Entertainment Sports Athletes 20 and Under: The Youngest Olympians to Watch at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics From figure skating to freestyle skiing, here are the youngest athletes to keep an eye on at Beijing By Diane J. Cho Diane J. Cho Diane J. Cho was the Features Editor of PEOPLE Digital from 2019 to 2022. She worked at the brand for nearly four years covering news, features, human interest, evergreen, holiday gift guides and more. She launched the How I Parent and What It's Really Like to Be …. digital series and has interviewed several celebrities and influential leaders within the entertainment industry. Prior to joining PEOPLE, Diane worked at Bustle, VH1 and Complex. She received her bachelor's degree in Journalism from Rutgers University and her master's degree from Columbia Journalism School. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 3, 2022 10:00 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos 01 of 12 Kamila Valieva, 15 DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty The 15-year-old Russian figure skater has been tapped as the Olympic favorite. She won gold at the 2022 Russian Figure Skating Championships and the Rostelecom Cup, where she earned the highest score in history with 87.42. She's a big threat to the competition with a triple axel and both the quadruple toe and Salchow jumps ready in her skating arsenal. 02 of 12 Matěj Švancer, 17 David Ramos/Getty Images The Alpine-turned-freestyle skier won first place at The Audi Nines in Switzerland and the FIS Freestyle Junior World Championships - Slopestyle in Russia. After switching disciplines at 15, Švancer also won gold at Lausanne 2020 and will be representing Austria at the Beijing games. 03 of 12 Matvei Michkov, 17 RvS.Media/Basile Barbey/Getty The Russian prodigy has the ice hockey world ablaze. He is the youngest national team player in the history of Russia and recently won gold at Lausanne 2020. 04 of 12 Eileen Gu, 18 Sean M. Haffey/Getty At 18, Gu will be taking on all three free-skiing disciplines: half-pipe, big air and slopestyle. The American-born Chinese skier is the 2021 world champion in slopestyle and halfpipe and won gold at Lausanne 2020. She will be representing China in Beijing. 05 of 12 Kagiyama Yuma, 18 Atsushi Tomura/Getty Representing Japan, Yuma was the only man to win both of his Grand Prix events in the 2021-2022 season and is the Lausanne 2020 champion. He also won bronze during day four of the 90th All Japan Figure Skating Championships in 2021. 06 of 12 Sofia Nadyrshina, 18 Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images Nadyrshina of Russia is only 18 but has already won gold at the FIS Snowboard Alpine World Championships. 07 of 12 Gyda Westvold Hansen, 19 GEORG HOCHMUTH/APA/AFP via Getty Competing in the Nordic combined, which involves cross-country skiing and ski jumping, Norway's Hansen won the 2021 world championships and is the current World Cup yellow bib. 08 of 12 Johannes Lamparter, 20 Hans Peter Lottermoser/SEPA.Media /Getty Also competing in the Nordic combined, the Austrian has won two gold medals during the 2021 world championships: one for the individual large hill and one in the team sprint. 09 of 12 Alice Robinson, 20 Joe Allison/Getty New Zealand's Alpine skiing sensation set the bar high by becoming the country's youngest-ever competitor at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. In 2020, Robinson also became her country's first No. 1-ranked skier in women's giant slalom. 10 of 12 Yubin Lee, 20 Joosep Martinson - International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty The short track speed skater from South Korea won gold at the ISU World Cup in 2021 in Dordrecht and also won gold at the World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in 2017. 11 of 12 Marita Kramer, 20 GEORG HOCHMUTH/APA/AFP via Getty The Austrian ski jumper took first during the Individual HS98 at the FIS World Cup in 2021. She also won the normal hill individual event with the biggest point gap ahead of the next competitor in women's World Cup. 12 of 12 Yuto Totsuka, 20 Sean M. Haffey/Getty The Japanese snowboarder won first in the men's snowboard halfpipe final at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix World Cup and first in the men's snowboard halfpipe final at the Aspen FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championship in 2021. He also finished second in the men's snowboard halfpipe final in 2019.