BEIJING — Here are some notable quotes from the final day of the Beijing Olympics on Feb. 20, 2022.
"These Games have been so, so incredible. And I feel like every day, we're piling on more and more and I haven't quite processed it all. I'm having a lack of words and a lack of emotions and I have no tears left, I’ve cried at every event now."
—Speedskater Isabelle Weidemann, who won three medals for Canada (gold, silver, bronze) and was named the country's flag-bearer for the closing ceremony.
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"When you cross that finish line, all of a sudden you're aware of how much pressure there was. So in that moment, it felt amazing to have accomplished it."
—Justin Kripps, who led his four-man Canadian bobsled crew to a bronze medal. It was Canada's 26th and final medal in Beijing.
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"It's no different than Michael Jordan hitting a game-winning shot with the seconds dying. That's what he did today."
—Ben Coakwell describing Kripps' ability to gain precious hundredths of a second during the bronze-medal-winning four-man bobsled run.
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"Let's not gloss over how difficult these last two years were for Team Canada that in my estimation had to endure the most restrictive COVID protocols of any nation."
—David Shoemaker, the Canadian Olympic Committee's chief executive officer, reflecting on Canada's performance at the Games.
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"Hockey is a big thing in Finland. We have come close a couple of times and it is finally nice to get the first one."
—Veteran player Valtteri Filppula after helping Finland to its first Olympic gold medal in men's hockey with a 2-1 win over Russia in the final.
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"Some things are in the stars, right? They worked so hard and they deserve every moment of this because of the hard work they put in every day, the sacrifices they made, they deserve the moment."
—David Murdoch, coach of the British women's curling team, which defeated Japan 10-3 in the final for the country's first Olympic curling gold since 2002.
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"Every single person on Earth goes through some kind of hardship and you just need to get up. It's the most important takeaway from the last couple of weeks for me and it has nothing to do with the Olympics."
—Mikaela Shiffrin, who went home empty-handed after the Americans lost in the bronze-medal matchup of the alpine mixed team parallel event.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2022.
The Canadian Press
