Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Comes To A Close

Beijing extinguished its Olympic flame on Sunday night, concluding the Winter Olympic Games that will be remembered for the extremes of its anti-COVID-19 measures, thrilling performances and outrage over a doping scandal.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was on hand for the closing ceremony at the Bird’s Nest stadium, where International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach described the Beijing Games as “truly exceptional” before declaring them closed.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games greatly impressed masses of officials, academics and athletes across the world, who have said the extraordinary sportsmanship and solidarity displayed during the global sports gala has conveyed a lot of hope to the international community.

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Bach and Xi watched on as a group of 365 people said farewell with a glowing green willow twig, enacting a traditional Chinese gesture of regret over parting.

The Beijing Games, contained inside a “closed loop”, were the second Olympics in six months to be deprived by COVID-19 of much of its festivity. The Winter Olympics witnessed a bit of controversy, with several countries staging a diplomatic boycott over China’s human rights record.

Also, many athletes had their Olympic dreams dashed by positive tests that prevented them from competing. Dozens saw their preparations disrupted by enforced isolation. There was also outrage over the doping scandal that enveloped 15-year-old Russian skating sensation Kamila Valieva.

However, Sunday night’s ceremony was capped by a 90-second fireworks display that spelled out “one world, one family.” 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,” Bach said. “The unifying power of the Olympic Games is stronger than the forces that want to divide us: you give peace a chance.”

Beijing’s tightly sealed bubble prevented the spread of the novel coronavirus at the Olympics or into the community, vindicating a zero-COVID policy that has isolated China inside what are nearly closed borders that shows no sign of easing.

On the snow, Norway finished first on the medals table with a total of 37 medals (16 Gold, 8 Sliver and 13 Bronze),

Germany finished second with 27 medals (12 Gold, 10 Silver and 5 Bronze), while The People’s Republic of China came third on the medals table with 15 medals (9 Gold, 4 Silver and 2 Bronze).

The Beijing Games will go down as one of the most memorable memorable figure skating events events in Olympic history after 16 days of turmoil and twists.

MEDALS TABLE

The 2022 Winter Olympics was also notable for the first quadruple jumps landed at the Olympics by female skaters – all Russian teens – auguring a new era in which the jumps may be needed for any skater to reach the podium.

On the final day of competition, host nation China ended on a high note with Sui Wenjing and Han Cong winning the pairs title, edging Russian duo Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov by just 0.63 points.

❤We are proud of you all!
✨Congratulations!
#Beijing2022 #Olympics #BingDwenDwen#TogetherForASharedFuture

📸 GettyImages pic.twitter.com/jtWYuN8RTb

— Beijing 2022 (@Beijing2022) February 21, 2022

Chidi Nwoke/Reuters.