Catalans competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are right around the corner, kicking off on February 4 with another season of excitement on snow and ice. This year's event will be closing on February 20. 

These Games will feature 109 different events in 15 different disciplines of sports. Five of these will feature Catalan athletes. In total, seven Catalans will be competing for honors in China, up from three in the 2018 Games. 

Here you can get to know the competitors from Catalonia participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Alpine skiing

Quim Salarich of the La Molina Club d'Esports arrives at his second Olympic Games in the form of his life. This season alone he has achieved two Top 15 finishes in the World Cup and a podium finish at the European Championships. Salarich will be battling it out in the slalom on February 16. 

Núria Pau, also from the La Molina Club d'Esports, is Catalonia’s second Alpine skier at this Games. She arrives at her first Olympiad recovering from a back injury that has hampered her season so far, but despite this, she has still achieved the necessary results to make it to Beijing. She’ll be competing in the Women’s super-G on February 11. 

Cross-country skiing

Jaume Pueyo, from the CEFUC Urgellet-Cerdanya Cross-country Ski Club, has shown a consistent rise in his game over the past years and has been rewarded with his debut Olympic Games. The 21-year-old is considered one of the brightest emerging talents in Catalan cross-country skiing. On February 8 he will fight in the individual sprint event. 

Snowboard Halfpipe

Queralt Castellet is a veteran of the Winter Olympics in Catalonia, competing at her fifth Olympic Games in China after debuting in Turin in 2006. The Sabadell specialist from the CMET sports club is one of the most decorated winter sports athletes in Catalonia, with a spate of World Cup 1st place finishes to her name, but an Olympic medal is one of the few honors that eludes her. Her best result was 7th in the 2018 games. She’ll have the chance to better that performance on February 9 and 10 in the Women’s halfpipe.

Skeleton

Ander Mirambell is another competitor with a lot of experience heading to this year’s Games. The 38-year-old skeleton racer is taking part in his fourth Olympic event this year. He was the first Catalan to take part in the skeleton event at any Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, where he finished 24th. The men’s skeleton runs take place over February 10 and 11. 

Figure skating

Adrián Díaz and Olivia Smart, two skaters associated with FC Barcelona, round off Catalonia’s participation in Beijing. It’s the first time the pair are competing at a Games together, but Díaz previously took part in the Sochi 2014 Games. The skaters are enjoying some of the best form of their careers to date, and will fancy their chances of a podium finish in China. They’ll compete in the ice dance event on February 4 and 7.