Ten Beijing 2022 Olympic breakout stars: From Ailing (Eileen) Gu to Su Yiming, Kagiyama to Slafkovsky, Shcherbakova to Hall

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games wrapped things up in a carnival of colour on Sunday (20 February) with the Closing Ceremony, but there were plenty of fireworks during the Games too.

Every Olympics gives us young risers and shooting stars who shake up the world order, and Beijing 2022 was no different.

Here are 10 athletes who lit up Beijing including 18-year-old freeski phenom Ailing (Eileen) Gu, snowboard hero Su Yiming, and Juraj Slafkovsky whose goals led Slovakia to their first men's ice hockey medal.

And not forgetting figure skaters Anna Shcherbakova and Kagiyama Yuma who captured the imagination with sparkling Olympic debuts.

Read on for 10 breakout stars from the Beijing 2022 Games.

The Olympics provides a platform like no other to launch a sporting career, but few ignite and go galactic fast as Ailing (Eileen) Gu's has.

At 18, Gu came into the Games under a world of pressure as one of its projected stars but handled it all like a seasoned veteran.

A maturity beyond her years and a talent beyond the reach of her competitors made her the first freestyle skier to win two gold medals at a single Games, and she pocketed a silver as well.

Born in San Francisco but competing for China, Gu transcended her sport of freestyle skiing with Gumania spreading across China and the world.

The woman who went viral just having her lunch in Beijing went on a Douyin (China's original TikTok) live show with megastar Lay Zhang, and when they talked about recording a song together, you could hear the internet creaking.

Eighteen million people watched live at its peak with the video attracting 120 million likes that day.

For Ailing (Eileen) Gu, the journey has only just begun.

"I'm dreaming, I'm crying like a little kid. I feel