Olympics come to bittersweet close

BEIJING — The Olympics' closing ceremonies are never "celebratory" the way the opening ceremonies are. Despite the pageantry, there is always a bittersweet feel to the end of any Summer Games.

But for the people whose nation opened up in a way it never had before because of these Olympics, perhaps the feelings are even more pronounced. As one Chinese man who has been working at the Main Press Center put it, "Well it's over now, and I feel kind of ... what is the word? Depressed?"

It is a common sentiment for host countries, having done so much work to prepare for an event of such magnitude. The closing ceremonies here at the Bird's Nest featured a red double-decker bus symbolizing the "next stop" for the Summer Games: London. That city takes the torch understanding there are some things those Olympics most likely will not be able to do with the scope or efficiency that these Olympics did.

The consensus among U.S. athletes was that the Beijing Games were expertly run and very comfortable for the competitors, helping them attain peak performances.

"It was absolutely a dream come true," said Lori Chalupny, a St. Louis native on the U.S. women's soccer team. "I just tried to soak in every moment, and I had the time of my life. We played in four cities in China, and everywhere we went, the volunteers and fans went out of their way to make us feel like Olympians. We leave China with a special fondness in our hearts for the people of this country and these Olympic Games."

Chalupny's squad produced one of the 36 gold medals for Team USA, which trailed China's 51. The United States ended up with the most overall medals, 110 to China's 100, but the gold count was the host country's main focus.

To the degree that Olympics are defined by medal counts, the United States Olympic Committee officials point out that they do not ever want to undercut support for team sports, where only one medal is available, in favor of individual sports, where more medals can be earned. For instance, the men's and women's basketball success counts as two medals in the standings — but represents 24 Americans going home with gold medals.

Still, now that China has jumped to the front of the gold haul with its best Olympic showing ever, USOC officials will look at what individual sports — cycling, for instance — the Americans may be able to gain ground in and produce more medals.

In terms of gender equity, the U.S. did very well: Both the men and women earned 53 medals each, with four additional medals in mixed sports such as equestrian.

The most successful sport for the Americans was swimming, which produced 31 medals, 12 of them gold. Gymnastics also was a highlight: 10 medals (two gold). Track and field had 23 medals (seven gold), but Jamaica's domination of the men's and women's sprints put somewhat of a damper on the meet from the American team's perspective.

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