Women at the Winter Olympics: historic successes and the wins of Beijing 2022

Team USA's women impressed everyone at the Beijing Games of 2022.

It was the only nation to have four different women win the gold medals: Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, Kaillie Humphries and Erin Jackson.

The first gold medal for the US in Beijing, (ending a five-day gold medal drought) was won by American Lindsey Jacobellis. It was her first Olympic gold and she had persevered throughout many years to get here.

She then became the first female snowboarder to win two gold medals in the same games after she and teammate Nick Baumgartner, 40, won the debut of mixed team snowboardcross three days later.

Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor joined each other on the podium in the first women's monobob, making history.

The U.S.'s Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor became the first women ever to win a medal — gold and silver, respectively — at the inaugural Olympic monobob event.

There had been a huge push from Team USA to have the female monobob event in the Olympics. Humphries said, "The women before me have allowed this to happen and I want to make sure that continues for all future generations."

Meyers Taylor called it "historic." The athlete, at 37, is also the oldest woman to win an Olympic bobsleigh medal.

Erin Jackson made speed skating history in 500m. She became the first Black woman to win an Olympic speed skating medal.

Jackson claimed Team USA's sixth gold in Beijing in the 500m. The world number one in the event had previously failed to make the top two in the U.S. Trials. It's a huge moment for the skater.

Chloe Kim, who entered the halfpipe event, successfully defended her Olympic title by winning the gold this year, too. This is her second consecutive Winter Olympics and she is the first female snowboarder to win back-to-back gold medals at this event.

Jessie Diggins won the first ever women’s individual medal in U.S. cross country skiing history. She made it clear that, although individual, the achievement was thanks to a whole team. "I'm just so grateful – that's the overwhelming emotion because it takes so much from such a huge team to make this happen," Diggins said.

In hockey, Team USA beat Finland 4-1, giving them a hard-earned place in the women's ice hockey finals later this week. The rivalry has been struck up again and they will go up against its longtime rival, Canada, in the race for the gold.

Alysa Liu, the youngest member of the U.S. figure skating team finished eighth overall, giving her the highest score among American women in the event. In fact, she is the youngest member of Team USA in Beijing.

Beijing has offered new events for women and, due to this, Games organisers are referring to these Olympics as the most gender-balanced Winter Games to date.

This year, women have made up 45 percent of athletes at the Olympics and women’s events are now up to 46, two more from four years ago in PyeongChang.

Monobob athlete Meyers highlighted that there is still a long way to go, as the number of events available only to women — which is still fewer than the men — is just one.

There are still four events where women still race shorter distances than men. They are cross-country skiing, speed skating, short-track speedskating and biathlon.

Take a look at ski jumping: it was the American women who, once again, pushed for this event to be available for women. Finally in 2014, they were allowed to join in. However, women can still only jump off what’s called the 'normal hill'. Men can jump a full 120 meters, while women can only do 90m.

In luge, only men are allowed to compete in doubles. And only men are allowed to take part in the Nordic combined, which is cross-country skiing plus ski jumping. But the games have certainly come a long way.

1924 saw the establishment of the Winter Olympics, however women only competed in the figure skating event. Herma Szabo was the first ever female Winter Olympic champion when she won the ladies' singles competition.

Also at the first winter Olympic games in 1924, only 11 women competed out of the 258 athletes who attended the games.

Sonja Henie competed in the 1924 games when she was only 11 years old. She lost the first games but later she went on to win medals in the next three games.

A handful of medals for the biggest female names in Winter Olympic history. Bonnie Blair is not only one of the most successful speed skaters in the history of the sport but she is also one of the most decorated Olympians ever.

The Winter Olympics is much less racially diverse than the summer games, which is why Debi Thomas became a star of the 1988 games in Calgary. In Canada the figure skater won a bronze medal and became the first African American athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.

In 1998 at just 15 years of age, figure skater Tara Lipinski became the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Winter Olympics. Her record as the games' youngest champion still stands to this day.

Way before she took home the trophy on 'Dancing With the Stars', Kristi Yamaguchi took home the gold medal. In 1992 she became the first Asian American woman to win a gold medal in women's figure skating.

Lindsay Vonn who, in 2010, became the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in downhill skiing. Add to that she has won four World Cup overall championships.

By winning gold in slopestyle and silver in big air, the 27-year-old Californian became the first female snowboarder to take home two medals from one Olympics in 2018. She has struggled this year to regain the same success.

US athlete Mikaela Shiffrin has added another race day to her packed Olympic program. The skier aims to become only the second woman to compete in all six Alpine skiing events at a single Winter Games. She has so far recorded a Did Not Finish in two events, but is ready and willing to persevere. It's what the games are all about, after all.