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Australia collapse Henderson strike sees South Africa sinks Swansea level16 series 19 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014 Miami marks 50th ’versary of Ali’s match that ‘Shook The World’ Page 17 SOCHI: A man takes a photograph of fireworks during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics yesterday. — AP Russia tops medals table as Games end Canada retains men’s ice hockey title SOCHI: The Winter Olympics ended yesterday with host “Tonight we can say: Russia delivered all what it had prom- nation Russia on top of the medals table and Canada win- ised,” he told 40,000 people at the closing ceremony and Olympics medals table ning the men’s ice hockey final, but news that two more many millions more watching on television. athletes tested positive for banned substances dimmed “What took decades in other parts of the world was SOCHI, Russia: Final Winter Olympics medals table yesterday, the last day of the 2014 Games (after three of three gold medal events): the golden glow. achieved here in Sochi in just seven years.” Addressing the Canada claimed the last, most coveted title of the army of volunteers who helped guide athletes, reporters Gold Silver Bronze Total Sweden 2 7 6 15 Games by sweeping asideSweden 3-0 to retain their men’s and visitors to their destinations, he added: Russia 13 11 9 33 Czech Republic 2 4 2 8 ice hockey crown, but two more victories forRussia gave “Through you, everybody with an open mind could see Norway 11 5 10 26 Slovenia 2 2 4 8 them an unassailable lead with 13 golds to Norway’s 11. the face of a new Russia: efficient and friendly, patriotic Canada 10 10 5 25 Japan 1 4 3 8 Sweden’s misery was compounded by news that for- and open to the world. We arrived with great respect for United States 9 7 12 28 Finland 1 3 1 5 ward Nicklas Backstrom had failed a doping test. He the rich and varied history of Russia. We leave as friends of Netherlands 8 7 9 24 Great Britain 1 1 2 4 Germany 8 6 5 19 missed the gold medal game, forcing his team to hastily the Russian people.” Ukraine 1 0 1 2 Switzerland 6 3 2 11 rearrange the lineup shortly before the teams took to Bach then formally declared the Sochi Games closed. Slovakia 1 0 0 1 Belarus 5 0 1 6 the ice. The Olympics had more than 2,800 athletes from 88 coun- Italy 0 2 6 8 Austria 4 8 5 17 At the Sanki Sliding Centre, Alexander Zubkov added tries - both records - and featured 12 new events to attract France 4 4 7 15 Latvia 0 2 2 4 the four-man bobsleigh crown to his two-man title, while younger fans and more broadcasters than ever before. Poland 4 1 1 6 Australia 0 2 1 3 on the cross-country skiing track, Alexander However, the Games have also seen six doping cases, five China 3 4 2 9 Croatia 0 1 0 1 Legkovgrabbed the 50 km race in a Russian medals sweep. more than at the 2010Vancouver Olympics. South Korea 3 3 2 8 Kazakhstan 0 0 1 1 Those wins ensured Russia was the most successful Early yesterday Austrian cross-country skier Johannes nation at the Games, emulating the Canadians who Duerr, who placed eighth in the skiathlon, tested positive topped the rankings on home turf four years earlier. for performance-boosting EPO and was excluded from the RUSSIAN PRIDE far softer colours than the muscular, assertive opening “People kept asking me whether I believed Russia could Games, according to the Austrian Olympic Committee. For now Russian officials are basking in the glory of an spectacle. do as well as Canada did in Vancouver ... and I didn’t “There’s nothing left for me than to apologise to every- event they believe has helped them build bridges with the The show’s producers deliberately replicated the believe it,” 30-year-old Legkov told a news conference. one. To my family, my wife,” Duerr told Austrian TV ORF at West, with which Moscow has had uneasy relations under embarrassing technical hitch from the opening ceremony, “Now this is our pride, it’s wonderful. What could be the airport as he was leaving. Bach said the number of cas- Putin. when one of five Olympic rings failed to open. better than ending theOlympics with a gold medal and es proved that the system of testing athletes was working. “The friendly faces, the warm Sochi sun and the glare of In similar fashion, while dancers in shimmering silver helping Russia top the medal table?” “The number of cases for me is not really relevant. What the Olympic gold have broken the ice of scepticism tops formed four perfect rings, one group remained in a Underlining the sense of national pride, a packed Fisht is important is that we see