Which Olympic Winter Games stars could retire after Beijing 2022?
Beijing 2022 may be the last chance to see some of the world’s greatest Olympic Winter champions compete. From Shaun White to Charlotte Kalla, here are some of the biggest athletes that could retire after the Olympic Winter Games from 4 - 20 February.
Shaun White (USA), Snowboard
"Oh, for sure. Yeah," White told Rolling Stone Magazine about whether he plans to retire after Beijing 2022. This will be White’s fifth Games (at 15, he missed out on Salt Lake City 2002 by just one qualification spot) as he aims to add to his record-breaking three golds. The red-headed superstar, also known as the Flying Tomato, will be the oldest ever Olympic halfpipe rider in China.
Germany’s luge legends
The heart-stopping sport of luge gives lie to the notion that only the young are fearless. German veterans will be sliding for what may be their last Olympic medals in men’s and women’s singles and men’s doubles. Can Felix Loch, 32, win his fourth Olympic gold? Can Natalie Geisenberger grab a fifth gold three days after her 34th birthday? Geisenberger is history’s joint most successful luger, alongside Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, both 34. Can the doubles pair win their third consecutive gold medals?
Kaillie Humphries (USA), Bobsleigh
With her 2010 and 2014 Olympic gold medals tattooed on each shoulder blade and 60 per cent of her skin covered in ink, it’s not clear where Humphries, 36, might fit any Beijing body art. After winning bronze in 2018 she said: “Women’s bobsleigh has only been in five Winter Olympics and I have been on the podium in three of those.” A newly-minted US citizen, Humphries will compete with brakewoman Lolo Jones, 39, and compete in the monobob, a new Olympic event.
Martins Dukurs (LAT), Skeleton
Over the past decade, Dukurs has featured on Latvia’s national stamp, won its highest civilian honour, born its flag at an Olympic Opening Ceremony, won most World and European championships in skeleton and earned the nickname Superman. But after competing at four Olympic Games and scooping two silver medals, the 37-year-old Dukurs targets gold at what could be his final Olympic Winter Games. “There is no formula for age meaning that you will or won’t be successful,” he told reporters.
Hilary Knight (USA) and Jocelyne Larocque (CAN), Ice hockey
Hilary Knight, 32, and Jocelyne Larocque, 33, have been playing for the USA and Canada respectively for around a decade and a half. Both have won Olympic gold but their teams’ epic rivalry (only one Olympic final of six has not featured both nations) is more raw for Larocque. She apologised for removing her silver medal during the ceremony at PyeongChang 2018, explaining that in that moment of disappointment “your perspective is really, really narrow”. At the age of five or six, Knight “right away wanted to participate in the Olympic Games, even though women’s ice hockey was not there yet”. Who will take home the final honours at Beijing 2022?
Sven Kramer (NED), Speed skating
Kramer is already the most decorated male Olympic speed skater of all time with nine medals earned over four Olympic Winter Games, but after reaching the point where he could no longer lift his little daughter, he resorted to a back operation in May to sustain his Olympic ambitions. Only two skaters in Olympic history have won five golds. Can Kramer join them?
Charlotte Kalla (SWE), Cross country
After Kalla overturned a 27-second deficit to anchor the Swedish team to gold in the 4 x 5km relay at Sochi 2014, the airport in her home province of Norrbotten changed its name to Kalla Airport within hours. Kalla, 34, is Sweden’s most decorated female Olympian with nine medals, including three golds, but has battled heart disease to make it to her fourth Games in Beijing. Luckily, she finds training to be “no sacrifice. It’s something I love, something I look for, every day and all year round.”