From the YOG to the big stage - the Youth Olympians who rocked Beijing 2022

Beijing 2022 featured more graduates from the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) than ever before, with athletes using their YOG experiences to catapult them to success on the Olympic stage. Here, we highlight some of the most successful Youth Olympians in Beijing…

Ailing (Eileen) Gu

Freestyle skiing, China

Ailing (Eileen) Gu could have been forgiven for thinking she was experiencing a case of Olympic déjà vu at Beijing 2022. With a dominant victory in the women’s halfpipe, the 18-year-old secured her third medal of the Olympic Winter Games, adding to her gold in big air and silver in slopestyle. As well as becoming the first freestyle skier to win medals in three different disciplines, Gu also perfectly matched her performance at the Winter YOG Lausanne 2020, where the Chinese star claimed gold in both big air and halfpipe, alongside a silver medal behind Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru in slopestyle.

“What a full circle moment,” she said about her unique achievement.

Chloe Kim

Snowboarding, USA

Chloe Kim cemented her status as one of the greatest snowboarders in history as she successfully defended her Olympic halfpipe title at Beijing 2022. The 21-year-old wowed fans and judges alike with her opening run in the final, scoring 94.0 points to secure her place at the top of the podium, six years on from starring at the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016. Kim’s winning run was enough to bring her to tears as she fell to her knees in joy at the bottom of the pipe.

“I was so proud of myself,” she said afterwards. “I overflowed with emotion when I was able to land it on the first go.”

Petra Vlhová

Alpine skiing, Slovakia

Petra Vlhová backed up her imperious World Cup form with gold in the women’s slalom at Beijing 2022, giving Slovakia its first ever Olympic medal in Alpine skiing and fulfilling a childhood dream for the 26-year-old.

“It’s difficult to explain or to describe all the feelings I have inside,” she said after her victory. “When I was young, like a small kid, I was dreaming about the Olympic Games. I said it would be good to have some medals and also become Olympic champion. I think you need to dream big and then everything is possible.”

Vlhová had previously won gold at the Winter YOG Innsbruck 2012, and was overjoyed to be back on top of an Olympic podium after 10 years.

“In sport you have to never give up, fight until the end,” she said. “I am here, and I won the Olympic Games. For me, for my country, for my family, for my team, this is something huge. We are really happy and proud.”

Suzanne Schulting

Short-track speed skating, Netherlands

Suzanne Schulting became just the second short-track skater to win four medals at a single Olympic Winter Games, as she won golds in the 1,000m and 3,000m relay, silver in the 500m and bronze in the 1,500m at Beijing 2022.

"I feel really proud,” she said. “I did an amazing job in the 1,000m, I am so proud of that. Also, in the relay, it's amazing we took gold with the team. We were favourites, and I'm just super proud.”

Schulting’s record medal haul in Beijing came four years after she made history at PyeongChang 2018, where her victory in the 1,000m was the Netherlands’ first ever Olympic gold in short-track speed skating, and 10 years after she competed at the Winter YOG Innsbruck 2012.

Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner

Curling, Italy

Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner combined to win Italy’s first ever Olympic curling medal with victory in the mixed doubles event at Beijing 2022.

Mosaner had previously competed at the Winter YOG Innsbruck 2012, winning a silver medal, and was delighted to go one better in Beijing’s famed ‘Ice Cube’ venue, following an 8-5 victory over Norway in the final.

“I won a silver medal in Innsbruck and today a gold medal after ten years is really cool,” he said afterwards.

Constantini, meanwhile, had previously competed at Lillehammer 2016, and the 22-year-old paid tribute to her time at the YOG after becoming the youngest person to win an Olympic gold medal in curling.

“My experience at the Youth Olympic Games was amazing,” she said. “I think it prepares us well as athletes because it's very similar.”

Urša Bogataj

Ski jumping, Slovenia

Ski jumper Ursa Bogataj had never even won a World Cup event before heading to Beijing 2022, but that didn’t stop the 26-year-old from stealing the show and walking away with two Olympic gold medals.

