The Winter Olympics Were For The Girls
- UP MAGAZINE
- 8 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By Kaitlin McDowell
Edited by Taylor Morgan
If I learned anything from this year’s winter Olympics, which closed February 22, it's that Olympians are just like us—but so much better.
In Milan’s winter games, the United States took home 12 gold medals, eight of which were won by female athletes. Team USA finished second overall, and female-won medals accounted for 63.6% of our total medals. The women’s hockey team also took home gold, but honestly, they probably budget extra luggage space just for medals, as the women’s team has medaled in every winter Olympic Games since women’s hockey was introduced in 1998.
With record-breaking stats and growing medal collections, it would be easy to assume the success might get to these athletes’ heads. However, after watching interviews with the Olympians as well as conducting my own deep dives on their social media accounts, I have found that they are just like other members of Gen Z, except mega talented and skilled with a level of discipline and dedication most people only dream of achieving.
So while it's possible to write novels about the athletic success of these young women, I would like to highlight the other cool aspects that contribute to their personalities and fame, like skin care routines or how they handle pre-competition stress. The behind-the-scenes moments show that beyond the achievements and record-breaking stats are young women navigating pressure, routines and enjoying life just like the rest of Gen Z.
Chloe Kim
25-year-old Team USA snowboarder, Chloe Kim, returned to the Winter Olympics this year to earn a silver medal in the women’s halfpipe despite a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum. Having only eight days of practice before the games, Kim faced an extra stressful games this year.
How did she manage these nerves and manage to return to the podium despite all odds and a shoulder brace, one may wonder? Matcha.
“But thankfully I have matcha (tea), and there’s good vibes here and my family’s here, so we’ll be good,” Kim said before her medal-winning run. Kim notes that matcha tea is part of her wellness routine to stay calm and grounded.
Kim also received help in staying calm by NFL boyfriend, Myles Garrett, who wore a shirt with Kim’s face plastered across.
"It just made a really intense, stressful moment so light and kind of grounded me,” Kim said about Garrett’s supportive shirt. Garrett has previously shown his love for his gold medal-winning girlfriend this past Valentine’s Day as he wore a shirt that read “I heart my super hot, beautiful girlfriend. So please stay away from me.”
So if we can learn anything about stress management from Kim, it’s drink matcha and have an NFL boyfriend who wears your face on his shirt. One of these is totally attainable, and it starts with a certain green ceremonial powder and some water.
Alysa Liu
Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu, who is only 20 years old, made headlines this Olympics for becoming the first American woman to earn an individual figure skating gold medal at the Olympics in 24 years. Liu also won a gold medal in the team event for her short program.
Only second to her gold medals, Liu also made headlines for her application of a certain beauty product ahead of stepping up to the Olympic podium. Before Liu accepted her medal, she was seen pausing and saying, “Where’s my lipstick?” to which she reached for her Rare Beauty product. TikTok users later identified it as the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Lip Oil in Delight in the rose brown shade.
Rare Beauty founder, Selena Gomez, responded to this unintentional product promotion on Instagram in a story that read, “Congratulations @alysaxliu. (She's just like me fr)." Me too, Selena, me too.
Liu’s viral lip oil application proves she truly is just like the rest of us, except shes reapplying her lip product before stepping up to the Olympic podium, and I’m reapplying before leaving the bathroom of my college bar, totally the same.
Liu, who made her Olympic comeback after “retiring” at 16 in 2022 due to a loss of love for the sport, also stands out on and off the ice for her self-expression. With striped bleached hair and a gum piercing, Liu is not letting any old-fashioned rules or expectations define her. Figure skating has historically regulated costumes alongside performances. Costumes must be “modest, dignified, and appropriate for athletic competition,” according to the official International Skating Union (ISU) rules. However, Liu is not allowing anyone tell her what she can and cannot wear as she chooses all of her costumes and music herself.
In her gold medal-winning freestyle performance, Liu wore a shimmering gold dress featuring an asymmetrical neckline and a bold back cutout, bringing her own personal style onto the ice. In true Gen Z fashion, she practically manifested the perfect accessory for the look, a gold medal.
Dress for the job you want, not the job you have, and you, too, might just win a gold medal.
Aerin Frankel
The Team USA Women’s hockey team is made up of 23 gold medalists. Among these talented women is Laila Edwards, the first African American woman to win a gold medal in women’s hockey, and Hilary Knight, the first U.S. hockey player to participate in five Olympic Games.
Another notable player is goalie Aerin Frankel, who set the Olympic record for the most shutouts, three, in a women’s Olympic hockey tournament. However, this Olympics, Frankel went viral for reasons beyond her hockey skills, her expertise in the ultimate girl dinner: Caesar salads.
Frankel has a second Instagram account solely dedicated to sharing different Caesar salads and rating them out of ten. The account is cleverly named @painbyromaine and her bio is “Just a passion project.” Since fans discovered the salad-focused account, Frankel has reached 49.2k followers (and counting). Is an Olympic status what I need for my own food account to go viral?
Frankel has shared snapshots of her meals throughout her time in Europe, specifically in Milan. She noted that the Caesar dressing served in Italy is “not the classic Caesar,” but raves about the country’s “high-quality meat and cheese.” Based on her reviews, Frankel expects a good Caesar salad to be swimming in dressing and buried in cheese, pretty solid criteria if you ask me.
I would love to ask Frankel for her Olympic podium ranking of Caesar salads.
The Milan Olympians reminded me why these athletes are so easy to admire and cheer on. Beyond the medals and superhuman performances are Rare Beauty-wearing, matcha-drinking, Caesar salad-eating girls just like the rest of us twenty-somethings, only with a few more Olympic medals in their closets.
Chloe Kim said it best. “I’m so proud of the girls. I love my girls, and we killed it.”