An eye-catching closing ceremony brings to an end the Winter Olympics in Beijing. On the final day of competition, Germany added a 12th gold medal to its tally to complete an impressive performance by Team Germany.
Snowflakes were the dominant theme at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter OlympicsImage: Li Ga/Xinhua/imago images
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The curtain fell on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Sunday night during a snowflake-themed closing ceremony at the Bird's Nest stadium attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach described the Beijing Games as "truly exceptional" before declaring them closed, but these Games will be remembered for a doping scandal that enveloped 15-year-old Russian skating sensation Kamila Valieva.
They were also stalked by politics, with several countries staging a diplomatic boycott over China's human rights record, and the spectre of invasion of Ukraine by Russia, with President Vladimir Putin attending the opening ceremony in a show of solidarity against the West with Xi.
Chinese President Xi Jinping appears on the big screen at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing.Image: Fabrizio Bensch/REUTERS
Sunday night's ceremony was capped by a 90-second fireworks display that spelled out "one world, one family," followed by a rendition of "Auld Lang Syne".
During the ceremony, Bach praised Beijing's organisers and made a call for unity as well as universal access to COVID-19 vaccines.
"You embraced each other, even if your countries are divided by conflict," he said. "The unifying power of the Olympic Games is stronger than the forces that want to divide us: you give peace a chance."
Germany are a dominant force in the bobsled worldImage: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP
Friedrich toasts double-double for Germany
After two golds in Pyeongchang 2018, Francesco Friedrich doubled up again in Beijing on Sunday, adding the four-man bobsled gold to the two-man version he won earlier in the Games.
Friedrich described it as a "great feeling" as his team of Thorsten Margis, Candy Bauer and Alexander Schueller finished their four runs in 3 minutes, 54.30 seconds.
"We did it all to get here again," Friedrich said. "We did an amazing job these four years ... without all the guys, it's not possible to achieve such a moment.''
Germany also grabbed second and were close to completing the 1-2-3 as they had in the two-man event. But it's still been a dominant display from the Germans. They've won all but one of the bobsled golds, both skeleton golds, and all four in the luge.
Indeed, Germany alone have been more successful than the rest of the world in the sliding events. They have won nine golds and 16 medals overall while everyone else has one gold (Kaillie Humphries of the USA in the monobob) and 14 total medals.
Gold medals
Therese Johaug won a grueling women's 30km mass start free in the cross country skiing to claim her third gold of the Games and ensure Norway top the medal table in Beijing.
Norway will top the medal table with 16 golds at Beijing 2022Image: Daniel Karmann/dpa/picture alliance
Great Britain got their first gold of the Games on the final day, as Eve Muirhead led them to a 10-3 victory over Japan in the women's curling competition. Team GB won the same event 20 years ago and Muirhead said this one had been "a long time coming."
Finland came from behind to beat the Russian Olympic Committee in the final event of the Games, the 2-1 win in the men's ice hockey ending the Russians' four-year reign as champion.
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Germany update
While sliding success may have been expected, there was a surprise silver for Germany in the mixed team parallel skiing. The team of Emma Aicher, Lena Dürr, Alexander Schmid, Linus Strasser and Julian Rauchfuss lost out narrowly to Austria in the final race but secured Germany's first alpine skiing medal for eight years, with previous teams often going close but losing out.
"There was no question that we were motivated. The medal is extremely good for us," said Germany's sports director Wolfgang Maier on public broadcaster ARD.
Beijing 2022: Memorable moments at the Winter Games
The Olympic Games are the biggest stage in sports. This year's winter edition has already offered joy, despair, medals and tricks. DW has picked out some of the highlights of Beijing 2022.
Image: Xinhua/imago images
From Beijing to Milan
The 2022 Winter Olympics ends with the closing ceremony at the Bird's Nest Stadium. With Chinese President Xi Jinping in attendance, IOC President Thomas Bach described the Games as 'truly exceptional' — but they will be remembered for a doping scandal that enveloped 15-year-old Russian skating sensation Kamila Valieva. Beijing passes the baton to Milan, the host of the next Winter Games in 2026.
Image: Xinhua/imago images
German joy!
Francesco Friedrich throws his arms aloft after securing a double-double. The German bobsled pilot won gold in two and four-man bobsled at Pyeongchang 2018 and repeated the dose in Beijing. Sunday's win in the four-man bob meant Germany have won all but one of the gold medals on offer in the sliding sports. It also ensures they finish second on the medal table, behind Norway.
Image: Edgar Su/REUTERS
Flailing in vain
The puck eludes the outstretched goalie stick of the Russian Olympic Committee's (ROC) Ivan Fedotov, as Swedish captain Anton Lander (58) levels the score in their men's ice hockey tournament semifinal. The ROC won the match in a penalty shootout and moved on to try to defend the gold medal they won in Pyeongchang in 2018. Finland also advanced, beating Slovakia 2-0 in the other semi.
