South Korea’s Pyeongchang, is set to play host to the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic Games. The city will welcome nearly one million athletes and spectators on February 8th, 2018. More than 43,000 people live in Pyeongchang, with many working in the agriculture and dairy sector. The area also boasts a large tourist population, with a focus on sports, such as hiking and skiing.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will be the first-ever Canadian woman and man to carry the Canadian flag into an Olympic opening ceremony, on February 9th, the day after the official competitions kick off. The 2010 Olympic ice dance champions will try to return to the top of the podium after placing second in Sochi, Russia four years ago. Both the opening and closing ceremonies will take place at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium, a temporary structure with capacity for 35,000 spectators. This will be the second Olympic Games held in South Korea. (Seoul hosted the Summer Olympics in 1988.)
The Games kick off on Thursday, February 8th, 2018 and conclude with the closing ceremonies on Sunday, February 25th, 2018.
Here’s a look at some of Canada’s top athletes heading into the Olympics:
- Mikael Kingsbury – Canadian freestyle skier
- Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir – Figure Skating, Ice Dance
- Charles Hamelin – Canadian short track speed skater
- Mark McMorris – Canadian snowboarder
- Ivanie Blondin – Canadian speed skater
- Chloé Dufour-Lapointe – Canadian freestyle skier
- Maxime Dufour-Lapointe – Canadian freestyle skier
- Marie-Philip Poulin – Ice Hockey, Forward
- Max Parrot – Canadian Snowboarder
These are just a few of the talented Canadian Olympic team members to watch this February. The athletes, coaches and trainers have put in long hours, dedication and love of their sport to be able to represent Canada on the world stage. We’ll be watching, will you?