The best summary of Gangwon 2024: Guy and Daleman, King and Queen. INSTAGRAM

The past two weeks have been marked by the fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea, an event organised by the International Olympic Committee, South Korea. Italy topped the medals table and Antonin Guy and Angel Daleman were crowned King and Queen of the event.

After winning five gold medals in the first three editions of the Games, the Italian team produced an astonishing performance to take first place with 11 Olympic titles, ahead of Germany (nine gold medals) and the surprising Korean hosts with seven (tied with France in fourth place). 

But... who were the main stars of the Games? Over the 13 days of competition, a total of 63 athletes won more than one medal, 12 of them were on the podium three times and three of them won four medals: French biathlete Antonin Guy and Dutch speed skater Angel Daleman won three golds and a further medal, while Swiss alpine skier Maja Waroschitz and German speed skater Finn Sonnerkalb, both three-time Youth Olympic champions, were close behind. 

Antonin Guy is the new rising star of world biathlon. INSTAGRAM
Antonin Guy is the new rising star of world biathlon. INSTAGRAM

Athletes with four medals:

1. Antonin Guy (biathlon): The heir to the mythical Martin Fourcade caused a sensation in the biathlon with a perfect combination of speed, precision and the intelligence to control his heartbeat to win the 7.5 km sprint (four shooting zones with an extra mini-lap for each mistake) and the 12.5 km individual (four zones and a 45-second penalty for each mistake). Two weeks before his 18th birthday on 16 February, he also played a key role in the French gold medal with Alice Dusserre in the mixed singles (6km + 7km) and finished second in the mixed relay (4x6 km) after starting the final last leg almost 2:28 behind Italy and 1:10 behind the Czech Republic. 

2. Angel Daleman (speed skating): The Netherlands is the great dominator of speed skating, with Irene Wurst and her six Olympic gold medals as the main reference. At only 16 years old, Angel Daleman followed in Guy's footsteps with three gold medals and a silver in Gangwon. With great style and power, she gave her opponents no chance, winning the 500m, the 1,500m and the mass start. However, she finished third in the mixed relay in a pair with Sem Spruit, 36 hundredths behind Japan and 32 behind Korea.

Angel Daleman set to make speed skating history. INSTAGRAM
Angel Daleman set to make speed skating history. INSTAGRAM

3. Xinzhe Zhang (short track): China secured six gold medals, four of them in the short track, a discipline where Asian athletes traditionally shine. And on a great collective level, he shone even more with four medals. He won gold in the 1,000m and the mixed relay, and came second in the 500m and the 1,500 m. Two gold and two silver medals. Zhang is still 16 years old and he will always remember the Games for his performances and for the strong friendship he formed with Lim Yeo-jeong, a South Korean volunteer at the Games. 


Athletes with three medals: 

1. Maja Waroschitz (alpine skiing): She should be very close to Guy and Daleman as the best Alpine skier of the Games from a country, Austria, that has produced amazing stars in history such as Hermann Maier or Annemarie Moser-Pröll. She was the best in the slalom, in the Alpine combined and in the mixed team parallel with Florian Neumayer. 

Maja Waroschitz, collector of gold medals. INSTAGRAM
Maja Waroschitz, collector of gold medals. INSTAGRAM

1. Finn Sonerkalb (speed skating): Germany is the fifth country with the most Olympic gold medals in speed skating (13) and the sixth with the most medals (38), with Claudia Pechstein and her five titles as the main reference. In Gangwon, Sonnerkalb caused a sensation with three spectacular victories in the 500m, the 1,500m and the mass start. 

3. Zak Carrick-Smith (alpine skiing): The Briton achieved gold medals in the slalom and alpine combined, and came second in the giant slalom, 93 hundredths of a second behind Frenchman Nash Huot-Marchand. 

3. Jinzi Li (short track): The Chinese put in an astonishing performance that was 'overshadowed' by Zhang's four medals. Li is the Youth Olympic champion in the 1,000m and the mixed relay, as well as a silver medallist in the 1,500m. 

3. Jingru Wang (short track): Her results were exactly the same as her teammate's as they both won the mixed relay, Wang relegated Li to the second place in the 1,500m and she was relegated by her to silver in the 1,000 m. 

3. Jakob Elias Moch (cross country): Germany has only one Olympic champion in this discipline (Barbara Petzold at Lake Placid 1980), but in Gangwon they discovered a new talent. He won the 7.5 km classic style and the mixed relay, as well as a silver medal in the sprint, just 33 hundredths of a second behind Italy's Pozzi. 

3. Alexandra Oberstolz (luge): Despite only winning a bronze medal in the sliding events at Beijing 2022, Italian sliders put in a great performance in the luge. She won a silver medal in the singles and both gold medals in the doubles and in the mixed relay. Alexandra is the daughter of Christian Oberstolz, four-time Olympic and two-time European champion, also in luge.

8. Philipp Bruner (luge): Another Italian who made a splash on the sliding ice, winning the men's doubles and the team relay, as well as a bronze in the men's singles. 

9. Baoshuo Pan (speed skating): China has always radiated with the blades on the ice and they did it again at the Youth Olympic Games with two stars. Pan contributed to the Japan's gold medal in the mixed relay and finished second in the 1,500m and the mass start. 

10. Yunqi Li (speed skating): Almost matched her compatriot's performance, winning the mixed relay with him, a silver in the 1,500m and a bronze in the mass start. 

10. Giorgia Collomb (alpine skiing): With three medals, a gold medal with an exhibition in the slalom, a silver in the Alpine combined and a bronze in the slalom, she was the second star in this discipline after Waroschitz. 

Giorgia Collomb, a rising star in alpine skiing. INSTAGRAM.
Giorgia Collomb, a rising star in alpine skiing. INSTAGRAM.

