Winter Olympics 2018

Image+obtained+through+Google+Commons.

Image obtained through Google Commons.

A total of 92 countries will be competing in PyeongChang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Games’ opening ceremonies started on Feb. 9, and the Olympics will go on until Feb. 25.

As of Feb. 13, Team U.S.A. has three golds, one silver and two bronze and in fifth place with a total of 6 medals. Norway leads with 11 medals, the Netherlands in second, Canada in third and Germany fourth according to SBNation.

243 athletes will be representing Team U.S.A. Favorites such as alpine skiers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin and snowboarder Shaun White are expected to do well this year, but there are many newcomers who show promise.

Seventeen-year-old Chloe Kim is expected to win gold in her sport of snowboarding. History was also made with seventeen-year-old Maame Biney who is the first black woman to qualify for Team USA’s short track speed skating team, according to TIME. Freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy is also the first openly gay male to participate at the Winter Games.

Despite North and South Korea’s relationship, for the opening ceremonies athletes from both countries will walk under one flag in unison. Both countries have agreed to have a joint women’s ice hockey team while the rest of the athletes will be representing their own country, according to the NY Post.

Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi with a number of their athletes testing positive for steroids, uncovered within the past few weeks. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave those who tested positive for doping with a lifetime ban of competing in the Olympics. Further, the entire country of Russia is banned from the 2018 PyeongChang games. The 169 athletes who were tested clean will still be able to participate under the IOC flag, according to Elite Daily. They will wear red and grey outfits and be referred to as the “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”

The countries of Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore will be participating for the first time for the Winter Olympics, according to Elite Daily. The paralympic games will also take place in PyeongChang from March 8 to March 18. The mascot for the Winter Olympics is Soohorang, the white tiger.

The Olympics bring together countries from all over the world in a competitive nature. You can watch the Games online at nbcolympics.com as well as on NBC and NBCSN.