ShareAmerica is featuring new photos each day from the 2018 Winter Olympics. Keep your eyes on this page as the gallery grows.
Above, the 2018 Winter Olympics drew to a close in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on February 25 with a colorful ceremony that mixed music and lights with the boisterous parade of athletes and the extinction of the Olympic Torch. These performers carried orbs of light to illustrate hope for a bright future.
Finishing first!
Marit Bjoergen capped Norway’s medal haul by winning the games’ final event, the women’s grueling 30k cross-country skiing competition. The Scandinavian nation leaves Pyeongchang with 39 medals, most of any country. Germany took home 31, Canada 29 and the United States 23.
Overtime triumph
Masks, gloves and sticks littered the ice after the Russian men’s national hockey team, playing as the Olympic Athletes from Russia, defeated Germany 4-3 in overtime in the gold medal game on February 25. Russians last won hockey gold at the 1992 Albertville Winter Games, when they played as part of the Unified Team after the Soviet Union’s fall.
Friendly adversaries
15-year-old prodigy Alina Zagitova (left) took home the gold medal in women’s figure skating February 23 while Russian teammate Evgenia Medvedeva, 18, captured silver. Zagitova is the second youngest to win the title.
What a rush
German hockey players celebrate a surprise victory over Team Canada in the men’s semifinal February 23. Germany will face off with the Olympic Athletes from Russia on February 25 for the gold, while Canada and the Czech Republic vie for bronze.
Breaking the records
Nadezhda Skardino and her teammates are heroes in Belarus, after winning gold February 22 in the women’s 4x6km biathlon. Their victory makes team anchor Darya Domracheva the most-decorated female biathlete in Olympic history.
Drama on the ice
The U.S. women’s hockey team defeated Canada for gold in a dramatic 3-2 overtime shoot-out February 22. This is the first gold medal for the U.S. women’s hockey team in 20 years, since the women’s hockey tournament was introduced to the Olympics in 1998.
One giant leap
Italian skier Alessandro Pittin is photographed in mid-flight during the Nordic combined team event February 22, clearly showing the height of his jump.
In sync
Japan’s Miho Takagi leads the pack, followed by Ayano Sato and Nana Takagi in the February 21 women’s team pursuit speed-skating final. The trio won gold with a record-breaking time of two minutes and 53.89 seconds.
Photo finish
U.S. cross-country skier Jessie Diggins crosses the finish line in the women’s team sprint freestyle cross-country skiing final on February 21. Diggins and skiing partner Kikkan Randall are the first Americans to win gold in cross-country skiing in Olympic history.
Doubly skilled
France’s François Braud is poised to take off in the ski-jump portion of Nordic combined on February 20. Germany’s Johannes Rydzek and two teammates swept the medals in the event that ends with a 10-kilometer cross-country race.
Firebird on ice
The fringe of German ice dancer Kavita Lorenz’s skirt flickers like a ring of fire during her dance with partner Joti Polizoakis on February 19. Many fringes have been on display in the figure-skating competitions.
She’s OK!
Alla Tsuper of Belarus crashed while attempting a difficult triple twisting backflip in the women’s freestyle aerial final on February 16. The 38-year-old 2014 Sochi gold medalist and mother of two, who was not seriously injured, finished fourth.
Flying eagle
American Katie Uhlaender competes in a women’s skeleton heat on February 16. Athletes in sliding sports like skeleton and luge exhibit their personalities and national pride with their decorated helmets.
Snowboarders take flight
Athletes representing Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Canada and Austria race through Phoenix Snow Park in the men’s snowboard-cross elimination round on February 15. (© Kin Cheung/AP Images)
Suspended
Figure skaters Ryom Tae-ok (left) and Kim Ju-sik of North Korea in the pairs free skate final on February 15. South Korean audiences have enjoyed the opportunity to watch competitors from their northern neighbor at the games. (© Bernat Armangue/AP Images)
Teamwork
Britain’s Lauren Gray (right) and Anna Sloan sweep into action during the women’s-pairs curling match against the United States on February 15. Known as chess on ice, curling is a game of intense strategy cut with short bursts of action. (© Aaron Favila/AP Images)
Flying toward gold
The favorites for gold in the pairs figure-skating competition, Bruno Massot and Aliona Savchenko of Germany, performed their short program on February 14. The Germans, who were ranked fourth, won the gold medal after topping the free-skate routine on February 15.
For the love of the sport
Ski jumpers like Alex Insam of Italy spent Valentine’s Day training for the men’s large hill individual competition that begins February 17.
Living up to the hype
American teenager Chloe Kim took the United States one step closer to sweeping the snowboarding events by taking the gold in the women’s halfpipe on February 13. Kim’s win was in the bag before her final run, where she achieved her highest score.
Orange lightning
Dutch fans are easily spotted at the Olympics wearing brilliant shades of orange, the official color of the Netherlands’ Royal House of Orange. These spectators are at the Gangneung Oval on February 13 to watch speed skating, a national pastime.
Putting in the long hours
Olympians put in plenty of training hours before their events, even once they are at the Games. Czech biathlete Jaroslav Soukup is seen here skiing during an official training session on February 13.
Time flies by
Photographers in Pyeongchang use a multiple-exposure technique to capture athletes’ movements in high-speed events so fans can appreciate the games by the second. Here, the technique breaks down the second run of Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger during the Women’s Singles Luge competition on February 12.
Cheering on the home team
South Korean spectators are thrilled to cheer on their athletes, but Olympians from all over the world have been touched by how enthusiastically locals support foreign competitors as well.
A flying leap into history
American Mirai Nagasu made history February 12 as the third woman to land a triple axel at an Olympic skating competition. When a skater attempts a triple axel, she leaps forward to complete three and a half twists in the air before landing backward on the opposite foot. It’s one of the most difficult jumps to master, but Nagasu says she’s been landing it consistently in practice.
Shooting for another miracle on the ice
The U.S. Women’s Hockey Team has not been shy about its goal to win gold in Pyeongchang. They began the competition with an explosive win against Finland in the preliminary rounds February 11. Here, Mira Jalosuo, top, of Finland, checks Haley Skarupa of the United States during the game.
The first ‘first’ in Pyeongchang
Charlotte Kalla, of Sweden, claimed the first gold medal in Pyeongchang on February 10 after completing the women’s 15-kilometer cross-country skiathlon in 40 minutes and 44.9 seconds. The silver medalist, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen, was only 7.8 seconds behind.
Speed demons on skates
Italian speed skaters warm up February 10 before the men’s 5,000-meter race at the Gangneung Oval on Saturday. The Netherlands is a nation of speed demons, as the small country consistently dominates speed skating at the Winter Olympics and cycling in the Summer Games.
You look familiar
Noriaki Kasai of Japan competes in the Men’s Normal Hill Individual Qualifications at Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre on February 8. Kasai is the first athlete to compete in eight Winter Olympics.
Let the games begin!
The Olympic Flame is seen as fireworks go off during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Pyeongchang Stadium on February 9.
