One hundred and sixty-two. That’s how many medals — or ulus — Team Yukon had tallied by the end of play at the 2024 Arctic Winter Games. Of the total count, the team won 59 gold ulus, 45 silvers and 58 bronzes.
This year’s Games, held in Alaska’s Mat-Su Valley, kicked off on March 10. The closing ceremony was held from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 16.
Team Yukon’s 162 ulus were good for a second-place finish in the overall medal standings. Team Alaska finished the Games at the top of the medal standings with 221 ulus, including 69 gold ulus. Team Alberta North finished third with 123 ulus.
Rounding out the medal table is Team Northwest Territories with 97 ulus, Team Nunavut with 66, Kalaallit Nunaat (also known as Greenland) with 56, Team Nunavik with 27 and Team Sápmi with 26.
(The Arctic Winter Games medals are designed to resemble an ulu — a traditional knife used by Indigenous peoples of the northern reaches of North America and the Russian Far East.)
On the final full day of competition, March 15, the under-15 boys’ hockey team lost to Alberta North in the gold-ulu game, falling by a score of 4-1 to secure the silver ulu. The girls’ hockey team had a shutout performance against N.W.T., winning 2-0 to take the bronze.
The boys’ basketball team completed what could be hailed as a perfect Games’ appearance on March 15, downing N.W.T. 83-74 in the finals to win gold. The boys’ team won all of their games during the tournament. The girls’ team, meanwhile, took home bronze after rallying back from a 10-point deficit in their final-round matchup to defeat Nunavut 56-41.
The girls’ volleyball team earned the bronze ulu in their showdown with N.W.T., while the boys’ team fell to Alberta North and walked away with silver.
In the sledge jump, an Inuit sport that involves jumping over 10 sleds that are lined up parallel, Amélie Guilbeault won gold in the girls’ junior event, with teammate Bree Labelle placing second. Darwin Murray earned silver and Chris McCarron earned bronze in the boys’ junior sledge jump event.
Ahead of the closing ceremonies on day seven of this year’s Games, the under-18 boys’ futsal squad clinched gold in their finals match against Nunavut, winning 6-4. During the match, Leo Whittaker completed a hat trick, while Jackson Berry, Kaden Gregory and Kyan Morrison also found the back of the net, according to a Team Yukon media release. The boys’ squad was undefeated throughout the tournament.
The under-18 girls’ futsal team also competed in the gold-ulu match on the final day of the 2024 Games. They played a nail-biter against Alaska and battled until the final buzzer but ultimately fell 4-3, good for a silver finish.
“This was an incredible group. Every member of the team should be proud of their accomplishments. Our entire team extends their gratitude to the 2024 Arctic Winter Games Host Society and the countless volunteers who make these Games special for all participants,” Chef de Mission Trevor Twardochleb said in a post-Games press release.
The Arctic Winter Games are a biennial event open to athletes from the circumpolar region. However, the Games have been held twice in the past two years. The 2023 Arctic Winter Games, hosted in Wood Buffalo, Alberta, were supposed to have occurred in 2022, but were delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the 2023 Games, Team Yukon topped the medal standings with 169 ulus, followed by Alaska, which came in second with 145 ulus, and Alberta North, which came in third with 144.
This year’s Games were the second in a row without a Russian delegation. In 2022, the International Arctic Winter Games Committee suspended athletes from Russia’s Yamal-Nenets autonomous region from participating in the international sporting event following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yamal last participated in the Games in 2018, where the region’s athletes won 109 medals — fourth in the overall medal standings.
The 2026 Arctic Winter Games were supposed to be held in Russia but will now be held in Whitehorse after Russia was removed as host following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Contact Matthew Bossons at matthew.bossons@yukon-news.com