All the Aussies in the Winter Olympics, our best bets for medals, and the one event where we might surprise the world

This Friday marks the beginning of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, and Australia has a real opportunity to bring home a record number of medals from the competition.

With 44 athletes competing in a total of ten different events, Australia has sent the third-largest Winter Olympics team it has ever sent to China.

With 23 female athletes, this is Australia's most robust showing at any Winter Games in the nation's history of participating in the event.

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The number of gold, silver, and bronze medals that Australia took home from the Winter Olympics is evenly distributed across all three categories.

Because Australia has a good chance of winning multiple medals in 2022 by itself, there is reason to believe that this team could be the best that the country has ever fielded.

In this article, we take a look at the Australian national team and analyze each potential medal win for the country.

ALPINE SKIING

Aussies: Greta Small, Katie Parker, Madi Hoffmann, Louis Muhlen-Schulte

Medal hopes: Slim

Greta Small is participating in the Olympics for the third time despite having suffered multiple ACL injuries. In the meantime, Katie Parker, Madi Hoffmann, and Louis Muhlen-Schulte are all making their first appearances in slalom and giant slalom competitions, respectively. It is not anticipated that any will place in the top three.

BOBSLEIGH

Aussies: Bree Walker, Kiara Reddingius

Medal hopes: Outside podium chance

Both Bree Walker and Kiara Reddingius are making their first appearances, but both have shown remarkable growth in a relatively short period of time to position themselves as a dark horse contender for a place on the podium.

Walker is especially dangerous in the monobob, where she is currently ranked fifth in the world despite the fact that she gave up her career as a 400-meter hurdler in order to compete in bobsled. She competed in seven races during the previous season and won one gold medal, three silver medals, and one bronze medal, demonstrating that she is more than capable of competing on an equal level with the European heavyweights.

Additionally, she will be the pilot in the two-person event alongside Reddingius, who will be the brakewoman. Recently, the pair has achieved two top-ten finishes in World Cup competition.

Sliding is the only Olympic sport in which Australia has never won a medal for Australia.

Everyone says Australia has no chance of being successful, but why shouldn't it be? " Walker said

"I can't wait to show what Australia's bobsledders are capable of doing in Beijing. We're all humans, and there's no difference between us and the athletes from the countries that have large athletic programs. ”

SKIING IN THE CROSS-COUNTRY

Jessica Yeaton, Casey Wright, Phillip Bellingham, Lars Young Vik, Seve de Campo, and Hugo Hinckfuss are all members of the Australian national team.

Medal hopes: Slim

This six-person Australian cross-country skiing team is tied for the record for most people to compete at one time.

It is a competition that is typically won by Norway, and the Australians aren't considered to have any chance of taking home a medal due to the fact that it is held in Norway.

CURLING

Aussies: Tahli Gill, Dean Hewitt

Medal hopes: Slim

Since curling was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1988, Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt will be the first athletes from Australia to compete in the sport.

They qualified for the mixed doubles event by winning all seven of their matches in December, and now they will compete in the event.

Gill and Hewitt enter the Games ranked 14th in the world, and in order to have any chance of winning a medal, they will need to continue the momentum they gained during their qualifying run.

AERIALS

Aussies: Danielle Scott, Gabi Ash, Laura Peel

There is a possibility that Peel will win the gold medal, and Scott has a good chance of finishing in the top three.

In the past, Australia's best showing in the Aerials competition came in the form of two gold medals, which were earned by Alisa Camplin (2002) and Lydia Lassila (2010).

It's possible that Laura Peel is the third

She is considered to have a good chance of winning a medal, and she comes into these Games in outstanding form after having won the world championship in 2021. At the Deer Valley Aerials World Cup, which took place a month ago, she won with an exceptional score of 118, crushing all of her competitors in the process. 05

In addition, while Peel was training for the Olympics, she became only the third woman in history to successfully land a quadruple twisting triple backflip.

In addition, Danielle Scott, who is competing in her third Olympics, is thought to be in strong contention for a medal.

MOGULS

Jakara Anthony, Sophie Ash, Taylah O'Neill, Britt Cox, Matt Graham, James Matheson, Brodie Summers, and Cooper Woods are all athletes representing Australia in this competition.

There is a good possibility that (Cox, Anthony, Graham, and Summers) will finish on the podium.

In moguls, Australia has already amassed a collection of three medals, including one gold, and looks to add to that haul at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The country is sending the maximum number of eight athletes in the moguls event to Beijing and has a number of different chances to place on the podium.

Britt Cox has finished fifth in both 2014 and 2018, and she is now on her fourth team. She is hoping to finally reach the podium, which she has come so close to reaching up to this point.

In 2018, Jakara Anthony finished in fourth place, just missing out on the podium. She was only 19 years old at the time. She enters the Games in top form, having gained four more years of experience since the last time they were held, and is currently ranked third in the women's World Cup standings.

After finishing in second place in the men's competition in PyeongChang, Matt Graham is hoping to improve his standing in Beijing. Despite this, he suffered a broken collar bone in December, and he has only just recently started working out again. Despite this, he finished the 2020-21 campaign ranked first overall. 1, so it shouldn't be disregarded as impossible.

Brodie Summers, on the other hand, is coming off of his best World Cup mogul season, in which he finished fifth overall.

SKI-CROSS

Aussies: Sami Kennedy-Sim

Medal hopes: Slim

Sami Kennedy-Sim is competing in her third Winter Olympics. She previously competed in Sochi in 2014 and PyeongChang in 2018, where she finished in eighth place. Despite having recently suffered two finishes in the top 20 at the World Cup, Kennedy-Sim is coming back from an injury to her back.

