excellent performances and great athletes on the field at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Some of them have broken world records, some of them have realized their dreams, and, at the same time, we cannot forget those legendary athletes who have challenged themselves with the Olympic spirit though they didn't win medals this time around.

Claudia Pechstein, born in 1972, is a German speed skater. Pechstein, who will turn 50 on Feb 22, two days after the Beijing 2022 closing ceremony, has become the first-ever woman to compete in eight Winter Olympics (including Beijing Winter Olympics). She won her first Olympics gold in Lillehammer, Norway, 1994, and served as one of Germany's two flagbearers at the opening ceremony this time.

In the women's 3,000m speed skating, she competed against 22-year-old Chinese Ahenaer Adake. Pechstein finished last in the 20-strong field and saw her 20-year Olympic record shattered by Dutch phenomena Irene Schouten, but the five-time gold medalist said she was still delighted.

"I was not too fast, but I smiled when I crossed the finish line because today I've achieved my goal to race in my eighth Olympic Games, and it was important for me," she said.

Simon Ammann, born on June 25, 1981, is a Swiss ski jumper. He is the only ski jumper to have won a golden double in normal hill and large hill individual events at two Olympics (Salt Lake City 2002 and Vancouver 2010). He has participated in the Winter Olympics five times, making his debut at the 1998 Olympics Games in Nagano, Japan, where he finished 35th.

He finished 25th in both the normal hill and large hill individual events at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Shaun Roger White, born on Sept 3, 1986, is an American former professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a five-time Olympian and a three-time Olympic gold medalist in halfpipe snowboarding. White has participated in five Winter Olympics in his career. At the 2006, 2010, and 2018 Winter Olympics, White won gold in the snowboard halfpipe event. White finished fourth at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the halfpipe event.

At the 2022 Winter Oympics, although he wanted to do his best by performing two 1440s during his final run, he fell while attempting his second double cork 1440. Despite the fall, everyone cheered for the snowboarding legend at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou as he stood back up and continued down the halfpipe.

"Sliding on my back, I was thinking, this isn't how I wanted it to go. You don't always get what you want, but I have to be thankful for everything I do have and what I have gotten in my career," said White, who finished in fourth place.

As the snowboarder who holds the world record for the most X-Games gold medals and most Olympic gold medals, White has been the inspiration for almost all the younger generation of snowboarders.

Liu Jiayu, born on Sept 17, 1992, is a Chinese snowboarder. She has competed in four Winter Olympic Games and won a silver medal at PyeongChang 2018.

At 2022 Winter Olympics, she slipped in her first two runs but contributed a smooth performance in the final run to pocket 73.50 points, finishing eighth.

"It was very positive to do this contest in China and let everybody know that China has not just summer but winter elements and share winter sports with everybody, and to show more Chinese and the outside world how fun these sports are," Liu said.

"It can also show more Chinese and the outside world how much fun these sports are."

Hanyu Yuzuru, born on Dec 7, 1994, is a Japanese figure skater. He has participated in Winter Olympics in 2014, 2018 and 2022, and is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018).

At 2022 Winter Olympics, in the free skate, he fell twice in his first two opening jumps, a quadruple Axel and a quad Salchow. His quad Axel attempt is the first that was not downgraded to triple Axel. Other than these two mistakes, he delivered a clean skate, getting 188.06 points-good enough for third place in the free skate but fourth overall. He could only manage eighth with 95.15 points in the short program after missing a quad salchow near the start of his routine.

"I didn't feel anything bad until takeoff. When I took off, I was under some hole, maybe [caused by] some other skater's toe [loop] or flip or something," said Hanyu.

Source:China Daily