One. Oh so Canada! Sidney Crosby scores his first goal of the tournament to help Canada defend its Olympic men’s hockey title with a 3-0 victory over Sweden in the gold-medal game. Jonathan Toews and Chris Kunitz also score and Carey Price makes 24 saves for the Canadians, who confirm their dominance in their beloved sport by winning gold for the third time in the last four Olympics.
Two. Russia 1. Alexander Zubkov drives Russia to victory in the four-man bobsled, adding that gold to his own two-man from earlier in the Sochi Games and making him the sixth pilot to sweep those events at an Olympics. Latvia picks up silver and the United States took the bronze.
Russia 1-2-3 Alexander Legkov leads a Russian medal sweep in the men’s 50-kilometer race to the host nation the first cross-country gold at the Sochi Games.
Three. Busted. Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Suerr is kicked out of the Sochi Games on Sunday after testing positive for the blood booster EPO. It is the most serious doping case of the Olympics. The Austrian Olympic Committee President Karl Stoss describes it as “a black day for us”. Later, Swedish hockey player Nicklas Backstrom fails a doping test and is pulled before the men’s hockey final against Canada.
High Praise. IOC President Thomas Bach says the Sochi Olympics have showcased the “amazing” transformation of the Black Sea coastal city. Bach says Sochi has staged excellent games that prove it was a sound decision to award Russia the games seven years ago.
Four. DOSVIDANYA. Overflowing with pride after a spectacular showing at the coastiest Olympics ever, Russia celebrates 17 days of sports-driven global unity with a farewell show that hands off the Winter Games to their next host, Pyeongchang, South Korea. A group of Korean musicians featuring soprano Jo Sumi, jazz vocalist Na Yoon Sun, musician Lee Seung Chui, and pianist Yang Bang Eon performed together at the Sochi 2014 World Olympic closing ceremony.
Five. Medals. Russia picks up two of the last three gold medals to top the standings with 13 gold and 33 overall. 12 new disciplines were held for the first time ever in the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Snowboarding parallel slalom was one of them. Vic Wild, the American-born rider, who is married to Russian snowboarder Alena Zavarzina, won two gold medals for Russia, his wife earlier took the bronze medal.
Norway has 11 gold. Canada wins 10 gold in its haul of 25. The United States finishes with nine gold and 28 in total.
Congratulations to all Olympic athletes and their fans!
Listen to: Sheryl Crow – Soak Up the Sun