Who’s getting excited for the Winter Olympics which is now just weeks away?
The opening ceremony will commence on Friday 9th February 2018 with the games taking place over the course of 17 days. You can access the full schedule of events at www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/schedule.
Below are a few interesting facts about some of the teams and athletes taking part.
America’s 2010 Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn’s victory in Italy saw her become the oldest women to win a world cup downhill race. Vonn, 33, believes her PyenongChang preparation is in perfect shape after claiming her 79th world cup victory. Well we definitely look forward to seeing if she dominates the Alpine skiing this February.
Russia’s reigning Olympic champion, Evgenia Medvedeva, suffered her first defeat since 2015 and had to settle for second place after being beaten by 15-year-old training partner Alina Zagitova at the European Championships in Mosco. Let’s see how she holds out in the running’s this Winter Olympics.
Success for the British bobsleighing team last October when they secured a World cup medal. Lamin Deen and his crew took silver behind Russia in the four-man event in Canada – Britain’s best result in the sport since 2013! Let’s hope we can make it a Gold in PyenongChang
This year the Great British team will consist of around 60 athletes, all looking to beat GB’s best-ever haul of four medals which was achieved in 1924 and 2014. Let’s hope they can smash this and bring home 5 – or more!
Lizzy Yarnold is amongst the many hoping to take home a gold and is looking to retain her title after achieving gold in Sochi 2014 with a winning margin of 0.97.
On a more controversial note, two Russians athletes are being allowed to compete internationally in the bobsleigh and skeleton events despite their Olympic ban. Dozens of Russian athletes received a lifetime ban from the International Olympic Committee after an investigation into allegations of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The country itself is banned from competing in February’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and athletes wishing to compete will be allowed to do so under a neutral flag and be referred to as an Olympic Athlete from Russia.
As the event gets nearer the teams are now starting to unveil their uniforms. On 22nd January, Team USA revealed the uniforms that they will be wearing at opening ceremony, which have been designed by all-American brand Ralph Lauren! The uniforms will consist of a parka and bomber jacket. Here is the best part, both the parka and the jacket will contain heating components that will last up to 11-hours – keeping the athletes both warm and stylish.
We imagine, after USA revealing their uniforms, everybody is eager to see Great Britain’s outfit choices, but unfortunately you will have to keep waiting as they are still in the process of finalising the designs!
As the event draws nearer, I am sure news of the Winter Olympics will flood the papers so we can stay up to date, but for those who are heading over to North Korea – have you got cover for your tickets yet?
There are a few travel insurance policies that will offer cover for non-refundable pre-paid tickets that you are not able to use due to cancellation of the holiday or illness. It’s not too late to check your policy and buy one that does cover those tickets. But be sure to check the policy wording carefully to ensure the cover limit is enough to cover the cost of your tickets.
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