The Winter Olympics are nearing an end, but people will remember the drama and history from this year. For people at home, the Olympics are often about learning about new sports and cheering on their country.
The first big story happened on Jan. 30, right before the Olympics started: Linsey Vonn was competing in her final World Cup event when she suddenly crashed during her downhill run. Despite a complete tear in her left ACL, she still looked to compete in the Olympics.
A week later she stuck to her word. She was skiing an Olympic downhill race, crashed again, and had to get airlifted off the slope. This crash left her with a complex tibia fracture.
Some people believe that she should take this injury as a sign to stop competing and finally retire, but others think that she competes because of her true love for the sport. Either way, Vonn definitely has left her impact on downhill skiing, winning three Olympic medals and earning 82 World Cup victories.
Meanwhile, Ilia Malinin, known as the “Quad God,” was talked about heavily before the Olympics started. He is a U.S. figure skater and the only skater able to land the quadruple axel. Malinin helped Team USA secure a gold medal in the team event, showing his impressive skills.
In his individual event, he competed really well in the short program, but the pressure got to him in the free skate. He ended his performance after falling three times, losing 72 points and dropping him to eighth place.
During this event, 18 out of the 20 skaters fell, leading to questions about the ice quality. Some skaters reported that the ice was soft, and people thought this was the reason for Malinin falling. But he said he just could not handle the pressure.
Finally, history has been made for the Americans in curling. Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin competed in the mixed doubles curling and looked to take the U.S. far in the tournament. They played really well together, making important shots when they needed them.
They ended up getting a dominant victory over Italy, taking them to the gold medal match. But then they lost to Sweden, 6-5.
Even though they got silver rather than gold, this was only the third time the U.S. has ever brought home a medal in Olympic curling. Thiesse is also the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in curling.
The U.S. remains one of the top countries in the overall medal count. More competitions are still to come before the Olympics come to an end.
