For the first time, the climate crisis has forced the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing to be virtually 100% reliant on artificial snow. CNN's Rene Marsh reports
In the Olympic final, competitors will make three runs, with their overall score coming from the two best attempts.Think of a lightning-quick, coed, relay race. Now put it on ice. That's essentially what this new speedskating event is, as teams of four race one another over the course of 2,000 meters .
The competition begins with each female skater racing for two-and-a-half laps, followed by each male skater covering the same distance. That brings us to 10 laps. The teams' female skaters go again, each for two laps. Now we're at 14. Finally, each teams' male skaters sprint it out for two laps apiece, bringing the total laps covered to 18.
Now a third medal-earning opportunity has been added to the discipline, as teams of four — two men, two women — compete on ski jumps that feature a 98-meter takeoff. It's pure speed, with various obstacles and tests of aptitude — drops, turns, jumps — sprinkled in throughout the course.
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