The Winter Olympics come to an end

It’s another winter games to forget for American athletes.

The gold rush

It’s been another disappointing Winter Olympics for the US. Fifth might not sound like a disaster on paper but having targeted a much better performance this time around, the US Olympic committee are left licking their wounds once again.

Far from a poor showing all round, the story of the games has been the performance of China. From a fringe Winter Olympics competitor to earning one more gold medal than the US, 2022 may see the arrival of China as a new Winter games challenger.

What went wrong for US?

This season’s games were dogged with controversies, diplomatic tensions and unfolding crises elsewhere. And who knows – had Elena Meyers Taylor not tested positive for Covid, maybe the US could have grabbed another gold.

But more than 300 hundred athletes and coaches tested positive for Covid during the games, so no country’s preparations went entirely untouched – there was nowhere to hide on that front.

So questions will remain over the preparation and performance of America’s Winter athletes and what can be done, if anything, to get them back to competing at the top of the table once again.

The final tally

All in all, there weren’t many surprises beyond the US, and China’s medal haul. Norway were the runaway winners – again – while Germany, Canada and the Russian Olympic Committee all scored well.