Australia’s Winter Olympians have brought the curtain down on a successful Games (medal wise) in Beijing where they picked up a record four medals.
A 30-strong contingent appeared in high spirits as they marched around the stadium at Sunday’s closing ceremony, led by the flag-bearing ski-cross veteran Sami Kennedy-Sim.
There was plenty to celebrate as they prepared to leave China with four medals – the most they’ve ever won at a single Winter Games.
Yet team chef de mission Geoff Lipshut reckoned it could have been even better after a few medal hopes also misfired and his farewell message was that “there’s no reason we can’t build on what what has happened here.”
The Aussies finished 18th on the medal table, a distinct improvement on their 23rd position in PyeongChang.
Their haul was topped by gold by Jakara Anthony – the first medal by an Australian female moguls skier – and by the country’s first sliding medal, a silver won out of the blue by Jackie Narracott.
The others came from Scotty James, silver in snowboard halfpipe, and 21-year-old Tess Coady, Australia’s youngest female winter medallist with bronze in slopestyle snowboard.
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- Athletes of Ukraine (C) and Australia (R) enter the stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games at the National Stadium, also known as Bird’s Nest, in Beijing China, 20 February 2022. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG
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- BEIJING, CHINA FEBRUARY 20, 2022: Fireworks light up the sky over the National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest) during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Valery Sharifulin/TASS/Sipa USA
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- Feb 20, 2022; Beijing, CHINA; The flags of the Olympic nations are displayed during the closing ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Beijing National Stadium. Mandatory Credit: George Walker IV/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
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- BEIJING, CHINA – FEBRUARY 20, 2022 – The closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games is held at the National Stadium on February 20, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Costfoto/Sipa USA)
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- Foto LaPresse/Marco Alpozzi 20 febbraio 2022 Pechino, Cina sport XXIV Giochi olimpici invernali – Cerimonia di Chiusura Nella foto: un momento della cerimonia – Photo LaPresse/Marco Alpozzi February 20, 2022 Beijing, China sport Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games – Closing Ceremony In the pic: during the ceremony (Photo by Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse/Sipa USA)
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- Feb 20, 2022; Beijing, CHINA; Performers during the closing ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Beijing National Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
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- Feb 20, 2022; Beijing, CHINA; Dancers perform during the closing ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Beijing National Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
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- Feb 20, 2022; Beijing, CHINA; Dancers perform during the closing ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Beijing National Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
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- BEIJING, CHINA FEBRUARY 20, 2022: The snowflake-shaped Olympic cauldron and national flags at the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest). Sergei Bobylev/TASS/Sipa USA
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- Feb 20, 2022; Beijing, CHINA; A general view of a fireworks display during the closing ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Beijing National Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
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- Feb 20, 2022; Beijing, CHINA; Team Australia enters the arena during the closing ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Beijing National Stadium. Mandatory Credit: George Walker IV/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
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- BEIJING, CHINA FEBRUARY 20, 2022: Olympic rings at the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest). Sergei Bobylev/TASS/Sipa USA
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- BEIJING, CHINA FEBRUARY 20, 2022: Lit Chinese lanterns at the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest). Sergei Bobylev/TASS/Sipa USA
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- BEIJING, CHINA FEBRUARY 20, 2022: Fireworks light up the sky over the National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest) during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Valery Sharifulin/TASS/Sipa USA
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- Feb 20, 2022; Beijing, CHINA; A choir sings during the closing ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Beijing National Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA/AAP Image
“I said at the start that if we managed four medals that would be fantastic because that’s unknown territory for an Australian team,” Lipshut said as he looked back on a uniquely challenging Games.
“The fact that there is that disappointment, even though we set a new mark in the medal tally, speaks for how far we’ve come in our Winter Olympic sports programs.”
