Germany’s Andreas Wellinger and Norway’s Robert Johansson both excelled at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre, winning three medals – including one gold - apiece, while Poland’s Kamil Stoch retained his large hill title. Norway’s Maren Lundby outjumped the field to claim the second ever women’s individual title, as her male compatriots took the team gold.

Former Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) athletes Lim Hyo-jun of the Republic of Korea, Andreas Wellinger of Germany and David Gleirscher of Austria were in the limelight during the first weekend of PyeongChang 2018, winning gold in the men's short track speed skating, ski jumping and luge respectively. Meanwhile on day three of the Games, two former YOG stars, Sara Takanashi of Japan and Katharina Althaus of Germany made the podium in the women's ski jumping, taking silver and bronze.  The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) have proved to be a pioneering mixture of elite sport, culture and education – but they’re also the ideal incubator for those with serious ambitions. While not everyone who participates goes on to represent their country later in life, those who do often cite their YOG experience when it comes to adapting to the Olympic stage.

Andreas Linger (front) and Wolfgang Linger of Austria celebrate after their second run

Stijn Desmet was part of a mixed-gender, mixed-NOC short track speed skating relay team that won gold at the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Almost four years on from that success, the Belgian explains how the YOG prepared him for a career at the top through innovation, education and an introduction to Olympism and the Olympic values.

The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 were a resounding success both on and off the field of play, achieving a number of significant milestones. In the words of IOC President Thomas Bach, these were the Games of New Horizons. The Games enjoyed unprecedented geographical reach, in terms of both participation and coverage; offered a more diverse sporting programme than ever before; and, perhaps most significantly, served as a bridgehead for peace and cooperation.

The inspirational performances of the 227 former Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) athletes in PyeongChang showed how their experiences at Innsbruck 2012 and Lillehammer 2016 have helped them shine at the Olympic Winter Games.

As the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 reach their halfway point, there have already been a succession of eye-catching performances by former Youth Olympic Games (YOG) stars.