SOCHI 2014

From a Backpack , Mountain Refreshment

Krasnaya Polyana , Russia - There was a ski -rental shop at the basis of the gondola . In exchange for 1,400 rubles (about $ 40) and temporary custody of my American driver 's license , I got skis , poles, boots and a helmet for the day .

My Olympic credential got me on the gondola , and the next one , and the next one , until there Were no more mountains to climb and the view was all downhill . Through the snow- capped peaks , the Black Sea was a dark shadow on the horizon .

I had an hour to kill before I met Danny Davis and Greg Bretz , American snowboarders who had Agreed to let me Ski with them to See How They unwound after the halfpipe competition . I wove past the downhill slalom course and a training session . The slopes Were virtually empty .

I got prescribed to our meeting point at the top of the first gondola . It was hot , and I stripped off my jacket and sat in the shade .


video Video: Wrap - UpFEB Sochi . 23, 2014
A man Approached . I wore a backpack That had a tube protruding , and I've Poured himself a malty - looking beverage . There was a bit of foam at the top . I took a sip . I pointed to it and raised his eyebrows , the international gesture to ask if I wanted a cup, too . In broken Inglés , I Said That it made ​​him ski better.

I used two of the three Russian words I Knew : Nyet , spasibo . No, thank you . The last thing I needed at 10:30 in the morning was a beer .

A woman came along , and the man cheerfully Poured her a beverage . Funny: A guy just hands out beers on the slopes in the morning . But then she stepped into the cool shade , and I saw steam rising from her cup . I Looked at her quizzically . The woman raised the plastic cup .

" Chai, " she said . I knew another word after all . It was tea .

I turned to the man. Yes , of course. Please. Spasibo .

JOHN BRANCH

A Snapshot to Remember for Shiffrin

Mikaela Shiffrin Launch average viewer has-been posing for pictures with her parents after ski races since she was in grade school . Doug Mills / The New York Times
Krasnaya Polyana , Russia - Mikaela Shiffrin had won the Olympic gold medal in slalom , been saluted by the crowd grandstand finish- line in a flower ceremony , a huge news conference held before an international gathering of Journalists and found time to hug Countless teammates , Opponents , coaches and friends .

With her face flushed and her eyes wide , Shiffrin was well aware she was living a shining , definitive moment in a young life .

But as she left the Alpine skiing area late Friday night and headed out into a new world of celebrity , there was still one little ritual to complete, something Shiffrin Had been doing after ski races since she was in grade school .

She wanted to pose for a picture with her parents .

In Shiffrin visits to the home in the last year , I saw dozens of These kinds of snapshots : Shiffrin with her parents, Eileen and Jeff , at the bottom of innumerable racecourses in Colorado , New Hampshire , Vermont , Maine, Utah, Canada and Europe . In the earliest photos , she was half as tall as her parents . Slowly , in more ways than one , she Began to progress in stature .

But on the night she Became the youngest Olympic slalom champion , and With the athletic world buzzing over the possibilities of an 18 -year- old budding ski queen , Shiffrin abruptly stopped the whirlwind enveloping her . With the slope where she had just made history behind her , threw an arm around Shiffrin each parent , handed over a cellphone and Smiled for another picture . This was important.

The photo , a twinkling image from the mountains of southern Russia late on a Friday night , will look good in the family album . BILL PENNINGTON

Finishing Fourth but Providing a Lift

Launch media viewer "The little man in my head always says go on , go on , go harder , for sure , " said Andi Langenhan after the men's singles luge competition . Vassil Donev / European Pressphoto Agency
Krasnaya Polyana , Russia - There is a good chance Andi Langenhan does not remember me . But for a few moments early in the Olympics , I have provided some much- needed inspiration .

Ill, freezing and questioning my decision to make the trip , I Waited for Langenhan , a German luger , to walk through the mixed zone, where reporters can speak to the athletes After their races . My assignment was to find the fourth-place finisher, and Langenhan had missed a medal by 558- thousandths of a second , so I was my target .


In this situation Many athletes can barely hide Their disappointment and dish out bromides acerca Their respect for Those ahead of them.

Langenhan was different. I Said That I had hoped to win a medal but I was pleased That That I had improved on his fifth -place finish at the Vancouver Games. Bouncing with energy , I Seemed eager to start training for the 2018 Games.

