As the 2018 Winter Olympics finished up this past weekend with a total of 92 countries participating in the events, PyeongChang has awarded many great athletes with medals. The total number of medals received is 307.
Coming in first with the most medals of the Olympics was Norway with a total of 39 medals. This is a new record high for Norway, which has a total of 14 gold medals that come from a variety of sports. The first one came Feb. 11, from Simen Hegstad Krueger in the cross-country skiing men’s 15-kilometer and 15-kilometer skiathlon. Norway also has a total of 14 silver medals and 11 bronze medals.
The United States finished in fourth in the medals race with a total of 23 medals including nine gold, eight silver, and six bronze.
The United States also had some personal achievements with winning some of these medals. The women’s hockey team won a gold medal in a game against Canada for the first time in 20 years. After beating Canada in the curling semifinals, the United States curling team won the gold for the first time ever.
The United States also had one of the youngest gold medal winners. Redmond Gerard, also known as “Red” won his gold early in the games for snowboarding. Some of the other medals came from alpine skiing, bobsled, cross-country, figure skating, luge and short track speed skating.
The closing ceremony was held Sunday, Feb. 25 and was just as amazing as the opening ceremony.
In the opening number, South Korea had 102 dancers representing how they had the biggest Olympics to date, with 102 medal events through the two weeks.
There was yet again a mix of music and lighting technology that cultivated the South Korean culture. They made pictures in the sky using drones.
They also used children a lot in the ceremony, showing their love and appreciation for the new generations to carry on the culture and practices.
Another big thing was their use of pandas. Commentator and figure skating champion Johnny Weir was really excited about the use of the animal that represented peace.
The next winter games will be held in Beijing, China starting Feb. 2, 2022.
Those of you who enjoy the Olympics and can’t wait for four years can watch the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan starting July 24, 2020. You can also rewatch some of your favorite winter moments online.
