The pin rush: How trading pins at the Gangwon 2024 Athlete Villages is forging new friendships
The pin trade is going strong at the Gangneung and Jeongseon High1 Youth Olympic Villages. Olympics.com went behind the scenes to discover the secrets of the trade, the countries with the most sought-after pins, and which athletes are leaving Gangwon 2024 having made new friends.
The hunt is on for the shiniest bling at Gangwon 2024, and it’s not a medal an athlete can hang around the neck.
The two Athletes’ Villages – one in Gangneung and the other in Jeongseon – have become hot spots of pin trading and through it, the making of new friends.
“The moment I entered the building, all these athletes were like, ‘Can you exchange pins?’” Republic of Korea alpine skier Lee Nayae told Olympics.com. “I got to make new friends also, from Kenya, Afghanistan. We never have other chances to meet those countries and athletes, and it's pretty amazing to actually get to see them.”
So how does the pin-to-friendship exchange work? Canadian snowboard cross athlete Anthony Shelly has the basic formula:
“You go up and you trade your pins. And then people trade with you and they come up to you and you meet new people.”
Breaking barriers: How the pin trade is bringing athletes closer together
Jamaica’s Henniyah Rivers turned the bustling pin trade at the Jeongseon High1 Youth Olympic Village into a way to make friends with athletes from countries she has never been to yet.
“That was cool because you got to talk to other people from different countries and you now get a pin from different countries,” the alpine skier said. “I got to experience talking with them, talking about how they got here, who they represent, where they train, just making friendships just by exchanging a pin.”
The pin trade is even breaking language barriers, as USA’s Annika Hunt experienced while getting her equipment ready in the tuning room.
A fellow alpine skier from China came up to her and asked to swap pins.
“He had a translation app on his phone and had me talking to it, and then it said what I was saying in Mandarin. And then he spoke into it so that I could understand what he was saying,” Hunt said. “That was kind of interesting, the language barrier, but it was really cool.”
For Gangwon 2024 volunteer Cho Noah, the pin trade was not only a way to put his impeccable English language skills to use, but also to reconnect with his father’s heritage.
“I have a Team USA one,” Cho said, pointing to the pin on his accreditation lanyard. “I wanted one because my father is American and I had a Korean one and I noticed there was an American athlete just standing there after one of the events, I think it was snowboarding, so I just went up to him and I said, ‘Do you have any pins left?’ And he said, ‘Do you have any Korean ones that you want to trade?’”
The two ended up trading pins and exchanging a few words. Cho shared that his father is originally from California and was surprised to hear that the athlete was also from California.
“I don’t think he expected someone whose father was from California to just come up and talk to him at that moment,” Cho said. “And I was also quite surprised because these athletes, even though – well, in this case they are younger than me - you think, ‘Oh wow, they’re so great’, but most of them seem to be more than willing to just talk to you and interact with you, so that was nice.”
“Some of the athletes I do think that I will follow them more closely because now I know they're just regular people so there's no reason to feel any sort of distance between us,” he added.
The pros: The athletes winning the pin trade at Gangwon 2024
Given the competitive nature of the athletes taking part at Gangwon 2024, it is no wonder there is some healthy competition in the pin trade as well.
Anthony Shelly is leaving the Youth Olympics with a silver medal and a bag of pins that are “too many to count” thanks to his successful trading skills at the Gangneung Youth Olympic Village.
Up at the Jeongseon High1 Village, South African alpine skier Lara Markthaler has also made the most of her time in the common athlete areas, such as the Athlete365 House.
“I think my entire accreditation is completely full of pins. I have no more space left,” she said. “I get to know so many cool international people that I would have never met if I wouldn't have come here. And it gives you such a good stage to make new friendships and meet new people.”
USA ice hockey player Parker Trottier is also due to leave Gangwon 2024 with his luggage a little heavier and his contact list a little fuller.
“Most of the bonds I've created, it's definitely through the pins,” he said. “Pin trading with all other athletes is probably the best way to interact with other countries.”
Mirror, mirror on the wall, which pin is the rarest of them all?
Some pins are particularly high in demand.
Jamaica’s Henri Rivers IV discovered this when he arrived at the Jeongseon High1 Village and got surrounded by pin collectors.
“As soon as I got here, people were just asking me, ‘Oh, can I have pin? Can I have a pin? I didn't know what it meant. But then once I had it - and we had a limited amount - it was like, well, everyone loves Jamaica, so got to give them something to remember us by,” the alpine skier said.
“The pins here, they're like money and you got to give it to get it. And it's just crazy how many people go for it. It's like a competition to see who gets the most.”
The Jamaican pin is one of the most sought-after at Gangwon 2024, together with those of other countries that are not considered traditional winter sports nations.
Brazil's Zion Bethonico made the most of this fact during his time at the Games.
“[The Brazilian], they're the rarest. I managed to trade one of mine for three because there's just not that many Brazilian athletes,” the snowboarder said, recalling his accreditation lanyard. “It's just filled with pins. I got too many to count because I got a full bag. I traded like 20 with many different countries.”
Fellow snowboard cross rider Shelly is eager to get his hands on one of those along with other rare Gangwon 2024 mementos.
“The Mexico pin is pretty cool,” he mused. “I don't have it, but that's my goal for the for the next couple days is to get that Mexican pin.”
The beginning of a 'true friendship'
In the People's Republic of China, misfortune is said to be a blessing in disguise. For volunteer Lim Yeo-jeong of the Republic of Korea, this seemed to be true.
At the Youth Olympic Village, she and two other volunteers approached Chinese short-track speed skater Zhang Xinzhe, who has won four medals at Gangwon 2024.
The hope was to swap pins with Zhang and get one featuring Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. However, the volunteer lost a game of 'rock, paper, scissors' and didn't manage to get the pin. When the speed skater saw her upset, he quickly ran over to a teammate, so Lim did not leave empty-handed.
"I was surprised," Lim told Xinhua. "The pin is a symbol of true friendship. For me, it will be the most memorable moment from the Youth Winter Olympics".
Lim later returned the favour following Zhang's win in the men's 1,000m short-track final. She congratulated him and gave Zhang a hand-written letter in Chinese.
"Hopefully we can meet again at the next Winter Olympics," Lim wrote in the letter. "I will always be supporting you even if we can't see each other."
"The letter was neatly written in Chinese. I didn't expect such a gift at all, so I've been deeply moved," said Zhang. "For me, the YOG gave me joy when I made the podium, but I found the same amount of joy meeting new friends. I will keep those memories forever," Zhang concluded.
