The Turin Games bid farewell to hundreds of athletes in a more traditional way than the Salt Lake Games four years ago, sending them home from the 20th Winter Olympics on Sunday night with a lavish and dizzying closing ceremony that featured flying acrobats, foolish clowns and dancing Tarot cards in a huge carnival party.
For me it was doubly special because I got to carry the flag for the United States," said speedskating gold medalist Joey Cheek of Salt Lake City. "That was huge. It's all just hitting me now. It was incredible. Organizers finished their surprisingly successful 17-day run by extinguishing the Olympic cauldron and handing over the Olympic flag to the organizers of the 2010 Vancouver Games in Canada.
"Athletes, you have seduced us with your spirit of fair play and brotherhood," said Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee. "Keep the Olympic flame burning in your hearts. Spread the Olympic dream in your countries. You are the true ambassadors of our values, and give back to sport what it has given you." Though lacking star power at times, the Turin Games also will be remembered for surviving despite a troublesome build-up, hosting more nations than ever (80) and fielding the most level competitions to date.
Athletes from a record 26 nations won medals - first-time winners Latvia and Slovakia were among them - and the top of the medals table was closer than ever, with just five medals separating first-place Germany and fifth-place Canada.
The United States won 25 medals, including nine gold, but also suffered numerous setbacks among its most popular stars. Skier Bode Miller was the most conspicuous example, failing to medal in any of his five races - though American officials shouldered some of the blame for allowing expectations to soar past realistic levels.
"This has been an incredible performance," said Jim Scherr, the chief executive of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "It's probably our fault that it's been viewed a little less than that." Nonetheless, organizers pulled off a solid - if not quite spectacular - fortnight, and watched speedskater Enrico Fabris become a national hero by winning two gold medals and thrusting his little-known sport into the nation's consciousness.
Cross country skier Giorgio di Centa also thrilled the country by winning the final race of the Games on Sunday, then becoming the first athlete to accept his gold medal at the closing ceremony of a Winter Games.
Few would have guessed it.
The Turin Games overcame a rocky preamble that included apparent public indifference as well as budget and transportation problems.
And while they had some trouble filling all of the seats at their competition venues, organizers said they sold nearly 900,000 tickets and will make a profit on the Games. They did not encounter any overwhelming controversies, either, or devastating security problems.
"We've done it," said Valentino Castellani, the president of the bid committee. "All together, with superb teamwork, with a lot of hard work and with great passion." Even the closing ceremony avoided a serious problem.
As Castellani spoke, a protester in a black shirt stormed his lectern and tried to shout into the microphone. But security guards grabbed him so quickly, his words were inaudible - one report said he declared "passion lives in Torino!" - and the white letters on his shirt indistinguishable. All the while, Castellani stood his ground and barely even blinked.
"Arrivederci, Torino!" he said.
While organizers four years ago closed with a modern pop-culture smorgasbord, the Italians meant to evoke their long comedic tradition with their wild, circus-like show, designed as the "topsy-turvy" flipside to the opening ceremony.
Some athletes wore red noses as they paraded back into the Olympic Stadium - Japan's Shizuka Arakawa was among those sitting atop teammates' shoulders, after claiming her nation's only medal by winning the women's figure skating title - and acrobats did everything from dangle on huge silks to breathe fire and jump rope on pogo sticks.
A vagabond rose seller, a traditional carnival figure, cavorted through the crowd, chased by gendarmes throughout the night.
The most dazzling stunt featured stuntmen in white seeming to ski and snowboard through mid-air high above the stage, in an imperceptible aerodynamic tunnel. Later, opera singer Andrea Bocelli performed and dozens of women in white gowns formed the image of a dove on the stage.
It was kind of a strange ceremony," said Shawn Rojeski of Chisholm, Minn., and a member of the U.S. men's curling team, which won the country's first medal in the sport, a bronze. "It was very festival-like, definitely completely different than the opening ceremony. I thought it would be much more of an ending to the Games than a festival.
"At the opening ceremonies, we marched out as Team USA and everyone else out there was our competitor. This time they had us march out together to show unity. We're more or less one big family now. It was kind of a neat deal. Now, the attention shifts to Vancouver.
Mayor Sam Sullivan accepted the Olympic flag in his wheelchair, having been a quadriplegic since breaking his neck in a skiing accident when he was 19 years old. Unable to hold the flag himself, the pole was fitted into his chair and Sullivan wheeled around the stage several times to make the flag fly in the breeze.
Vancouver used its eight-minute presentation during the ceremony to feature a native theme, with a tribal snowshoer drilling into a frozen landscape to unleash groups of Arctic performers. They juggled and built a replica of a traditional "Inukshuk" - the emblem of the Vancouver Games, and the traditional stone figure used by the Inuit people as a reference point on vast, snow-covered horizons - before pop star Avril Lavigne sang on stage.
Indeed, the Italians did not entirely avoid modernity in their closing, either.
Pop star Ricky Martin shook and shimmied to begin a raucous final concert and dazzling fireworks show.
