Biggest overachievers at PyeongChang 2018

PyeongChang 2018 has come to an end. We take a look at those who massively boosted their profile at the Winter Games to determine the biggest overachievers.

Adam Rippon

Country: United States | Sport: Figure Skating

Rippon made waves before the games began with his criticism of Mike Pence's anti-LGBTQ agenda after the vice president was appointed to lead the U.S. delegation to the Olympics. Rippon, the first openly gay U.S. athlete to qualify for the Winter Olympics, wasn't expected to be in the running for a single's medal but grabbed everyone's attention with his performance in the team event. He helped the U.S. to a bronze medal and stole the spotlight with his personality. Two months ago, only hardcore figure skating fans had likely heard of Rippon, but the self-proclaimed "icon" finished the games as one of the most popular U.S. Olympians and an offer to be an NBC correspondent in his back pocket.

Kim Boutin

Country: Canada | Sport: Short Track Speedskating

In her first Winter Games, the 23-year-old Sherbrooke, Quebec native made headlines throughout her entire experience. She won her first medal in controversial fashion, being awarded bronze in the 500-meter race after a South Korean skater was disqualified for contacting the Canadian. Boutin received many threats from South Korean fans on social media, but refused to let that stop her. She came back to win another bronze in the 1,500 meter and finished her Olympics with a silver in the 1,000 meter to take home a Canadian-high three medals and earn the right to be her country's flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

Mark McMorris

Country: Canada | Sport: Snowboard

It has not been emphasized nearly enough, but if you've seen CBC's documentary "Unbroken" on Mark McMorris' journey to PyeongChang, you know how ridiculous it is that he even made the flight. The 24-year-old endured a horrific accident while snowboarding in British Columbia backcountry last March, suffering a fractured jaw, fractured left arm, ruptured spleen, pelvic fracture, rib fractures, and a collapsed left lung. When he awoke from surgery, his first concern was being able to keep his spot on Canada's Olympic snowboarding team. McMorris not only recovered enough to stay eligible for PyeongChang but managed to take part in the debut of big air and defend his slopestyle bronze medal from Sochi.

U.S. men's curling team

Country: United States | Sport: Curling

In the previous two Winter Games, the U.S. men's curling team finished in ninth and tenth place, respectively, in the ten-team tournament. U.S. skip John Shuster had never even been to a final of a Grand Slam event in his 15-year career, but he and his squad certainly weren't scared of the competition in PyeongChang. After starting the round robin with a 2-4 record, the U.S. had to defeat Canada, the defending gold medal country; Switzerland, the eventual bronze medal winners; and Great Britain, the defending silver medalists, to make the playoffs. It battled to wins in all three matches, took down Canada again in the semifinals, and then used a five-point eighth end to upset Sweden for gold. It was an achievement worthy of the nickname "Miracurl on Ice."

German men's hockey team

Country: Germany | Sport: Ice Hockey

When betting lines opened for men's hockey at PyeongChang last October, Germany had the eighth-best odds to win the gold medal at 66-1 behind the Olympic Athletes from Russia, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, USA, and Switzerland. It didn't qualify for Sochi 2014 and prior to that, had never finished an Olympic tournament better than eighth place since NHL players were allowed to compete. After needing a shootout to earn its only win of the round robin, Germany shocked the hockey world by taking down Sweden and Canada in thrilling playoff performances before truly shocking the world in the gold medal game. After knocking off the teams with the second- and third-best betting odds to win, Germany pulled out all the stops to try taking down the top-favored Russian team, but fell short in overtime, just shy of one of the greatest upsets in hockey history.

Ester Ledecka

Country: Czech Republic | Sport(s): Alpine Skiing, Snowboard

Ledecka made history by simply qualifying for PyeongChang 2018, becoming the first athlete to compete in skiing and snowboarding at the Winter Games. The 22-year-old's specialty is as a snowboarder in the parallel giant slalom, winning gold in the event at the 2017 World Championships. However, it was her secondary sport that stole headlines.

The Czech Republic native, who possibly borrowed U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin's skis, managed to shock everyone by winning gold in the super-G by 0.01 seconds. Defending Olympic champion Anna Veith of Austria was befuddled, asking "how did that happen?" after Ledecka's run. Even the new champ herself was surprised, keeping her goggles on while talking to media because she forgot to wear makeup.

Ledecka finished her Olympics by winning the event she was expected to, grabbing top prize in the parallel giant slalom to become the first Olympian with gold medals in two different winter sports.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)