The Pyeongchang Olympic Games have come to an end. They have included some surprises, some controversy and plenty of action.
ADVERTISEMENTAfter almost three weeks of competitions, the Pyeongchang Olympic Games have come to an end. There has been everything in these games including athletes making history, national teams breaking records and promising young talent that will stay with us.
Here is just a selection of outstanding participants and teams in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.
Shaun White: He became the first snowboarder to win three gold medals at three different Olympic games. White went 12 years between his first gold medal, which came at the 2006 Olympics, and his third medal. That marks a U.S. record for most years between golds.
Martin Fourcade: He became the most decorated French athlete in Olympic history on Tuesday as he helped his country to gold in the biathlon mixed relay in Pyeongchang. It was the 29 year-old's fifth Olympic title and his third in South Korea as France took the relay title. Fourcade won two golds at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and, with his tally of five, now holds the record for the most Winter Olympic gold medals won by a Frenchman. Alpine skier Jean-Claude Killy won three at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble.
Ester Ledecka: The 22 year-old became the first athlete to win Olympic golds in both skiing and snowboarding. She is the only athlete to have ever competed in both events at this level. Seven days after becoming the first snowboarder to win Olympic gold in alpine skiing, the surprise star of these games followed up her success in the Super-G with gold in snowboarding's parallel giant slalom.
The Norway Delegation: They have won 39 medals, breaking the record of the US. The Americans set the record eight years ago at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics where they won 37.
Cloe Kim: She became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding medal when she won gold in the women's snowboard halfpipe at just 17 years-old.
Aline Zagitova: At just 15 years-old, the Russian figure skater won the first gold medal for the OAR (Olympic Athlete From Russia). The men's ice hockey team won the second gold for this delegation.
”Dark Side”
But like in every fairy tale, there's always a “dark side.” On this occasion, unfortunately, it was nothing new. The shadow of doping was present again. Some Russian athletes that were competing under the Olympic flag tested positive. In some cases, they even lost the medal they had won here.
Aleksandr Krushelnitckii tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. He had won the bronze medal in curling mixed pairs with his wife. He was forced to give back the medal and to leave Pyeonchang.
IOC Spokesman, Mark Adams, confirmed the investigations and said: “As we know there is now an active case. What I can say is what I've said before. It's always extremely disappointing when these things happen.”
Nadezhda Sergeeva, who finished 12th in the two-woman bobsleigh, became the second Russian to test positive for a banned substance at the Winter Olympics. According to reports in the Russian media, the substance involved was trimetazidine, a stimulant usually used to treat patients suffering from angina.