FREESKI

Aussies: Abi Harrigan

Medal hopes: Slim

At the 2021 World Championships, Abi Harrigan finished in 18th place, so she is not considered to be a genuine chance for Australia to win a medal. Harrigan, who is only 19 years old, is just getting his feet wet, so this is just the beginning.

LUGE

Aussies: Alex Ferlazzo

Medal hopes: Slim

Alex Ferlazzo, a member of the Australian team who is currently competing in his third consecutive Winter Olympics, is now a seasoned veteran. In 2018, he finished in 28th place, which is Australia's best ever result in the luge. More recently, he was sidelined from competition for sixteen months due to the pandemic, and as a result, he is not considered a medal hope.

SKATING ON A SHORT TRACK

Brendan Corey, an Australian

Medal hopes: Outside podium chance

Twenty years after Steven Bradbury won the gold medal in speed skating at the Olympic Games in Calgary, Brendan Corey will compete in Beijing. Corey, who is making his first appearance, is currently ranked 11th in the world and has a respectable fifth-place finish to his name from a World Cup competition so far this season. Although he will require some good fortune to be successful, he has demonstrated that on his best day he can compete with the best.

FIGURE SKATING

Aussies: Kailani Craine, Brendan Kerry

Medal hopes: Slim

Even though Brendan Kerry is not expected to medal in Beijing, he comes into the competition in the best form of his career. He recently achieved his personal best in the short-program free skate, and he is the only Australian to ever complete two distinct quadruple jumps in competition.

At her second Olympic Winter Games, Kailani Craine is going to compete in the women's singles event. She earned a spot by finishing seventh overall at the Nebelhorn Trophy in 2021.

SKELETON

Aussies: Jackie Narracott, Nick Timmings

Medal hopes: Outside podium chance (Narracott)

Jackie Narracott may have only finished 16th in PyeongChang, but she is in blistering form heading into Beijing. Narracott took first place in Australia's first ever skeleton World Cup event and broke the St. Moritz track record with her blistering 1:08 performance just one month ago. 72 Narracott, whose previous best finish at a World Cup event was seventh place, has had a breakthrough performance by winning the gold medal. Don't write her off just yet.

Nick Timmings has also had some recent success, as he triumphed at the IBSF North American Cup competition held in Lake Placid.

CROSS-COUNTRY SNOWBOARDING

Aussies: Josie Baff, Cam Bolton, Belle Brockhoff, Adam Dickson, Jarryd Hughes, Adam Lambert

Gold medal possibilities for Brockhoff and Hughes are among the medal aspirations.

Australia has been successful in snowboarding at each of the last three Olympic Games, bringing home medals each time.

In the mixed team snowboard cross competition at the 2021 World Championships, Belle Brockhoff and Jarryd Hughes took first place. Fortunately for the pair, that competition will be making its debut at the Olympics, which provides Australia with a genuine opportunity to win a gold medal.

Having spent many years at or near the top of the world rankings, Brockhoff will compete in the individual women's snowboard cross competition with the goal of winning a medal. Despite having an ACL injury, she was eliminated in the semi-finals of the competition in PyeongChang. However, at the 2021 World Championships, she finished in fourth place.

In other news, there will be a look into the future provided by Josie Baff, who brought home Australia's first-ever gold medal at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games.

In the men's snowboard cross competition, after Pierre Vaultier, the winner of the previous two Games, announced his retirement, there is a chance that Hughes will take home the gold. Hughes finished in second place in 2018, but he had to undergo surgery in late 2021, which interfered with his preparation.

"What makes for a good story if there isn't at least a little bit of conflict?" " Hughes said

"At the beginning of the Olympic Games, you will find me standing there with no explanations whatsoever," I have promised myself. ”

SNOWBOARD HALFPIPE

Emily Arthur, Valentino Guseli, and Scotty James are all from Australia.

Medal expectations: a shot at the gold medal for James

As Scotty James renews his halfpipe battle against Shaun White, the three-time gold medalist for the United States, all eyes will be on Scotty James here. Despite the fact that White has gotten the better of him in the past, James made a significant statement when he won the X-Games gold medal in Aspen last month. There, he defeated Ayumu Hirano of Japan, who is a two-time silver medalist and who, along with White and James, will complete an epic three-way battle in Beijing. White is competing in his fourth Olympics, and James is competing in his third.

SNOWBOARDING with a Sloping Style and Lots of Air

Tess Coady and Matt Cox are both Australians.

Medal hopes: Podium chance (Coady), outside podium chance (Cox)

Tess Cody is in excellent shape coming into this competition, having won a bronze medal in slopestyle at the 2021 World Championship and then taking first place at the Laax Open in January. As a result of her fifth-place finish in the big air competition at the 2021 World Championships, she also has a remote chance of winning this event.

After finishing in tenth place at the 2021 World Championships, Matt Cox's chances of winning big air are a little bit less certain.

His strong performance in slopestyle at the end of the previous season earned him a second-place finish at an event hosted by the International Ski Federation at Perisher Valley in August.

AUSTRALIA'S WINTER OLYMPICS MEDAL HISTORY

1994: One bronze

1998: One bronze

2002: Two gold

2006: One bronze and one gold medal

Three golds and one silver for 2010:

Three medals in 2014: two silver and one bronze

Three medals in 2018, two silver and one bronze

Overall, there are five bronze medals, five silver medals, and five golf medals.