It seems to have snuck up on all of us, but the 2022 Winter Olympics are here.
Taking place just a few months after the pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, Beijing 2022 shifts the world's focus to the top cold-weather athletes on the planet. Canada can boast a number of such elite athletes, and will pull in enough medals to challenge for superiority among the 91 nations taking part in the Games.
There will be some surprises, both positive and negative, throughout the course of the Games. But some athletes seem destined for the podium this year.
Here are five of Canada's top medal hopefuls:
Mikaël Kingsbury (Moguls)
It's fitting that we lead off with a man whose name contains the word "King" in it, as Kingsbury rules his sport like no one else in Beijing.
The 29-year-old is the reigning Olympic champion in men's moguls and is the most prolific competitor in the sport's history. The holder of nine straight World Cup titles (in moguls and overall), Kingsbury enters the Olympics as the two-time defending world champion in moguls and dual moguls. It's hard to come up with a more dominant current athlete in his discipline than the Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec native, and Kingsbury is a virtual lock to reach his third straight Olympic podium.
Canada women's hockey team
As usual on the world stage, Canada's women lead the way.
The hockey team is one half of the longest-running rivalry in winter sports — their battles with the United States have been ongoing since the first women's World Championships in 1990. The teams almost always finish first and second in whatever competition they're playing in, and the outlook for Beijing 2022 is another meeting in the gold medal final.
Canada's the defending world champion, while the Americans won gold at PyeongChang 2018. Odds are pretty good that they'll go 1-2 in Beijing, but in what order?
Mark McMorris (Snowboarding)
Will this be the year McMorris tops the Olympic podium?
The 28-year-old enters the competition having captured bronze in Slopestyle in 2014 and 2018, but McMorris heads to Beijing the reigning world champion in Big Air. He'll compete in both events, and, given that he's seen X Games and world championship success in both disciplines, he's a good shot to claim more than one medal during these Games.
But while the medals are nice, McMorris says that he's still having fun after more than a decade competing at the highest levels.
“I like the feeling it brings,” McMorris said recently. “I still feel like I’m progressing, so that keeps me coming back. I’m having fun, I’m pushing myself, I feel like I’m probably riding better than I ever have and at a higher level than I ever have, so I am really enjoying it."
Kim Boutin (Short track speed skating)
A triple medallist in PyeongChang and Canada's closing ceremony flag-bearer from those Games, Boutin is back for more hardware.
The 27-year-old is the world record holder at the 500m event, and she enters the Beijing Games as a medal threat at 500m, 1000m, and 1500m — the three distances she medalled four years ago. Of course, a short track can be a minefield at the best of times, but Boutin is as well-positioned as anyone to succeed in the frenzied sport.
After a brief step away in 2021, Boutin's ready to reclaim her place on the podium.
Rachel Homan & John Morris (Mixed doubles curling)
Canada loves its curling, and the results on the world stage reflect that passion.
Morris stands as the man to beat in the relatively new Olympic event as he formed one half of the inaugural gold medal-winning team (with Kaitlyn Lawes) four years ago. This time he's got 32-year-old veteran Homan as his partner, and there will be no drop-off in quality as Homan boasts multiple world championship podium finishes as a skip.
Morris, meanwhile, is looking for his third Olympic gold after topping the podium in 2018 and on home ice at Vancouver 2010 (as part of Kevin Martin's Canadian men's team). While he achieved success with Lawes in PyeongChang, his longtime family friend Homan started competing within mixed doubles — until Homan had to drop out of their partnership to focus on the women's team in those same Games.
Now reunited in Beijing, Homan and Morris look to finish what they started years earlier.
“Being named to the Olympic team is phenomenal, but then to be able to do it with someone you’ve known your whole life, it’s just another amazing feeling,” Homan said. “It’s just so cool to know John and watch his career and see how talented and how amazing an athlete he is. It doesn’t matter who he curls with, he’s always in playoffs, always in finals. He just brings the best out of his teammates. It’s just amazing to be able to go to Beijing with a lifelong friend.”