NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing have a true blue and white feel this February, with several Yalies playing prominent roles in the Games, some as athletes (four in all), and others as prominent commentators.
Three former Bulldog ice hockey players are competing, with
Brian O'Neill '12 and
Kenny Agostino '14 representing Team USA and
Phoebe Staenz '17 playing for Team Switzerland. Current student
Nathan Chen '24 continues to make a splash in men's figure skating as
Sarah Hughes '09 - who won a gold medal in figure skating at the 2002 Olympic games - provides television commentary. Yale professor
Jing Tsu, John M. Schiff Professor of East Asian Languages & Literatures and Comparative Literature, is also providing on-air commentary about culture and politics.
Check out some of the stories of our Bulldogs below and be sure to check back on YaleBulldogs.com on the progress and accomplishments of these impressive Elis.
If you happened to walk by Ingalls Rink on a weekday afternoon over the last few years, you might have heard an Elton John song or two booming over the audio system. That's because
Nathan Chen, a Yale undergraduate, was leaping on skates inside the Whale preparing for what happened Thursday at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Chen landed all five quad jumps to a compilation of music from the 2019 film "Rocketman," on his way to becoming the seventh U.S. man to win a Gold Medal in the Olympic individual competition.
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Delivering the Games - 2/9/22
When the Beijing Olympics take over your television, one of those in charge of delivering it to you is Daniel Fleschner '01, an Emmy-winning writer and producer and NBC's vice president for content and programming for the Olympics. He and his team (including Evan Frondorf '14) are currently in China to help bring each event seamlessly to life for viewers at home. It's a task that takes years to pull off; as Fleschner puts it, "In my role, I'm always looking one or two Olympics ahead."
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Life After Gold: Hughes '09 Reflects on Her Time at Yale - 2/4/22 
Sarah Hughes '09 is no stranger to defying expectations. At 16, the figure skater competed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, leaping over favorites Michelle Kwan and Irina Slutskaya to take the gold medal with an impeccably poised long program (which, at the time, was also the most technically difficult program to ever win an Olympic gold medal). No American woman has brought home the gold in women's figure skating since.
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Staenz '17 and Team Switzerland Begin Olympics This Week - 1/31/22
Former Yale hockey standout
Phoebe Staenz '17 and Team Switzerland are set to compete in Group A at the 2022 Olympic Games which begin this week. Switzerland takes on Canada on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 11:10 p.m. ET, in a game airing live on NBC TV, before facing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) on Thursday at the same time. All group A games, which include a Swiss-USA matchup on Feb. 6 at 8:10 a.m. ET, is being played at the National Indoor Stadium.
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Staenz '17 to Compete in Third Olympics - 1/17/22
Phoebe Staenz '17, the former All-ECAC Hockey forward from Yale, will skate in her third Olympic Games next month for Switzerland in Beijing. The Zurich, Switzerland, native earned a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter games after scoring two goals. She had three goals and four points at the 2018 South Korea Olympics.
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O'Neill '12, Agostino '14 Named to Team USA for Beijing Games - 1/13/22
Two of the most prolific forwards in the history of Yale Hockey will skate for Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. USA Hockey announced today that
Brian O'Neill '12 and
Kenny Agostino '14 have been selected and will leave their KHL teams for a few weeks to compete for a gold medal. Both Bulldogs are currently among the top 11 in KHL points.
Keeping Balance: Nathan Chen and the Pursuit of Olympic Gold
Nathan Chen '24 has skated in arenas around the world — from Stockholm's Globen, the largest hemispherical building on Earth, to Osaka's Municipal Gymnasium, which is built entirely underground. But something special happened the first time he stepped onto the ice of Yale's Ingalls Rink some three years ago.
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Jing Tsu to contribute to Olympic Opening Ceremony coverage
Jing Tsu, the John M. Schiff Professor of East Asian Studies & Comparative Literature at Yale University, will contribute to coverage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony on NBC and Peacock, as well as NBC's first night of primetime coverage on Thursday, Feb. 3.
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