The Verona Enviornment hosted the closing ceremony of essentially the most dispersed Winter Olympics in historical past. Picture: AFP
MILAN:
Worldwide Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry lauded Milan-Cortina 2026 as a “new sort of Winter Video games” as she declared them closed on Sunday.
These Olympics used primarily current venues for 16 days of medal-filled motion unfold for lots of of kilometres throughout the Italian Alps.
“You delivered a brand new variety Winter Video games and set a brand new customary for the longer term,” Coventry advised her Italian hosts on the closing ceremony within the Verona Enviornment, an historic Roman amphitheatre.
After Coventry spoke, the 2 cauldrons in Milan and in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the stylish mountain resort that hosted the ladies’s alpine snowboarding, had been extinguished to formally sign the top of the Olympics.
Earlier, the Olympic flag was handed over to the leaders of the 2 areas that can host the subsequent Winter Olympics within the French Alps in 2030.
Fittingly, Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo was awarded one of many six gold medals he received on the Video games in the course of the closing ceremony.
Klaebo made historical past by successful all six races wherein he was entered — and his 11 profession golds are a Winter Olympics report.
Gu will get gold
Within the last occasions, Chinese language freestyle skier Eileen Gu received the gold that had eluded her at these Video games, whereas the USA beat Canada in an extra time thriller to win the lads’s ice hockey title for the primary time for 46 years.
Gu had received two silver medals in Italy, however her favoured halfpipe occasion at all times appeared the likeliest to ship the third gold of her profession.
The 22-year-old delivered a surprising efficiency, hovering excessive above the lip of the halfpipe and executing her tips with precision.
She edged out her China teammate Li Fanghui, whereas Britain’s Zoe Atkin took bronze.
In doing so, Gu grew to become essentially the most embellished freestyle skier within the historical past of the Winter Video games. “In all three occasions I showcased my finest snowboarding and so far as efficiency goes, that is all I can ask for — to have the ability to present the world one of the best that ladies’s snowboarding has to supply in the meanwhile, that it actually counts,” stated Gu. “I am essentially the most embellished freeskier of all time, male or feminine,” she added.
USA take ice hockey thriller
In a keenly-awaited males’s ice hockey showdown, Jack Hughes scored the successful aim 1min 41sec into extra time to present the US males a 2-1 victory and their first Olympic triumph because the 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice’ win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid.
Matt Boldy put the People forward within the first interval earlier than Cale Makar equalised for the Canadians.
As soon as the sport went into extra time, Hughes utilized the golden contact to ship his teammates and the US followers into raptures.
US coach Mike Sullivan stated his squad “was constructed with persona in thoughts”.
“You understand, we had been loaded with persona up and down our lineup.
“There are whisky drinkers and milk drinkers, and we obtained lots of whisky drinkers on this workforce.”
With US President Donald Trump ratcheting up the tensions together with his North American neighbour over the previous yr, the sport had an added political edge.
“Congratulations to our nice U.S.A. Ice Hockey workforce. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!” Trump stated on Fact Social, including: “WHAT A GAME!”
The White Home in the meantime posted an image of a bald eagle pouncing on a Canada goose.
Norway completed atop the medals desk with 18 golds and 41 medals general. The USA had been second with 12 golds and the Netherlands third with 10, the identical quantity as host nation Italy.
