VANCOUVER — An Olympics that began with the death of a luger ended Sunday with an exuberant celebration of Canada — reflecting a determined comeback by the host country’s organizers and athletes.
A festive crowd of 60,000 jammed into BC Place Stadium for the closing ceremony, many of them Canadians abuzz over the overtime victory by their men’s hockey team earlier in the day to give the host nation a Winter Olympics record of 14 gold medals.
The gaiety capped by a boisterous rock concert contrasted sharply with the moment of silence at the opening ceremony Feb. 12 for Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21-year-old luger killed in a training-run crash on the sliding track at Whistler. The speakers of honor — chief Vancouver organizer John Furlong and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge — paid tribute to the young athlete.
“We are so sorry for your loss,” Furlong said, addressing himself to the nation of Georgia. “May the legacy of your favorite son never be forgotten and serve to inspire youth everywhere to be champions in life.” Furlong then shifted to a more upbeat tone: “I believe Canadians tonight are stronger, more united, more in love with our country and more connected to each other than ever before.”
He paid tribute to moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau, winner of Canada’s first gold medal at these Games, and said of the final gold, won by the hockey team, “Our last one will be remembered for generations.”
Rogge then pronounced the Games closed, after describing them as “excellent and very friendly.”
Canadian officials ensured an extra measure of poignancy at the ceremony by selecting figure skater Joannie Rochette as their flagbearer. Her mother died of a heart attack hours after arriving in Vancouver last weekend.
Other key moments in the closing included a tongue-in-cheek revue of Canadian icons and symbols, featuring singing-and-dancing Mounties, tabletop hockey players, dancing canoes and flying moose and beavers.
The Associated Press
