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The 2018 men’s skeleton Olympic champion Yun Sungbin (center) poses for a photo at the PyeongChang Medal Plaza on Feb. 16. From left: Nikita Tregubov from Russia, Yun and Dom Parsons from the U.K.

By Korea.net PyeongChang Olympics Team 
Photos = Jeon Han 
Gangneung | Feb. 16, 2018

The medal plaza at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games was full of Olympic fever on Feb. 16, the day Yun Sungbin became the skeleton champion.

As early as two hours prior to the medal ceremony, international fans gathered at the PyeongChang Medal Plaza, despite the freezing wind.

The crowd gave a loud cheers as winners of the luge team relay, the biathlon men’s 20 km individual, the women’s biathlon 15k m individual, the luge men’s doubles, the men’s speed skating 10,000 m, the men’s cross-country skiing 15 km and the men’s skeleton events were presented with the medals they earned.

The winter sports fans, armored with their national flags, face paintings and other costumes, expressed ardent support for their athletes as they stood on the podium with the medal around their necks.

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Norwegian fans call out the name of their champion, Johannes Thingnes Boe, as he receives his medal in the men’s biathlon 20 km individual event at the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza on Feb. 16. Boe finished in 48 m 3.8 s on Feb. 15 and won his first Olympic gold medal.

As the highlight of the evening, the medal ceremony for the men’s skeleton champions, began, the crowd simultaneously raised up high its cameras and mobile phones to take a shot of Yun Sungbin and to celebrate Korea’s first sliding Olympic champion.

“It’s so great to watch Yun Sungbin’s medal ceremony myself that I don’t feel sorry for having missed out on the family reunion for the Seollal Lunar New Year’s Day anymore,” said Kim Bo-hyun, one of the volunteer workers at the Gangneung Olympic Village. “I hope for the best for all the athletes competing in the Winter Games.”

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The Swiss men’s champion in 15 km cross-country skiing, Dario Cologna (center), holds up his medal on the podium at the PyeongChang Medal Plaza on Feb. 16. From left: Simen Hegstad Krueger from Norway, Cologna and Denis Spitsov from Russia.

 

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The men’s speed skating 10,000 m gold medalist Ted-Jan Bloemen, with a record time of 12 m 39.77 s, jumps with joy during the medal ceremony at the PyeongChang Medal Plaza on Feb. 16. From left: Jorrit Bergsma from the Netherlands, Bloemen and Nicola Tumolero from Italy.

 

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The winners of the men’s luge doubles at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games wave at the fans during their medal ceremony at the PyeongChang Medal Plaza on Feb. 16. From left: Peter Penz and Georg Fischler, the silver medalist duo from Austria, Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, the gold medalist duo from Germany, and Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken, another German team that won bronze.

 

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Swedish biathlete Hanna Oeberg (center) bites her gold medal from the women’s 15 km individual event during the medal ceremony at the PyeongChang Medal Plaza on Feb. 16. From left: Anastasiya Kuzmina from Slovakia, Oeberg and Laura Dahlmeier from Germany.

 

sehp91@korea.kr