While the closing ceremonies passed this weekend, the Olympic Games of Pyeongchang are still popping up on news feeds everywhere. Here are some of my favorite highlights from these past winter games that you should definitely watch!
5. Alpine Skiing Shock
Originally the Women’s Super G— a slalom race in which only one race decides a winner once instead of multiple races—was supposed to be Lindsey Vonn’s monumental comeback. After a previous injury she was supposed to use this event on the world stage to reassert her place in the world of ski racing. Unfortunately, Vonn being human made a mistake that cost her the podium. The kicker is that everyone thought this race was over after the current leader Anna Veith took over with a huge time gap of .11 seconds. But all of a sudden, the announcers are screaming that the 26th racer came back to capture the lead time by a thousandth of a second! Ester Ledecka from the Czech Republic didn’t believe it either; it took her a minute to realize she would take home the gold. Fun fact: Ester Ledecka is a gold medalist snowboarder and was the first and only athlete to compete both in snowboarding and skiing events at these Games and actually any Winter Games.
Watch it here.
4. How Do the Simpsons and Curling Relate?
The Simpsons did it again—predicted the future that is. They predicted that U.S.A. Mens team would take the gold, a major upset against Sweden: the first gold medal for the U.S. in curling. I remember watching a highlight reel for this event and one of the team members, John Shuster, hugged his teammates and with determination stated, “I want to win gold,” after winning the match to get to the finals. It’s the moments like that, which remind us that whatever the sport may be—these athletes are the best in the world at what they do because they have a drive that got them there.
Watch it here.
3. The Win 20 Years in the Making
Sports fans live for great rivalries and in hockey, there could be perhaps no greater rivalry than the one between the U.S. and Canada. The match went into a shooting overtime which the U.S. were able to score one shot over Canada to take the top place on the podium. This historic win comes after controversy that the Women’s U.S. hockey team has placed on the podium in every winter Olympics since 1998-basically as long as I have been alive, these women have been winning medals— yet were not being paid equally in comparison to their male counterparts. However this was as much a win for them as it is for female athletes all over the world.
Watch it here.
2. Two-Sides of the Same Coin
Both male and female Half-Pipe gold went to competitors Shaun White and Chloe Kim this Winter Games and they couldn’t be happier. Shaun White returned from his Sochi podium loss after falling on all three runs. Chloe Kim made her Olympic debut while she’s been dominating the rest of the Snowboarding World for years as the up-and-coming competitor to watch. They each have their signature moves which they pulled out for their winning runs: Shaun did back-to-back 1440’s along with his own ‘Double McTwist’, Chloe pulled out back-to-back 1080’s. Both athletes cried after their winning runs too. Age is the only difference between the two. Shaun White was the oldest Half-Pipe competitor along with being the oldest man to win a gold in the Half-Pipe, while Chloe Kim is the youngest female to win a gold medal in female half-pipe as well as one of the youngest to compete snowboarding at this Olympics. Maybe there really is a secret recipe to being a gold medalist, both of these athletes seem to have it.
Bonus: If you can’t get enough of the snowboarding, check out Red Gerard, the other athlete in the photo above. He’s the athlete we can all relate to after Netflix-binging the night before, waking up late to his event, losing his jacket, and cursing on live TV.
Watch Chloe Kim here and Shaun White here.
1. All of Figure Skating
This is the event that is at the true heart of the Winter Olympics—at least you can’t convince me otherwise! Comprised of five different events: Team, Pairs, Ice-Dancing, Male, and Female, each with their own culture, drama and history that made those nights the most memorable of the entire Games. If there are any events you should watch out of this entire list, watch these. My personal favorite is the pairs skaters: Aliona Savchenko has been competing at the Olympics five back-to-back times so she could have a shot at the gold medal along with her new partner Bruno Massot who recently completed his German citizenship test to have the ability to compete. After everything they’ve been through, the hardship payed off.
Watch the best moments of figure skating here.