The curtain falls on Gangwon 2024 and Italy Team greets South Korea as a star performer. In fact, for the first time in a five-ring event, junior and senior, the Italian team closes at the top of the medals table (won one day early), with an absolute record of golds (11): a feat never before achieved by any other country in the history of the Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Mission Chief Alessio Palombi's Azzurrini take their leave at Gangneung Olympic Park parading behind Zoe Bianchi and Pietro Rota, the two not-yet-15-year-old skaters chosen as flag bearers in the last act of this fourth edition of the YOGs. These youngsters represent the future of Italian sport: 18 podiums, with 11 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze medals.

It was a fantastic ride, which began with the parade of flag bearer Flora Tabanelli, later winner of two golds in freeskiing (slopestyle and big air) and perfect standard bearer of the strongest ever Italy Team in YOG history.

Then came the joys from luge (6 medals), alpine skiing (4 medals), biathlon (3), Nordic combined (2) and cross-country skiing (1), with our 74 azzurrini on the podium in 6 of the 13 disciplines in which they took part (Italy did not compete in bobsleigh and skeleton). Eighteen jewels for the richest YOG edition ever. Innsbruck 2012 (with 5 total medals), Lillehammer 2016 (9) and Lausanne 2020 (8) are light years away, the present is Gangwon 2024 and, as the International Olympic Committee itself acknowledged, "Italy shines brightly."

THE ITALIAN MEDAL TABLE AT GANGWON 2024 (11 GOLD, 3 SILVER, 4 BRONZE)

GOLD - Manuel Weissensteiner/Philipp Brunner (luge, men's doubles)

GOLD - Leon Haselrieder (luge, men's singles)

GOLD - Camilla Vanni (alpine skiing, women's Super-G)

GOLD - Alexandra Oberstolz/Katharina Sofie Kofler (luge, women's doubles)

GOLD - Alexandra Oberstolz, Leon Haselrieder, Manuel Weissensteiner/Philipp Brunner (luge, team relay)

GOLD - Giorgia Collomb (alpine skiing, women's giant slalom)

GOLD - Carlotta Gautero (biathlon, women's 6km sprint)

GOLD - Nayeli Mariotti Cavagnet, Carlotta Gautero, Hannes Bacher and Michel Deva (biathlon, 4x6km mixed relay)

GOLD - Flora Tabanelli (Freestyle, Slopestyle)

GOLD - Flora Tabanelli (Freestyle, big air)

GOLD - Federico Pozzi (cross-country skiing, sprint TL)

SILVER - Alexandra Oberstolz (luge, women's single)

SILVER - Giorgia Collomb (alpine skiing, women's combined)

SILVER - Manuel Senoner (Nordic combined, men's individual)

BRONZE - Nayeli Mariotti Cavagnet (biathlon, women's individual 10km)

BRONZE - Philipp Brunner (luge, men's individual)

BRONZE - Giorgia Collomb (alpine skiing, women's slalom)

BRONZE - Giada Delugan, Bryan Venturini, Anna Senoner, Manuel Senoner (Nordic combined, mixed team)