The 16-day-long XXIII Olympic Winter Games, which began Feb. 9, came to a close Feb. 25. For 2018, the games were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and honored nearly 3,000 competing athletes.

There were 15 different categories of sports to watch, including: alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, nordic combined, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboard and speed skating.

According to olympic.org, a series of records were broken by athletes in a number of events, and some athletes stood out among the others in certain events.

Ester Ledecká of the Czech Republic won two gold medals in Alpine skiing and snowboard, a record that has never been achieved before. Ireen Wüst of the Netherlands was awarded her 11th gold medal, bringing her to a collection of more gold medals than any other Olympic speed skater. These achievements mark a milestone in these athletes’ careers.

Another achievement was noted when Lee Seung-hoon of the hosting country, South Korea, won gold in the men’s speed skating mass start event. This event entails short track and long track speed skating in a 16-lap race, including three sprint laps.

A historical moment went down when the Canadian and German teams tied for gold in the bobsledding event, as this has only occurred once before in Olympic history. Both teams, comprised of Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis of Germany and Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz of Canada, finished the two-man race at the exact same time, down to the hundredth of a second.

Collections of medals increased due to the hard work athletes put in training in the time leading up to the games. Marit Bjoergen of Norway, a cross-country skier, set new records when she was awarded one of many gold medals at the closing ceremony, bringing her collection to 15 medals overall.

Besides the athleticism many Americans tuned into the Olympic games to watch, the opening and closing ceremonies were also in the headlines.

The opening ceremonies officially marked the start of the Olympics Feb. 9 and highlighted Korean culture, evident through the portrayal of animals and dancers in the stadium. Eight Olympians dressed in traditional clothing carried the Olympic flag around the stadium. Former Olympic figure skater Yuna Kim of South Korea was the last torchbearer in the Olympic Torch Relay.

On Feb. 25, the closing ceremonies, once again, featured the Republic of Korea (South Korea) entering the stadium side-by-side with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). An illuminated turtle, a symbol of good fortune and longevity, was brought into the stadium before K-pop singer CL performed.

“The opening and closing ceremonies were amazing,” said senior Hanna Lichacz. “I loved all the animals. They had a Chinese dragon, turtles, and pandas.”

Toward the end of the ceremonies, the Olympic flag was handed over from PyeongChang mayor Shim Jae-kook to Beijing mayor Jining Chen. Beijing is set to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.