From getting up in the middle of the night to catch all the action to repeating heroic feats in the playground, and even being moved to tears by the sheer scale and size of the Games, this selection of major medal threats for Beijing 2022 will never forget the first time they saw the Olympic rings.

Norway’s cross-country skiers enjoyed a phenomenal return in the men’s events at PyeongChang 2018, not least thanks to a dazzling debut Games of Johannes Høsflot Klaebo, who won three gold medals. There were also two golds apiece for his compatriots Simen Hegstad Krueger and Martin Johnsrud Sundby, who helped secured a Norwegian podium sweep in the skiathlon along with Hans Crister Holund. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna made his own mark with a third successive victory in the 15km, while Iivo Niskanen of Finland took gold in the 50km classic mass start.

The undisputed star of the women’s cross-country events – and indeed PyeongChang 2018 – was Marit Bjørgen who claimed medals in five events to take her overall tally to 15, more than any other Winter Olympian in history. Meanwhile, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and compatriot Stina Nilsson both made it onto the podium four times, including in the team sprint, where Jessica Diggins and Kikkan Randall made history by becoming the first US women to win a cross-country gold.

The XXIII Olympic Winter Games produced no shortage of sporting heroes, from seasoned athletes who wrote their names in Olympic history with amazing feats and multiple medals to newcomers who announced themselves to the world with their stunning performances.

The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 come to a close today after two weeks of intense competition. At 20:00 local time the Closing Ceremony will get underway, and once the Olympic flame has been extinguished the athletes will come together in the Olympic Stadium for one last celebration. Before that, however, there is a fabulous day of events to be enjoyed, with the final of the men’s four-man bobsleigh, the women’s 30km classic mass start in the cross-country skiing, the women’s curling final and the men’s ice hockey final.

On 21 February 2018, Norway's Marit Bjoergen cemented her place in the Pantheon of the greatest Winter Olympians. Her bronze in the women’s cross-country team sprint took her medals total to 14 (seven of them gold), surpassing the previous benchmark set by her compatriot, biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. She still needs one win to match his tally of eight golds.

Cross-country is an event dominated by Scandinavians, but Canada’s Alex Harvey, twice a world champion, is hoping to break their domination of the Olympic podium this time around. To become the best, a mastery of technique and ski waxing must be twinned with extraordinary athleticism in one of the most physically demanding sports around.

During the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden, Marit Bjørgen wrote another glorious chapter in her story, adding the world championship crown to her World Cup and Olympic titles

Norwegian athletes enjoyed a brilliant showing in the women’s cross country events at the Laura Cross Country Ski and Biathlon Centre, not least Marit Bjørgen, who added three golds, taking her overall Olympic medal tally to 10, confirming her as the most successful female Winter Olympian of all time.

The penultimate day of Sochi 2014 kicks off with a new Olympic event, as Rosa Khutor Extreme Park hosts the men’s and women’s snowboard parallel slalom competitions. At around the same time, the world’s leading female cross-country skiers will set off for the 30km mass start, which will be followed by the men’s 4x7.5km biathlon relay, with the men’s and women’s speed skating team pursuit competitions then taking place at the Adler Arena. In Alpine skiing, meanwhile, it is men’s slalom day at Rosa Khutor, while there is a bronze medal up for grabs in men’s ice hockey at the Bolshoi Ice Dome. Finally, the four-man bobsleigh competition gets up and running at the Sanki Sliding Centre with the teams completing legs one and two.