25.02.2018
The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games concluded in spectacular style at the Olympic Stadium, and Turkey’s athletes embraced the celebrations with nations from all over the world. Hamza Dursun, who competed in the cross-country skiing, was the flag bearer for the Turkish national team.
Eight athletes from four different sports disciplines represented Turkey at the closing ceremony. President of the Turkish Olympic Committee and Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Prof. Dr. Uğur Erdener, watched on as the South Korean President Moon Jae-in and IOC President Thomas Bach both made emotive speeches about the power of sport.
"We are here to say goodbye, now that we have had the happiness of coming together for the past two weeks,” Lee said. “PyeongChang 2018 has been an Olympic Games to be remembered with beautiful memories.”
“In PyeongChang, the athletes broke records and showed perseverance. If they fell seven times, they got up eight times. Athletes from the tropical climates of Africa became the first to participate, the athletes from South and North Korea walked and competed together under a united flag. Each of the athletes fighting in PyeongChang 2018 is an Olympic champion. At every Olympic Games, the whole world comes together. We are very happy to have experienced this in PyeongChang.”
President Bach said: "In PyeongChang, the Korean team and Korean athletes walked under a single flag and many similar events have once again demonstrated the unifying power of sports. There was a record number of athletes participating in PyeongChang, and these Olympics were the new horizons Games."
“I would like to express my sincere thanks to Korean President Moon Jae-in, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Hee-Beom Lee, International Winter Sports Federations, Olympic Committees, volunteers and the entire Olympic family."
Turkey at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games
Ski jumper Fatih Arda İpçioğlu represented Turkey for the first time at an Olympic Games, and figure skaters Alper Uçar and Alisa Agafonova qualified for the free dance, for the first time in Turkish Olympic history. Özlem Çarıkçıoğlu and Serdar Deniz competed in the in alpine skiing, and Ayşenur Duman, Omer Ayçiçek and Hamza Dursun all took part in the cross-country skiing events. The results of all our athletes at PyeongChang 2018 can be found here.
Norwegian athletes dominate Games
Norway topped the PyeongChang 2018 medal table with 14 gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze, combining for a total of 39 medals. With this result, Norway surpassed even their own expectations, achieving a new Olympic Games record for the most medals won, breaking the previous effort of 37, set by the USA in Vancouver 2010.
Norwegian ski runner Marit Bjoergen, aged 38, won the 15th Olympic medal of her career in PyeongChang, becoming the most decorated athlete in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.
Beijing 2020
In keeping with the traditions of the Olympic Games, the Olympic flag was delivered to Beijing, which will host the next edition of the Olympic Winter Games in 2022, and a video about Beijing 2022 was shown as part of their own cultural celebration. Athletes and fans alike will now look forward to four years’ time, and another incredible celebration of winter sport.