2018 Winter Olympics

The 2018 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, were held in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, from February 9 to February 25, 2018. Some events began on February 8, the day before the opening ceremony. This was the first time South Korea hosted the Winter Olympics and only the second time the country hosted any Olympic Games, after the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

These Games featured 102 events in 15 different winter sports, which was more than any Winter Olympics before. Four new events made their Olympic debut: "big air" snowboarding, mass start speed skating, mixed doubles curling, and mixed team alpine skiing. Over 2,900 athletes from 93 countries took part, including several nations competing for the very first time.

After issues with unfair practices in sports following the 2014 Winter Olympics, some athletes from Russia were allowed to compete under a special name, Olympic Athletes from Russia. North Korea joined the Games despite difficult relations with South Korea. The two countries marched together at the opening ceremony and formed a unified team in the women's ice hockey competition.

Norway won the most medals overall, with 39, while Germany and Canada also did very well. South Korea, the host country, won five gold medals and placed seventh overall, including its first-ever gold in men's skeleton racing with athlete Yun Sung-Bin.

Bidding and election

Main article: Bids for the 2018 Winter Olympics

Pyeongchang was chosen to host the 2018 Winter Olympics at a meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 6, 2011. It won with 63 votes out of 95 in the first round, more than all the other cities together. Munich in Germany got 25 votes, and Annecy in France got seven.

This was South Korea's third try to host the Winter Olympics. They had lost to Vancouver and Sochi in past votes for the 2010 and 2014 Games. After those close misses, South Korea worked hard and finally succeeded in hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics.

After being selected, Pyeongchang became the third Asian city to host the Winter Olympics. South Korea also became the second Asian country to host both the Summer and Winter Games, having hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics before.

Development and preparation

The International Olympic Committee formed a special group to help prepare for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. An organizing committee was created to plan everything for the Games. They started building places for athletes to stay and a fast train to connect Pyeongchang to Seoul. They also worked with the International Paralympic Committee to make sure the Games were inclusive for everyone.

The medals for the Games were designed to look special, with patterns and traditional Korean designs. The Winter Olympics torch relay began in Greece and traveled through many parts of South Korea, using different ways to move the torch, like boats and special machines. Most of the outdoor events happened in Pyeongchang, while indoor events took place in Gangneung. Tickets for the Games went on sale in 2016, with prices ranging from very affordable to very expensive depending on the event.

The Games

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium on 9 February 2018. This special building, worth US$100 million, was only used for the opening and closing ceremonies and was torn down after the events.

Sports

The 2018 Winter Olympics included 102 events where athletes could win medals, spread across 15 different types of activities in 7 sports. This was the first time a Winter Olympics had more than 100 medal events. Six new events were added to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang: men's and ladies' big air snowboarding, mixed doubles curling, men's and ladies' mass start speed skating, and mixed team alpine skiing.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each separate discipline.

Participating National Olympic Committees

A record 93 teams sent athletes to compete. Six nations took part in the Winter Olympics for the very first time: Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria and Singapore. Athletes from three more countries – the Cayman Islands, Dominica, and Peru – qualified but decided not to compete.

In a special agreement, athletes from North Korea were allowed to travel to South Korea to compete. The two nations marched together under a special flag during the opening ceremony. A unified Korean team, with 12 players from North Korea and 23 from South Korea, competed in the women's ice hockey tournament. The two nations also competed separately in other sports.

Because of issues with unfair treatment of athletes, the Russian Olympic Committee was not allowed to take part. But some Russian athletes who could prove they followed the rules were allowed to compete as "Olympic Athletes from Russia" under a special flag and with a special anthem.

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee

^a Apart from the respective delegations, North Korea and South Korea formed a unified Korean women's ice hockey team.
^b Russian athletes were entitled to participate as Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) if individually cleared by the IOC.

Event scheduling

The Olympic organizers let a TV company help decide when events would happen to get more viewers in the United States. Because figure skating is very popular there, the events were held in the morning so they could be shown during prime time in America. This change affected the athletes and the number of fans who could watch.

Calendar

See also: Chronological summary of the 2018 Winter Olympics

All dates are KST (UTC+9)

Medals used in the games

Podium sweeps

Three podium sweeps were recorded during the Games.

Records

Main article: World and Olympic records set at the 2018 Winter Olympics

• Japanese athlete Noriaki Kasai became the first person to compete in eight Winter Olympics.
• Japanese athlete Yuzuru Hanyu won Olympic gold medals in a row.
• American Nathan Chen did five very difficult jumps in one program.
• Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer won gold in the same event three times.
• Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst won gold medals for four Olympics in a row.
• Dutch athlete Jorien ter Mors won medals in two different sports.
• Czech athlete Ester Ledecká won gold medals in two different sports.
• Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen won her fifteenth Olympic medal.
• Norway won 39 medals, the most ever in one Winter Olympics.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium on 25 February 2018. The leader of the Olympics said the Games were over, and the flame was put out. The Olympic flag was given to Beijing, the next host city of the Winter Olympics.

Medal table

  *   Host nation (South Korea)

Broadcasting

Main article: List of 2018 Winter Olympics broadcasters

The 2018 Winter Olympics had many ways for people to watch the games on TV and online. In some countries, the rights to show the Olympics were already sold before the games even started. For example, a South Korean company called SBS had the rights to show the games and shared them with other channels like MBC and KBS. Some of the games were filmed in very high quality, including special footage of the opening ceremonies.

The games also showed off new technology, like 5G wireless networks, which helped bring live views from different sports events. These new technologies were part of partnerships with companies like KT and Intel. Later in 2019, awards were given for the best broadcasts of the Olympics. Broadcasters from the United States and the United Kingdom won several of these awards for their coverage.

Marketing

The official logo for the 2018 Winter Olympics showed ice crystals and used special letters from the Korean alphabet to represent the host city, PyeongChang. This style helped make sure people did not mix up PyeongChang with Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

New companies joined as sponsors for the games. Toyota became a sponsor for moving around, but let Hyundai and Kia keep their local sponsorship. Alibaba Group and Intel also became new sponsors for online shopping and technology.

Concerns and controversies

Main article: Concerns and controversies at the 2018 Winter Olympics

North–South Korean relations

See also: North Korea–South Korea relations, 2017–18 North Korea crisis, and North Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Because of the tense relationship between North and South Korea, people worried about the safety of the 2018 Winter Olympics. This was especially true after North Korea tested missiles and nuclear weapons. South Korea's president, Moon Jae-in, promised to keep the Games safe. Some countries, like Austria, Germany, and France, said they might not go if it wasn't safe.

In January 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un suggested talking to South Korea about joining the Games. This led to North and South Korea agreeing to have one team for women's ice hockey and to march together at the opening ceremony. Some people in South Korea did not like this idea and protested.

Russian doping

Main articles: Doping in Russia, McLaren Report, Oswald Commission, Russian doping scandal after the 2014 Winter Olympics, Russian doping scandal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and Olympic Athletes from Russia at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Russia's team was affected by past issues with unfair competition in sports. Because of this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that Russian athletes could not compete under their country's name. Instead, they had to compete as "Olympic Athletes from Russia" (OAR). This meant they used the Olympic flag and anthem instead of Russia's.

Many Russian athletes were not allowed to compete because of these rules. Some of them challenged this decision, and some were allowed to compete as OAR. In the end, 168 Russian athletes took part in the Games under the OAR name.