Fireworks explode above the National Stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in Beijing, on Feb. 20, 2022.JAMES HILL/The New York Times News Service
Closing ceremony: That’s a wrap! The Beijing Winter Olympics, pulled off inside a tightly-restricted closed loop, is now officially over, punctuated with an elaborate round of Sunday night fireworks. Isabelle Weidemann – a triple-medal winner in long track speed skating at the Beijing Olympics – lead Canada as flag-bearer at the closing ceremony this morning. Chinese President Xi Jinping was on hand for the snowflake-themed ceremony at the Bird’s Nest stadium, which was capped by a 90-second fireworks display that spelled out “one world, one family,” followed by a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.”
Ice hockey: The Finns knocked off the favoured Russians 2-1 Sunday to win the men’s hockey tournament, capturing an Olympic gold medal for the first time in the nation’s history. Finland had never won in hockey at the Olympics on the men’s or women’s side. It last reached the final in 2006 and lost to Sweden, matching the silver from 1988.
Bobsled:Pilot Justin Kripps and his crew won bronze in the four-man bobsleigh event, finishing the four-heat race in three minutes 55.09 seconds. The difference between the podium and fourth place was just six-hundredths of a second. “The pressure and the buildup at the Games is so intense,” said Kripps. “When you cross that finish line it’s just this moment where you don’t know for sure and then it all just explodes into a celebration.”
Curling: Eve Muirhead led Britain to the Olympic women’s curling gold medal – the first for the sport’s homeland since 2002 – pulling away with a four-ender in the seventh on Sunday for a record-setting 10-3 victory over Japan. The Swedish women won bronze on Saturday night, beating Switzerland.
Canada leaves the Beijing Olympics with a total of 26 medals: four gold, eight silver and 14 bronze. The final medal came when the four-man bobsleigh team took bronze. Catch up on this and all the other medal moments by Team Canada in three minutes.
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Off the field
Medal count:Canada capped off the Olympics with 26 medals – four gold, eight silver and 14 bronze – ranked fourth in the medal table behind Norway (37), Russia (32) and Germany (27) and ahead of the United States (24). Canada’s performance in Beijing matched its output in Vancouver and Whistler B.C. in 2010 for the second-highest in Winter Olympic history, although the host team won 14 gold there.
The day in pictures
Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell, of Canada, celebrate winning the bronze medal in four-man bobsleigh at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Sunday Feb. 20, 2022.Pavel Golovkin/The Associated Press
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Germany’s Francesco Friedrich with teammates celebrate their gold medal beside German silver medallists Johannes Lochner with teammates and Canadian bronze medallists Justin Kripps with teammates.EDGAR SU/Reuters
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Team Canada's Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell at the start the four-man bobsleigh competition in the Yanqing district of Beijing on Sunday.Pavel Golovkin/The Associated Press
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Team Canada in action during the four-man bobsleigh event at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre.DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/Getty Images
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Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell of Team Canada react after their final slide during the four-man bobsleigh competition.Julian Finney/Getty Images
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Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell of Team Canada react after winning bronze in the four-man bobsleigh event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Adam Pretty/Getty Images
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Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell of Team Canada celebrate winning bronze in four-man bobsleigh on the last day of Beijing Winter Olympics.Adam Pretty/Getty Images
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Athletes competes in the cross-country skiing women's 30km mass start free on Sunday during the Beijing Winter Olympics.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Canada's Katherine Stewart-Jones takes a drink while competing in the cross-country skiing in Zhangjiakou, China.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Chika Kobayashi of Japan, Neza Zerjav of Slovenia, Nadezhda Stepashkina of Kazakhstan and Laura Leclair of Canada in action during the cross-country skiing women's 30km mass start free on Sunday.MARKO DJURICA/Reuters
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Canada's Laura Leclair is wrapped in a blanket after crossing the finish line in the cross-country skiing women's 30km mass start free at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Trevor Philp of Canada races during the mixed team parallel skiing event on Sunday in the Yanqing district of Beijing.Luca Bruno/The Associated Press
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Erin Mielzynski of Team Canada (L) and Ana Buick of Team Slovenia (R) ski during the mixed team parallel 1/8 final on at the National Alpine Ski Centre on Sunday.Alex Pantling
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Canada’s Trevor Philp celebrates after his run during the mixed team parallel skiing event in Yanqing, China.Alex Pantling/Getty Images
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Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, of Canada, perform during the figure skating gala at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Sunday.David J. Phillip/The Associated Press
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Keegan Messing of Canada in action during the figure skating exhibition gala at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing.ALEKSANDRA SZMIGIEL/AFP/Getty Images
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Piper Gilles of Canada and Paul Poirier of Canada, Keegan Messing of Canada and Shoma Uno of Japan with Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympics during the exhibition gala.ALEKSANDRA SZMIGIEL/Reuters
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Golden moments from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Team Canada finished with 26 medals medals, four of them gold, at a Winter Games where COVID-19 restrictions made the atmosphere unlike any Olympics before it. Here are the highlights.
