2018 Olympics: Athletes From Russia Grab 9 More Medals In Pyeongchang

Russian athletes grabbed at least 11 medals so far in the 2018 Winter Olympics, which are still underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Technically known as “Olympic Athletes from Russia” (OARs), Russian athletes have shown strong results while performing in Cross-Country Skiing, taking five medals. Curling, Skeleton, Speed Skating, Figure Skating and Freestyle Skiing also netted Russian athletes bronze and silver medals.

Yulia Belorukova, at age 23, clinched bronze in the women’s individual sprint classical Cross-Country Skiing competition on February 17. Gold went to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, who came in first placed and outpaced Maiken Caspersen Falla from Norway.

Belorukova grabbed her second bronze while performing in the women’s team Cross-Country Skiing event the same day.

“There was a feeling that we would win a medal, but we tried not to concentrate on this [feeling], we were distracting ourselves somehow, were telling jokes,” Belorukova said after finishing third. “We knew that we had a strong team and that [the others] did not know what to expect. And when they don’t know what to expect, this is the best thing.”

The OARs grabbed two more bronze medals, with Alexander Bolshunov and Denis Spitsov ranking third in men’s Sprint Classic and men’s 15km free Cross-Country Skiing, respectively. On February 18, the men’s Cross-Country Skiing team, who represents Russia, clinched silver after outpacing the third-place finisher, namely the French national team. The gold went to the squad from Norway.

With the tandem of Alexander Krushelnitsky and Anastasia Bryzgalova having performed in the Curling Mixed Doubles event, the OARs gained another bronze, while two more bronze medals came from Natalia Voronina – she ranked third in the women’s 5,000m Speed Skating event – and Ilia Burov, who became the first athlete representing Russia to win medal in the Freestyle Skiing event.

The Russian athletes grabbed another medal with Nikita Tregubov ranking third in the men’s Skeleton event on February 16. Tregubov, age 23, outpaced his counterpart from the U.K., Dom Parsons, while the gold went to the South Korean athlete Yun Sungbin.

“I saw how the awards ceremony was held in Sochi – there were much more people [in Sochi] than here,” the athlete said after the event, referring to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games held in Russia.

“It seems to me that nothing compares to Sochi. There the atmosphere of the Olympic Games was more felt than in Pyeongchang.”

Meanwhile, last week also featured a historical game by the Russian women’s hockey team, who for the first time reached the semifinals after beating Switzerland’s athletes 6:2.

But the team from Russia lost to Canada’s team 5:0 in semifinals, on February 19. At the same time, the Russian men’s hockey team trounced the American squad 4:0 on Saturday and made it to the playoffs, which are scheduled for February 21.