The 2018 Winter Games included some of the most exciting, record breaking performances in Olympic history. There were many first-time winners as well. The women of Team USA soared to new heights as they collected 12 out of the USA’s 23 total medals, not to mention the 2 more bronze medals added by the mixed gender events of ice dancing and team figure skating. Here are some of the best performances by women at this year’s Olympics:
1) Cross Country Skiing
In what was one of the most dramatic moments of the games, Jessie Diggins of Team USA crossed the finish line 19 hundredths of a second before Sweden and claimed the gold. What made the moment even more special was the fact that the US Cross Country Ski team hadn’t won an Olympic medal in 42 years (men or women). This was also the first gold medal ever won at the Olympics by American cross country skiers.
2) Hockey
Another highlight was when the US Women’s Hockey team beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout of the gold medal game. Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored the game winning goal. This was the first time the US women had won the gold since 1998, and it broke Canada’s streak of winning four straight gold medals.
Mikaela Shiffrin was one of the top performers of Team USA, bringing home two medals. Shiffrin won gold in the giant slalom event and silver in alpine combined. Only three total medals were won by US athletes in alpine skiing events during the Olympics, two of which were Mikaela’s medals and the other being Lindsey Vonn’s.
4) Figure Skating
Mirai Nagasu became the first American woman to ever land the triple axel in the Olympics, and only the third woman overall. The triple axel is a figure skating element in which the skater jumps and completes three and a half rotations in mid air. Nagasu completed the trick during her program in the team skating event, and it helped Team USA take home the bronze medal.
5) Snowboarding
Both Chloe Kim and Arielle Gold medaled in the women’s snowboard halfpipe event, with Chloe taking the gold and Arielle taking the bronze. Chloe has become an internet sensation after tweeting during her competitions, and the 17 year-old proved that Team USA is in good hands with this younger generation of amazing athletes.
6) Downhill Skiing
Lindsey Vonn concluded her amazing career with a bronze medal in downhill skiing. It had been 8 long years since her last Olympic event due to numerous injuries including knee reconstruction, multiple broken bones, and nerve damage. She proved just how strong she is after returning from such gruesome injuries to medal at the age of 33.
The female empowerment at the PyeongChang Olympics was undeniable. The women were responsible for over half of Team USA’s medals. Today, women’s sporting events are continuously overshadowed by men in terms of media coverage. The women at these games gave the media what they needed: incredible records, stories, and drama that’s inescapable if you want those good ratings. Hopefully the success of these female athletes will inspire more young women out there to follow their dreams, and prove that they belong. These women have proved that they deserve all the attention in the world, and that yes, women’s sports are exciting too.
In case you missed this year’s Olympics, you can watch some of the best moments here.