The Games marked the Olympics’ return to Italy for the first time in 20 years and were the first to include two place names in a single official title. The opening ceremony featured athlete entries and torch events in both Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, with the flame lit simultaneously in two locations for the first time.
With events spread across venues and some facilities not completed until just before the opening, the Games began amid concerns. Once competition started, attention shifted to athletes’ performances, including Norwegian cross-country star Johannes Klaebo winning six gold medals and claiming his 11th career Winter Olympic gold, a record total.
South Korea, which sent a delegation of 130 including 71 athletes, had won three gold, four silver and three bronze medals as of local time Feb. 21. That surpassed its Beijing 2022 totals of two gold, five silver and two bronze medals in both golds and overall medals.
A top-10 finish appears out of reach, but South Korea stood 13th overall, up one place from 14th in Beijing.
Verona, where the closing ceremony will be held, is about 160 kilometers from Milan, which hosted the opening ceremony as well as skating and ice hockey. No competitions will be held in Verona, which will host only the closing ceremony.
The 80,000-seat Verona Arena is an amphitheater completed in A.D. 30 during the Roman Empire and once used for gladiator contests and hunts involving wild animals.
South Korea will be led in the closing ceremony by short track skaters Choi Min-jeong (Seongnam City Hall) and Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Office) as flag bearers.
Choi won one gold and one silver at these Games, setting a South Korean record with seven career Olympic medals. Hwang won two silver medals, the best result among South Korea’s male athletes.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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