This year’s Winter Olympics have had us glued to our screens for the last two weeks. We’ve watched athletes ski, snowboard, slide, skate, and everything in between. Records have been broken, legacies have been cemented, and we’ve lapped it all up. Here are our picks from Milano Cortina:
Biggest winner
Olle: Frida Karlsson — if Klæbo is the king of this year’s Winter Olympics, Karlsson is the perfect queen. A reliable pillar in winning the medal table on the women’s side for Sweden, she makes running up a hill in skis look like a walk in the park.
Hugh: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo — perhaps the obvious choice, but the Norwegian cross-country skier won every event in which he competed (a record six gold medals). His 11 career golds are the most of any Winter Olympic athlete.
Biggest loser
Olle: Finland — the last time the Finns left a Winter Olympics without a single gold medal was back in 2010 and they will be disappointed not to have struck gold in Italy.
Hugh: Athlete activism — competitors who spoke out against social unrest in the United States were dragged through the dirt, while those who aligned themselves with the Trump administration got the whole nine yards. Since when did representing your country have to mean blind subservience?
Biggest upset
Olle: Gaon Choi — the 17-year-old South Korean became the youngest snowboarding champion in history despite an early crash and the best efforts of back-to-back gold medalist Chloe Kim.
Hugh: Mikhail Shaidorov winning Men’s Single Skate — all eyes were on Ilia Malinin to win gold, but an almost flawless free skate from Shaidorov earned Kazakhstan’s second ever Winter Olympic medal.
Breakout star
Olle: Romanian Bobsleigh Team — despite going home medal-less, Team Tentea momentarily threatened the hegemony of the German dominated 2-man event and looked real likeable doing it.
Hugh: Condom suppliers — 10,000 gone in three days, and the world’s premier athletes continue to break records. Thank goodness the Olympic Village didn’t reuse those cardboard beds from Tokyo 2020.
Favourite event to watch
Olle: Snowboard Halfpipe unexpectedly had me floored this Olympics. Even as a skier, I must admit snowboarders look cooler in the air.
Hugh: I loved anything freeski. Team GB’s Kirsty Muir was unlucky with two fourth place finishes, and the men’s big air final was nail-biting.
Event to add for 2030
Olle: Bandy — this ice hockey and football lovechild has twenty-two players, a red rubber ball, and big enough goals to guarantee action.
Hugh: Why not throw in some Ice Climbing? Its warm-weather sibling debuted in Paris, and surely the French Alps are an appropriate setting if any.
Event due for retirement
Olle: Skeleton or Luge. Pick one (headfirst or feetfirst), throw out the other, and thank me in four years. Also, cut down on some Speed Skating events. The Dutch have no right to ten gold medals.
Hugh: Aerials — unbelievably swaggerless and not as creative as the big air. My knees could never.
Best news story
Olle: USA Women’s Ice Hockey Team snubbing Donald Trump. While on a call congratulating the men’s team for winning their final, President Trump joked that he would have to invite the women too or risk “impeachment.” Unfortunately for the President, it seems the women have better things to do.
Hugh: Alysa Liu winning gold in the women’s Figure Skating. Having competed from a young age, she retired in 2022 satisfied with her career, and only returned to competition on her own terms — she has become a role model for succeeding in a healthy way, and has done so in brilliant style.
Most excited for at the Winter Paralympics
Olle: Mono-skiing is a fascinating sport that is always interesting to watch and Anna-Lena Forster from Germany looks unstoppable.
Hugh: Menna Fitzpatrick returning after some serious injuries, and Pickle, the guide dog accompanying Team GB. She’s adorable.
Photo by Ryan Fleischer on Unsplash.