Figure skating, cross-country skiing and curling, which came to an end after several days of elimination rounds, were the three highlights of the final day of competition at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games. The hosts, Korea, will leave the Games on a positive note after winning the figure skating competition. Jia Shin was the best skater on the ice. Her compatriot Cheeun Lee took gold in the snowboarding halfpipe. Finally, the curling final was won by Great Britain, who narrowly beat Denmark 7-6 to claim a prestigious gold medal in one of the Games' most attractive disciplines.

The 4x5 km mixed cross-country relay was a nail-biter, with the winner in doubt until the very end. Germany won with a time of 53:07.3, silver went to France with 53:13.0, very close to Germany's gold, and bronze went to Switzerland with 53:13.3. The three medallists were very close.

The curling action started early at the Gangneug Centre with the semi-finals. The United States couldn't overcome Denmark. They lost 5-6. The other semi-final ended with Great Britain beating Sweden 6-5. The United States defeated Sweden 4-7 in the bronze medal match. In the final, Great Britain defeated Denmark 6-7. The final day of Gangwon 2024 was filled with success and glory.

The figure skating event attracted a lot of attention with a fierce competition between the favourites, Korea, and the United States. They did not disappoint with their top skaters. The Republic of Korea won the team figure skating competition at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) on Thursday, February 1. The event concluded six days of competition at the Gangneung Ice Arena.

On the final day of the Games, the hosts topped the table with 13 points, with Kim Hyungyeom (136.38) and Shin Jia (137.48) topping the men's and women's scores respectively. Skaters Kim Jinny/Lee Namu contributed to the total with a third-place finish as Team Korea edged out the USA for the gold medal by one point.

"It was my first time competing in a team event and I really enjoyed it," said Shin, who finished second to Japan's Mao Shimada in the singles competition.

"I was nervous, but now I'm relieved to have a good result. It's lucky that I had a good performance in front of the home crowd. I am so happy that we were able to win this gold medal together.

"The women's free skate was the last category, so I was a bit nervous when I stepped out on the ice, but I thought I could enjoy the moment more than in the individual event," she told olympics.com

The last competition to round off the day and the medals table was the snowboard halfpipe event. Here, the Korean Cheenun Lee was far superior to his competitors with a score of 88.50 points and confidently took the gold medal. Silver went to Alessandro Barbieri (USA) with 84.75. Bronze went to Ryusei Yamada from Japan with 83.00.

Gangwon 2024's double gold medal-winning snowboarder, Lee Chaeun, expressed his satisfaction with his performance. "I feel amazing, just doing my tricks in front of the Korean people, it feels amazing," said Lee, who also revealed that he and his team-mates have started a tradition of going out for karaoke after all their snow sessions at Gangwon 2024, as reported by olympics.com. The senior world champion in the discipline lived up to all expectations with a top score of 88.50 points. "It is so special because the Youth Olympics are in Korea," said Lee. "It's unbelievable. It's just crazy." "Another goldmedal is unbelievable.

The medal table:

Italy, 11 golds and 18 medals in total 

Germany: 9 golds and 20 medals in total 

Korea: 7 golds and 17 medals in total 

France: 7 golds and 18 medals in total 

China: 6 golds and 18 medals in total