There must be something in the snow at Perfect North Slopes.
A pair of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, natives made the Team USA roster for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. Nick Goepper and Justin Schoenefeld will compete in skiing events with Goepper attempting to grab medal No. 3 overall and his first gold.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to start Friday, Feb. 4, at 7 a.m. Eastern Time, which is 8 p.m. in Beijing (13 hours ahead).
Goepper won a bronze medal in the 2014 Sochi Olympics and netted a silver four years later in Pyeongchang.
Goepper again competes in the Slopestyle and joins Maggie Voisin as the only Americans on the 2022 team to compete in the event in multiple Olympic games. Slopestyle is a type of snowboarding event with tricks and jumps, like a halfpipe, but has a more varied course (three rails and three jumps).
Since placing second in 2018, Goepper won a bronze in the slopestyle at the 2019 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships and won gold in the 2021 Aspen X Games for a record fourth time.
The third try for a podium in the slopestyle for Goepper will be from Feb. 13 to Feb. 15.
Joining the veteran Goepper will be first-time Olympian Schoenefeld.
Schoenefeld arrives in Beijing as a part of the Freestyle Team in an aerials competition.
The 23-year-old started competing with Team USA in 2019 after three NorAM tour wins and the Grand Prix title the year before. Schoenefeld also won gold in the aerials World Cup in 2020.
Schoenefeld's Olympic games start with a new Olympic event, mixed team aerials, on Feb. 10 followed by men's aerials qualifying on Feb. 15 and finals on Feb. 16.
The 2022 Beijing Olympic Games run from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 with some preliminary rounds in three events beginning on Feb. 2. According to USAToday, coverage of the opening ceremony begins at 6:30 a.m. ET on NBC. An enhanced primetime presentation of the opening ceremony will re-air on the network Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
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