Image: Harry How/AP/picture alliance
Utter despair
Figure skater Kamila Valieva had a terrible free skate, which saw her go from a favorite for gold to failing to reach the podium. The 15-year-old Russian had been under incredible pressure following news of a positive doping test and a CAS decision allowing her to continue to compete. Instead of consoling her after the free skate, her coach demanded an explanation: Why did you let it go? Tell me,"
Image: David J. Phillip/AP/picture alliance
Up close and personal with Jon Sallinen
Ski freestyler Jon Sallinen of Finland crashed into a cameraman during one of his jumps in the halfpipe. Unfortunately, the crash ended Sallinen's chance of winning a medal. The good news is that both skier and cameraman emerged uninjured.
Image: Francisco Seco/AP/picture alliance
Quintuple twister
Qi Guangpu completed a Chinese freestyle skiing aerials double when he won the men’s individual gold on Wednesday, two days after Xu Mengtao won the women’s event. Qi, the former double world champion, delivered a spectacular quintuple twister and nailed the landing for 129 points to finish well clear. The 31-year-old had come in fourth, seventh and seventh in the last three Olympics.
Image: Lars Baron/Getty Images
Crucial crash
There was devastation for Japan in the women's speed skating as Nana Takagi (right) slipped during the team pursuit on February 15. Japan were on track for the gold medal before the incident, with Canada taking advantage to grab the win. Her teammates Miho Takagi (left) and Ayano Sato (center) waited for her before crossing the line together to win silver.
Image: imago images/Kyodo News
Dazzling debut
Kaillie Humphries on her way to winning the first-ever gold in the monobob on February 14. The discipline was added for the Beijing Olympics and is exclusive to female athletes. The individual version of bobsleigh joins the preexisting two-person and four-man events.
Image: Mark Schiefelbein/AP/picture alliance
Magnifique!
French duo Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron broke the world record to win the "medaille d'or" in the ice dance, or "patinage artistique," on February 14. The pair have known each other since the age of 9, when Papadakis' mother, an ice dancing instructor, paired them together at their ice skating club. Seventeen years later, they've made history in Beijing.
Image: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP
Brotherly love
Norwegian brothers Johannes Thingnes Boe and Tarjei Boe both finished on the podium for the 10 km biathlon sprint race on February 12. Johannes, left, took the gold as Tarjei took the bronze. "It's a fairy tale, to be on the podium with Johannes," said Tarjei. "It is big for me... there is a lot of joy but also relief... to share this together both as a team and for the rest of our lives."
Image: Stanislav Krasilnikov/ITAR-TASS/imago images
A legend bows out
Saying goodbye to a legend: Shaun White has been a snowboarding pioneer for the past two decades, from winning gold at the 2006 Turin Winter Games to inspiring the next generation of stars. His fifth and final Olympics ended in heartbreak, as a fall on his final run on February 11 saw him miss out on the podium. But he retires with three golds, and a legacy that can never been tarnished.
Image: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Seemingly weightless
Figure skater Nathan Chen conjured up a performance as technically sound as it was artistically impressive in men's figure skating on February 10. The American executed moves of the highest difficulty one after another, remained almost flawless in all parts of his routine and claimed a richly deserved gold.
Image: Koji Ito/Yomiuri Shimbun/AP/picture alliance
Out of nowhere
An unbelievable comeback! Petra Vlhova could hardly come to terms with her gold medal win. After her first run in the slalom, the Slovak was only in seventh place and a chance at a medal seemed to be gone. But, with a flawless second run on February 9, she overtook all her rivals to her total surprise and delight.
"In America I'm American, in China I'm Chinese." Eileen Gu repeats this sentence like a mantra at almost every press conference. The 18-year-old is already the face of the Games, and was so even before the start in Beijing. Born and raised in the United States, the ski freestyler has been competing for China for some time and won gold in the big air competition in Beijing on February 8.
Image: Walter G. Arce Sr./Zuma/imago images
Say it ain't so
Surely, not again? After her early exit in the giant slalom, gold medal favorite Mikaela Shiffrin was also eliminated on February 8 in the slalom after just a few gates. In this tough moment, the 26-year-old American's mind turned to her father, who died in a tragic accident two years ago. "I would really like to call him now," Shiffrin said tearfully. "But he's not here anymore."
Image: Robert F. Bukaty/AP/dpa/picture alliance
Beware the bend
Even before the luge events begin, all the athletes tremble a little at the thought of the exit of the 13th bend. If you stray from the ideal line here, a fall is almost assured. That's exactly what happened to gold medal favorite Julia Taubitz. After setting a course record in the first run on February 7, she crashed at the key point in her second, and any chance of a medal fell away, too.
Image: Dmitri Lovetsky/AP/picture alliance
Sweeping all before them
"Piu, piu, piu" — "more, more, more" — Stefania Constantini called out to her partner, Amos Mosaner, again and again when she wanted him to sweep harder. The Italian pair set the standard in mixed-doubles curling on February 6, winning every game on their way to gold.
Image: Zhou Mi/Xinhua/imago images
Warming win
Pain or joy? It's not easy to tell Therese Johaug's prevailing emotion after her victory in the skiathlon. At the finish line, the Norwegian, who sprinted away from the competition in temperatures of -16 degrees Celsius (3 F), was certainly hurting at first, but the euphoria came soon after. The win on February 5 was her first individual Olympic victory and the first gold awarded in Beijing.
