What to watch in winter Olympic sports this weekend

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The Beijing Winter Olympics officially open 13 weeks from today. As February 4 approaches, we'll be seeing more and more winter sports seasons get going as athletes ramp up for the Games. Just not quite yet. Only two major events are taking place from now through Sunday. Here's what to know about each of them in our weekly guide to what to watch in winter Olympic sports this weekend:

Figure skating: Italian Grand Prix

The Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit typically does not include a regular stop in Italy. But Turin stepped in to fill the gap when the Cup of China was cancelled due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic.

If you only care about Canadian skaters, this is not the event for you. Nearly all of them are skipping this one after competing at Skate Canada International (the country's lone Grand Prix stop) last weekend in Vancouver. The only Canadian entry in Turin is the ice dance duo of Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus. They finished seventh at the Grand Prix season opener, Skate America, a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas. Skaters are allowed to enter up to two of the six regular Grand Prix events per season (plus the Grand Prix Final if they place in the top six in the standings), so this might be it for them.

If you can get past the dearth of Canadian content, some excellent international skaters are competing in Turin, headlined by an intriguing ice-dance battle. Four-time world champions and 2018 Olympic silver medallists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are making their first Grand Prix appearance since skipping the pandemic-marred 2020-21 season. They'll be tested right away by three-time world championship medallists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States, who won gold at Skate America two weeks ago.

The pairs event features China's Wenjin Sui and Cong Han, who own two world titles and took silver at the most recent world championships and Olympics. They're going for their second straight Grand Prix gold after dominating at Skate Canada.

The guy to watch in the men's event is 18-year-old Yuma Kagiyama of Japan. He won silver at the world championships last season and skates to music by Michael Bublé (for his short program) and from the movie Gladiator (for his free routine). What a combo.

The women's event features reigning world champ Anna Shcherbakova, who's squaring off again with fellow Russian teenager Maya Khromykh. The latter, who's only 15, beat Shcherbakova at an event in Budapest last month.

Competition at the Italian Grand Prix got underway today with the short programs. If you're reading this in time, you can still catch the end of the men's short, which runs until about 5 p.m. ET. CBC Sports' live streaming coverage continues Saturday at 10 a.m. ET with the women's free, followed by the conclusions of the other three disciplines. Watch all the streams live here. Read a full preview of the Italian Grand Prix by CBC Sports' Christine Rankin here.

Curling: The National

The second Grand Slam of Curling event of the season is also the last one before Canada's Olympic trials. Those happen later this month in Saskatoon, and the fields for the men's and women's tournaments were finalized last weekend at the pre-trials in Nova Scotia.

Eight of the nine men's teams that qualified for the trials are competing at the National, which began Thursday in Chestermere, Alta., and runs through Sunday. That list includes trials favourites Kevin Koe, Brad Gushue, Brad Jacobs and Brendan Bottcher. The exception is the team skipped by 23-year-old Tanner Horgan, who beat 59-year-old great Glenn Howard to win one of the last spots up for grabs at the pre-trials. The National's men's field also includes the two finalists from the 2021 world championships: Sweden's Nik Edin, who captured his fifth world title, and runner-up Bruce Mouat, who might be the hottest curler in the world right now. The Scotsman has won three consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, dating back to last season.

The women's tournament at the National features six of the nine skips who qualified for the Canadian trials, including favourites Kerri Einarson, Rachel Homan and Jennifer Jones. Also keep an eye on Tracy Fleury, who opened the Grand Slam season by beating Jones in the final of the Masters a couple of weeks ago. The international contingent is led by Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni, winner of the last two world titles, and Sweden's Anna Hasselborg, the reigning Olympic champ. The National is being broadcast by Sportsnet.