Gangwon 2024: Winter Youth Olympics Faces Delay as Unfavorable Circumstances Hit South Korea

Just about six months before the Summer Olympics in Paris, the IOC delved into organizing the pavement of the senior Olympics. It was the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2024. This time the 4th edition of the Games flexed multiple qualities, standing tall because of their nature. Gangwon from the Republic of Korea won the hosting responsibility this time, which was the first time in the Asian region. However, the ROK already held the experience of hosting Games of such a big nature in 2018. Despite that, this time the Olympic host could do nothing when an emergency came down. 

This time, the Winter Youth Olympic Games kicked in on January 19 with the possibility of natural calamities. Eventually, that made its attendance in the Games. 

Winter Youth Olympics faces its opponent in nature 

Being a news raconteur, Asia One Magazine kept a tab on the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics from the beginning. However, on January 22, the X-handle of the magazine posted a disruptive update on the WYO’s proceedings. The caption added, “𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐈𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐃𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐒𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐰𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞”. In a further disbursal of the information, it informed that the snowfall in Gangwon already recorded more than the allowed standard. That was the reason the Game had to be delayed on the second day. 

In the delayed game list, the first one was the ski jumping event. Previously, the organizers scheduled it for noon time. But later, the revised time came at 1:55 pm, only to be delayed again. Because of those consecutive delay points, Choi Min-Jeong found herself dissipating in the path of gaining third Olympic gold in the event of speed skating. Moreover, her outdoor practice session also went into limbo, as strictly prohibitory notice was in place because of the natural turmoil. However, the Olympic hosting committee tried to do its best to evade the situation. 

A comeback effort is in place 

As per the hosts, a 5000-odd horde of officials already reached the place to clear the impasse. With 693 highly modernized pieces of machinery in work, the Winter Youth Olympic participants could think of a speedy recovery of the arenas to host the games again. But the uncertainty is not yet over. 

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Even after removing the high alert, the Korean Meteorological Authority still mentioned the possibility of ice falls in places in the coming days. As of now, on the third day of the Games, indoor games such as 500m speed skating are rolling on. But for the outdoor games, the schedule is still murky. 

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