Curtains come down on Winter Olympics
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| The cauldron retracts during the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sunday. MCT photo by Gerry Kahrmann/Canwest News Service |
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (MCT) — An Olympics that started with tragedy, controversy and talk of the host country dominating the podium ended Sunday with a comical Closing Ceremony poking fun at the glitches during the Vancouver Games and celebrating all things Canadian.
On a festive night in which Canada basked in the glory of a runaway victory in the gold-medal count, capped by an overtime win against the U.S. in the men’s ice hockey finals, standup comedy from top-notch actors and riveting performances from big-name singers put a cheerful touch on a 17-day run widely considered more of a failure than a success.
It was a fitting conclusion for Vancouver, since there were so many problems, from a bad ice-making machine at the venue for long-track speedskating to a tripped-out cauldron to continual weather woes, and there was no shortage of partying the past two weeks in this city, way before Sidney Crosby’s goal in one of the greatest games in Olympic history.
The fourth leg of the cauldron finally rose at BC Place Stadium — it never left the floor at the Opening Ceremony, denying retired Canadian speedskater Catriona Le May Doan an opportunity to light the flame. Doan brought the heat Sunday in front of 60,000 fans after a handyman took center stage and realized the cauldron’s extension cord was unplugged.
Nordic combined skier Billy Demong, who won a gold medal Thursday in the individual large hill and catapulted the U.S. to a silver Tuesday in the 20-kilometer relay, carried the American flag, then ice hockey player Angela Ruggiero was sworn in as a member of the International Olympic Committee athletes’ commission, a full-fledged IOC spot.
After a flag handover from Vancouver to Sochi, Russia, the 2014 Olympic host, the fun began, with William Shatner saying “two Canadians minus 30 degrees is just another sign of global warming.” Catherine O’Hara made light of the lack of snow that hampered the Olympics, saying Vancouver is “sorry if you thought Canada was one big frozen tundra.”
Vancouver 2010 chief John Furlong elicited the biggest applause donning felt antlers by declaring that Canada’s hockey triumph over the U.S. “will be remembered for generations.” Michael J. Fox later joined the fray with, “If I’m watching the U.S. and Canada play hockey, I’m sorry, I’m wearing a maple leaf on my sweater.”
In a brief speech, IOC president Jacques Rogge said the sporting world “shared the grief of an Olympic dream cut short,” a reference to the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a luger from the nation of Georgia who was killed in practice the day of the Opening Ceremony.
Rogge also said Olympic followers “witnessed extraordinary acts of courage,” a probable reference to Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette, who won a bronze after her mother died last week of a massive heart attack. Rochette was Canada’s flag bearer.
No mention was made of the slew of problems in Canada’s third Olympics — a collapsed barricade that injured 19 people, timing issues in biathlon, refunded snowboarding tickets and weather delays in Alpine skiing. And few noticed protesters who marched Sunday in Vancouver with signs reading “Homes Not Games” and “2010 Corporate Circus.”
Then again, maybe nobody cared. The flame was extinguished, the cauldron was brought down and a stage the size of two football fields was filled with gigantic hockey players, beavers on wheels, floating moose, dancing canoes and frolicking lumberjacks as banners of grizzly bears and police officers unfurled and paper leaves fell from the roof.
In a white tuxedo, Michael Buble rocked the joint before handing over the microphone to Avril Lavigne. Nickelback and Alanis Morissette closed the show while Vail Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn flashed her antlers and Olympic Training Center bobsledder Steven Holcomb proudly displayed his gold from the four-man event.
The 37 medals — nine golds, 15 silvers and 13 bronzes — by the U.S. were a record for the most at a Winter Games. That’s 12 more than the Americans won in 2006, when their 25 was their record for a non-U.S. Winter Games.
Winning 14 golds — the most Canada has claimed at any Olympics — enabled Canada to break the previous mark for Winter Games golds, 13 by the Soviets in 1976 and Norway in 2002. Canada grabbed 26 total, four less than Germany, which had 10 golds. Norway took fourth with 23 medals.
“It says our athletes were well prepared, that they had a fantastic Games,” U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive officer Scott Blackmun said.
