Elation, heartbreak. Success, failure.
Gravity at the Olympics seems to be much heavier than what is found in the rest of the world. And yet, some are able to defy it and ascend to the pinnacle of their sports.
Utah, always punching above its weight to represent Team USA and other nations at the Games, had 19 Olympians come home with medals this time. The Salt Lake Tribune was in Beijing to document the glory or disappointment of the past two-plus weeks.
It’s nearly as Olympian as the athletes to cover a Games. Waking up at 4 a.m. to catch a train to the mountains and battling subzero temperatures to get the perfect shot were only some of the obstacles for Tribune photojournalist Trent Nelson in China. Daily coronavirus testing and constant cybersecurity precautions add to the challenges and rewards of covering a Games as a journalist.
Scroll down to see the best photographs and recap the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Stadium in Beijing on Friday, Feb. 4.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Team USA walks in the parade of athletes.
Utah speedskater Brittany Bowe became the surprise flag-bearer at the Opening Ceremony after bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor was diagnosed with coronavirus early on in the Games.
“To carry the flag,” the Salt Lake City resident said, “is literally the biggest honor of my entire life.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) China's Ahenaer Adake competes in the speedskating women's 3000m on Saturday, Feb. 5.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jaelin Kauf.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jaelin Kauf (USA) competes in women's moguls qualification at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park on Thursday, Feb. 3.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Silver medal winner Jaelin Kauf reacts after her final run on Sunday, Feb. 6.
Jaelin Kauf broke through for an Olympic medal early in the Games with a silver in women’s moguls. Carrying the “big sister vibe” of the team, she turned the fastest runs down the course in the field.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Alexander Hall (USA) warms up for the big air men's final in Beijing on Wednesday, Feb. 9.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The medal winners in the big air men's final, from left: silver medalist Colby Stevenson (USA); gold medalist Birk Ruud (Norway); and bronze medalist Henrik Harlaut (Sweden).
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Colby Stevenson (USA) celebrates his silver medal.
Big air skier Colby Stevenson nearly never made it to Beijing. Six years ago, he went through a major car crash that left him with a fractured skull and months of rehabilitation. Stevenson exhibited that same brand of determination on his way to earning the silver medal in the inaugural Olympic men’s big air event.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nathan Chen reacts after the men’s short program of the figure skating team event at Capital Indoor Stadium on Friday, Feb. 4.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nathan Chen performs his routine in the figure skating men’s free skate program on Thursday, Feb. 10.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nathan Chen performs his routine in the figure skating men’s free skate program on Thursday, Feb. 10.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nathan Chen reacts after his performance in the figure skating men’s free skate program Thursday, Feb. 10.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nathan Chen receives his gold medal for men's individual figure skating at the Beijing Medals Plaza during the 2022 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 10.
Salt Lake City’s Nathan Chen was the gold standard of Utahns in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Capturing gold in the men’s singles event and a yet-to-be-determined medal in the team event, Chen proved to be the star of the Games and cemented his status as the world’s best male figure skater.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) USA’s Kristen Santos, center, takes a fall in the short track speedskating women’s 1000m on Friday, Feb. 11.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Santos, left, was rounding the final lap when she was tripped and crashed into the padding.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kristen Santos leaves the ice after placing fourth.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Erin Jackson (USA) wins the gold medal in the speedskating women's 500m on Sunday, Feb. 13.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Erin Jackson (USA) celebrates winning the gold medal in the speedskating women's 500m on Sunday, Feb. 13.
Salt Lake City’s Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to win a speedskating gold medal, besting the field in the 500-meter race. “It sends a message of, if you follow your heart and passion, you can achieve what you want,” said Ryan Shimabukuro, head coach of the U.S. speedskating squad.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Ashley Caldwell (USA) competes in women's aerials on Monday, Feb. 14.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fanyu Kong (China) lands hard in women's aerials.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Alexander Hall, center, and Nicholas Goepper, left, celebrate their gold and silver medals in men’s freeski slopestyle finals in Zhangjiakou, China, on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skiers in the women's cross-country skiing team sprint in Zhangjiakou, China, on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rosie Brennan, left, and Jessie Diggins embrace at the finish line of the women's cross-country skiing team sprint at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou, China, on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022.
America’s female cross country skiers are now a force to be reckoned with on the world stage, with strong results from Park City’s Rosie Brennan and two medals from Westminster college graduate Jessie Diggins.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Medical staff watch speedskating in Beijing on Thursday, Feb. 17.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Bronze medalist Elana Meyers Taylor, center, embraces German gold medalist Deborah Levi after the 2-woman bobsled Saturday, Feb. 19.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Sunday, Feb. 20.
— Tribune reporter Julie Jag contributed to this story.
