The Winter Universiade drew to a close in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on Tuesday, capping 10 days of intense competition which saw around 3,000 student-athletes from 58 countries take part.
The closing ceremony was held at the Platinum Arena in the Siberian city as competitors bid a fond farewell to the city that has hosted thrills and spills across a wide variety of winter sports since the 29th edition of the biennial event opened on March 2.
The event is held by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), and this year saw hosts Russia dominate the medals table.
Russia ended with a whopping 112 medals in all – including 41 golds. That was way ahead of second-placed South Korea on 14 medals in total, including six golds, and Japan with 13 medals and five golds.
Russia capped their performances with gold in the men’s ice hockey thanks to a slender 2-1 victory over Slovakia on the final day of competition. That followed the Russian women's victory over Canada on Monday in the final.
But as much as the competition was dominated by the hosts, the event was as much about building friendships across nations and forging new ties among the student-athletes.
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The closing ceremony saw some spectacular fireworks in the Siberian night sky as the city bade a fond farewell to the competitors.
UK popstar John Newman also performed as part of the closing proceedings, blasting out hits that have seen him top the charts around the world.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was also in attendance to congratulate the participants on making the Universiade such a magical 10 days.
The next edition of the event will be held in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 2021.