With the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics finally at an end, 2,930 athletes from all around the world start to return home. People watched 102 different events for 19 days as different countries competed for the gold, and it was filled with excitement to the very last minute. From a country that broke multiple records to the previous champion that was disqualified, this year’s Winter Olympics is certainly one to remember.
Reigning number one this year in PyeongChang, South Korea is none other than Norway. In the past they have done fairly well – landing 2nd place in the 2014 Olympics according to the International Olympic Committee – but this year they were able to pull through to the top with a total of 39 medals. Sean Gregory from TIME states that,”Norway’s final medal tally breaks the record for a single nation at a winter Olympic set by the U.S. at Vancouver in 2010”. What really secured their huge success this year was the fact that 4 of the 5 top athletes at this year’s Olympics were actually representing Norway. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo participated in cross-country skiing and secured a total of 3 medals – all being gold – for his country. The official Olympics website shows that the other top athletes from Norway are Marit Bjoergen, Martin Sundby, and Simen Hegstad Krueger who collectively won 11 medals in cross-country skiing. Clearly dominating the field of cross-country skiing, Bjoergen in particular has her own triumphs for this year. This year did she not only secure 5 different medals, but Peter Hanson from Sporting News reports that,”Marit Bjoergen has made history as the most successful winter Olympian of all time with 14 medals.” Finishing her last race by winning her 8th gold, Bjoergen says that despite her success, she is not going to be participating in the 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing.
Compared to last year though, only one other country seemed to make a noticeable advancement. While Canada remained in 3rd place and the U.S. remained in 4th, Germany jumped from 6th place to 2nd. This year they were able to rack up a total of 31 medals – 14 of them being gold – thanks to a number of different events. Although, the most drastic change for the competition at the winter Olympics this year comes the the banning of the last champion, Russia. In 2014 Russia had come out on top with a total of 29 medals, with 11 being gold, but were given no chance to place this year due to their doping scandal. Not only were they banned, but the country has been stripped of 41 medals that were won in the past due to drug use. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, did not shy away from the scandal and at a speech delivered in Moscow stated,” There were instances of doping use, true – I want the audience to know and the whole country to know this.” Despite this confession, athletes from Russia were still able to participate in the competitions, but only as neutral athletes. This means that they were still allowed to compete, but weren’t representing any country in particular. Still being allowed to somewhat participate, it was obvious that collectively Russia had suffered a blow because their neutral athletes were only able to secure 17 medals.
With inspiring acts of endurance and passion, the Olympics never fails to bring the world together to celebrate some of the amazing things human-kind can achieve. In the end it doesn’t matter whether these skilled competitors won the gold or not, because in the end they have closed yet another chapter in the long book of Olympic history.
