PyeongChang - It's A Wrap
Alpine
In ten individual events and a thrilling team event, some of the favourites lived up to expectations alongside newcomers who claimed top spots.
Biggest surprise
Besides the astonishing win in the super-G by Ester Ledecka (CZE), who also won gold in snowboard parallel giant slalom, Katharina Gallhuber (AUT) and Ramon Zenhäusern (SUI) surprised by claiming Olympic medals in their respective slaloms, without having earned a podium in slalom on the World Cup tour before. Both added an additional medal in the alpine team event and left PyeongChang 2018 with two additional pieces of hardware in their luggage.
Records
Aksel Lund Svindal (35 years, 1 month, 21 days) and André Myhrer (35 years, 1 month, 12 days) set the record as the oldest Olympic Champions in downhill and slalom respectively.
Best venue moment
The Olympic debut of the alpine team event proved to be highly exciting and the athletes enjoyed fighting for Olympic medals together as a team. Fans and media also liked the new head-to-head racing format. It was a perfect way to conclude successful Olympic Winter Games for the three nations that won most medals in PyeongChang 2018.
Medal table
|
Gold
|
Silver
|
Bronze
|
Total
|
|
|
AUT
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
7
|
|
SUI
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
7
|
|
SWE
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
|
NOR
|
1
|
4
|
2
|
7
|
|
USA
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
|
ITA
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
|
CZE
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
FRA
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
LIE
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Freestyle
Canada dominated the Freestyle Skiing events taking four of the ten golds on offer during twelve days of action.
Biggest surprises
19-year-old young gun Perrine Laffont (FRA) beat reigning Olympic Champion Justine Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) to become the ladies’ moguls gold medalist.
Hara Daichi (JPN), who has not had any FIS World Cup podiums in his career so far, took moguls bronze for Japan, becoming the first man from his country to take an Olympic medal in moguls.
New Zealand won its first Olympic Freestyle Skiing medal when 16-year-old Nico Porteous clinched bronze in the men's ski halfpipe – a big surprise for the young shooting star. He joined his compatriot 16-year old Carlos Garcia Knight who had claimed the country’s first ever Snowboard medal with bronze in the big air to break the country’s 26-year medal drought at the Winter Olympics.
Records
David Wise (USA) claimed his second Olympic gold medal in the men's ski halfpipe, four years after winning the event when it debuted at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
With his victory in PyeongChang 2018, Wise became the second athlete to win two gold medals in Freestyle Skiing, after Alex Bilodeau (CAN) came on top of the podium twice in men's moguls at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014
Best venue moment
Kelsey Serwa and Brittany Phelan (CAN) demonstrated that friends who train together can also win medals together when they finished first and second, respectively in the ladies' ski cross event.
|
Gold
|
Silver
|
Bronze
|
Total
|
|
|
CAN
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
7
|
|
SUI
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
|
USA
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
|
FRA
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
|
BLR
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
NOR
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
UKR
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
CHN
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
|
AUS
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
RUS
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
|
GBR
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
JPN
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
KAZ
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
NZL
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1 |
Snowboard
It was the sixth time that Snowboarding was staged at Olympic Winter Games, this time featuring the Olympic debut of Snowboard big air. Riders competed in ten medal events, including slopestyle, halfpipe, snowboard cross, big air and parallel giant slalom for both, ladies and men. Different nations, 17 in total, shared the 30 Snowboard gold, silver and bronze medals up for grabs.
Biggest surprise
Parallel giant slalom on the last day of the programme in Phoenix Park provided some of the biggest surprises and memorable Olympic moments as Ester Ledecka (CZE) became the third athlete to win medals in two different events at a single Olympic Winter Games winning PGS gold, as expected, but only a few days after shocking the Alpine Skiing world by claiming the super-G title in what was arguable the biggest sporting headline of the entire Olympics.
And let's not forget local hero Sang-ho Lee who became the first athlete in the nation’s history to win an Olympic medal on snow for the Republic of Korea by taking home silver in parallel giant slalom in front of a packed and cheering stadium in Phoenix Park
Records
U.S. super star Shaun White became the first rider to claim three gold medals in a snowboard event with gold in halfpipe, after also winning the event in Vancouver 2010 and Turin 2006.
While U.S. riders Chloe Kim (halfpipe) and Red Gerard (slopestyle) also set records by becoming the youngest female and male snowboard gold medallists at the age of 17, it was the latter one's family who celebrated most at the Bokwang Phoenix Park competition venue.
Medal table
|
Gold
|
Silver
|
Bronze
|
Total
|
|
|
USA
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
7
|
|
CAN
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
|
FRA
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
|
CZE
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
|
AUT
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
ITA
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
SUI
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
AUS
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
GER
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
CHN
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
JPN
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
KOR
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
ESP
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
FIN
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
GBR
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
NZL
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
SLO
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1 |
