Russian President Vladimir Putin, these Olympics' political architect and booster-in-chief, watched and smiled as Sochi gave itself a giant pat on the back for a Winter Games that IOC President Thomas Bach declared an "extraordinary success."

The crowd that partied in Fisht Olympic Stadium, in high spirits after the high-security games passed safely without feared terror attacks, hooted with delight when Bach said Russia delivered on promises of "excellent" venues, "outstanding" accommodation for the 2,856 athletes and "impeccable organization." The spectators let out an audibly sad moan when Bach declared the 17-day Winter Games closed.

"We leave as friends of the Russian people," Bach said.

The nation's $51 billion investment — topping even Beijing's estimated $40 billion layout for the 2008 Summer Games — transformed a decaying resort town on the Black Sea into a household name. All-new facilities, unthinkable in the Soviet era of drab shoddiness, showcased how far Russia has come in the two decades since it turned its back on communism. But the Olympic show didn't win over critics of Russia's backsliding on democracy and human rights under Putin and its institutionalized intolerance of gays.

Despite the bumps along the way, Bach was unrelentingly upbeat about his first games as IOC president and the nation that hosted it. One of Sochi's big successes was security. Feared attacks by Islamic militants who threatened to target the games didn't materialize.

"It's amazing what has happened here," Bach said a few hours before the ceremony. He recalled that Sochi was an "old, Stalinist-style sanatorium city" when he visited for the IOC in the 1990s.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of the Sochi organizing committee, called the games "a moment to cherish and pass on to the next generations."

"This," he said, "is the new face of Russia — our Russia."

At the closing ceremony, athletes said goodbye to rivals-turned-friends from far off places, savoring their achievements or lamenting what might have been — and, for some, looking ahead to 2018. The city where they will compete, Pyeongchang, offered in its segment of the show a teaser of what to expect in four years with video of venues, Korean music and delightful dancers in glowing bird suits.


MIXED RESULTS FOR U.S.


The speedskaters flopped, and the men's hockey team was blanked when it mattered most. If it wasn't for new sports, the medal count would be paltry.

Yet U.S. Olympic officials insist this was one of the country's best Olympiads.

"I couldn't be more proud of our Olympic team," said Larry Probst, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

A bronze in the four-man bobsled on a day Russia put an exclamation point on its games gave the U.S. 28 medals in Sochi, putting it behind just the host country in total medals. Norway won more gold than the U.S. (11-9) and the 28 total medals were nine fewer than Americans won in a record performance four years ago in Vancouver.

That total — five less than won by Russia — would have been far less if U.S. athletes didn't win nine medals, including five gold, in sports that made their debut in these games.

To make matters worse, Canada won more gold medals than its much bigger neighbor for the second Olympics in a row.

"We came here to compete," said Alan Ashley, managing director of sport performance for the USOC. "We came here with a great team and they've done a great job. Things don't always shake out exactly the way you think they're going to, but the surprises are sometimes way more surprising than the disappointments."

Ashley said the U.S. medal haul was lower partly because other countries are becoming more competitive in winter sports. He said the team would have liked to have won more medals, but called its performance excellent. 	If there is reason to be more optimistic heading toward the games in South Korea in 2018, team officials said it was the strong performance in new sports like ski and snowboard slopestyle and ski halfpipe.

But replicating that success in extreme sports in future Olympics will be difficult, said Steve Roush, the former chief of sport performance for the USOC.

"The rest of the world is catching up," he said.


BOBSLED BRONZES FOR U.S.'S HOLCOMB


Steven Holcomb might as well be driving USA-62.

Seems like that's his lucky number at the Olympics.

For the third time in four years and second in just a week, Holcomb snapped a 62-year drought inside the five rings. By finishing third in the four-man competition on Sunday and winning his second bronze medal of the Sochi Games, Holcomb became the first U.S. driver since Stanley Benham in 1952 — 62 years ago — to win two medals in the same games.

Holcomb won the first gold for the U.S. in four-man in since 1948 at the Vancouver Games four years ago, ending another 62-year barren run.

Contributor: The Associated Press