(Olympics.org)
Well, it's all in the books. After 13 days of intense competition and inspiring camaraderie, the Winter Youth Olympics have reached their end.
The Lausanne 2020 closing ceremony was held Wednesday night. Unlike the close to the regular Olympics (which can be pretty over the top!), this ceremony was short and sweet.
Lausanne Mascot Yodli dances with youth dancers at the closing ceremony. (Getty Embed)
It was the perfect wrap-up for something that was both a big international event and kind of low-key, too. The Games were a lot like a massive sleep-away camp. Yes, everyone who went was a really amazing talent, but they were also still kids — the emphasis on fun, fair, and friendly competition was everywhere. What an experience for these athletes!
Canada comes through
Lausanne 2020 was also an event where Canada's young Olympians shrugged off a slow start to put together a wild final flurry of medals to beat their old Winter Youth Olympics record. The team finished with 8 medals: 1 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronze. A few Canadians also won medals as a part of mixed NOC teams in events such as doubles curling and figure skating.
The Canadian team take in the Lausanne 2020 closing ceremony. (Getty Embed)
You might expect that Canada's gold came from somewhere on a rink — the country is known for its excellence in ice hockey, speed skating, and curling. And certainly they did came from those events, including a hard-fought bronze in men's ice hockey.
Canada's men's hockey team pose with their bronze medal, after defeating Finland 4–2. (Getty Embed)
But the golden hero was Calgary's Andrew Longino, who topped the field in men's halfpipe skiing. In addition to this win, he was also given the honour of being flag bearer for Canada in the Lausanne 2020 closing ceremony. Awesome, Andrew!
Canada's Andrew Longino reaches for the sky on his way to Olympic gold. (Getty Embed)
Big futures
China's Gu Ailing set herself apart at these Games. (Getty Embed)
And of course, while Longino was the peak of Canada's performances, he was just the tip of the iceberg at these Winter Youth Olympics.
Everywhere you looked, Lausanne was packed with stunning performances. For some of these athletes, like double-gold skiers Amelie Klopfenstein of Switzerland and China's Gu Ailing, this feels like just the beginning of their Olympic story. We'll be hearing from them again soon, maybe even as soon as 2022 in Beijing! (How excited would Ailing be to win gold there?)
We'll leave you with a short taste of what went on in Lausanne in the video below. See you in a few months when the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics take place!
