BEIJING: Japan savored joy over its record Winter Olympic medal haul made at the Beijing Games as the 17-day sporting event closed Sunday night.

The Japanese women’s curling team, Loco Solare, won silver in Sunday’s final, bringing the country its final Beijing Olympic medal.

Japan gained 18 medals in total–three golds, six silvers and nine bronzes–exceeding the previous record of 13 medals achieved at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea.

At the Beijing Games, Japan ranked sixth in terms of the total number of medals earned.

Of the 18 medals, four were garnered by speed skater Miho Takagi, captain of the Japanese athletes in Beijing.

Japanese athletes demonstrated their strength despite the difficult situation caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, said Hidehito Ito, head of Japan’s Beijing Olympics delegation.

The Beijing Olympics, clouded by the pandemic, political controversies and a doping scandal involving Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, ended with the closing ceremony at the Bird’s Nest national stadium in Beijing.

The Beijing Winter Paralympics will be held March 4-13. The next 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics will be hosted by Italy’s Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

JIJI Press