By Nitin Chandran

The Winter Olympics are nearly upon us and the torch is set to shine brighter beginning February 9^th. We decided to do a brief run through of the 2018 edition of the games for all you Olympic enthusiasts out there.

The Host: Pyeongchang just about warded off generous bids from Munich and Annecy to come out on top, earning them the right to entertain some of the world’s best winter athletes. The South Korean state does bring some experience to the table, having successfully hosted the ’88 Seoul Olympics.

The Opening Ceremony: The much-awaited cultural extravaganza will be held at the newly-constructed Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium that can easily accommodate 35,000 pairs of eager eyes.

The Closing Ceremony: The games will come to a close at the same venue on the 25^th of February.

What’s New This Time Around: The games feature four additional events (Curling, Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding & Speed Skating) taking the total winnable medals to an all-time high tally of 102.

Top Medal Winners: Norway and the USA are two most successful countries in the games with Canada and Germany hot on their heels.

The Mascot: The white tiger which symbolizes trust and inner fortitude.

Events & Venues:

1. Biathlon

The various Biathlon fixtures will take place at the luxurious InterContinental Alpensia Pyeongchang Resort’s highly-rated Alpensia Biathlon Center.

Dates: Feb 10^th-Feb 23^rd

Athletes to watch out for:

Women- Darya Domracheva, Laura Dahlmeir, Nadezha Skardino, Veronika Vítková.

Men- Emil Hegle Svendsen, Tarjei Boe, Erik Lesser, Jaroslav Soukup.

2. Short Track Speed Skating

Built specifically for the games, the 12,000-seater Gangneung Ice Arena will host all the Short Track Speed Skating competitions.

Dates: Feb 13^th-Feb 22^nd

Athletes to watch out for:

Women–Marianne St-Gelais, Park Seung-hi, Shim Suk-hee, Valerie Maltais

Men–Charles Hamelin, Apolo Ohno, J.R. Celski, Viktor Ahn

3. Speed Skating

Constructed in 2013, the Gangneung Oval is considered to be one of the world’s finest speed skating facilities and is the discipline’s designated venue.

Dates: Feb 11^th-24^th

Athletes to watch out for:

Women–Ireen Wüst, Martina Sablikova, Lee Song-hwa

Men–Sven Kramer, Jan Blokhuijsen, Ronald Mulder, Mark Tuitert

4. Alpine Skiing

Alpine Skiing events will be shared between the Jeongseon Alpine center and the Yongpyong Alpine Centre.

Dates: Feb 12^th-24^th

Athletes to watch out for:

Women–Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shriffin, Viktoria Rebensburg, Lara Gut

Men–Marcel Hirscher, Aksel Lund Svindal, Alexis Pinturault, Ted Ligety

5. Freestyle Skiing & Snowboarding

The Phoenix Snow Park will be hosting both freestyle skiing and snowboarding events.

Freestyle Skiing Dates- Feb 11^th-Feb 23^rd

Snowboarding Dates- Feb 11^th-Feb 24^th

Athletes to watch out for:

Women–Lacy Schnoor, Chloe Dufour-Lapointe, Karin Huttary, Assoli Slivets

Men–Torin Yater-Wallace, Simon Dumont, Jon Olsson, Bobby Brown

6. Cross-Country Skiing

The various Cross-Country Skiing fixtures will take place at the luxurious InterContinental Alpensia Pyeongchang Resort’s ultra-modern Alpensia Cross-Country Center.

Dates: Feb 11^th-Feb 25^th

Athletes to watch out for:

Women–Marit Bjorgen, Kikkan Randall, Therese Johaug, Charlotte Kalla

Men–Alex Harvey, Petter Northug, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Dario Cologna

7. Ski Jumping

Events related to the discipline will be held at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Center that comes equipped with dual slopes and a maximum seating capacity of 8500.

Dates: Feb 12^th-Feb 19^th

Athletes to watch out for:

Women–Maren Lundby, Katharina Althaus, Carina Vogt, Sara Takanashi

Men–Kamil Stoch, Andreas Stjernen, Junshiro Kobayashi, Stefan Kraft

8. Curling

Curling competitions will be held at the Olympic Mode Gangneung Curling Center.

Dates: Feb 9^th–Feb 25^th

Athletes to watch out for:

Women–Jennifer Jones, Eve Muirhead, Mirjam Ott, Rachel Homan

Men–John Morris, Thomas Ulsrud, David Murdoch, Ben Hebert

9. Ice Hockey

A majority of the matches will be conducted at the 10,000-seater Gangneung Hockey Center while some of the preliminary rounds are scheduled to take place at the Kwandong Hockey Center.

Dates: Feb 21^st–Feb 25^th

Teams to watch out for:

Women–USA, Canada, Finland, Germany

Men–Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland

10. Luge, Skeleton & Bobsleigh

These events will be held at the state-of-the-art Alpensia Sliding Center.

Luge Dates: Feb 7^th–Feb 15^th

Skeleton Dates: Feb 12^th–Feb 17^th

Bobsleigh Dates: Feb 19^th–Feb 25^th

Athletes to watch our for:

Women–Erin Hamlin, Alex Gough, Katie Uhlaender, Kaillie Humphries

Men–Armin Zoggeler, Martins Dukurs

11. Figure Skating

The world’s most skillful figure skaters will battle it out at the Gangneung Ice Arena for ultimate glory.

Dates: Feb 11^th–Feb 25^th

Athletes to watch out for:

Women–Kim Yuna, Ashley Wagner, Tessa Virtue, Aliona Savchenko

Men–Scott Moir, Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez

12. Nordic Combined

The honor of hosting the Nordic Combined events will be shared between the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center and Alpensia Ski Jumping Center.

Dates: Feb 14^th, Feb 20^th, Feb 22^th

Athletes to watch out for:

Bryan Fletcher, Akito Watabe, Jan Schmid, Eric Frenzel, Magnus Moan

The next installment of this mega-event will be held at Beijing, who also played host to the 2008 Olympic Games that is fondly etched in our memories due to the exploits of the all-conquering Usain Bolt.