Sports
California Athletes & Team USA Head To Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
The red carpet was rolled out as U.S. Olympians boarded a jet on their way to compete in Beijing.
![Freestyle skier Mac Forehand does a backflip as he conducts an interview before boarding a plane to Beijing for the 2022 Beijing Olympics at a Delta Airlines terminal Thursday in Los Angeles.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22881893/20220131/034436/styles/patch_image/public/ap22027728064936___31154335716.jpg)
CALIFORNIA — Members of the U.S. Olympic team departed for Beijing on Thursday as they prepare to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
The U.S. team consists of 224 athletes, 29 of them from the Golden State. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team is traveling to Beijing in stages. On Thursday, about 100 team members departed for the Games. The first wave of Americans took a Delta charter jet to Beijing.
The games begin officially this week, with the opening ceremony set for Friday.
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Here is a collection of photos showing Team USA members departing for the Games.
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22881893/20220131/034454/styles/raw/public/processed_images/AP22027735603545.jpg)
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/getty/22881893/20220131/034620/styles/raw/public/processed_images/GettyImages-1367212448.jpg)
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22881893/20220131/034804/styles/raw/public/processed_images/AP22027731945038.jpg)
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22881893/20220131/034918/styles/raw/public/processed_images/AP22027737872506.jpg)
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22881893/20220131/035342/styles/raw/public/processed_images/AP22027737474616.jpg)
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22881893/20220131/035512/styles/raw/public/processed_images/AP22027732955724.jpg)
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22881893/20220131/035622/styles/raw/public/processed_images/AP22027728342227.jpg)
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/22881893/20220131/035745/styles/raw/public/processed_images/AP22027739564190.jpg)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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