BEIJING — Here are some notable quotes from athletes at the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Feb. 19, 2022.
"Schouten had an incredible race and an incredible last lap. I did think I had her for sure. When I passed her on the inside on the backstretch I was like, 'This is game over. This is mine.'"
—Canadian speedskater Ivanie Blondin after winning silver in the women's mass start, which came down to a last-lap battle with gold-medal winner Irene Schouten of the Netherlands.
---
"It's definitely tough. I was here to give it everything I had and I can confidently say I did that. So I'm proud of myself but it's really hard to be here and off the podium again."
—Canada's Noah Bowman after coming in fourth in the men's freeski halfpipe. He finished fifth in 2014 at Sochi and again in 2018 at Pyeongchang.
---
"It was pretty good execution. The boys pushed well, loaded clean and drove pretty well, so I was pretty happy. (We're) going to look to come out and do the same thing tomorrow (Sunday)."
—Canada's Justin Kripps on being third midway through the four-man bobsled competition.
---
"Performance-wise and confidence-wise, it felt really good to skate like that. The error on the flip, it happens, we’re a new couple. But we pushed it and we were confident all the way through and I’m so proud to have skated like that, especially after the short program yesterday."
— Canadian skater Vanessa James. James and partner Eric Radford finished 12th in the pairs competition, less than a year after they both came out of retirement to skate together.
---
"In this sport, you really have to live in the moment and process the mistakes as quickly as possible and move on because you've got another run. I knew that for Dawn, I couldn't let her Olympic experience end on such a bad note, and for myself as well. I knew that the fourth run was go big or go home."
— Canadian bobsledder Cynthia Appiah, who along with partner Dawn Richardson Wilson crashed in her third run of the two-woman bobsled. The team recovered for a fourth run and finished eighth overall.
---
"It's not our best today for sure, not a career best by any means. But it was a big fight today. It's been a great career for us. We fought for everything."
— Canadian skater Kirsten Moore-Towers, who finished in 10th in the pairs event with Michael Marinaro.
---
“My dream was after these Games to be called an Olympic champion, and now I am a three-time champion. I am living the dream.”
—Dutch speedskater Irene Schouten, who narrowly edged Canada's Ivanie Blondin for gold in the women's mass start.
---
"I can't really describe that, to be honest. I'm so, so happy and I'm currently over the moon. I still can't really believe it."
—Nico Porteous on coming in first in men's freeski halfpipe and giving New Zealand its second gold medal in Beijing.
---
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2022.
The Canadian Press
