Time - USA (2022-01-31)

50 TIME January 31/February 7, 2022

BEIJING

2022

Alysa Liu

FIGURE SKATING, U.S.

John Shuster

CURLING, U.S.

Every icy quadrennial,
America rekindles its
obsession with curling,
a beloved Canadian
pastime that now
counts even Mr. T as
a vocal fan.
In 2018, John
Shuster, a former bar
manager and Dick’s
Sporting Goods
salesman, was the
toast of his sport after
leading the U.S. to
its fi rst ever Olympic
gold. It was a stunning
turnaround after
Shuster was effectively
cut from the U.S.
national team following
rough showings in the
previous two Olympics;
after PyeongChang, his
self- described team
of rejects came home
as celebrities, ringing
the bell at the New
York Stock Exchange
and dropping the
ceremonial fi rst puck
before an outdoor NHL
game at the Naval
Academy.
Three of the four
“rejects” —Shuster,
Matt Hamilton and
John Landsteiner—are
back for Beijing, where
they will be tested by
strong teams from
Canada and Sweden.
While the 39-year-old
Shuster is considered
old in most sports, “in
our sport, I’m still kind
of right in the middle,”
he says. “I’m kind of
in my prime.” —S.G.

Sara

Takanashi

SKI JUMPING, JAPAN