that the system works,” he said, towards the new Russia,” Deputy Prime MinisterDmitry tight formation, and only opened to complete the symbol Stadium erupted in cheers as the Russian team marched addressing reporters hours before the closing ceremony. Kozak, also Putin’s Olympics organiser, said at the week- when spectators had cheered the joke loudly. past during the athletes’ parade at the closing ceremony. The show was staged at the Fisht Stadium, one of sever- end. The sense of national pride at the home team’s achieve- Organisers will be delighted that athletic achievement al gleaming arenas built inSochi that helped push the price The medals tally was an unexpected bonus after Russia ments was palpable as huge roars erupted for the Russian has gone hand-in-hand with a generally well-run Games, tag for Russia’s first Winter Games to an estimated $51 bil- mustered just three golds in Vancouver four years ago to team as they paraded past the crowds. so far untouched by violence at the hands of Islamist mili- lion, a record for any Olympics. place 11th in the rankings. The only regret for Russian fans “Well done!” chanted tens of thousands of Russians as tants opposed to President Vladimir Putin and his pet proj- Only time will tell if the project, on which Putin has was that the men’s ice hockey team progressed no further Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vylegzhanin and Ilia Chernousov ect. Voices of dissent over Russia’s human rights record, staked his prestige, was worth it, as Russia faces the formi- than the quarter-finals. received their gold, silver and bronze medals won in the particularly regarding legislation that critics say discrimi- dable challenge of turning Sochi and the surrounding Victory gave Canada a sweep of the ice hockey gold Caucasus Mountains high above Sochi earlier in the day. nates against gays, have occasionally crashed the party, areas into a year-round sports and entertainment hub. medals for a second consecutive Olympics. The women After a rousing rendition of the national anthem by a choir but attention has largely focused on sport. Bach said Sochi had undergone an “amazing transfor- stormed back from 2-0 down in the last four minutes of 1,000 children, the ceremony took viewers on a journey mation” from somewhere that looked more like a “Stalinist- against the United States to break American hearts on through Russia’s rich heritage of visual arts, music, litera- CRITICS PROVED WRONG style sanatorium city” in the mid-1990s to an Olympic host Thursday. ture and dance. A deafening volley of fireworks from the International Olympic Committee President Thomas city with state-of-the-art venues. “It was terrible then. The world’s gaze then turned to the final act of the Feb. stadium’s rooftop lit up the sky, and theOlympics were Bach said the Russian hosts had proved their critics wrong. Seeing it 20 years after this transformation is amazing.” 7-23 Games, the closing ceremony, which painted Russia in over. —-Reuters Standout performances MARIT BJOERGEN-Queen of the cross country Lipnitskaia, who had starred in Russia’s team victory, into since 2009 and whose best finish in the downhill this sea- Adler Arena orange, winning 23 of the 36 medals on The 33-year-old Norwegian cross country skier sealed the shade. The men’s event was hit by the injury-forced son was seventh, had not counted on Maze, the 2013 offer-including eight golds from 12 events. her status as one of the greatest Olympic athletes in his- pull-out of Russian star Yevgeny Plushenko, helping to super-G world champion and proven big-stage per- They won a medal in all 12 events-capping their tory when she won a record sixth gold in the women’s pave the way for Hanyu to become the first Asian man to former. impressive showing with gold in the men’s and women’s 30km mass start at the Sochi Games. win Olympic singles gold. Russia won the pairs through team pursuit events. The next best team was Poland, with Bjoergen equalled the record of Soviet speed skater Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov while Meryl Davis SHORT TRACK-Ahn speeds into Russian hearts just three medals. Lidia Skoblikova and Russian cross country skier Lyubov and Charlie White of the United States claimed the ice Russian short track speed skater Victor Ahn was the Ireen Wust won two golds and three silvers. With eight Yegorova in taking six gold at Winter Olympics, the most dance gold. most successful athlete at the Sochi Games, winning medals overall, she now has the most Winter Games by any woman.

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