12. Maria Riedl (luge): Austria has won six gold medals and a total of 25 Olympic medals in luge. In Korea, she led her country with a silver medal in the doubles and both bronze medals in the singles and the team relay.

Athletes with two medals (by country): 

1. France (9): Jonas Chollet (snowboarding) is a Youth Olympic champion in the cross and the mixed team; Alice Dusserre (biathlon) won gold with Antonin Guy in the single mixed relay and a silver in the mixed relay; Nash Huot-Marchand (alpine skiing) won the giant slalom and was second in the slalom; Lea Casta (snowboarding) won the mixed team and finished third in the women's event; two silvers for Agathe Margreither (cross country) in the 7.5 km classic style and the mixed relay, as well as Maja-Li Iafrate Danielsson (snowboarding) in the women's event and the mixed team; Flavio Guy (biathlon), brother of the amazing Antonin, was second in the mixed relay and the 7.5 km sprint; Quentin Lespine (cross country) won silver in the mixed team and bronze in the 7.5 km classic style; and finally Annette Coupat (cross country) took silver in the mixed relay and bronze in the 7.5 km classic. 

2. Italy (6): Flora Tabanelli (freestyle) is a double Youth Olympic champion in both big air and slopestyle, as are Carlota Gautero (biathlon) in the women's 6 km sprint and the mixed relay, Leon Haselrieder (luge) in singles and the team relay, and Manuel Weissensteiner (luge) in the doubles and the team relay; Manuel Senoner (nordic combined) was second in the individual event and third in the mixed team relay; and Nayeli Mariotti (biathlon) won gold in the mixed relay and bronze in the 10 km individual. 

Flora Tabanelli won two gold medals at Gangwon. INSTAGRAM
Flora Tabanelli won two gold medals at Gangwon. INSTAGRAM

3. United States (5): Elizabeth Lemley (freestyle) stunned the crowd with gold in the individual and the mixed team dual moguls making pair with Porter Huff, who also finished second in the individual dual moguls event; Sean Boxiong Shuai (short track) battled with the Asian stars to win the 500 m and take bronze in the mixed relay; Morgan Shutte (freestyle) achieved both silver medals in the ski cross individual and mixed team events; and Abby McLarnon (freestyle) finished third in the dual moguls individual and mixed team events. 

4. Austria (3): Florian Neumayer (alpine skiing) won gold in the mixed team parallel event and a bronze in the giant slalom; Paul Socher (luge) finished second in the singles competition and third in the team relay; and Niki Humml (ski jumping) achieved two bronzes in the individual and the mixed team events. 

4. Japan (3): Olly Nicholls (freestyle) was second in big air and in slopestyle; short-track racers Raito Kida (1,000m and team relay) and Nonomi Inoue (1,500m and team relay) each won two bronze medals. 

4. Slovenia (3, all of course in the jumping events): Taja Bodlaj (ski jumping) showed her incredible talent by winning the individual event and playing a key role in her country's victory in the mixed team event; Teja Pavec (nordic combined) won silver medals in the individual and mixed team events; Tia Malovhr (nordic combined) finished second in the mixed team event and third in the individual competition. 

4. Germany (3): Jonas Müller (cross-country) took gold in the 4x5km mixed relay and was second in the 7.5km classic style; Marie Keudel (biathlon) won two silvers in the 10 km individual and the single mixed relay (6km+7.5km); Muriel Mohr (freestyle) took bronze in the big air and the slopestyle competitions. 

8. Finland (2): Great performance by Minja Korhonen (nordic combined), new Youth Olympic individual and mixed team champion; Nelli-Lotta Karppelin (cross-country) won in the 7.5 km classic and took bronze in the sprint freestyle. 

Minja Korhonen also won two gold medals at the Winter Youth Olympic Games. INSTAGRAM
Minja Korhonen also won two gold medals at the Winter Youth Olympic Games. INSTAGRAM

8. Latvia (2 and of course in the sliding events): Janis Gruzdulis-Borojovs and Edens Eduards Cepulis (luge) won silver in the doubles and the team relay. 

8. New Zealand (2): Luke Harrold (freestyle) won in the halfpipe and was third in the big air; Luci Georgialli (snowboarding) was second in the slopestyle and third in the big air final. 

8. Norway (2): Same results for both. Storm Veitsle (biathlon) secured a silver medal in the 12,5 km individual and bronze in the single mixed relay; Ingvild Midtskogen (ski jumping) was second in the mixed team and third in the individual event. 

8. Sweden (2): Elliot Westlund (alpine skiing) finished second in the slalom and third in the mixed team parallel with Astrid Hedin, who was also third in the giant slalom.

8. Denmark (2): Four silver medals for the same coveted Danish family, as siblings Jacod Schmidt (17) and Katrine Schmidt (15) reached two finals, losing 6-7 in the mixed doubles and 5-7 in the mixed team, both to Great Britain. Their father, Ulrik, was captain of the team that won four European medals and their mother, Lisa Richardson, was European champion in 1992 and competed at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, USA.

14. Korea (1): One of the local stars was Yoon Seung Lee (freestyle) with a gold in the individual dual moguls and a silver medal in the mixed dual moguls.

Yoon Seung Lee, one of the Korean idols at Gangwon 2024. INSTAGRAM
Yoon Seung Lee, one of the Korean idols at Gangwon 2024. INSTAGRAM

14. Canada (1): Eli Bouchard (snowboard), the best in big air and the second best in slopestyle. 

14. Czech Republic (1): Ilona Plekachova (biathlon) is the new 10 km individual champion and was third in the mixed team relay.

14. Switzerland (1): Shaienne Zehnder (alpine skiing) achieved a silver medal in the giant slalom and a bronze in the Super-G.