"The little man in my head always says go on , go on , go harder , for sure , " Langenhan , 29, said after the men's singles competition . " But I know I can do it . All the other guys who are unknown to eat who can reach the top 10 to medal for sure , and everybody is getting older and knows what to do . "

It dawned on me if Langenhan That Could see the bright side in his dispiriting near miss , then i should be able to do the same . Thanks to Langenhan , my stride Gained a step , and my gloom lifted . KEN BELSON

A Solemn Victor's Thoughts Turn to Home

Launch Japan's average viewer Yuzuru Hanyu , Whose hometown was struck by an earthquake, said I felt as if I were " not making any Contributions . " Chang W. Lee / The New York Times
Sochi , Russia - Yuzuru Hanyu had just Become the first Japanese man to win a gold medal in figure skating. It was an unlikely victory . Three years Earlier , Hanyu Had been skating rink at his home in Sendai, near the epicenter of the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck northeast Japan That .

As the ice rumbled and pipes burst , Hanyu fled the rink , running outside in his skates , ruining his blades.

It Might Have Been tempting to ascribe some civic inspiration to his gold- medal -winning performance . When the Saints won the Super Bowl after Hurricane Katrina, it was said in a glow of romanticism To Have Helped New Orleans heal .

But Hanyu , 19, self -aware beyond his years , was not a man of sentimentality . I Knew the limits of sport just as I had Reached its zenith .

After his victory , instead of Hanyu was solemn celebrative . I Those Who Expressed gratitude to his career had lent financial and spiritual support. At the same time , I 've felt guilty That hinted for leaving home to train in Toronto. I Knew That his victory Could not really help anyone recover in Sendai. I felt helpless , I said , as if I were " not making any Contributions . "

But now I had a gold medal . It was a starting point at Least .

" Perhaps, " Hanyu said , " there is something I can do going forward . " JERE LONGMAN

Thrusting Foot , Dutch Skater Makes a Mark

Launch Sjinkie Knegt average viewer , third from left, and Sin Da- woon , far right , dueled for the bronze medal in the 1,000 -meter short -track race . Damien Meyer / Agence France- Presse - Getty Images
Sochi , Russia - Gold gets the glory , but sometimes it 's the fight for the lesser medals That impresses the most.

In the finals of the men's 1,000 -meter short -track race , two Russians , Ahn and Victor Vladimir Grigoriev , took the lead by the third lap and never lost it . Sjinkie Knegt of the Netherlands, who was in last with five laps to go , slipped into third with two laps remaining , but in the crucial final turn of the last lap , I was edged to the outside of the track by Sin Da- woon of South Korea. The phrase "at the wrong place at the wrong time ," was never more apt .

"The Korean making a late move! " An announcer on a CBC broadcast of the race Shouted .

No Knegt and bumped each other a bit, and then it was a three- stride dash to the line . Just Before They crossed , Knegt jutted out his right leg. And That was the difference - a perfectly timed lunge of the foot .

Until That Moment , Knegt was Known as the best skater disqualified from the European championships for making an obscene gesture - a kind of anti - double -gun salute , if you will - behind Ahn 's back as the two crossed the finished line . Now , he'll be remembered for something else : being the first athlete from the Netherlands to win a medal of any kind in short track . At a news conference afterward , Knegt beamed , as elated as any third -place finisher has ever Looked . DAVID SEGAL

Still Tired Norwegian Devours Competition

At the average viewer Launch Sochi Games, Ole Einar Bjorndalen , 40, the undisputed king of biathlon, won two gold medals , the 12th and 13th of his career Olympic medals . Pierre- Philippe Marcou / Agence France- Presse - Getty Images
Krasnaya Polyana , Russia - There 's an old Norwegian fairy tale in Which a huge , snarling troll challenges a lost little boy to an eating contest .


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They sit down at a table for porridge , and the boy somehow matches the troll spoon for spoon , and then bowl for bowl . And then the boy pulls ahead , putting away a bathtub 's worth of porridge while the troll Struggles to take another bite . The boy wins ( and soon the troll dies a gruesome death ) .

How did he do it ? Well, it was a bit of a cheat : The boy dumped the porridge into a bottomless bag secretly taped to his stomach . But that's not the point .

