2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Fast Facts

CNN Library

Updated 1:32 PM ET, Fri July 27, 2018

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos:

The Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics kicked off with a bang on February 9. It was the second Olympics to be held in Korea after Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Games.

Hide Caption

1 of 21

Photos:

Whether a symbol of diplomacy or propaganda, North Korea's cheerleading squad made for mesmerizing viewing. The 230-strong troupe could be seen singing and clapping their country's athletes -- perfectly in sync.

Hide Caption

2 of 21

Photos:

A record number of 2,920 athletes from 92 countries participated in PyeongChang 2018. Team USA sent the largest number of Olympians, with 242 competing.

Hide Caption

3 of 21

America's sweetheart Mikaela Shiffrin was set to be the standout star of the Games. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2018/02/24/sport/mikaela-shiffrin-cnn-five-golds-winter-olympics-intl/index.html">She took home two medals -- a gold in the giant slalom and a silver in the alpine combined, after narrowly missing out in the women's slalom. </a>

Photos:

America's sweetheart Mikaela Shiffrin was set to be the standout star of the Games. She took home two medals -- a gold in the giant slalom and a silver in the alpine combined, after narrowly missing out in the women's slalom.

Hide Caption

4 of 21

Photos:

Austrian superstar Marcel Hirscher won his first Olympic gold in the alpine combined on day four. On day nine, he won his second, in the giant slalom. But the 28-year-old missed out on a third, after crashing in the men's slalom.

Hide Caption

5 of 21

Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway became the oldest Olympic alpine skiing champion at the age of 35. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2018/02/21/sport/aksel-svindal-and-mom/index.html">He was also the first from his country to win gold in the downhill event.</a>

Photos:

Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway became the oldest Olympic alpine skiing champion at the age of 35. He was also the first from his country to win gold in the downhill event.

Hide Caption

6 of 21

It was the last Olympics for American Lindsey Vonn, the most successful women's ski racer of all time. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2018/02/17/sport/lindsey-vonn-super-g-julie-foudy-intl/index.html">She was denied gold in her signature event, the downhill, walking away with bronze.</a> She failed to complete her last Olympic race, after missing a gate in the slalom.

Photos:

It was the last Olympics for American Lindsey Vonn, the most successful women's ski racer of all time. She was denied gold in her signature event, the downhill, walking away with bronze. She failed to complete her last Olympic race, after missing a gate in the slalom.

Hide Caption

7 of 21

Photos:

It was the Italian, Sofia Goggia -- who is currently leading the World Cup downhill standings -- that beat Vonn to gold. The 25-year-old became the first Italian to win gold in the women's downhill.

Hide Caption

8 of 21

Photos:

Canadian skating duo, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, won gold with their dazzling performance to songs from the "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack in the figure skating final. Their passion and chemistry sent the internet into meltdown, as fans couldn't believe their relationship was no more than a "business" one.

Hide Caption

9 of 21

Photos:

The tragic story of skater Elise Christie gripped the Brits. She was disqualified from the 1,000m heats following heavy crashes in both the 500m final and the semifinal of the 1,500m. History seems to repeat itself -- Christie was also disqualified from all three events at Sochi 2014.

Hide Caption

10 of 21

Photos:

Japan was enthralled by Yuzuru Hanyu, who became the first male figure skater since 1952 to win back-to-back skating golds. At the end of his routine, fans showered the rink with Winnie the Pooh toys, Hanyu's lucky charm.

Hide Caption

11 of 21

Photos:

US teenage Chloe Kim made history, becoming the youngest female Winter Olympic gold medalist. The 17-year-old got a near-perfect score of 98.25 in the women's halfpipe.

Hide Caption

12 of 21

Photos:

America's Gus Kenworthy made the headlines not for his snowboarding prowess, but for kissing his boyfriend, Mathew Wakes, live on TV. The moment was hailed as a celebration of LGBTQ pride.

Hide Caption

13 of 21

Photos:

In a big upset for curling's three-time defending gold medalist Canada, Team USA beat them 5-3 in the semifinals. This takes them to the gold medal match against Sweden, for the first time in US curling history.

Hide Caption

14 of 21

Photos:

Following Russia's doping scandal, the country was banned from the Winter Olympics, with 169 of their athletes allowed to compete as neutrals. But, in a shocking turn of events, two of Team OAR's curlers -- husband and wife -- were stripped of their bronze medals after one of them, Aleksandr Krushelnitckii, tested positive for the banned substance meldonium.

Hide Caption

15 of 21

Photos:

Wojtek Wolski turned heads, playing on Canada's Olympic ice hockey team, just 16 months after breaking his neck.

Hide Caption

16 of 21

Photos:

Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored the winning goal in a penalty shootout to give the United States a 3-2 victory against Canada, the four-time defending Olympic champion.

Hide Caption

17 of 21

Photos:

Jessica Diggins pipped her Swedish rival to claim the Olympic title in the cross country team sprint final on day 12. Along with her teammate Kikkan Randall, they will be the first American women ever to win gold medals in cross country skiing.

Hide Caption

18 of 21

Photos:

Pita Taufatofua competed in Taekwondo at the summer games Rio 2016. This wasn't enough for the Tongan flag-bearer, and he decided to take on the winter ones too, competing in the 15-kilometer cross country skiing event. He crossed the line in 114th position.

