Winter Olympics 2022 LIVE: Team GB’s Jen Dodds and Bruce Moat beat Canada in curling

LIVE – Updated at 04:29

The second day of the 24th edition of the Winter Olympics in Beijing kicked off with mixed doubles curling, with Team GB’s Jen Dodds and Bruce Moat beating Canada’s Rachel Homan and John Morris.

Team USA lost 8-4 to Italy in the second mixed doubles curling result of the day, while China and Sweden beat Australia and the Czech Republic respectively.

Dodds and Moat will return to the ice later in the day to take on Switzerland, competing the initial round-robin phase against some of their biggest medal rivals.

Freestyle skiing will also get underway with moguls qualification runs in which Team GB’s Leonie and Makayla Gerken Schofield will become the first British sisters to compete in the same event at the games. Will Feneley will go in the mens events.

The women’s ice hockey competition also gets underway with heavyweights Canada facing Switzerland, and the United States, who won gold against their neighbour in 2018, taking on Finland.

The opening ceremony takes place on Friday 4 February.

Beijing 2022 is the most gender-balanced Winter Games to date with women accounting for around 45 per cent of athletes, according to the International Olympic Committee.

It has been a long road to equality since the Winter Olympics Games in 1924, when women were first allowed to compete. There were, however, only 11 women among the 250 athletes and were allowed to participate in figure skating.

While women began participating in Olympics since Paris 1900 Olympics Games, it was largely held that winter sports were far too dangerous for women, reported South China Morning Post.

Beijing 2022 are the most gender-balanced Olympic Winter Games in history!

There are a total of 12 mixed-team events at #Beijing2022 (11