Society | Feb 27

Japanese athletes come home with record medal haul

Feb 27 (NHK) - The Japanese Olympic team returned home from Pyeongchang on Monday. Japan's athletes won 13 medals in all. That's the most any Japanese team has ever won at a Winter Games.

A crowd of supporters was on hand at Narita Airport east of Tokyo to greet the athletes and officials.

The fans cheered and applauded when the team members, including speed skater Nao Kodaira and figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, appeared in the lobby wearing their medals.

Team leader Yasuo Saito, Kodaira, Hanyu and other medalists were handed bouquets on behalf of the group.

Hanyu is the first male figure skater in 66 years to win gold at 2 consecutive Olympics.

Kodaira took gold in the women's 500 meters and silver in the 1,000-meter race.

Speed skater Nana Takagi was the women's mass start champion and a member of the gold medal pursuit team.

In all, Japan collected 4 golds, 5 silvers and 4 bronzes. That's 3 more medals than the previous Japanese record, set at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games.


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