The Winter Olympics are a more recent event than the Summer Olympics, which are the ones we always watch on television. This great sporting event began in 1924 as “International Winter Sports Week” and, after two years, in 1926, it gained Olympic Games status.
This competition is played every four years, between the Summer Olympics. This means that every two years there is an edition of the Olympic Games taking place. The difference is that, in one of these editions, only sports involving ice or snow are played.
The following is a list of sports that make up the Winter Olympic Games:
- biathlon – Race in which the athlete walks with skis on the snow, stopping for a few moments to shoot. There are, therefore, two combined modalities. In total, ten different categories are disputed in this race: 10 km men's individual speed, 10 km individual pursuit female, 12.5 km female individual collective start, 12.5 male individual pursuit, 15 km female individual, 15 km start male individual collective, 20 km male individual, 4x6 km female relay, 4x7.5 km male relay and 7.5 km speed female individual;
- bobsleigh – Test in pairs or collective, in a group of four people (female or male) who go down an ice rink on a car that slides through blades, located on its bottom, similar in appearance to a sled. The competitions in this modality are: male quartet, female duo and male duo;
- Bobsleigh Skeleton – This is an individual event in which the athlete pushes his cart (sled) for 25 meters to propel him. The tests are individual male and female individual;
- curling – Disputed in two groups of four people, in which one of them throws eight granite stones. The launch is interspersed between the two teams. The team that manages to keep one of its pieces closest to the target is the winner. To speed up or slow down the movement of the piece sliding on the ice, the other athletes of the team position themselves in front of the stone and, with their own equipment (a kind of broom), rub it on ice to reduce friction and therefore increase the speed of the piece, or do not use it in an attempt to increase friction and reduce velocity;
- Ice Hockey - There is an fully dedicated text to this sport, but, in a nutshell, it is a dispute between two teams that move on skates on an ice rink. Each of the athletes uses a club and the objective is to hit the puck in the opponent's goal;
- Luge – One more sled test. However, in this modality, the athlete lies down on the cart and guides it with trunk and leg movements. The start is done in a sitting position and the movement starts with the help of the upper limbs. The tests are female and male, in pairs or individuals;
- Nordic combined – Proof that combines jumping and running, both with skiing. The athlete who gets the best mark in the jump is better positioned for the exit in the speed contest. The categories are: 15 km individual, 7.5 km speed and 4x5 km team relay;
- freestyle skiing – In this test, the athlete must ski down a slope that is built in a place that favors formations in the snow from the movement of the skis. For this, he must perform the test in the shortest possible time and perform, during the course, two acrobatic movements. This category is called “molgus”, because that is the name given to snow formations made with skiing. The other category is the “aerials”, and differs from the previous one by its route that contains from five to seven mini-ramps, where the athlete must perform, at least, two acrobatic jumps;
- ski jumps: Each athlete jumps from a platform, whose objective is to achieve the greatest distance possible, also taking into account the style of the jump. Each athlete jumps twice. The events are: Women's 70-meter platform, men's 90-meter platform and 90-meter platform for men's team;
- Alpine Skiing: This race is basically a descent on skis. Whoever dodges the obstacles and completes the course in less time wins the test. The variations of categories are due to the obstacles that are placed or closer, which allows less speed and higher skill, or outposts farther apart, resulting in quite a bit of speed. tall;
- Cross-Contry Skiing: The tests vary in distances from 7.5 km to 50 km. Depending on the category, athletes must travel the path with the skis in parallel (classic cross-contry technique) or with movements they can push the skis backwards and sideways;
- figure skating: This test can be done individually or in pairs. The objective is to perform a choreography on roller skates. It is, therefore, a sport that unites dance, skating and music;
- ice speed skating: As the name says, this is a sprint race held on a closed track. Evidence can be against the clock or chase.
By Paula Rondinelli
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Physical Education from the São Paulo State University “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” – UNESP
Master in Motricity Sciences from the São Paulo State University “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” – UNESP
PhD student in Latin American Integration at the University of São Paulo - USP
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/educacao-fisica/jogos-olimpicos-inverno.htm
