The Games were officially closed by International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach during an extravagant ceremony in which organizers poked fun at themselves with dancers forming into four rings and a small clump, acknowledging the malfunction in the opening ceremony where one of the Olympic rings failed to open.
Aerials silver medalist David Morris was Australia’s flag bearer. Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin carried the flag in the opening ceremony, but after failing to win gold in the snowboard cross, Morris, the Australian success story of these Olympics, was the natural choice. He collected Australia’s third medal of the Games and first ever in men’s aerials when he picked up silver behind Belarusian Anton Kushnir.
Russia topped the medal table with 33 medals in total, including 13 golds.
Australia finished 24th in the table with two silver and a bronze – Lydia Lassila winning bronze in the women’s aerials and Torah Bright taking silver in the women’s halfpipe.
Sochi was the most expensive Olympics ever and featured a record 2,800 athletes from 88 countries. There were six failed drug tests.
Russia’s problem with stray dogs was something of a Games highlight, as was the Russian police choir’s take on Daft Punk (see below), while the build-up was overshadowed by protests against Russian anti-gay legislation.
South Korea will host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Image via Getty
