At the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games here on Sunday evening, mayors of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo accepted the Olympic flag, marking the start of the countdown to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Before being selected to co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo did not have a lot in common.
Since the first mascot for the Winter Olympic Games was created for the 1968 Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France, mascots for the Winter Games have always attracted much attention worldwide. Of all the different animals, the bear has appeared the most times as a mascot during previous Winter Games.
At the National Ski Jumping Center, located in the Zhangjiakou competition zone for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, lines of pine trees can be seen planted at intervals along the ski slopes. Why are there pine branches along the skiing tracks? According to Wang Jingxian, venue and infrastructure manager of the Guyangshu venue cluster under the venue planning and construction department of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee, it is a traditional practice to plant pine branches alongside the skiing tracks when building ski jumping venues.
Ice hockey is one of the most ferocious competitions to be held during the Winter Olympics. Players must wear protective gear during the game, and face a high risk of suffering a mouth, tooth or jaw injury, because the ice hockey puck, which is made of solid vulcanized rubber, has a maximum speed of over 180km/h, and players may move at a speed over 50 km/h.