The opening ceremony for the Winter Paralympic Games is on March 4. The event, which runs until March 13, features five sports: wheelchair curling, snowboarding, hockey, alpine skiing and nordic skiing (which includes biathlon and cross-country). About 600 athletes are expected to compete, 50 or so from Canada.
At Olympics, cybersecurity worries lingered in background
Warnings to use disposable “burner” phones and laptops. Privacy-protecting software. Concerns about a security flaw in an official Games smartphone app. Such precautions fuelled unease about data privacy for competitors and attendees at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Not everyone heeded them.
A woman looks at her phone as she passes an Olympic logo inside the main media center for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Jan. 18, 2022, in Beijing.David J. Phillip/The Associated Press
How we can start caring about the Olympics again
Canada won 26 medals. Team Canada did its part. Unfortunately, getting this country whipped up about the Games isn’t the sweet breeze it used to be. Cracking 20 medals and 10 golds was a cause for national celebration in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. It was a source of pride in Sochi 2014. It was proof of our place in the world in Pyeongchang. But in Beijing, gold became bronze and the thrill was gone, Cathal Kelly writes.
Supporters of Canadian pairs skaters Vanessa James and Eric Radford wave their national flag ahead of th short program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, on Feb. 18, 2022.David J. Phillip/The Associated Press
Team Canada players with their gold medal after a 3-2 win over the United States in the tournament final at the Beijing Winter Olympics.BRIAN SNYDER/Reuters
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Team Canada's Pascal Dion, Steven Dubois, Charles Hamelin, Maxime Laoun, Jordan Pierre-Gilles, celebrate after winning gold in men's 5000m relay final during the short track speed skating competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Natacha Pisarenko/The Associated Press
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Canada's gold medal winners, Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann and Valerie Maltais, celebrate during a medal ceremony for the speed skating women's team pursuit at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press
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Silver medallist Canada's Ivanie Blondin celebrates during the venue ceremony for the women's speed skating mass start event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP/Getty Images
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Laurent Dubreuil of Canada reacts after winning the silver medal in the men’s 1,000m speed skating final at the Beijing Winter Olympics.SUSANA VERA/Reuters
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Silver medalist Canada's Cassie Sharpe celebrates during a medal ceremony for the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Alessandra Tarantino/The Associated Press
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Canada's Max Parrot receives his gold medal for the men’s snowboard slopestyle event during the Beijing Winter Olympics.MARKO DJURICA/Reuters
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Canada’s Marielle Thompson takes silver in the freestyle women’s ski cross during the Beijing Winter Olympics.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Canada's Steven Dubois reacts after winning the silver medal in the men's 1,500-metre short-track speed skating event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.The Canadian Press
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Silver medalist Isabelle Weidemann of Canada celebrates during the medal ceremony for the women's 5,000-meters speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press
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Team Canada freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury receives his silver medal in men’s moguls during the Beijing Winter Olympics.Sean Kilpatrick/AFP/Getty Images
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Canada's Eliot Grondin celebrates his silver medal in the men's snowboard cross final at the Beijing Winter Olympics.The Canadian Press
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Canada's long track speed skater Isabelle Weidemann wins the bronze medal in the women’s 3000m during the Beijing Winter Olympics.SUSANA VERA/Reuters
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Canada's ski jumpers Alexandria Loutitt, Matthew Soukup, Abigail Strate and Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes receive their bronze medals in the mixed team event during the Beijing Winter Olympics.LINDSEY WASSON/Reuters
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Canada's Mark McMorris receives his bronze medal for the men’s snowboard slopestyle event during the Beijing Winter Olympics.MARKO DJURICA/Reuters
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Canada's Kim Boutin reacts after winning the bronze medal in women's 500-metre short-track speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
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Canada's Meryeta Odine celebrates her bronze medal in the women's snowboard cross final at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Canada's snowboarders Meryeta O'Dine and Eliot Grondin receive their bronze in the mixed teams snowboard cross event during the Beijing Winter OlympicsLeah Hennel/The Canadian Press
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Team Canada's James Crawford celebrates during his bronze medal during the ceremony for the the men's combined at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Luca Bruno/The Associated Press
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Bronze medallists, Marion Thenault, Miha Fontaine and Lewis Irving of Canada celebrate during the freestyle skiing mixed team aerials medal ceremony at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Patrick Smith/Getty Images
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Bronze medallist Steven Dubois of Canada celebrates on the podium during the victory ceremony for men's 500m short track.SUSANA VERA/Reuters
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Christine De Bruin, of Canada, celebrates winning the bronze medal in the women's monobob at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press
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Bronze medallist Canada's Max Parrot celebrates during victory ceremonies following the men's snowboard big air competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
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Team Canada’s Skip Brad Gushue, Brett Gallant, Geoff Walker and Vice Mark Nichols celebrate winning the bronze medal after defeating the United States at the Beijing Winter Olympics.ELOISA LOPEZ/Reuters
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Bronze medalist Canada's Rachael Karker poses during a medal ceremony for the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Alessandra Tarantino/The Associated Press
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Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell of Team Canada react after winning the bronze medal in the four-man bobsleigh competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics.Adam Pretty/Getty Images
