With hours to go before the opening ceremony starts, the 2022 Winter Olympics has already notched its first win.
Because who wants to snooze in a cardboard bed when you can score a high-tech sleeper complete with several settings including Zero-G mode? "It's as if the Beijing organizing committee said, 'How can we just absolutely just one-up Tokyo?'" luge athlete Summer Britcher joked in a TikTok video from her Olympic Village digs.
And with that dispatch...let the games begin! No, not the competitions that end with podiums and medals and elegant nosegays of flowers, but rather the pastime we all indulge in every two years of gleaning every tiny factoid about athletes and sports we may never have even heard of before staying up all night to watch them all play out. Important PSA: Don't sleep on skeleton, which has daredevils racing headfirst down an icy track on the smallest of sleds.
So as the likes of Nathan Chen, Mikaela Shiffrin and Chloe Kim prepare to take the ice, slopes and halfpipe, it's time for you to hit the books and learn about their pre-game rituals, favorite breakfasts and their dreams for the future.
Consider this E! News' crash course on how to be the Winter Olympics' No. 1 fans. There are no medals to be won, but the pride lasts forever. So, game on!
The Basics: Dubbed a once-in-a-generation athlete, the U.S.'s most decorated alpine skier is a gold medal threat in every event—even if the 26-year-old hasn't quite determined which ones will see her hurtling down the mountains outside Beijing. In addition to three World Cup championships, the six-time world champion from Colorado collected gold in slalom in 2014, and a gold and silver for giant slalom and alpine combined in 2018.
On The Menu: Her go-to breakfast is "fried eggs and toast with butter and jam. Maybe some avocado. Orange Juice diluted with water," she shared with NBC. "Lunch: Turkey sandwich with Swiss cheese and kosher dill pickles on wheat or rye bread. Dinner: Barilla Protein+ with a garlicky tomato-basil sauce, chicken or steak, and salad."
Next Chapter: Asked what she would do if she weren't an Olympian, Shiffrin told NBC she'd probably have gone to college: "I haven't really had a chance to explore my other passions in life, but I always loved science. I like interior design, I like fashion and hair styling, I love the outdoors, I like food, and I like helping people. I don't know where that would lead me, but I'm sure there are other purposes for me besides skiing."
The Basics: The youngest woman to win a gold medal in snowboarding, the 21-year-old halfpipe specialist from California (a fan favorite, thanks to tweets like her mid-competition confession that she was "hangry") is returning for her second Olympics with no expectations. "There have been times I've had an off day, like didn't even make the podium or didn't win like everyone expects me to," she said in a recent interview with Kevin Hart. "But then my really good friend will go and win the damn contest and that's sick."
Secret Weapon: Before leaving his job to help her pursue her dreams, dad Jong Jin Kim "was a mechanical engineer, and he really knew physics and how gravity works. But sometimes he would be a little…off," she shared with Vogue of his snowboard tutorials that started when she was 4. "In off-season training, we'd go to a park and he'd strap a snowboard on my feet, and I would go down the slide and learn how to do tricks."
Live-in Love: Though she shares a place in L.A. with former pro skateboarder Evan Berle, she told The New York Times, "I'd like to purchase a ranch. Have chickens, little pigs." Or perhaps some goats (Berle's wish) and parrots, she continued, "Oh, and I love donkeys."
The Basics: Becoming the first person to land six quads in one program and the first to land eight quads in one competition earned the Salt Lake City-raised figure skater his "Quad King" nickname. But it's the fact that he has the world's highest free skate technical and program score that will make the 22-year-old Olympian a tour de force in China.
Pre-Game Ritual: "I always have to put my left skate on first," he confessed to Us Weekly, revealing he gets pumped by listening to Eminem.
Dual-Sport Athlete: Inspired by his hockey-playing older brothers, the longtime ballet dancer initially dreamed of being a goalie. As he told Vogue, "I thought the helmet was super sick."
The Basics: The self-described "free-spirit" from South Lake Tahoe, Calif., has soared high above the women's slopestyle competition for more than a decade, collecting gold in both Russia and South Korea to become the first female snowboarder to claim the Olympics' top spot more than once.
Self-Care Situation: Asked how she takes care of her physical and mental health while training, Anderson told E! News, "I love my dōTERRA essential oils, I bring my diffuser with me. I bring hot chocolate and things like that, a lot of things that help you take care of yourself." The newly engaged athlete also focuses on "taking things one day at a time," she continued. "Keep your mind healthy and your spirit happy and we're all good!"
Get-Pumped Playlist: "Pretty much any hip-hop," she told E! News. "Lately, I have been liking the Gunna album."
