Abdeali Saherwala | Staff Writer
Featured image | Courtesy of Pexels
Now that the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang have come to a close, the Canadian Olympic team finished strong—third place—in the medal standings. A near-identical result of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi that saw Canada finish in third place as well.
Despite Team Canada being in the same place as they were four years ago, the overall medal count increased by four. In Pyeongchang, Canada won 11 gold, eight silver, and 10 bronze. In 2014, Canada won 10 gold, 10 silver, and five bronze.
One of the most prominent gold medal victories was from figure skating duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who returned from retirement and won the Ice Dance event, with a sizzling on-ice routine that dazzled the whole crowd. With their latest medal earnings, Moir and Virtue have become the world’s most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history.
Following this, the pair officially announced their retirement, informing the Canadian public that they will not be returning to the Olympic stage.
The Canadian Olympic hockey teams—the sport the majority of Canadians care most about in the Winter Games—took home a silver and a bronze medal (silver for the women, and bronze for the men).
Another pair of breathtaking performances came in the Freestyle Skiing events from Kelsey Serwa, who won gold in Women’s Ski Cross, and Brady Leman, who also won gold in the Men’s Ski Cross.
Other notable gold medal-winning athletes were Mikael Kingsbury in Men’s Moguls, Cassie Sharpe in Women’s Halfpipe, and Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris in Mixed Doubles in Curling. The event that brought home the most medals for Team Canada was Freestyle Skiing, as four gold, two silver, and one bronze went to Canadians.
The Curling team produced the fewest medals for the country, as only a single gold went to the Canadians.
With the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games now at a close, Olympic athletes can soon look forward to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Hopefully, in the next Winter Olympics, Team Canada will be stronger and faster than ever before.