Ten years on from winning silver and bronze medals at the Winter YOG Innsbruck 2012, Bogataj came from behind to win the women’s individual title in Beijing, earning 120.0 points in the final round to leapfrog fellow YOG graduate Katharina Althaus onto the top of the podium. Two days later, she combined with Slovenian team-mates Nika Križnar, Timi Zajc and Peter Prevc to win the first ever Olympic mixed team event.

"I didn't expect this,” said a startled Bogataj. “When I came here, I didn't think this was imaginable. I am happy."

Mathilde Gremaud

Freestyle skiing, Switzerland

Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud recovered from a broken binding and a tough qualification to clinch gold in the women’s slopestyle, with a show-stopping seeing her top the podium ahead of fellow YOG graduates Eileen Gu and Kelly Sildaru. The 22-year-old, who also won big air bronze earlier in the Games to go with the slopestyle silver she won at PyeongChang 2018, had only narrowly made it into the final, qualifying in 12th place, and then broke one of her bindings after slipping off a rail in her opening run. But she bounced back in style, scoring 86.56 points on her second run to become the first freestyle skier to win two Olympic medals in slopestyle.

“I’m really stoked,” she said afterwards. “It’s just insane. I dreamed of this growing up. There are no words.”

Jonna Sundling

Cross-country skiing, Sweden

Sweden’s Jonna Sundling lit up the cross-country course at Beijing 2022, winning a complete set of medals with gold in the sprint, silver in the team sprint and bronze in the 4x5km relay. The 27-year-old dominant performance in the sprint saw her add Olympic gold to her world title, as she claimed victory by a huge margin of 2.88 seconds. Sundling had previously won a silver medal in the sprint event at the Winter YOG Innsbruck 2012.

"It's amazing; I don't think I understand it yet,” she said after her victory in Beijing. “I'm so happy with the gold and my performance."

Liu Shaoang

Short-track speed skating, Hungary

Four years after being part of the short-track relay team that won Hungary’s first ever Winter Olympic title, Liu Shaoang cruised to victory in the men’s 500m at Beijing 2022 to become his country’s first individual champion at the Olympic Winter Games.

“I’m still speechless,” said the 23-year-old after the race. “When I crossed the line, I didn’t have any emotions. I need some time to realise what just happened. I think when I go back home, my life will change again. It’s going to be crazy. But we are here to make history.”

Liu previously competed at the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016, winning a bronze medal in the 1,000m.

Birk Ruud

Freestyle skiing, Norway

As a 13-year-old, Birk Ruud wrote down two goals. One was to become Youth Olympic champion in 2016, and the other was to win Olympic gold in 2022. And now, after topping the big air podium at Beijing 2022, he has achieved both. The freestyle skier, who also won slopestyle gold at the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016, landed a huge switch triple cork 1980 on his first run in the Beijing 2022 big air final to earn 95.75 points, and then followed that with a double cork bio 1800 to clinch gold with a combined total of 187.75. The 21-year-old then went on to finish fifth in slopestyle, but was delighted with his overall performance at the Games.

“I’m super happy with my participation here at the Olympics,” he said. “Of course, I won the gold in big air. That is a dream come true.”

Hwang Dae-heon

Short-track speed skating, Republic of Korea

After winning silver in the 500m at PyeongChang 2018, short-track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon was able to go one better at Beijing 2022, clinching gold in the men’s 1,500m. The 22-year-old’s victory matched his gold medal-winning performance at the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016, where he topped the podium in the 1,000m, and came following a unique final. With an unusually large field of 10 skaters in the final, Hwang had to battle a chaotic field to find his way to the front, but the 22-year-old was able to navigate his way around the track with great poise and composure to clinch the gold.

"It was the most intense race ever," he said afterwards. "Ten is the biggest race I've ever been in. I am really proud of myself. What a beautiful day. It is the greatest of my entire career."

Hwang went on to win silver with his Korean team-mates in the men’s 5,000m relay, while he also set an Olympic record in the heats of the 1,000m.