Olympics trade spats for a party

By Tim Dahlberg

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — The XIX Winter Olympics came to a close Sunday after more than two weeks of memorable performances, Cold War flashbacks and one big tizzy over two figure skating gold medals.

On the snow and ice, athletes displayed brilliance and human frailty. Boosted by huge flag-waving crowds, the home team won medals at a rate beyond their wildest expectations, and a black athlete claimed gold for the first time ever at the Winter Games.

"The field of play was superb," Salt Lake Olympic chief Mitt Romney said.

Behind the scenes, though, the games couldn’t escape controversy, turning ugly at times with accusations of favoritism and influence that raised questions about the ability of the 77 countries to come together in harmony.

Canadians were awarded a co-gold medal after a French judge was accused of misconduct in scoring the pairs skating final. Russia was so angry it threatened to pull out of the games in the final days because of decisions that may have cost the country two gold medals.

And, even as Canada celebrated its first hockey gold in 50 years Sunday, Olympic officials said they threw two cross-country skiers out of the games and stripped each of them of a gold medal for using a performance-enhancing drug.

The figure skating mess loomed large, and Russia was so upset that President Vladimir Putin suggested the Americans and Canadians were being favored.

For 17 days, it wasn’t always magical. Sometimes it got downright vicious.

But it was always entertaining — and a hit with the 1.6 million spectators and huge audiences that followed the sometimes soap-operalike happenings on NBC.

By the time KISS rocked a closing ceremony Sunday night that began with ‘N Sync singing the national anthem, all seemed forgiven. The Russian team frolicked with other nations in the stadium, and fireworks illuminated the Wasatch Mountains.

"We are extremely pleased," said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge. "They have done a superb job. The venues were superb. The crowds were warm and supportive. The athletes were very happy."

Through it all, the 2,526 athletes who came with Olympic-sized dreams were content to perform. And, boy, did they ever.

Americans had expected to do well, but never expected this: A country that had never won more than 13 medals in the Winter Games exploded for 34, much to the delight of fans who braved security checks to pack mountain slopes and city arenas.

Crowds cheered loudly for Americans, but also cheered Russians, Norwegians and Lithuanians.

The Mormon Church kept its pledge to keep missionaries from spreading the word among Olympic visitors. In return it got a public relations bonanza from journalists who found a church that didn’t seem as weird as they had believed.

"Some of the misconceptions that people have about the church have made a giant step forward," said apostle M. Russell Ballard, one of the church leaders. "I think that we’ve made a lot of friends. I hope we have."

An Olympics that cost a record $1.9 billion to stage went off almost perfectly, but there were some things organizers could not control.

"There will always be controversy about judging and refereeing and doping," Romney said. "That will be with the games forever. It won’t characterize or distinguish one games from another."

What organizers could control, it turned out, was the safety of the athletes and fans attending the games. A massive effort involving 15,000 police, troops and security volunteers worked so well that by the end of a quiet first week some volunteer officers were already leaving.

Athletes who had voiced fears of marching in the opening ceremony shed them quickly. The Olympics had a military presence, but it didn’t have a military look.

"As a template it is the best one I’ve ever seen, period," said David Tubbs, executive director of the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command.

At night, Salt Lake City partied as never before, with nightly concerts at the Olympic medals plaza and bars packed with fans who grumbled about $6 beers but drank them anyway.

In one of the most homogenized places in the country, America’s minority athletes shined. Bobsled pusher Vonetta Flowers became the first black ever to win a gold medal in the Winter Games, and Hispanic speedskaters Derrick Parra and Jennifer Rodriguez earned a couple of medals of their own.

The United States finished second in the medal count behind Germany, separated by a single medal. Traditional winter power Norway was well back with 22, while Russia and Canada had 17 apiece.

The 2006 Winter Olympics are scheduled for Torino, Italy.