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…

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.

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.”

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