Topend Sports Newsletter: 7 Feb 2018

I don't know if it is just me, but these Winter Olympics have come up very quickly, starting in just two days. It might be because it is hard to get your head around a major winter sports event when sweltering in the Australian summer heat. To get up to speed on the Winter Olympics I'm considering a movie marathon of I Tonya, Eddie the Eagle, Cool Runnings and Miracle on Ice. Alternatively, there is heaps of information about the Winter Olympics on my website Topend Sports.

There are no new sports for the 2018 Winter Olympics although four new disciplines in existing sports have been introduced in Pyeongchang: big-air snowboarding, mass-start speed skating, mixed-team alpine skiing and mixed-doubles curling. Look out for them, though maybe not the curling, as it was voted the least favorite Winter Olympic Sport. Who is going to win? There are a few Olympic medal predictions, which have generally forecast Norway or Germany to win the most medals, though there is uncertainty because of the banning of many Russian athletes.

There are six countries making their debut: Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore, and a team called Olympic Athletes from Russia. Also look out for Cool Runnings Mark II, the female Jamaican bobsled team trying to replicate the notoriety of their male compatriates from 1988 (yes it really was that long ago), and they will be up against a team from Nigeria, the first-ever bobsled team from Africa!

There is no doubt there is going to be drama on and off the ice and snow, let's hope that the north and south of Korea keep the peace, the Russians race cleanly, and that some amazing sporting performance is the inspiration for another Winter Olympics movie.

Quote

"If you dream and you allow yourself to dream you can do anything"
(Clara Hughes, Canadian cyclist and speedskater, the only person to have won multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Games)

RELATED CONTENT on Topend Sports

There is a large range of Winter Olympic Games content on Topend Sports, here are just some of the latest additions.

• Feb 9-25 Winter Olympics Pyeongchang, South Korea.
• Feb 28 - Mar 4 Cycling World Track Championships, The Netherlands.
• Mar 9-18 Winter Paralympics Pyeongchang, South Korea.
• Apr 5-8 USA Golf Masters Augusta, USA.
• Apr 4-15 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia.