The 2022 Winter Olympics which is the first Winter Olympic Games in China, the second overall Olympics in China, and the last of three consecutive Olympics in East Asia (after the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan) will commence today in Beijing.
Beijing will be the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
The four existing indoor venues originally constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics will be used while the Beijing National Stadium will again host the opening and closing ceremonies.
A total of 2,871 athletes made up of 1,581 male and 1, 290 female athletes from 91 countries will feature in 109 events in seven sports at the games to be declared open by the President of China, Xi Jiping.
Meanwhile, Nigeria will be making a second appearance at the games after making her debut in 2018 at the Pyeongyang, South Korea, Winter Olympics.
For the first time in history, Nigeria will field a cross-country skier named Samuel Ikpefan at the games in Beijing.
Samuel Ikpefan, born in Annemasse in the French Alps and activated his dual nationality switch in 2016 will be the first Nigerian skier to qualify for the Olympics and the first male athlete to make the Games.
In a similar vein, Dr. Seun Adigun will be contesting into the IOC Athletes’ Commission at the Games.
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