Page 4 of 6
Day Three
3 일째
3 일째
Jas is desperate to visit the Olympic site. We ask the owner of Starvill pension how we can get to the venue and he offers to drop us there because getting a taxi will take too long. The site looks abandoned but the gondola is still in operation. Why the gondola is open becomes clear soon as we are on top of the mountain. There is no queing, just get a ticket and hop on the gondola
The mountain is shrouded in mist and visibility is very limited. The gondola line is 3.7 km (2.3 mi) long, so it takes a while reaching the top. Once on the top of the ski resort the temperature drops even futher with an icy breeze. The little cafe under the gondola station serves hot coffee and light snack
The snowboarders are the ones that keep using the gondola to go up and then slide down the mountain and repeat this all day long. The video shows the preparations before sliding down and disappearing in the fog.
Men’s and women’s snowboarding made their Olympic debuts at the Nagano Games in 1998 with giant slalom and halfpipe competitions. The discipline proved an instant success and returned to Salt Lake City four years later with parallel giant slalom and halfpipe competitions. In Turin, snowboard cross also made its debut. In this event four riders race across a course studded with jumps, bumps and huge turns.
Men’s and women’s snowboarding made their Olympic debuts at the Nagano Games in 1998 with giant slalom and halfpipe competitions. The discipline proved an instant success and returned to Salt Lake City four years later with parallel giant slalom and halfpipe competitions. In Turin, snowboard cross also made its debut. In this event four riders race across a course studded with jumps, bumps and huge turns.
GERARD TURNS ON THE STYLE
Having fought his way through the ever-demanding US trials, 17-year-old Gerard upset the odds in the slopestyle final, beating pre-event favourite Maxence Parrot of Canada to land his country’s first gold of PyeongChang 2018. Despite leading after two rounds, fellow Canadian Mark McMorris had to settle for bronze, matching his medal at Sochi 2014
Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do Province, was selected as the host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics after receiving a majority vote at the 123rd IOC Session held on July 6, 2011. It was South Korea’s third attempt.
The PyeongChang Olympics, which was held from February 9 to 25, 2018, was the largest Winter Games ever, drawing 2,920 participants from 92 countries including six nations debuting in the Winter Olympics―Nigeria, Eritrea, Malaysia, Singapore, Ecuador, and Kosovo. Three world records and twenty-five new Olympic records were set, thanks to the excellent ice quality. Ticket sales were also considered a success, with some 1,080,000 tickets sold.
PyeongChang was the first Olympics to adopt 5G technology, 360° virtual reality (VR), glassless 3D, and holograms. It also utilised the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile app. On top of that, a total of 85 robots, including guides, food service, and mannequin robots, were deployed to the venues, demonstrating the country’s innovative prowess. CNN reported that “5G is helping make PyeongChang the most high-tech Olympics ever.”
Above all, the PyeongChang Olympics will be remembered by the world as the “Peace Olympics” that embodied the value and spirit of the Olympics. North Korea sent the largest delegation ever to the Winter Games including 22 players, 229 cheerleaders, and 27 high-ranking officials. The two Koreas made a joint entrance and competed as one team in the women’s hockey for the first time in Olympic history. Pope Francis said, “The fact that both Koreas compete as one team under the Korean Unification Flag gives hope for a world in which conflicts are peacefully resolved.” Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), also commented, “The Olympic Games of PyeongChang 2018 are the games of new horizons. We have seen how sport can make the world a better place.”
PyeongChang 2018 was also a cultural Olympiad where the Hallyu and traditional culture harmoniously blended. During the Olympics, the country operated a total of 1,800 cultural programs including K-pop concerts, traditional performances, and video arts with some 960,000 people in attendance.
IOC President Thomas Bach praised the PyeongChang Games as “the best Winter Olympics ever,” and Toronto Star even said, “The problem with PyeongChang is that there aren’t any problems.” In the overall medal standing, South Korea ranked 7th with five gold, eight silver, and four bronze medals. The country earned medals not only from ice sports but also from other categories like skeleton, bobsleigh, and curling, diversifying its winter sports portfolio. At the Paralympics, South Korea finished in 16th place, with a gold medal in a sitting cross-country skiing event.
South Korea became a country that has hosted both Summer and Winter Games, 30 years after the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It also joined the club of those who have hosted the world’s four biggest sporting competitions― the 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2011 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships, and 2018 Winter Olympics.
Comments powered by CComment