Beijing 2022 preview for 18 February: Key events not to miss at the Olympic Winter Games (USA)

There are five gold medals to be decided today and USA athletes should feature prominently across another great day of competition at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

There are also some must-watch non-medal events, including the start of the two-woman bobsleigh (20:00*) and the men’s semi-finals in ice hockey (12:10; 21:10), as we run our eye over some of the big events to come today.

People's Republic of China’s Eileen Gu, who was born in the USA, is a global star of women’s freestyle skiing and was the first female rookie to win two gold medals at the Winter X Games. Having claimed gold in big air and silver in slopestyle so far, will she make it to the podium?

Having qualified to the halfpipe final with the best score, no doubts she's the favourite to gold.

But USA’s Hanna Faulhaber is also a prodigious talent and the 17-year-old has been performing strongly in lead-up events on the world stage.

Another USA athlete worth watching in the women’s freeski halfpipe (from 09:30) is Brita Sigourney, who competes at her third successive Olympic Winter Games. Sigourney won the bronze medal in this event at PyeongChang 2018.

Following the Olympic Winter Games debut of women’s monobob on Sunday 13 February and first gold medal on Monday 14 February, Heat 1 and 2 of the two-woman bobsleigh event take place today (20:00; 21:30).

Elana Meyers Taylor is competing at her fourth successive Olympic Winter Games and is looking to add to the two silver medals she won in the two-woman event at PyeongChang 2018 and Sochi 2014.

She will be joined by compatriot and double two-woman bobsleigh Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries and brakewomen Sylvia Hoffman and Kaysha Love.

Humphries and Meyers Taylor will be full of confidence back on