The Winter Olympics in Sochi Are In Full Swing

The Winter Olympics in Sochi Are In Full Swing

The Winter Olympics in Sochi Are In Full Swing

📅11 February 2014, 09:31

Team figure skating and women’s ski jumping are just two of the new sports being featured in the 22nd Winter Olympic Games. Women’s events in particular are highlighted in this year’s Winter Olympics and a dozen new medal events in all are making their first appearance on the slopes and courses in Sochi.

Among the new events are Slope Freestyle, and event where skiers and snowboarders proceed through an open course, jumping and flipping over obstacles along the way to earn points from judges, and Skiing Half-Pipe, an event that has been recognized as exclusively for snowboarding competitors until now.

The changes come after a great deal of market research revealed the games had consistently been losing appeal with younger audiences. But not all decisions to include the new sports have been based on ratings. Female participants in some of the Olympic events had to petition for years, some even bringing forward court cases arguing for their inclusion in 2008, before they were finally given the green light to compete.

European athletes are forecasted to steal the spotlight in events like, biathlon mixed relay, luge team relay, team figure skating and women’s ski jumping, while North American participants are anticipated to excel in events with their roots in the X Games.