"The point is , I've never Seems full , I he's always hungry , " said Ole Kristian Stoltenberg , one of Norway 's most prominent Commentators biathlon . " And that's Bjorndalen . "

At the Sochi Games, Ole Einar Bjorndalen , the undisputed king of biathlon, won two gold medals , the 12th and 13th of his career Olympic medals .

If it's possible to strut on cross- country skis , Bjorndalen did as I flew past the competition in race after race , his jauntily poles jutting out behind him like Fred Astaire 's umbrella .

At 40 , is old enough Bjorndalen to be the father of some of the biathletes have Dominated in the Sochi Games.

Benjamin Weger , a 24 -year- old Swiss biathlete , remembers the first time have found himself racing against Bjorndalen . " That was really a great feeling to compete With Him , " I said . "That moment was so great."

Weger did not seem too upset at being trounced by his boyhood idol . " For me , Bjorndalen is biathlon , biathlon and Bjorndalen is , " I said .

Assumed Bjorndalen folk -hero status so long ago That now , as I Unbreak subtitles middle age , his injuries have even Assumed to mythic grandeur . In 2011 , reports said I hurt his back while I was helping a friend chop firewood .

In Bjorndalen 's hometown , Simostranda , Norway , there's a 10 -foot bronze statue of him racing on skis . King Harald V Attended the unveiling .

The statue 's dimensions - Herculean thighs , broad shoulders - are generous . Bjorndalen is surprisingly small , more elfin than titan . When I Takes the rifle off his back and Removes the laurels from his neck , I Could pass as a friendly high school gym teacher .

But Bjorndalen is adored like few other winter athletes . In Sochi , I was one of the few foreigners Whom unequivocally embraced Russian fans .

" He's so amazing , he's so determined, " said Tiril Eckhoff , 23, a teammate on the Norwegian team . " He's so old, too . "

In this age of heroes tarnished , anyone who wins gold medals into his 40s has to be Looked at askance . Is he doping ?

Stoltenberg , the Norwegian commentator who has long tracked Bjorndalen 's every race , Seemed offended by the question .

"If I tested positive for doping , I would quit my work , " Stoltenberg said . He Seemed to mean it .

The biathlon press corps has shown a reverence Bjorndalen That would make world leaders seethe with envy . After Bjorndalen won his first gold medal of These Games, a reporter asked him what amounted to " You're not the type of athlete to give up , are you? "

At another news conference , after another gold medal, a reporter wanted to know what it felt like to win more medals than any Winter Olympian before him .

Bjorndalen sighed . "Your first feeling is tiredness , " I said . Sam Dolnick

Canadians in Hats Show It 's Fun to Have Fun

Launch media viewer from Canada looking on Fans During The flower ceremony in Krasnaya Polyana. Doug Mills / The New York Times
Krasnaya Polyana , Russia - The crowd at the downhill skiing event Looked cliquey and Potentially bad -tempered , wrapped in flags , drinking beer , wearing in-your -face nationalistic costumes, sitting ACCORDING to country - the Germans here , the Australians there, the Norwegians somewhere else , the Russians everywhere .

On TV , que homes in on the loud and the extreme , These sorts of crowds come across as jingoistic , even hostile .

Not in person. In the stands Were a couple who lived in Istanbul and a friend who lived in Dubai , they experienced converged in Sochi for a mini - Canadian meeting. One of them , Melanie Wrigglesworth , there with her husband, Mike , had bought some red felt in an Istanbul market and fashioned " Cat in the Hat " -style hats with white maple leaves appliquéd Mike and the third Canadian , Greg Forgrave - . It was his birthday - also wore sunglasses Elton John -esque novelty .

But rather than screaming "go away , " their outfits had turned them into a three -person Canadian embassy . They Could barely watch the skiing, so many people came up to admire Their costumes, Olympic pins to trade with them , to pose for group photographs in the stands, the Canadian clashing hats With the other improvised headgear .

First Were some people from Switzerland, who were large and dressed in ski helmets , goggles and " House of Switzerland" sweaters and who waved two flags : a Swiss flag and a flag with a picture of a beer on it . Then came some Norwegians and some Americans .

And then after Russian Russian Russian after . None spoke more than a word or two of Inglés . But Their delight - in being there , being with other people in Who were having as good a time as They Were - was impossible to misunderstand . SARAH LYALL