Hide Caption

19 of 21

Photos:

The Jamaican women bobsled team made their Olympic debut at PyeongChang, 30 years after the men's team captured hearts around the world, inspiring the movie, "Cool Runnings."

Hide Caption

20 of 21

Photos:

Fans look on at the luge women's singles on day four of the games. 1,045,727 tickets were sold to spectators throughout the games.

Hide Caption

21 of 21

Winter Olympics Marcel Hirscher giant slalom

(CNN)Here's a look at the 2018 Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The games took place February 9-25, 2018. The Paralympics were held March 9-18, 2018.

Facts:
This was the first time South Korea hosted the Winter Olympics. The 1988 Summer Olympics were held in Seoul, South Korea.

The estimated cost of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics was $10 billion, five times less than the 2014 Sochi Olympics, which were estimated to be the costliest ever.

To avoid any potential confusion with North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, the PyeongChang resort - which is just 50 miles south of the demilitarized zone that separates the two countries - changed its name for the Games, by capitalizing the "C."

The city lost by three votes to Vancouver for hosting duties in the 2010 Olympics, and by just four votes to Sochi for the 2014 event.

Development of high-speed rail lines was key to the country's Olympic bid, as Pyeongchang is rather isolated. The new train lines allow individuals to travel from Seoul to Pyeongchang in less than an hour.

In total, 13 venues, split between Pyeongchang and neighboring Gangneung, were used during the 17 days of the Games. Six new venues were built, and additional venues were renovated for the Games.

A record 102 medals were awarded in 15 disciplines.

For the first time, viewers in all US time zones had access to live coverage of the games, instead of a delayed replay.

Timeline:
October 16, 2009 - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces that three cities have applied to host the games: Munich, Annecy, France, and Pyeongchang, South Korea.

June 22, 2010 - The three cities are selected as finalists to host the 2018 Olympics.

June 7, 2011 - NBC and Comcast are awarded the rights to continue broadcasting the Olympic Games through 2020 for $4.38 billion. Since 1964, NBC has broadcast 16 editions of the game.

July 6, 2011 - The winning city, Pyeongchang, is announced in Durban, South Africa.

May 3, 2013 - The PyeongChang Organization Committee (POC) unveils the official Olympics emblem.

June 9, 2015 - The IOC announces the addition of six events: one alpine skiing event, two snowboarding events, two skating events, and one curling event. This increases the total number of gold medals to 102, allowing the PyeongChang 2018 Games to be the first in Winter Olympic history to hold more than 100 medal events.

June 2, 2016 - PyeongChang announces the official mascots for the games: Soohorang, a white tiger, and Bandabi, an Asiatic black bear.

April 3, 2017 - The National Hockey League (NHL) announces no break in the 2017-2018 schedule for the participation in the PyeongChang Games. Players part of NHL teams will not be allowed to participate in the Games.

September 21, 2017 - France threatens to skip the Olympics over safety concerns, due to Pyeongchang's proximity to North Korea and North Korea's recent testing of atomic weapons.

October 19, 2017 - The IOC announces Apostolos Angelis, a 24 year-old cross-country skier from Greece, will be the first torchbearer for the 2018 Olympic Games.

October 24, 2017 - In the role of high priestess, Greek actress Katerina Lehou lights the Olympic torch before the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera, the site of Ancient Olympia. The torch is then handed to Angelis, the first torchbearer, who then passes it to its first South Korean torchbearer, former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung.

October 24, 2017 - Despite concerns over safety by other European countries, Germany reaffirms its participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

November 1, 2017 - The flame arrives in the Republic of Korea, 100 days before the Games are scheduled to begin.

November 7, 2017 - The POC announces that the 13 sporting venues are currently 99.7% completed.

November 17, 2017 - The Nigerian bobsled team qualifies for the 2018 Olympics, becoming both the first Nigerian team and the first African female competitors to be represented at the Winter Olympics.

December 5, 2017 - The IOC announces that Russia is banned from participating in the 2018 Olympics due to a lengthy doping investigation. Clean athletes will be allowed to participate under the generic Olympic flag.

January 20, 2018 - The IOC announces North Korea will participate in the Winter Olympics. North Korea and South Korea will march together under one flag during the opening ceremonies.

February 6, 2018 - The POC says that 1,200 security guards have been pulled from duty following a norovirus outbreak at the Olympic facilities, and 900 South Korean military personnel have replaced them. As of February 4, 41 security guards had suffered from symptoms of the virus.

February 9, 2018 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, along with a North Korean delegation, attends the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Kim Yo Jong is the first member of the North's ruling dynasty to visit the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953. The appearance at the Olympics is part of a three-day visit to the South.

February 22, 2018 - Valentina Parinova, spokeswoman for the Russian Curling Federation, tells broadcaster Russia-1 that Aleksandr Krushelnitckii and his wife and curling partner, Anastasia Bryzgalova, gave back their bronze medals, after he tested positive for the banned substance meldonium.

February 28, 2018 - The IOC confirms that all remaining drug test results from Russian athletes came back negative, and "as stated in the Executive Board decision of 25th February the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee is automatically lifted with immediate effect."