The Basics: Before retiring following his fifth and final Olympics, the halfpipe wunderkind once known as The Flying Tomato is hoping to nab a fourth gold medal. "I'm not, like, going to just hand it over," the 35-year-old San Diego native told The Washington Post. "I'm not going to walk away. I'm going to give it everything I have at this Olympics. It's my title to defend."
No. 1 Fan: "I am really excited for him," girlfriend of two years Nina Dobrev said on E!'s Daily Pop. "Just to get into the Olympics at all is one of the hugest accomplishments, let alone to get in five times. I'm so excited. I'm so proud of him."
Two Sport Athlete: Of his 23 X Games medals, five are in skateboarding. "I think that's the best part of life. You don't have to stick to one lane," he explained to E! News. "What's your passion and what are you into? Just because you're creative in one area doesn't mean you can't transcend other things."
The Basics: When the 30-year-old Minnesota native sailed across the finish line in South Korea in a come-from-behind victory, she and team sprint freestyle partner Kikkan Randall claimed the first-ever gold medal for U.S. cross-country skiing and first of any hue for an American woman. In Beijing, she could compete in up to six events.
Where Her Medal Lives: "I haven't looked at my Olympic medal in a long time," she revealed to Sports Illustrated. "It lives in my parents' basement."
Post-Games Plans: "In April of 2020, I got engaged to my long time boyfriend, Wade Poplawski, a Canadian who came to the States to play hockey and stayed in Boston to work," she shared with NBC. "We are planning our wedding for May 2022!"
The Basics: U.S. Hockey's unquestioned leader is making her fourth trip to the Olympics after nabbing gold in 2018 and becoming the all-time goal scoring leader in women's hockey world championships history. Wearing #21 as a tribute to former captain Cammi Granato, the Idaho native, 32, also has the number tattooed on her arm.
Four-Legged Friends: "They are everything," she gushed to NBC of English bulldogs Bane and Baloo. "I love them so much. Wonderful companions to come home to after a hard training day—put a smile on my face. They are so silly and have great personalities."
Post-Game Treat: To sate a sweet tooth, she told NBC, "I keep a Hershey's almond milk chocolate bar for after the game when I get back to the hotel."
The Basics: As the country's youngest-ever national champion (at age 13) and the first U.S. woman to land a quad in competition, the 16-year-old Olympics newbie from California has the greatest shot at earning Team USA its first women's singles figure skating gold since 2005.
High Praise: Bronze medalist Adam Rippon told Business Insider the teen has the potential to become the "Simone Biles of figure skating" while two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan raved in her TIME 100 writeup, "I will be living vicariously through her as I watch her life and skating mature. As my sister said, Alysa really is the future of figure skating."
Pre-Game Ritual: "I've been doing it since when I was younger. It's, like, if I don't do it, I'm like, 'Oh no, I'm gonna do bad,'" Liu confessed to Jimmy Fallon. "You jump up three times, land on your right leg...and then do it two more times."
The Basics: Fifteen years after she began toting her signature pink snowboard to the slopes near her SoCal home, the 21-year-old halfpipe specialist is set to make her Olympics return. Though she placed 12th in South Korea, she's pocketed two medals apiece at the world championships and the X Games.
Dual-Sport Athlete: "I grew up playing and doing all different kind of sports," she detailed to NBC. "But soccer was my most competitive, alongside snowboarding. I loved playing soccer, I played club till I was 16 and then had to pick between soccer and snowboarding."
Pre-Game Ritual: "I ALWAYS watch The Office before any comps."
The Basics: A decade-long partnership has brought the ice dancers from Michigan (Hubbell, 30) and Connecticut (Donohue, 31) three national titles, three World Championship medals and a fourth-place finish in South Korea. But they're hoping to claim a spot on the podium in their final Games.
Cutting Edge, Anyone?: Paired professionally in 2011 when Hubbell's previous partner, older brother Keiffer, retired, "We literally loathed each other," Donohue revealed in a joint interview with Team USA. "I had to take her hand and she was like, 'I don't really want to skate with this dude.'" Six months later they were dating. Though they split after two-and-a-half years, neither has any regrets. "It allowed us to get to know each other on a deeper level and have a really deep relationship," said Hubbell. Post-split, she continued, "I think that our relationship got better and even closer—just in a different way."
On the Menu: Though Donohue also flips for Italian, steak and stuffed bell peppers, they share a mutual love of Japanese cuisine. As Hubbell put it on their joint website, "One food that I really believe I could eat every day is sushi!"
