfinals proceeded to the semi-finals, and the final match of the Olympics Hockey for men was played between the winners of the semi-final rounds. A bronze match was also organized for the teams that lost in the semi-final rounds.
The Team USA Hockey Olympics 2022 performance continued in the women's category after Slovakia ended the hopes of the men's team.
By the end of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Finland took the gold medal in the Hockey category for men, Russia had the silver medal, and the Bronze medal went to the Slovakian team.
The Olympics Field Hockey for women was quite different because of the number of participating teams. Two groups consisting of five teams each played against each other. All the teams from the first group and the best three teams from the second group proceeded to the quarterfinals. A knockout system was used after that to decide the top three winners,
Team USA Hockey Olympics 2022 female team made the final to defend their championship. However, they lost to Canada in the finals taking home the silver medal. Meanwhile, Finland defeated Switzerland in the third-place match to win the bronze medal.
Rounding Up
At the end of the event, Finland won two Hockey medals (Gold in the men's tournament and bronze in the women's tournament). Canada had one gold medal in the women's tournament. Russia and USA won silver medals in the men's and women's tournaments, and Slovakia had a bronze medal in the men's category.
