Athletes from around the world came together to close out the Pyeongchang Winter Games on Sunday.
The 2018 Winter Olympics came to an end on Sunday, as athletes from around the world came together at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium for the closing ceremony.
The televised event was hosted by NBC sportscaster Terry Gannon, as well as fan-favorite figure skating Olympians-turned-commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir. Gannon noted that in contrast with the more formal opening ceremony, the Olympic closing ceremony is much more of a “party,” with the stress of competition in the rearview mirror.
The Olympic athletes certainly got in the spirit, celebrating and snapping selfies with their teammates and fellow competitors as they paraded around the stadium one final time.
Team USA skier Lindsey Vonn, a three-time Olympic medalist, celebrated what may be her final Games in style, hitching a ride on snowboarder Nick Baumgartner’s shoulders for the ceremony, and posing for pics with everyone from the Team USA’s gold medal-winning men’s curling team to shirtless Tongan flag bearer Pita Taufatofua.
Cross-country skier Jessie Diggins was the American flag bearer for the ceremony. She won Team USA’s first-ever cross-country gold medal in the grueling women’s team sprint event along with her teammate, Kikkan Randall.
Other gilded American stars of the closing ceremony included the U.S. women’s hockey team, who took gold in a stunning shootout over Team Canada on Feb. 22.
Skier Gus Kenworthy, who proudly competed at the 2018 Games after coming out following his silver medal win at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, posed for a pic with another of Team USA’s openly gay athletes, figure skater Adam Rippon -- and jokingly threw a little shade in the process.
“Two weeks ago, at opening ceremonies, we met and a friendship began. Today, at closing ceremonies, it ends,” Kenworthy joked. “@Adaripp, please stop calling me. You're honestly starting to get v clingy and I can't anymore.”
Rippon and his friend and fellow skater, Mirai Nagasu, both earned bronze medals in the team figure skating event in Pyeongchang, and Nagasu didn’t miss the chance to snap her own closing ceremony selfie.
“Nothing but love for @TeamUSA and the @Olympics,” she tweeted.
Two of Team USA’s stellar brother-sister duos posed for pics together during the celebration. Curler Bethany Hamilton posted a pic with her brother, gold medalist Matt Hamilton, and figure skaters Maia and Alex Shibutani (affectionately known as the “#ShibSibs”).
Bethany and Matt, aka the “#HamFam,” competed in men’s and women’s curling events, as well as together in 2018’s first-ever mixed doubles competition, while Maia and Alex took home two bronze medals in both the team figure skating competition and the pairs ice dancing.
The stunning evening included performances by guitarist Yang Tae-hwan and K-pop superstars EXO and CL, and concluded with a farewell tribute to the host city of Pyeongchang, South Korea, as well as the ceremonial hand-off to the next Winter Olympics, which will take place in Beijing, China, in 2022.
See more coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics in the video below.
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