The Basics: Having traded off national titles with rivals—and training partners!—Hubbell and Donohue, the two-time World Championship medalists (Chock, 29, hails from California; Bates, 32, is a native of Michigan) have a real shot at landing on the podium in their third Olympics.
On Thin Ice: "I remember being in my first ice show, dressed as a leprechaun," Bates recalled to NBC of his earliest figure skating memory. "I was so nervous that I wet myself, right down my green pants. That certainly was not the moment that propelled me to dedicate my life to skating."
Perfect Partners: Turns out the rink is a cool place to find love—the teammates, who have their own podcast, Unlaced with Chock and Bates, have been a duo off the ice since 2017. "We spend almost all of our time together and yet I never grow tired of her," Bates raved to NBC. "She has a great, light sense of humor and a very happy outlook on life."
The Basics: Back for her second Games, the Ghana-born, Virginia-bred short track speedskater, who learned to ice skate on a whim at age 5, made history in 2018 as the first Black woman to qualify for a U.S. Olympic short track team.
Get-Pumped Playlist: Before taking the ice, the 22-year-old told E! News she'll blast JID's "151 Rum."
Inventing Anna: Though admittedly shy, the University of Utah psychology major says she channels an alter ego named Anna Digger on the track. "I feel like she's always been there, but I just don't think I ever recognized her, if that makes any sense," she explained to Vogue. "People were always telling me that whenever I get on the ice I look terrifying, and I was like, 'Wait—that's not me!' But then I was like, Just embrace it—be intimidating!"
The Basics: Long before she took up aerial skiing at age 12, the aptly named Olympic rookie from Michigan was already collecting accolades. Running her first 5K at just 5 years old, the 23-year-old became the youngest person to run a marathon on all seven continents.
In Her Suitcase: "This is kind of funny, but I still have my baby blanket from when I was little," she admitted to Self. "And I also have a replacement blanket that I travel with—it's from Cloudz. I got it at the airport. I was traveling, and realized I didn't have anything cozy to take with me."
Get-Pumped Playlist: "All We Got" by Chance the Rapper
The Basics: Not only did the 21-year-old from Colorado nab the first hardware of the 2018 Olympics with his gold in slopestyle—he became snowboarding's youngest gold medalist ever.
Where His Medal Lives: "This is kind of embarrassing, my mom keeps it in a fireproof box," he told NBC. "But she keeps saying she's going to find something to properly display it."
Best Advice for Young Athletes: "Have as much fun as possible," he detailed to NBC, "get a good group of shred buddies, and don't take it too seriously."
The Basics: The most experienced woman on the U.S. skeleton team (in 2018, the two-time World Cup champion missed the podium by four one-hundredths of a second) is experienced in outwitting, outplaying and outlasting the competition. In 2019, the 37-year-old Colorado native served as a camera assistant on season 40 of Survivor.
Self-Care Situation: It's all in her head. Asked how she focuses on both her physical and mental health while training, she told E! News, "By keeping the people that love me close in mind."
Get-Pumped Playlist: "I listen to mash-ups mostly."
The Basics: Since finishing second in snowboard cross at the 2006 Olympics (after a last-second trick caused her to stumble), the 36-year-old from Vermont missed the podium at the next three Games. Not that she's exactly come up empty-handed, nabbing her fifth world title in 2017 to become the most decorated athlete in the history of the sport.
Secret Talent: In her free time, Jacobellis enjoys playing the ukelele, according to the U.S. ski and snowboard team site, and has learned several Disney songs to play for her niece.
Off to the Races: Her need for speed was developed early on in childhood, thanks to a competition with older brother Ben. "I was a skier," she detailed to New York Magazine. "I was a weekend warrior with my family, always chasing my older brother, my dad, and his friends down the mountain, and if I wanted to ski with them, I had to not be afraid to go fast. And my mom was always like, 'You don't have to stay up with them, we could go on other runs.' And I was like, 'No. I like going fast, I wanna stick with them.'"
The Basics: Red, white and new. After winning two gold medals and a bronze for the Canadian team, the 36-year-old from Calgary switched to representing the U.S. (where she lives with her husband, former bobsledder Travis Armbruster) because of abuse and harassment she alleges she faced within Canadian bobsledding. Since joining Team USA in 2019, she's won three world titles.
On the Menu: "I eat about 2,500 calories a day," the athlete told NBC of working with nutrition coach Kelsey Keil to get 160 grams of protein, 210 grams of carbs and 80 grams of fat each day. Among her indulgences: Steak and French fries, potato chips and lemon pie.
