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Twenty things you need to know about the Pyeongchang Winter Games

In this Dec. 12, 2017, photo, Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, top center, is seen in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Just weeks before the Olympics, a culture clash is taking place in Pyeongchang, and it’s only partly about the anticipatory jitters before a horde of foreigners arrives. There’s a strain of unease as the government, desperate to measure up to an Olympic host city image, pushes for change in an indebted, aging backwater that relies on tourism and fisheries with no real industrial base. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

  | Feb. 4, 2018, 4:06 p.m.
| Updated: 9:51 p.m.

Need a quick way to navigate through the avalanche of Olympics information that is heading your way?

Look no further. Here are 20 items that will be on the front-burner when the 2018 Winter Games open in South Korea on Friday:

Pyongyang • North Korea and South Korea plan to march together during the Opening Ceremony, and the two nations will compete as one in women’s hockey. But will that be enough to ease political tensions on the peninsula during these Games?

Mercury falling • These are expected to be the coldest Olympics since Lillehammer in1994. The wind and single-digit temperatures forecast for the Opening Ceremony have officials concerned about spectators in the open-air Olympic Stadium. And while the weather might not slow down the competitors, it could hurt the Games’ already slow ticket sales.

Mikaela Shiffrin • No racer has been more dominant this season than the 22-year-old American. Shiffrin will look to defend her gold medal in slalom, but she should be considered a medal threat in all of her events.

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during the first run of an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Russian athletes • Just more than a week before the start of the 2018 Olympics, 28 Russian athletes had their Olympic doping bans overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The IOC still can block these athletes from competing, but they will seek late entry. In the wake of the nation’s doping scandal, the IOC had allowed 169 Russian athletes to participate in Pyeongchang — but with restrictions. The Russians will not be able to compete under their own flag and have been made to sign a special code of conduct.

The NHL’s absence • Players from the best hockey league in the world won’t be on the ice in South Korea. That could mean a few surprises during a wide-open competition for the gold.

American protests • Athletes from the NFL, NBA and MLB have kneeled for the national anthem or engaged in other forms of protests in a fight for social justice. Will we see any Olympians follow suit?

The Flying Tomato • After disappointment in Sochi, Shaun White is back and looking for Olympic redemption. The king of the halfpipe stomped a perfect 100 to punch his ticket to Pyeongchang, where he will be hunting another gold medal.

U.S. halfpipe snowboarder Shaun White takes a practice run Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo. (Anna Stonehouse/The Aspen Times via AP)

@realDonaldTrump • The president and his Twitter account have escalated tensions between the U.S. and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. What else will Trump have to say with the eyes of the world on South Korea?

Medal count • The United States is sending the largest Winter Olympics team in history to Pyeongchang. How will that translate to podium finishes? Locally, keep an eye on the athletes from Westminster College. The Salt Lake City-based school had five medal winners in Sochi.

LGBT history • U.S. skier Gus Kenworthy and figure skater Adam Rippon are set to become the first openly gay men to compete in the Winter Olympics.

The Hurricane • Aerialist Speedy Peterson died from suicide in 2011. Now his friend and protege Mac Bohonnon plans to honor Peterson by performing his signature jump — a difficult trick that Bohonnon never before has attempted in competition.

Underdogs • Tonga’s flag bearer in Rio, Pita Taufatofua, will compete as across-country skier. Utahn Sebastian Uprimny will be the first cross-country skier to represent Colombia in the Olympics. Sabrina Simader is Kenya’s first alpine skier. These are some of the stories that make the Olympics so beloved.

Nathan Chen • At 10 years old, the Salt Lake City native predicted he would be skating in Pyeongchang. But just how high can the powerful figure skater fly in his first Olympics?

Sarah Hendrickson • In Sochi, the Park City resident wore the No. 1 bib as the first woman to compete in ski jumping in Olympic history. Because of an injury, however, history was all Hendrickson would get in Russia. Hendrickson now is healthy and hoping for a medal to add to her storied career.

(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sarah Hendrickson reacts to the scoring of her first jump at the ski jumping Olympic trials at Park City, Sunday, December 31, 2017.

Life After Holcomb • The death of Park City’s Steve Holcomb last year stunned the winter sports world and left the U.S. bobsled team without its gold-medal winning driver. Holcomb’s team now will look to honor their late leader with another Olympic medal.

All-Time Great • Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen has 10 medals to her name.The 37-year-old needs three medals in Pyeongchang to tie Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndale for the most ever by a winter Olympian.

New Host • Bob Costas had been NBC’s prime-time Olympic host since the 1992 games in Barcelona. After 12 straight Olympics, Costas has passed the torch to new host Mike Tirico — and NBC is backing its new pick despite past sexual harassment allegations during Tirico’s time at ESPN in the 1990s.

New Events • Four new events are set to debut in South Korea: Mixed doubles curling, speed skating mass start, alpine skiing team event, and snowboarding big air.