After years of training, athletes from across the world compete against each other for the most coveted award an athlete can achieve. An Olympic medal. 

 The Olympics took place at their scheduled time despite the Summer Olympics taking place only six months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-week event recently wrapped up its competitions in Beijing, China. Norway took first place with 37 total medals, 16 of those being gold, followed by Germany with 27 medals and China with 15. Germany secured 12 gold medals while China ended with 9. The United States followed closely behind taking 4th.

“I felt like I had just watched the Summer Olympics,” freshman Kate Miller said. “Usually there is a lot more time in between when my family watches [the Olympics].”

The Olympics didn’t falter in their extravagant nature. Once again, the opening ceremony attracted worldwide attention; however, most television providers reported record-low viewership in the U.S.

According to CNN, “Viewership for the start of NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics was down 55.3% from comparable coverage of the 2018 Pyeongchang Games with the opening ceremony sinking to a record low.”

Many U.S. citizens preferred to watch highlights on Youtube or other platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Others didn’t agree with the protocols that the Olympics required because of the Chinese government.

“[Viewing the Olympics] was different from past years,” sophomore Kiyoko Hayano said. “There wasn’t as much coverage as there used to be. I only saw bits and pieces of some of the events.”

Despite the lack of viewership from home, the athletes for the U.S. team stepped up and took home a number of medals. The United States ended by taking 25 total medals, 7 of which were gold. This is the most medals since the 2006 Winter Olympics.

These events included cross country skiing, bobsledding, snowboarding, hockey and more.

“I really liked the figure skaters,” Miller said. “I especially liked the duo skaters. That was what I watched the most.”

Some students only watched their favorite events and some watched because of family traditions. Whatever the case, the Olympics are an important event for many around the globe from the watchers at home, to the athletes competing.