Ink About It: Among the tattoos that cover "about 60 percent of my body" are tributes to her late grandfather and late uncle and portraits of her parents.
The Basics: Though she was selected as one of the United States' two flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony, she'll have to skip the honor due to testing positive for COVID after arriving in China. Still the 37-year-old bobsled pusher from Georgia is hopeful she can earn a fourth medal at her fourth Games. "This is just the latest obstacle that my family and I have faced on this journey," she tweeted, "so I'm remaining optimistic that I'll be able to recover quickly and still have the opportunity to compete."
Her Plus One: Two years after marrying fellow bobsledder Nic Taylor, the pair welcomed son Nico in February 2020. "He is my main motivation and the reason why I'm still bobsledding," she told NBC of the 2-year-old who has Down syndrome and profound hearing loss. "He works so hard in his daily life to achieve his milestones—it's crazy inspiring. He loves to watch Olympic weightlifting. He's easy-going and travels with me during the bobsled season—I think he just loves being around his mom."
On the Menu: "In the morning, I have coffee, two eggs and toast," she detailed to NBC. "For lunch and dinner, a lean protein, veggies and starch. For snacks I have granola, Greek yogurt and random things that my baby eats."
The Basics: Already a huge name in speed skating after winning bronze in the 2018 teams event, the U.S. women's first medal since 2002, the 33-year-old (who will take over Taylor's flag-bearing duties) garnered even more attention when she surrendered her spot in the 500-meter to teammate Erin Jackson, the world's fastest in the event. But thanks to the U.S. picking up an extra spot, the Florida native will compete in that and two other distances.
Dual-Sport Athlete: A point guard at Florida Atlantic University, the athlete briefly considered trying to play professional basketball in Europe before turning her focus to skating.
On the Menu: "One last meal," she wrote on Instagram of digging into some eats from Southern fast food spot Raising Cane's ahead of her trip to China, "some of my favorites of chicken fingers, Texas toast and sweat tea before embarking on this journey."
The Basics: In 2018, the Florida native, 29, qualified for the 500-meter after just four months of speed skating training. Now ranked No. 1 in the race, a stumble at the trials landed her in third place, just off the team. "I'm beyond grateful and humbled," Jackson said of close pal Bowe (temporarily) giving up her spot, "and just—I'm happy."
Hidden Talent: "I'm an expert napper who can fall asleep anytime and anywhere," she told NBC.
Earliest Olympic Memory: Starting out as an artistic skater (basically figure skating on wheels), "I remember watching Michelle Kwan and other figure skaters competing in the Olympics when I was a kid," she recalled to NBC. "As I got older and switched to inline speed skating, I enjoyed watching Apollo Ohno in short track. However, my favorite memory was watching former inline teammates Brittany Bowe and Joey Mantia compete in the Sochi Olympics. I didn't imagine myself there yet because I was still focused on inline skating."
The Basics: Growing up in Zurich, the freestyle skier built an entire park in his backyard (complete with a rope tow made from an old washing machine engine) before landing a spot at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard training academy when he was 16. Returning for his second Olympics, he'll compete in both slopestyle and the brand new big air event.
Chip Off the Ol' Block: Asked his biggest influence, the athlete told NBC, "My dad. He used to do the stuff that I do now, but before it was really a thing. I loved watching his home movies when I was young."
On the Menu: Burritos and his go-to indulgence, ice cream.
The Basics: Super Mario is back to save the princess defend the team gold he received in Pyeongchang—a first for the U.S.'s curling team. After icing the competition four years ago (and gaining a following for his likeness to a certain beloved Nintendo character), the 32-year-old Wisconsinite will once again compete for Team USA and with sister Becca Hamilton in mixed doubles.
Long Hair, Because He Cares: For the past year, the athlete (who says he grows his sweet 'stache every year "for fun") has been letting his locks flow with the intention of cutting them and donating the money raised for brain cancer.
Claim to Fame: Why, yes, you can purchase a Matt Hamilton bobblehead—the first of its kind for the sport.
The Basics: Not only is the 27-year-old Californian making his Olympic debut—he's America's first competitor in ski cross (a timed freestyle event that sees four athletes whip down a course filled with obstacles) in eight years. As he put it, "It's controlled chaos, for sure."
On the Edge: "Most skiers probably live quite adventurous lives," he told NBC of learning how to fly a helicopter, ride a four-wheeler and race a dirt bike. "Everything I do, I'm pretty comfortable doing."
Words of Wisdom: Among the phrases he's inscribed on his racing suit: "A baby shark is still a shark," "Rome wasn't built in a day" and "Elvis wasn't born a king."